Charles Franklin Bartson (March 13, 1865 – June 9, 1936) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played for the Chicago Pirates of the

Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...

(PL) during the 1890 baseball season. Over his PL career, Bartson pitched to a 9–10 win–loss record with an earned run average of 4.11 and 52

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s. After his PL career, he formed a Western Association team in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

, and served as Republican Central Committee chairman in the city. He died of

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

on June 9, 1936.

Biography

Charles Franklin Bartson was born on March 13, 1865, in

. Bartson began his professional career for the Omaha Omahogs of the Western League in 1887, when he also played for the

St. Joseph Reds ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

of the same league. Combined, Bartson had a 11–18 win–loss record with a 5.08 earned run average (ERA) over 253.1

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

. As a batter, Bartson had a .259 batting average with 35

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and 18

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s scored. In 1888, Bartson played for the Buffalo Bisons of the International Association for Professional Base Ball Players and the

Peoria Canaries Peoria can refer to: People * Peoria tribe, Native American tribe Places United States * Peoria, Arizona, largest city in the U.S. with that name; named after Peoria, Illinois. ** Peoria Unified School District **Peoria Sports Complex **Peoria ...

of the

Central Interstate League The Central Interstate League was an independent minor league baseball league that operated from 1888 to 1890. William H. Allen (1888), Henderson Ridgely (1889), E.T. McNeally (1890) and Fitzpatrick (1890) served as the league presidents. Th ...

. In 1889, he struck out 12 Chicago White Stockings players of the National League (NL) in an

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

. He spent the 1889 season with the Peoria club. Jimmy Ryan, a player on Chicago's roster who struck out three times against Bartson, remembered his name when the Chicago Pirates of the

(PL) searched for additional pitchers in 1890. Bartson made his PL debut for the Pirates on May 14, 1890, in a game against the Buffalo Bisons that Chicago won 4–1. In July, Bartson was traded to Buffalo to help their pitching staff, though he voided the trade, a condition possible under league structure. Bartson reasoned it was better to pitch once a week for a good team than once every three days for a bad one. He played his final PL game on September 16, 1890. Pirates manager Charles Comiskey recommended him for release after Bartson got drunk and verbally abused Cap Anson, so much so that police had to remove Bartson from the grounds, in a NL game Bartson attended during an off-day; Comiskey stated "his work was not of such a kind as to warrant his retention" anyway. Bartson did not make many starts with Chicago, as pitchers Mark Baldwin and Silver King started 113 of the club's 138 total games. He finished the year with 20 games started, an ERA of 4.11, and a 9–10 win–loss record, while having a batting average of .167 with 13 hits over 90

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

s. According to author Ed Koszarek, his pitching numbers were indicative of being a "third reserve pitcher on a staff", and were far below the Pirates' level, and his batting numbers were below normal for a pitcher. After the season, he played for the

Quincy Ravens The Quincy Gems was the primary name of the minor league baseball team in Quincy, Illinois, that played in various seasons from 1883 to 1973. Quincy teams played as members of the Midwest League (1960–1973), Illinois-Indiana-Iowa League (19 ...

of the Illinois–Iowa League (IIL), the Minneapolis Millers of the Western Association (WA), and the St. Paul Apostles/Duluth Whalebacks of the WA in 1891. In 1892, Bartson recorded a 17–13 win–loss record and a 1.30 ERA over 242.1 innings pitched for the

Rock Island-Moline Twins Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

of the IIL. He continued to play for several Midwestern minor-league teams until his early thirties. Bartson stood at and weighed . After his professional baseball career, he formed a WA team in Peoria with Ed Dugdale, and later served as president of Peoria Three-I club. In politics, he was a city official in Peoria and served as Republican Central Committee chairman. At the time of his death, he was working for the Empire Cigar Store in the city. Bartson died on June 9, 1936, in Peoria, of

, and is interred at

Springdale Cemetery Springdale Cemetery is a historic, non-sectarian, active cemetery in the United States city of Peoria, Illinois. It was chartered in 1855, received its first interment in 1857. Almost 78,000 individuals are buried at the cemetery. It contains a p ...

in Peoria.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartson, Charlie 1865 births 1936 deaths 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Chicago Pirates players St. Joseph Reds players Omaha Omahogs players Peoria Reds players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Peoria Canaries players Quincy Ravens players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players St. Paul Apostles players Duluth Whalebacks players Rock Island-Moline Twins players Marinette Badgers players Peoria Distillers players Baseball players from Peoria, Illinois