I don't know what article this was but send anyway. Sue Neill drifter@okplus.com http://www.wewoka.com/drifter.htm -----Original Message----- From: Vickie Neill Taylor <flip@okplus.com> To: OKGEN-L@rootsweb.com <OKGEN-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Wednesday, April 25, 2001 11:43 AM Subject: Re: [OKGEN ] 70 Years Ago...Dec 12, 2000...Seminole Producer >I'll scan this article and send to you if you will send me a message off >list. > > >Vickie Neill Taylor >flip@okplus.com > > >==== OKGEN Mailing List ==== >Oklahoma Vital Records Information - >http://www.rootsweb.com/~okgenweb/vital/vital.html >Oklahoma Census Records - >http://www.rootsweb.com/~okgenweb/census.htm > >

Mom, Be extremely carful of opening attachments. Due to the virus scar that was connected with the original request for this one, I typed it instead of scanning and sending an attachment. Dec. 12, 1930 Seminole people went plum crazy about the baseball way back in 1910-11-12. In fact, the whole state of Oklahoma caught the fever in those years on the great national pastime. Those were years when Seminole played real big league baseball, such as they have never done since and, while the whole state was playing "good" baseball. Seminole fans went them one better and backed a team that defeated the leaders in the state league. There was not much more than a handful of people in Seminole at that time, but they were good sports and real fans, and in those days, every man, woman and child within a radius of 25 miles took a couple of days off and drove to Seminole to take in a good ballgame. It was in 1910 when all this trouble started and the "town" team made such a good showing that everybody here went baseball-minded and began to build up a stronger and better aggregation for 1911, and then put the finishing touches on it in 1912 when the "Seminole Indians" or "Seminole Chieftains" took on all comers from any to the cities and defeated them all, including Oklahoma City and Little Rock. Back in 1910, practically every town and city in the state had a fair baseball team. The sprit seemed to move them all at about the same time and there was developed at that time hundreds of above the average ball players all over Oklahoma. A sate league was formed. Holdenville, Wewoka, Okemah, Prague, all much larger than Seminole at that time, had strong organizations and were looking for games. So Seminole decided to get its feet wet. Seminole was blessed with a number of good substantial baseball fans and under the leadership of Ed P. SMITH, George and Jim KILLINGSWORTH and a number of others, they began to form a nucleus of a team much to their surprise found a number of boys within a reasonable distance of the city who had or were playing a strong game and with the addition of a few, they picked up in other towns by furnishing them jobs here, Seminole was soon playing cities baseball. The addition of Jim THORPE, a Sac and Fox Indian put the Seminole team in a commanding position and they defeated everything in this territory during the yea of 1911. THORPE later went to Carlysle and became one of the greatest players and all around athlete in the country. He was a member of the Olympic team at Stockholm in 1912. Among those pictured as members of the team were Charles ALDRIDGE, Henry HARBER, Floyd INGRAM, Ed SMITH, T. H. (Pap) SMITH and Ambrose MONTGOMERY. It was in 1912 that Seminole beat the world. They lost Jim THORPE but they added a number of other good men. The years of 1912 was by far the greatest baseball year Seminole ever saw and probably ever will see. Out of a total of 45 games played the Chieftains won 38 and most of the seven games lost were due to the fact that the team was traveling and did not get sufficient rest and sleep. Vickie Neill Taylor flip@okplus.com Vickie Neill Taylor flip@okplus.com