- All Nations
All Nations was the name of a barnstorming
professional baseball team that toured the Midwest from 1912 to 1918. It derived its name from the fact that its team including players of several nationalities, including blacks and whites, Indians, Hawaiians, Orientals, and Latin Americans. The team was founded by the Hopkins Brothers sporting goods stores. One day, however, the team's manager absconded with the daily gate proceeds.J. L. Wilkinson , who played for the team, replaced him as manager, later becoming owner as well. The team was based out ofKansas City andDes Moines .Under the management of Wilkinson, the All Nations' approach to the game was more serious than that of many teams who followed
Abe Saperstein 's farcical approach. They did however provide additional entertainment for their audiences, including having a dance band to play before the games and wrestlers to perform after their games.Wilkinson transported the team from location to location in a $25,000 Pullman car, which also held portable
bleacher s which would be set up for the game. He did not pay for rooms for his players, however, instead having them sleep the night before the game in tents they brought with them on the field on which they would play.Under Wilkinson, the team became "strong enough to give any major league club a nip and tuck battle", according to "Sporting Life". It went 3-1 against the
Indianapolis ABC's in 1916 and splitting a series with theChicago American Giants .Its most notable players over the years included
John Donaldson ,José Méndez ,Cristóbal Torriente , andNewt Allen . The team encountered difficulties duringWorld War I , when it found most of its better players were drafted, and was finally disbanded in 1918.References
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Jose_Mendez_1889 The Ballplayers - Jose Mendez at BaseballLibrary.com]
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=LT2pirW9nSYC&pg=PA134&lpg=PA134&dq=all+nations+baseball&source=web&ots=Z_l2XfGFwf&sig=0J-IcnBkTEC01zOMbvfLX1jXvmM#PPA124,M1 Don't Look Back: Satchel Paige in the Shadows of Baseball By Mark Ribowsky]
*Riley, James A. "The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues." New York:Carroll & Graf, 1994. ISBN 0-7867-0065-3.
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