Sports

Foutz, David Luther (9-7-1856 to 3-5-1897)

David Foutz was born September 7, 1856. He was a major league baseball player, pitching for the Saint Louis Browns of the American Association and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms of the National League. He finished with a 147-66 career record. He spent 13 seasons in the majors playing the positions of pitcher/infielder/outfielder. He suffered with an asthmatic condition.

He did not disappoint St. Louis, winning 114 games over a 4 year span from 1884-1887, with a career high of 41 in 1886. Always the versatile player, after his sale to Brooklyn in 1888, he began playing other positions, most notably first base.

A Baltimore native, he resided there in the off-seasons. Nicknamed "Scissors" due to his skinny frame, he was always a fan favorite. From 1893-1896 he managed the "Brooklyns," and wound up with a lifetime 264-257 record. For his career, overall, he pitched to a lifetime 146-66 mark and as a batter notched a .278 lifetime average with 749 RBI.

He was married to Minnie ‘Glocke’ Foutz (died May 28, 1898). He died at his home in Waverly, Maryland from an Asthma attack at the age of 40 in 1897.

He is buried in Loudon Park Cemetery.

Hadel, Samuel ‘Willie’ (7-17-1890 to 11-17-1966)

Willie was a ‘semi-pro’ great and from 1925 pitched for the Westport A.C. He pitched against the Naval Academy and his team was the only semi-pro team to ever play Navy. He knew many of the greats including Babe Ruth, Jack Dunn and Lefty Groves. Baseball was his passion, but his occupation was that of a contractor. He built exceptional homes and buildings. He worked until a heart attack stopped him at the age of 75.

He lived in Westport. He was married to Margaret and together they had seven children, three daughters and four sons. He is buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery.

Sources: Robert Daly; Colleen Cox, the Great Granddaughter of Willi Hadel; Enterprise Newspaper-Baltimore; SS Death Index

Herzog, Charles Lincoln 'Buck' (7-9-1885 to 9-4-1953)

Buck Herzog was born in Baltimore to Charles and Josephine Herzog, both of whom were born in Maryland to German parents. He attended the University of Maryland between 1904 and 1905, where he has the most major league at-bats than any player from the University of Maryland.

He was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball who played for four National League clubs between April 17, 1908 to September 9, 1920. He played for the New York Giants, the Boston Braves, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Chicago Cubs. He played second base, third base and shortstop. He served as player-manager for three years.

He was a lifelong resident of Maryland: he was born and died in Baltimore, but spent a considerable amount of his retirement years in Ridgely, Caroline County. After baseball he worked for the B&O Railroad. He died at age 68 in Baltimore.

Sunpaper article on Herzog's death 9-1953

William ‘Bill’ Hohman (1904 to 1968)

Hohman had a successful minor league career, playing for several teams including the Baltimore Orioles, then in the International League. Brooklyn, Maryland’s only documented Major Leaguer, Bill, played for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1927.

He began his career as a pitcher, but moved to the outfield so he could play more. The six foot 175 pound right hander was flexible and athletic. He did pitch for the 1924 Brooklyn Athletic Associations, Maryland’s A’s were a ‘high minor’ league team. He won that game 8-3, went on to pitch the second game that day. He booked 11 strikeouts and hit for a double and triple in the first five at bats to lead the team to the win.

His major league break came in 1927 when he earned a spot of the Philadelphia Phillies roster. His batting average that year was .278.

In those days, players did not wear shin guards and it was a low pitch that fractured his leg, that ended his career. He was traded to New Haven, but never played again.

Depressed and with a family to feed, Hohman returned to Baltimore and took a job as a welder in the Curtis Bay Coast Guard Yard. He worked here for 17 years. He worked in 1954 at the Maryland Drydock Shipbuilding Company, where he worked on the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel.

He moved to Glen Burnie in 1940, but returned to Brooklyn where he and his wife Ruth remained. He was a member of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

Hohman passed away in 1968 at the age of 64, just one month before his scheduled retirement. He was survived by his wife, Ruth, and two daughters, Beverly and June.

