Elmer L. Brandell (September 3, 1897 – March 4, 1958) was an American baseball player who played for the

All Nations All Nations was a Barnstorm (athletics), barnstorming professional baseball team that toured the Midwest from 1912 to 1918, and again in 1920 and 1921, and from 1923 to 1925. It derived its name from the fact that its team included players of seve ...

as a catcher, played for the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, and eventually became the team Captain of the Michigan Wolverines baseball team by 1917. In fact, Coach

Carl Lundgren Carl Leonard "Lundy" Lundgren (February 16, 1880 – August 21, 1934) was an American baseball and football player and coach. Lundgren played football and baseball for the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign and played eight seasons o ...

announced Brandell was "One of the most valuable men" that he had ever coached, "playing with ability in almost any position on the nine."The MICHIGANENSIAN 20-1916 Pages 74 and 307 During the uncertainty of the War and the 1917 season, it was rumored that Brandell was being scouted by former University of Michigan coach

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

,"Rickey Hadn't Heard of Brandell's Plan" The Daily Times News, Ann Arbor, MI, Friday, April 27, 1917 Page 6, Column 3
/ref> and the article went on to say that Brandell was "the best infielder, and hitter Michigan has seen since the days of the versatile (George) Sisler." Brandell left the Wolverines to play in the minor leagues for the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

, a Double-A Team in the International League, for at least one year before most baseball players were called off to fight in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Some sources report that Michigan had no season during 1917, others show Brandell was named the Captain, and that he was listed on the roster for that year. After his stint with the Newark Bears, Brandell followed many of his fellow players into War. He would return from the war and play baseball again, even showing up on the rolls of Philadelphia's national team. On April 2 of 1919, however, he wired

Jack Coombs John Wesley Coombs (November 18, 1882 – April 15, 1957), nicknamed "Colby Jack" after his alma mater, was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher for the Philadelphia Athletics (1906–14), Broo ...

to say he was quitting baseball "for keeps" and would return to his home and a new business opportunity in Anoka, Minnesota."Michigan Shortstop Out of Baseball; Phils Lose" Washington Times, Washington, DC, Thursday, April 3, 1919, Page 18, Column 5
/ref> In the mid-1920s, Brandell eventually found himself catching for his long-time friend from the

baseball team, John Donaldson in 1925 when they both played for a team in Bertha, Minnesota known as the Fishermen.

Personal life

Born and raised in Anoka, Minnesota, Brandell graduated from there in 1912 and went to

Carleton College Carleton College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota. Founded in 1866, it had 2,105 undergraduate students and 269 faculty members in fall 2016. The 200-acre main campus is between Northfield and the 800-acre Cowling ...

. He later went to the University of Michigan where he played and lettered in both football and baseball. He was also part of the fraternity

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly known as Lambda Chi, is a college fraternity in North America which was founded at Boston University in 1909. It is one of the largest social fraternities in North America, with more than 300,000 lifetime members a ...

. He received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from the University of Michigan in 1917. He was a veteran of

, however, a Bemidji, Minnesota newspaper outed him as receiving "deferred classification by reason of being already in the Military Service.." The paper went on to call the job a "bomb proof job" and was likely of a clerical nature."Northwest Men in 'Bomb Proof' Jobs: Shown In Report" Bemidji Daily Pioneer, Bemidji, Minnesota, Monday Evening, October 7, 1918, Page 4, Column 1
/ref> On September 5, 1918, he married Miss Bertha Revolia of Cambridge, Minnesota, at a ceremony in St. Paul."Elmer Brandell..." Little Falls Herald, Little Falls, Minnesota, Friday, September 13, 1918, Page 1, Column 1
/ref> According to the University records, after playing baseball, he became a sales representative for McLaughlin Gormley King Co. in Minneapolis. Michigan's Alumnus magazine lists him as the Vice-President of the Cleary Hill Mines Company in Fairbanks, Alaska. He was also at the Gregory Bates Mining Company at Black Hawk, Colorado, in 1936. Newspapers also have him living in Seattle, and in Chicago where he ultimately died.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brandell, Elmer 1897 births 1958 deaths All Nations players Michigan Wolverines baseball players Baseball players from Minnesota People from Anoka, Minnesota 20th-century African-American sportspeople