Fort Wayne Railroaders

Baseball Hall of Fame member Jesse Haines played for the 1914 Fort Wayne Railroaders, as his first professional team.

[10] Today, the 765 has been fully restored and is in use on public excursions, having been added to the Norfolk Southern Railway's 21st Century Steam program in 2012.

[16] The Dayton Veterans, Evansville River Rats, Grand Rapids Orphans, Marion Oilworkers, South Bend Green Stockings, Terre Haute Hottentots, and Wheeling Stogies teams joined with Fort Wayne in 1903 league play.

[16] With a record of 89–49, Fort Wayne finished 1.0 game ahead of the second place South Bend Greens, followed by the Anderson/Grand Rapids Orphans (48–92), Dayton Veterans (61–76) Evansville River Rats (64–68), Marion Oilworkers (71–65), Terre Haute Hottentots (58–80) and Wheeling Stogies (69–68) teams in the final standings.

Managed by the returning Bade Myers and George Williams, the Red Stockings compiled a record of 25–35 while based in Canton.

[2][23] After the team relocated during the 1905 season, the Fort Wayne Railroaders reformed in 1906, but did not return to the Central League.

[2][26] On July 8, 1906, the Fort Wayne Railroaders were in first place when the Interstate Association folded, giving the team a championship.

[27] Fort Wayne was followed by the Marion (36–24), Anderson (30–31) and Lima (26–36) teams in the final Interstate Association league standings.

[36] Hendricks is one of a select group of major league managers to hold a law degree or pass a state bar.

The others include James Henry O'Rourke, Miller Huggins, Branch Rickey, John Montgomery Ward, Hughie Jennings, Muddy Ruel, and Tony La Russa.

[37] In the 1910 season, the Fort Wayne Billikens continued play in the eight-team Central League and placed second in the final standings.

A "brakie" worker was a vital railroad position that installed, inspected, repaired and operated train brakes, among other duties.

[43][44] In the era, some local U.S. labor laws required that enough brakemen would be staffed on every train so that one brakeman would be responsible for no more than two cars.

Fort Wayne ended the season 3.0 games behind the first place Dayton Veterans in the final standings.

[51] Fort Wayne ended the season with a record of 77–51, finishing 2.5 games ahead of the second place Youngstown Steelmen.

As he was running to field the ball, a loose Great Dane named "Don" ran at Anderson as he chased the base hit.

With "Don" running and jumping at Anderson, this caused him to hesitate, and the batter ended up on third base with a triple on the play.

Central League president Louis Heilbroner denied Anderson's protest, reasoning that the play did not have a significant impact on the outcome of the game.

Heilbroner ordered that Don no longer be allowed on the field during Fort Wayne home games.

[56] Placing second in the final standings of the six-team 1913 Central League, the Champs had an overall record of 77–63, playing the season under manager Jimmy Burke.

[55] Fort Wayne finished 15.0 games behind the first place Grand Rapids Bill-eds (92–48) in the final standings.

[2] In 1914, Baseball Hall of Fame member Jesse Haines made his professional debut with Fort Wayne.

Haines was signed by the Railroaders' manager Harry Martin for a salary of $135 per month, his first minor league contract.

The Railroaders ended the season 21.0 games behind the first place Dayton Veterans, as no league playoffs were held.

Henline eventually developed into a professional catcher and made his major league debut with the New York Giants in 1920.

[63] Fort Wayne finished 10.0 games behind the first place Evansville River Rats in the eight–team league final standings.

The Grand Dutchess was the nickname given to the grandstands at the League Park site in 1871, so named because of their extravagant construction for the era.

In 1893, the grandstand and fence were moved to Lakeside Park, which was one mile east of downtown Fort Wayne.

[70] In 1913, a flood forced the team to begin the season on the road, as the clubhouse and the bleachers were destroyed, and the field was covered in mud.

[70] Today, a historical marker has been placed at the League Park site in regards to baseball history at the location.