John Avery Haldeman (December 2, 1855–September 17, 1899) was a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

who played one game for

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

Louisville Grays The Louisville Grays were a 19th-century United States baseball team and charter member of the National League, based in Louisville, Kentucky. They played two seasons, 1876 and 1877, and compiled a record of 65–61. Their home games were a ...

in the

1877 Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed ''Empress of India'' by the ''Royal Titles Act 1876'', introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great ...

season.

Early life

Haldeman was born on December 2, 1855 in

Pewee Valley, Kentucky Pewee Valley is a home rule-class city in Oldham County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 1,456 at the 2010 census. History The site of present-day Pewee Valley was first settled as a stop on the Louisville and Frankfort Railroad in 1 ...

.Connelley and Coulter, p. 12 He was the son of ''Louisville Times'' (later ''

Louisville Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is the highest circulation newspape ...

'') owner and

president

Walter Newman Haldeman Walter Newman Haldeman (April 27, 1821 – May 14, 1902) was an American newspaper publisher, owner, and businessman from Louisville, Kentucky, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. He was the founder of the ''Louisville Courier'', which would la ...

.Cook, p. 122 He attended

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexington ...

and took an active part in athletics there. After graduation, he became the business manager for his father's newspaper. He also played

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for the Eagle Juniors, an amateur baseball team in

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

.Cook, p. 157

1877 baseball season

On July 3, 1877, while Haldeman was reporting on the Louisville Grays baseball team, he made his only appearance in a Major League game. Louisville

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

Bill Craver William H. Craver (June 1844 – June 17, 1901) was an American Major League Baseball player from Troy, New York who played mainly as a middle infielder, but did play many games at catcher as well during his seven-year career. He played for seven ...

was unable to play in the game, and Grays manager

Jack Chapman John Curtis "Jack" Chapman (May 8, 1843 – June 10, 1916) was an American Major League Baseball player and manager who was born in Brooklyn, New York. He began playing in the National Association when he played for the Brooklyn Atlantics a ...

decided to move second baseman

Joe Gerhardt John Joseph Gerhardt (February 14, 1855 – March 11, 1922) was an American professional baseball second baseman whose career spanned from 1873 to 1893. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 11 major league clubs. Early years ...

to shortstop and ask Haldeman to play second base. Haldeman did not manage a hit in four at bats against

Cincinnati Red Stockings The Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) 1867� ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Candy Cummings William Arthur "Candy" Cummings (October 18, 1848 – May 17, 1924) was an American professional baseball player. He played as a pitcher in the National Association and National League. Cummings is widely credited with inventing the curveball. ...

, but he did sacrifice teammate

Orator Shafer George W. Shafer ometimes spelled ''Shaffer'' or ''Schaefer''(October 4, 1851 – January 21, 1922) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed "Orator", because he was an avid speaker, Shafer played for 10 teams in four different majo ...

to third base in the sixth inning; Shafer scored later in the inning. Haldeman also committed three errors in the field. The game marked the only time in baseball history that a reporter covering a team played in the game they were covering.Cook, p. 98 The Grays were having an excellent season until a seven-game losing streak in late August, prompting Haldeman to write a column in the ''Courier-Journal'' questioning the reason for the team's slide.Cook, p. 118 The poor play continued on a road trip later in the season, causing the team to fall out of first place in the league and lose the pennant race. This prompted Haldeman to question the performance of players such as pitcher

Jim Devlin James Alexander Devlin (June 6, 1849 – October 10, 1883) was an American Major League Baseball player who played mainly as a first baseman early in his career, then as a pitcher in the latter part. He played for three teams during his five ...

, who he claimed had not used his best pitch during the entire road trip. He also openly questioned whether the team had deliberately thrown the pennant race. Haldeman's accusations eventually gained traction, and four players – Devlin, Craver, Al Nichols, and George Hall – were found to have thrown games.Cook, p. 135

Later life and death

On September 7, 1887, Haldeman married Anna Buchanan, who was the great-great-granddaughter of Kentucky pioneer

William Whitley William Whitley (August 4, 1749 – October 5, 1813), was an American pioneer in what became Kentucky, in the colonial and early Federal period. Born in Virginia, he was the son of Scottish Presbyterian immigrants from northern Ireland, then the U ...

. The couple had three daughters: Jean Bruce (Haldeman) Wendling, Bessie Avery Haldeman, and Isabel Brown Haldeman. Haldeman died in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

on September 17, 1899 and was buried in Louisville's

Cave Hill Cemetery Cave Hill Cemetery is a Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of buri ...

."John Haldeman". Baseball-Reference.com

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haldeman, John 1855 births 1899 deaths 19th-century American newspaper people Baseball players from Kentucky Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery Louisville Grays players People from Pewee Valley, Kentucky Washington and Lee University alumni 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American journalists American male journalists