Kaline, Albert William (12-19-1934 to 4-6-2020 )

Al Kaline was born in Baltimore, the son of Nicholas and Naomi Kaline. He is of German-Irish ancestry. His father Nicholas, uncles Bib and Fred and his grandfather Philip, had all been semi-pro catchers on the Eastern Shore.

The Kaline family was poor but proud. Al was the first to graduate from High School, graduating from Southern High School on June 18, 1953. His family wanted him to play ball and sacrificed to make that dream a reality. He suffered from osteomyelitis, a bone disease and when he was eight years old, doctors removed bone from his left foot, leaving scars and a deformity, which only slowed the young Al down temporarily. Baltimore had a strong recreation baseball program and Al played on several teams, sometimes playing up to three games in one day. During his high school career he was scouted by most of the major league clubs and signed with the Detroit Tigers the day after graduation. He received $15,000 as a sign up bonus, which he gave to his parents. His salary at the time was $15,000.

He made baseball history on April 17, 1955, when he hit two home runs in one inning, which hadn’t been done since Joe DiMaggio done it in 1936. He also became the youngest player in history to win the ‘batting title’ that year.

Kaline finished his career with a .297 batting average. He had 399 career home runs. He won 10 Golden Glove awards and once went 242 consecutive games without an error. He played in 12 ‘All Star’ games and helped the Detroit Tigers win the 1968 World Championship. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.

Al Kaline 57
Bill Keister

William Hoffman Keister (8-14-1871 to 8-17-1924)

William Keister, was born in Baltimore and according to the 1880 Census, William was the son of Louis & Annie Keister. The family lived at 149 Mangold Street in ‘Pigtown’. Both parents were born in Baltimore, however, their parents were born in Germany, Louis’ in Bavaria and Annie’s father from Bremen and mother from Hesse Darmstadt. William lived with his parents and two sisters, Ella and Laura, at that time. Since Mangold is directly across from Public School #22, George Washington Elementary, it would be a good guess that William attended school there.

He played in the major league beginning with the Baltimore Orioles where he began on May 20, 1896, at the age of 24. He was given the nickname "Wagon Tongue" due to his use of salty language. He played the positions of shortstop, right fielder and second baseman. His record shows he was an exemplary hitter, however, not so good in the field. He played for six clubs during his seven seasons, Orioles (both AL and NL)/Cardinals/Senators/Phillies/Beaneaters 1896-1903. His season high was a .328 mark in his first full season, 1898, with the National League Orioles. After his stay in the majors, he played for a time in the minors with Jersey of the Eastern League.

He married Blanche and together they had one daughter, Flora born in 1898. The family in 1900, lived on Fulton Avenue. He died as a result of chronic nephritis a few days after his 53rd birthday. Mr. Keister is buried at Loudon Park Cemetery.

Frederick Charles "Fritz" Maisel (12-23-1889 to 4-22-1967)

Fritz was born in Catonsville, Maryland. He was a professional baseball player who played third base in the Major Leagues from August 11, 1913 to August 28, 1918. He played for the New York Yankees and St. Louis Browns. Because of his speed rounding the bags, Fritz was known as "Catonsville Flash" or just "Flash" by his fans. In 1914, he led the American League with 74 stolen bases, and was only caught stealing 17 times that year, an 81 percent success rate. He had 2093 hits and 421 stolen bases in the minors.

He was signed by the Baltimore Orioles in 1910 and played for them until 1913 (they were a minor league team 1903-1953). After his major league career, he rejoined the Orioles as a team captain in 1919, and led the team to seven straight International League pennants. He played with them in this capacity until 1928. He became manager of the Orioles after the death of Jack Dunn (1929 to 1932). In this position he fell from grace and the once Baltimore born hero became the unsuccessful manager of the Orioles. He stayed, however, with the Orioles working as a scout (1954 to 1967) at the time of his death. He also served as Chief of the Baltimore County Fire Department from 1938 to 1951.

