Baseball Battles Between Pelham Firemen and the Ossining All-Stars in 1926

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Spring, and thus baseball, is just around the corner.  This week Pitchers and Catchers for both the Yankees and the Mets reported for Spring Training.  It is, therefore, time for another story regarding baseball of old in the little Town of Pelham.  

For many years in the early 20th century, firemen in the Village of North Pelham had a baseball team known as the Pelham Firemen (aka the "Smokeaters").  The team had a storied history and became a Pelham athletic institution that placed a number of ball players includiing Paddy Smith and Bob Cremins in the Major League and others such as Ed Lohman in what we would call today the Minors.

In 1926 and 1927, the Pelham Firemen repeatedly battled a team known as the Ossining All-Stars for bragging rights within Westchester County.  The baseball battles between the two teams were known as "old time feuds" and typically involved thrilling, and surprisingly good, baseball entertainment for very large crowds of spectators.  The local newspaper, The Pelham Sun, carried lengthy and breathless accounts of the games.

During the 1926 season, the two teams were evenly matched.  They played a series of five games against each other during the season.  At the end of the season the two teams played three of those five games as a three-game series.  The Ossining All-Stars won two of the games and, thus, claimed the Westchester County Title.

The storied history of the Pelham Firemen nine is ripe for telling and is now the subject of research so it can be told in detail as part of Pelham lore! 

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"Ossining All Stars To Battle Firemen
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Old time feuds will be resumed again Sunday when the Pelham Firemen nine journey to Ossining to meet the Ossining All-Stars.  During last season, these two teams met no less than five times, and each contest proved to be a thriller.  In the final three game series, Ossining claimed the County title by virtue of their wins in the majority of the games in this series.

This season the contests should prove equal in every respect to the exciting exhibitions staged by these teams last year.  Manager Bill Broege will have Lohman ready for action on the firing line, having fully recovered from his accident at Mt. Kisco last Sunday.  Should these teams prove as evenly matched as last season, no doubt there will be another series staged.

On Memorial Day, the 'Smokeaters' will travel to Ridgefield, Conn. where they will meet the A. C. nine of that town.  Another hard battle is expected."

Source:  Ossining All Stars To Battle Firemen, The Pelham Sun, May 27, 1927, p. 14, col. 3. 

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Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."