Saturday, May 18th, 1912.
6,500 spectators assemble at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada to watch the inaugural game of the Ottawa Baseball Club. They are the first professional team in the city since the Ottawa Wanderers played for a little more than half a season in 1898.
The Senators were returning from a series against the St.Thomas Saints that saw both teams pick up a win.
It was a chilly afternoon, the daytime high was recorded at only 11 degrees Celsius. The Ottawa fans, starved for professional baseball would not be deterred and showed up en masse. The attendance that afternoon would more than triple the average that the Ottawa Wanderers had when they played in the city 14 years earlier.
The Ottawa Baseball Club, or “The Ottawas” as the were referred to in the local newspapers were playing their first game at Lansdowne Park. Their opponent on this day would be the reigning champion Berlin Busy Bees.
The Ottawas would strike early and often, taking the first game in their history by a final score of 7-1. Short Stop Art Schwind would lead the way by going 2/4 and scoring 3 runs. Defensively he would record 4 Put Outs.
Pitcher Fred Herbert, a native of Chicago, Illinois would explode out of the gate for Ottawa. Striking out 6 and only giving up 4 hits through 9 innings. On the other side of the plate, he would go 1/3 and score a run. He was magnificent defensively as well, being credited with 7 assists for the afternoon.
After the game, members of the Berlin club stated their belief that Herbert would be ending the year in the Big Leagues.
The praise was welcome to Ottawa Manager, Short Stop and 2nd Baseman Lou Cook, but he assured the media that they would not be allowing him to depart for any reason.
With their first game in club history officially in the books, they would take a days rest before resuming their season on Monday, May 20th when they played host to the Brantford Red Sox.
PHOTOS FROM THE DAY
ALSO ON THIS DAY
An interesting event also occurred on Saturday, May 18th, 1912.
The Detroit Tigers were playing a game against the Philadelphia Athletics. Ty Cobb, who had been serving a suspension for going in to the crowd and brutally assaulting a spectator, was kicked out of Shibe Stadium. His Detroit Tigers teammates, disgusted at the treatment he was getting, took off their uniforms and joined him as a form of protest. The Tigers would end up sending out a team of youngsters and get annihilated by the Athletics by a final score of 24-2.