Fritz Maisel is buried at Lorraine Cemetery.

George Maisel (3-12-1892 to 11-20-1968)

George was the brother of Frederick ‘Fritz’ Maisel. He was born in Catonsville, Maryland and was an infielder and outfielder. He played ball from May 1, 1913 to September 30, 1922, beginning his career with the St. Louis Browns.

He played with the St. Louis Browns (1913), Detroit Tigers (1916) and the Chicago Cubs (1921-22). He finished his career with a record of 67 runs scored, 141 hits, 50 runs batted in and a .282 bating average. He was a player-manager for the Wilkes-Barre Barons during the 1926 and 1927 seasons.

He was married to Anna. He is buried at the Baltimore National Cemetery.

John C. Munder ( to 2-25-1960)

Mr. Munder was born in downtown Baltimore where his father operated a German tavern. John, Jr., was a graduate of Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and the Baltimore Business College. He won many athletic awards. He was an all-Maryland guard on St. John’s College football team and a South Atlantic A.A.U. heavyweight boxing champion. From 1923 to 1927, he was an athletic instructor for the Baltimore police force. He was a veteran of WWI and was active in the American Legion. In 1952, he was appointed a substitute magistrate. He was a member of the Democratic State Central Committee.

Johnny Neun

John Henry Neun (10-28-1900 to 3-28-1990)

John ‘Johnny’ was born to John and Emelie (Wenn)(1866-1949) in Baltimore. His father, John M. Neun (1864-1910) was from Germany, as were his mother’s parents. According to the 1910 census the family lived at 2704 S. Fayette Street. Other siblings living at home at that time were Phillie L. (19); Adam (17); Mary (16); and Charlie (11).

Johnny was a major league baseball player, making his players debut with the Detroit Tigers on April 14, 1925. He played there three years until 1928. He then went to the Boston Bracves in 1930. His last appearance was with the Boston Braves on September 27, 1931. He was a first basement. He wasn’t the best at his position. His claim to fame is for performing the first unassisted triple play ever to end a game. Playing first base for the Detroit Tigers against the Cleveland Indians on May 31, 1927, he caught a line drive by Cleveland's Homer Summa, tagged out Charlie Jamieson trying to get back to first and won the race to second to beat Glenn Myatt, who had dashed with his head down to third. The next unassisted triple play to end a game would not happen again for 82 years when in 2009 Eric Bruntlett turned an unassisted triple play for the Phillies to end a game against the Mets. Later that same season, Neun stole home base twice, once each in a doubleheader against Washington.

After retiring from the major league, he went on to become a player-manager, first for the New York System in 1935, eventually being named a coach for the New York Yankees. He also served as interim manager in 1946, succeeding Bill Dickey, who had replaced Joe McCarthy. Neun became Cincinnati Reds manager in 1947 and guided the Reds to a fifth-place finish (73-81). He was replaced the following year when the club’s record was 44-56. He went back to the Yankees as a scouting supervisor until 1969. He then went to the Kansas City Royals’ Baseball Academy in Sarasota and later scouted for the California Angels and the Milwaukee Brewers. He retired after 65 years in the sport, in 1989.

Stats: A switch-hitter who threw left-handed, Neun batted .289 with two home runs in 945 at bats during his seven-year career.

He married Harminia Grae Warehime in 1930.

He died of pancreatic cancer and is buried at Immanuel/German Lutheran Cemetery.

George Herman (Babe) Ruth (2-6-1895 to 8-16-1948)

Babe Ruth 1935

George Herman “Babe” Ruth was born in Baltimore on West Camden Street, to George Herman Ruth, Sr., and Catherine (Schamberger dod. 1912). His maternal grandfather, Pius Schamberger was a German immigrant. His father, George Sr., began work in the lightning rod business, like his father, but soon moved on to become a bartender (see photo below). One of the saloons where George worked is said to have been positioned approximately at center field in the present day Camden Yards. He met Catherine at the family saloon. George, Jr., was the first of eight children.

