William Frederick Kirk (April 29, 1877 – March 25, 1927) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

baseball writer, columnist, humorist, poet and songwriter.

Biography

Born in

Mankato, Minnesota Mankato ( ) is a city in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, Blue Earth, Nicollet County, Minnesota, Nicollet, and Le Sueur County, Minnesota, Le Sueur counties in the state of Minnesota. The population was 44,488 according to the 2020 United States ...

, Kirk spent most of his childhood in

Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin Chippewa Falls is a city located on the Chippewa River in Chippewa County in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 14,778 in the 2021 census. Incorporated as a city in 1869, it is the county seat of Chippewa Cou ...

. He graduated from high school there and began his career in journalism on a local paper. His humor column, "Fleeting Fancies", was a popular feature in the ''Chippewa Falls Herald'' and later in the ''Milwaukee Sentinel''. It brought him to the attention of metropolitan dailies and was the name of his first book, published in 1904. Kirk's lyrics drew comparisons with those of other poets, whose work he sometimes parodied:

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...

Eugene Field Eugene Field Sr. (September 2, 1850 – November 4, 1895) was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. He was known as the "poet of childhood". Early life and education Field was born in St. Louis, Missour ...

, and

James Whitcomb Riley James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...

. A longtime newspaperman, Kirk got his start at press outlets in Chippewa Falls and

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

. In 1905 he signed a contract with the Hearst organization and moved to

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, where he was employed at two of William Randolph Hearst's papers: the ''New York American'' and the ''New York Evening Journal''.''Johnny Kling: A Baseball Biography'' by Gil Bogen, (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2006) pp. 249 - 250.
/ref> After returning to Chippewa Falls in 1918, he continued working as a nationally syndicated columnist.''Ironwood Daily Globe'' March 25, 1927. For eighteen years Kirk was distributed by the International Features Syndicate and reached a national audience as he wrote on subjects as diverse as baseball,

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

and divorce. His pieces were seen in everything from "

The Smart Set ''The Smart Set'' was an American literary magazine, founded by Colonel William d'Alton Mann and published from March 1900 to June 1930. Its headquarters was in New York City. During its Jazz Age heyday under the editorship of H. L. Mencken and G ...

" to trade union publications. He was widely known for the features "Little Bobbie's Pa" and "The Manicure Lady". Recent works on baseball's

deadball era In baseball, the dead-ball era was the period from around 1900 to the emergence of Babe Ruth as a power hitter in 1919, when he hit a then-major league record 29 home runs; only three players since 1890 had even hit 20. This era was characterized ...

have had numerous examples of Kirk's sports writing. One can, for instance, read his account of

Fred Merkle Carl Frederick Rudolf Merkle (also sometimes documented as Frederick Charles Merkle; December 20, 1888 – March 2, 1956), nicknamed "Bonehead", was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball from 1907 to 1926. Although he had a lengthy c ...

's infamous blunder or his rhyming tribute to the Flying Dutchman,

Honus Wagner Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner (; February 24, 1874 – December 6, 1955), sometimes referred to as "Hans" Wagner, was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pitts ...

. ''The Unforgettable Season'' by Gordon H. Fleming recounts the 1908 National League pennant race through contemporary press coverage by Kirk and others. In 1911 Kirk published a collection of baseball ballads called ''Right Off The Bat''. In 1918 Kirk moved back to

Chippewa Falls Chippewa Falls is a city located on the Chippewa River (Wisconsin), Chippewa River in Chippewa County, Wisconsin, Chippewa County in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 14,778 in the 2021 census. Incorporated as ...

, desiring to live among old friends and familiar surroundings. He belonged to several fraternal organizations and was a prominent figure in the town. Failing health caused his early retirement, and after an illness of many months he died of cancer in 1927.

The Norsk Nightingale

William F. Kirk is especially remembered for his

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

n dialect poetry, written for a daily column and later published in book form. His byline, "The Norsk Nightingale", was a familiar sight in newspapers across the country. His first collection of dialect verse, ''The Norsk Nightingale'', presented a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

lumberjack from the

Upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...

. It was his most popular book with sixteen editions printed over a period of thirty-five years. At the time of its publication one reviewer wrote: "Novelty and freshness, and no little ingenuity as a parodist, salute us in this volume of dialect verse hailing from the haunts of the lumberjack or, more locally, northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, where dwell so many neo-Americans of

n birth." His second volume of dialect verse, ''Songs of Sergeant Swanson'', reflected the experiences of a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

doughboy Doughboy was a popular nickname for the American infantryman during World War I. Though the origins of the term are not certain, the nickname was still in use as of the early 1940s. Examples include the 1942 song "Johnny Doughboy Found a Rose in ...

in World War I. A book of more limited appeal, it only had one edition.

Scandinavian dialect humor

Kirk's ethnic poetry put forth the notion that

Scandinavian-Americans Nordic and Scandinavian Americans are Americans of Scandinavian and/or Nordic ancestry, including Danish Americans (estimate: 1,453,897), