Charles Willard “Billy” Stage (1868–1946) was an American attorney, politician, professional baseball umpire and amateur track athlete. A native of
Painesville, Ohio
Painesville is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Ohio, United States, located along the Grand River northeast of Cleveland. Its population was 19,563 at the 2010 census.
Painesville is the home of Lake Erie College, Morley Libra ...
, Stage attended
Western Reserve University
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
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*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
, where he tied an amateur world record in the
100-yard dash
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...
. After briefly becoming a
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
baseball umpire in 1894, he finished law school and became a private practice attorney. Stage served in the
Ohio House of Representatives
The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate.
The House of Representatives first met in ...
in 1902–03 before returning to law practice.
In the early 20th century, Stage was an ally of Cleveland mayor
Tom L. Johnson
Tom Loftin Johnson (July 18, 1854 – April 10, 1911) was an American industrialist, Georgist politician, and important figure of the Progressive Era and a pioneer in urban political and social reform. He was a U.S. Representative from 1891 to ...
, and he held several local government posts. He was the Cuyahoga County Solicitor, ran the Municipal Traction Company, and served as Cleveland's public safety director and utilities director. His law practice largely consisted of representing railroad and real estate barons O. P. and M. J. Van Sweringen (known as the
Van Sweringen brothers
Oris Paxton Van Sweringen (April 24, 1879 – November 22, 1936) and Mantis James Van Sweringen (July 8, 1881 – December 12, 1935) were American brothers who became railroad barons in order to develop Shaker Heights, Ohio. They are better know ...
).
Stage was married to Miriam Kerruish, one of the first women to practice medicine in Cleveland. She died in the
Cleveland Clinic fire of 1929. Stage retired after the Van Sweringen brothers lost their fortune in the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. He was sometimes known as Billy Stage, particularly in collegiate athletics and in baseball circles.
Early life
Stage was born in
Painesville, Ohio
Painesville is a city in and the county seat of Lake County, Ohio, United States, located along the Grand River northeast of Cleveland. Its population was 19,563 at the 2010 census.
Painesville is the home of Lake Erie College, Morley Libra ...
, the second of three sons of Stephen K. and Sarah () Stage. His father was a butcher.
[ Stage lived in Painesville his entire childhood, graduating from Painesville High School in 1888.][ Stage's parents were against his desire to go to college, so, at least in the beginning, he had to work to pay his tuition at Adelbert College of Western Reserve (later known as Case Western Reserve University). Still, he ran track, played baseball and captained the first varsity ]football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team the college fielded.[
At a field day hosted by Adelbert in 1890, Stage won seven events, and in six of those events he posted the best time of any college student in ]Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
that year. He ran the 100-yard dash
1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...
in 10.2 seconds. The Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...
(AAU) did not recognize athletic events at Western Reserve at the time Stage enrolled. Students from Adelbert sent telegrams to AAU officials asking them to allow Stage to enter an AAU meet to be held the following week, but the officials were not swayed, and a student from another school won the 100-yard dash with a time of 10.2 seconds. ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' was dismissive of Stage, calling him "a very promising amateur runner" but questioning the accuracy of his 100-yard dash time and saying that he had only trained for two weeks before the Adelbert field day.[
Stage was first allowed to compete in AAU events in 1892, the year he finished an undergraduate degree. In September 1893, Stage was studying at the Western Reserve School of Law when he tied a world record by running the 100-yard dash in 9.8 seconds at an AAU event.] Days later, he ran the 75-yard dash in 7.8 seconds, missing a world record by 0.2 seconds. Around this time, ''The New York Times'' advertised that it would award a gold medal for track excellence. When the paper's board of governors was unable to decide between Stage and a runner who had won two hurdling
Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...
events, they cut the medal and presented half of it to each athlete.[
]
Umpiring career
In April 1894, Stage was still studying law when he was hired by the National League to serve as a professional baseball umpire. Early baseball umpires worked by themselves, and Stage's speed allowed him to get good views of plays anywhere on the field. Hughie Jennings
Hugh Ambrose Jennings (April 2, 1869 – February 1, 1928) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won Nat ...