The children were raised in 'pigtown' a rough part of Baltimore then and now. George, having little guidance with both parents working the saloon, often found trouble. Unable to manage the child, the parents sent him, at the age of 7, to St. Mary's Industrial School for Boys (a reform school). He spent the next twelve years there. It was also here that he learned to play baseball.

Babe began his career as a pitcher but moved to the outfield, where he gained fame as a slugger. Ruth was nicknamed "Babe" by team-mates on his first pro team, the Baltimore Orioles. This was a result of Jack Dunn, manager of the International League Orioles offering him his first pro contract. He was spotted by the Red Sox after his first season and played with them until 1918....taking them to three World Series. The Boston Red Sox sold him to the New York Yankees in 1920, where he played until 1934, helping them to seven World Series. He became the most famous athlete in the US. Ruth's larger-than-life personality was a hit with fans, and Ruth is often credited with making baseball the dominant American sport of its time.

Ruth retired in 1935; he held the single-season record for home runs (60) until fellow Yankee Roger Maris hit 61 in 1961 and the career record (714) until Hank Aaron passed him in 1974. In 1948 Ruth had an emotional farewell at Yankee Stadium, with the Yankees retiring his uniform with the famous Number 3.

The parents of 'The Sultan of Swat' are interred at Loudon Park Cemetery.

The Ripken Baseball Family

Calvin Ripken, Sr. (1935-1999)

Calvin Edwin Ripken, Jr. (8-24-1960 to)

William 'Billy' Ripken (12-16-1964)

Cal Ripken was born in Havre de Grace, Md. U.S. baseball player. Ripken was born into a baseball family; his father and brother both played professionally. He played for the Baltimore Orioles from 1981. In 1990 he set single-season records for highest fielding percentage by a shortstop (.996) and fewest errors by a shortstop (3), and in 1993 he broke the home-run record for a shortstop. On Sept. 6, 1995, he broke Lou Gehrig's long-standing record of consecutive games played (2,130), eventually running his streak to 2,632 games before taking a day off in 1998. Ripken retired at the end of the 2001 season. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.

It has been a general consensus that the name Ripken is of German origin and Cal is of German heritage. The name may have been spelled Ripchen. To confirm the German ancestry, Cal's ggrandfather was Peter Friedrich Ludwig Ripken (1857-1908) and was from Niedersachsen, Germany. His grandfather Arend (1893-1944) was born in Harford County. Cal's ggmother on his father's side was Affena Lubina Wychgram. She was born in Harford County, but her father Arend (1825-1904) and mother Rena Berends (1825-1903) hailed from Hannover, Germany. Cal's mother also had German roots with his ggggrandfather, John Jacob Gross (1824-1896) being born in Alsace Lorraine and his ggggrandmother, Mary Catherine Klick (1830-1870) being born in Darmstadt. The 1920 Census shows an Alfina Ripken living on a farm on Philadelphia Road in Harford Co. It indicates her father was from Germany.

Charles John "Butch" Schmidt (7-19-1886 to 9-4-1952)

Charles ‘Butch’ Schmidt was born in Baltimore. He was a Major League infielder playing for the Boston Braves and New York Highlanders.

He was a member of the Braves team that in 1914 went from last place to first place in two months, becoming the first team to win a pennant after being in last place on the Fourth of July. The team then went on to defeat the favored Philadelphia Athletics in the 1914 World Series.

According to the WWII Draft registration for Butch Schmidt, after baseball, he operated his own wholesale butcher business at 2120 Harford Rd. He also lived in the 3000 block of Harford Rd. with Amelia Schmidt.

According to the 1900 Census, Charles was the son of Andrew and Margaret Schmidt. His father Andrew was born in Germany in 1852. He lived with his parents and siblings. His father, Andrew, was a butcher and the family lived in the unit block of Harford Road in Baltimore.

