Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Yreka Baseball 1915







The Siskiyou County High School Baseball Team 1915







Back, L to R: Mr. Hampton, coach, Carl Rowe, Lawrence Schultz, Brice Long, Bert Orr, Elmir Orr, manager.
Middle: Evert Buckner, Glendon Terwilliger.
Front: Virgil Howard, Gerald Wetzel, Walter Hibbard.


Baseball and sporting events have been popular in Yreka since the earliest days. The first sport to excite fans was local horse racing, but soon baseball and other sports came into the limelight! The following is an excerpt from the 1915 White and Gold Siskiyou County High School Yearbook, p. 64 and 65.

Baseball practice was started the first week of school. Elmir Orr was elected manager of the team; and he arranged a three-game series with the Etna Union High School. The first game was played on the High School grounds at Yreka, September 19th. SCHS came out on the long end of a 13 to 4 score. After the game the team met and elected Carl Rowe captain. On Saturday, September 26th, we journeyed to Etna in autos and played a return game. After a close and exciting game, Etna won by one tally, the socre being 5 to 4. The championship game was played on the SCHS grounds on October 3d. By heavy hitting and good support, Rowe pitched SCHS to victory, by a score of 7 to 3. During all these games our team was supported by the entire student body, who encouraged the players by songs and school yells, and an occasional rally. The following week the Seniors and Juniors played a three-game series with the Sophomores and Freshmen. The upper classmen won the series, by two games out of three.


This spring baseball practice was started in March. Manager Orr has scheduled another series of three games with Etna Union High. The first game will be played in Etna, April 24, and a return game will be played here on May 8. In May the baseball team will take a week's trip into Southern Oregon and play games with the high schools of Ashland, Central Point, and Grant's Pass.


In 1915, if recalled correctly, the only High Schools in Siskiyou County were the County High School and Etna. It wasn't until 1918 after the original High School building was burned that other local High Schools emerged in the County.

For more Yreka sporting events please refer to our book, Yreka, Images of America on pages 108, and 109. You may find the photo of the team with the stage coach of interest, as in 1915 they traveled in "autos".