, a player on the Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
, recalled that Stage might even slide
Slide or Slides may refer to:
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* Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums
* ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998
* ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018
*''Slide'', by Patrick Glees ...
next to a runner if he thought it would give him a better angle to make a close call. After his umpiring debut, ''The Pittsburgh Press
''The Pittsburgh Press'' (formerly ''The Pittsburg Press'' and originally ''The Evening Penny Press'') was a major afternoon daily newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1884 to 1992. At one time, the ''Press'' was the second larg ...
'' noted that he offered "a relief from the usual lazy style of umpiring."
Umpires in that era, however, were often underappreciated; they faced threats of physical violence, and turnover was high. Cleveland Spiders
The Cleveland Spiders were an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team competed at the major league level from 1887 to 1899, first for two seasons as a member of the now-defunct American Association (AA), followed ...
manager Patsy Tebeau
Oliver Wendell "Patsy" Tebeau (December 5, 1864 – May 16, 1918) was an American first baseman, third baseman, and manager in Major League Baseball. later described how players often ran after the umpire to attack him at the end of a game. He recalled that Stage's speed made him the most frustrating umpire to chase. "The whole team took after him time and again, but never once did he fail to get over the back fence ahead of us. We could never catch him. Finally I protested to President Young and Stage resigned," Tebeau said.
Stage dealt with unspecified illnesses several times that year, and whether or not Tebeau had a role in it, Stage cited poor health when he resigned in July 1894 after umpiring 45 games. Over the next year he returned to the field to umpire five times, all in Cleveland, but he did not umpire after 1895.[ Stage participated in a few AAU track events in the fall of 1895 before he was declared ineligible because of his prior work as a professional baseball umpire.][ He turned his attention to studying for the bar exam at that point.]
Law and public service
After finishing law school in 1895, Stage opened a private law practice in Cleveland.[ He met ]Tom L. Johnson
Tom Loftin Johnson (July 18, 1854 – April 10, 1911) was an American industrialist, Georgist politician, and important figure of the Progressive Era and a pioneer in urban political and social reform. He was a U.S. Representative from 1891 to ...
, mayor of Cleveland
The mayor of Cleveland is the head of the executive branch of Local government in the United States, government of the Cleveland, City of Cleveland, Ohio. As the chief executive in Cleveland's Mayor–council government#Strong-mayor government fo ...
, and began to take an interest in city politics and in the Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
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*Botswana Democratic Party
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. Through Johnson, Stage met the Cleveland siblings known as the Van Sweringen brothers, who became railroad barons. Stage became the attorney for the brothers, and this helped him make important contacts within politics and outside of it. In at least one case, Stage helped the brothers make a connection, facilitating their introduction to city solicitor Newton D. Baker
Newton Diehl Baker Jr. (December 3, 1871 – December 25, 1937) was an American lawyer, Georgist,Noble, Ransom E. "Henry George and the Progressive Movement." The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, vol. 8, no. 3, 1949, pp. 259–269. w ...
, who became Cleveland's mayor and the United States Secretary of War
The secretary of war was a member of the President of the United States, U.S. president's United States Cabinet, Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's Presidency of George Washington, administration. A similar position, called either "Se ...
.[
In the first decade of the 20th century, the Van Sweringens were making plans to develop ]Shaker Heights, Ohio
Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 29,439. Shaker Heights is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland, abutting the eastern edge of the city's limits. In July 1911, ...
, a proposed garden community like the one found at Roland Park
Roland Park is a community located in Baltimore, Maryland. It was developed between 1890 and 1920 as an upper-class streetcar suburb. The early phases of the neighborhood were designed by Edward Bouton and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.
History
J ...
in Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, and they had a politically diverse group of financial backers. Stage recalled that he was not convinced when he heard O. P. Van Sweringen's pitch the first time: "He was so doggone timid about the matter that when he left I remarked 'That young man will never make a real estate salesman.'"[ O. P. Van Sweringen later returned to Stage's office better prepared to make his case for the project. After spending several hours laying out his plans, he convinced Stage to become a financial supporter of the proposed development.] The brothers established rail lines to the community and acquired other railroads in the process.[
Stage served as a Democratic member of the Ohio House of Representatives in 1902 and 1903.][ In April 1902, Stage argued for the passage of a resolution that allowed Ohioans to vote on whether the governor should have ]veto
A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...
power. The measure passed the House; it was approved by voters the following year, giving the Governor of Ohio
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
the most extreme veto power in the United States.
After Stage left the Ohio House of Representatives, he served as general counsel, vice president and board member for the Cleveland Union Terminal (later known as Tower City Center
Tower City Center is a large mixed-use facility in Downtown Cleveland, Ohio, on its Public Square. The facility is composed of a number of interconnected office buildings, including Terminal Tower, the Avenue shopping mall, Jack Cleveland Casino, ...
). He was on the boards of directors for entities including the Vaness Company, Cleveland Interurban Railroad
RTA Rapid Transit (generally known as The Rapid) is a rapid transit, light rail, and bus rapid transit system. The system is owned and operated by the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA).
The system serves Cleveland and surrou ...
, and the Cleveland Traction Terminals Company.[ He was also a close advisor to Mayor Johnson and served as Cuyahoga County Solicitor and director of the Municipal Traction Company, which was the holding company for the Cleveland railway system. Stage left city politics after Johnson did not win re-election in 1909, but he returned to city service under a Democratic mayor in 1911, taking a post as Cleveland's director of public safety and then as the first city utilities director.][
Shaker Heights survives as a community, but the Van Sweringen brothers lost most of their holdings in 1935, when they defaulted on loans totaling $48 million (equivalent to $ today) as a result of the ]Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
.
Personal life
In 1903, Stage married a physician, Miriam Gertrude Kerruish, and they had four children: Charles Jr, William, Miriam and Edward.[ Kerruish practiced as an ]obstetrician
Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...
and pediatrician
Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...
, and many of her patients were indigent. She was one of the first women to practice medicine in Cleveland and was the first woman credentialed to practice at Cleveland City Hospital. Kerruish's father William was the son of immigrants from the Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
and, like Stage, had worked his way through Western Reserve to become a lawyer.[ Miriam Kerruish's brother, Sheldon Quayle Kerruish, was also an attorney.]
Miriam Kerruish was also active in civic organizations. She helped organize the Women’s Protective Association of Cleveland and was on the board of trustees of the Woman’s Hospital and the Maternity Hospital Council.[ She died in the Cleveland Clinic fire of 1929.]
Later life
A few years after his wife's death, Stage inherited a large tract of land from the Kerruish family in what is now known as Cleveland's Lee–Miles
Lee–Miles is a historical area on the Southeast side of Cleveland, Ohio, comprising the two neighborhoods of Lee–Harvard and Lee–Seville. Once an independent municipality known as Miles Heights, it was annexed by Cleveland after a referendu ...
neighborhood. Stage donated the land to the city and Kerruish Park was established.[
Stage retired when the Van Sweringen brothers lost their holdings during the ]Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. He died in 1946, never having remarried.[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stage, Charles W.
1868 births
1946 deaths
People from Painesville, Ohio
Case Western Reserve University School of Law alumni
Case Western Spartans baseball players
Case Western Spartans football players
Case Western Spartans track and field
Members of the Ohio House of Representatives
Major League Baseball umpires
Lawyers from Cleveland
Baseball players from Cleveland
Track and field athletes from Cleveland
Players of American football from Cleveland