Butch Schmidt is buried Druid Ridge Cemetery

August 'Gus' Schoenlein 'Americus' (12-25-1883 to 7-17-1958)-Wrestler

August was the son of Lawrence (dob 1853) and Elizabeth (dob 1856) Schoenlein. They lived at 2217 Baltimore Street. Both parents immigrated from Germany, Lawrence in 1877. Lawrence's occupation on the 1910 census was listed as a carpenter. August lived with his family and his siblings: Elizabeth, Eavi, Margaret [married Leonard J. Lubbehusen, Vice President of Calvert Bank], Annie, Lawrence and Marie. August won the welterweight match at Broadway Institute, St. Leo's Gymnasium in 1901. He won by default. He was an aspirant to the World Welterweight Title in 1908 and captured that title. August was an instructor at the Baltimore Athletic Club (2217 E. Baltimore Street) and as a wrestler was handled by Frank Lynch and Young Hart. August was the World Champion Light Heavyweight wrestler. He attended St. Michael's, Polytechnic Institute and was a graduate of the Maryland Institute.

He resided in Baltimore all of his life. The 1930 census has him living at 3006 Parkside Drive. According to the great-great niece of Americus, August and his father built by hand the house Margaret and Leonard lived in. It was given to them as a wedding gift. The wrestler was at one time, the Princeton wrestling coach. He was also one of the instructors at the first Maryland State Policy Academy, held at Saunders' Range in Baltimore County in 1921. Mr. Somers reported that at that time, the officers were known as deputies for the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles although they were called State Police from the beginning. Gus Schoenlein along with Spike Webb, the Naval Academy Boxing coach, taught the recruits self defense tactics.

Source for the closing paragraph: J. Somers, MSP Retired.

Henry H. Von der Horst (1-28-1852 to 7-28-1905) First Oriole Baseball Team Owner

Henry was born in Baltimore, the son of J.H. Vonderhorst, brewer and owner of the Eagle Brewery, and his wife Johanna.

In 1882 the American Association was formed and Baltimore received a last minute franchise for $50. Baltimore was eager for a pro-baseball team and the search for a local owner led to Harry (Henry R.) Von der Horst, a prosperous brewer. He named the team the Orioles. His father, John, ran the Eagle Brewery, one of the largest in Baltimore at that time.

Henry was not happy with the team’s performance during the first season and he arranged for a new team and a new ballpark. Von der Horst built Union Park, and soon renamed it Oriole Park; it was a wooden, six thousand seat ballpark, at Fifth (later Huntingdon Avenue and later 25th Street) and York Road (later renamed Greenmount Avenue). The park had a big picnic area, beer stands stocked with kegs of Von der Horst’s brew, and a large, clean restaurant. He later built another ballpark on Barclay Street, also named Union Park. The park was supposedly the American Association’s largest, and the first in Baltimore to have double decked grandstands and the first stadium in Baltimore with lettered rows and numbered seats. Prior to this time, it was open seating. The first game played there was on May 11, 1891. The ball team did well for several years, a three-time pennant winner. Von der Horst advertised his ‘Purest Extra ale Standard’ beer on the game programs accepting advertising from others, as well.

He was always a baseball enthusiast and in his youth quite an athlete himself.

After the team was consolidated with the Brooklyn team, Mr. Vonderhorst ceased his active role. He worked a short time with the immigration service and at the time of his death worked for the New York Life Insurance Company.

At his father’s death in 1894 he received a large portion of the brewery. He formed a partnership with Mr. Edward Carrington and Mr. T.R. Clendinen and they formed the Von der Horst Brewing Company which was absorbed by the Gottlieb-Bauernschmidt-Straus Company. See Brewers and Breweries.

Henry Von der Horst died on July 28, 1905 of a heart attack. He was at that time Secretary to the Brooklyn Baseball team. He was living in Brooklyn at the time of his death, but had always maintained a home in Baltimore at 747 W. North Avenue. He was interred in Baltimore. He and his wife Emma had three daughters, Lena, Louisa and Charlotte. They are buried at Baltimore Cemetery.


Source: Baltimore Baseball and Beer, by David Hagberg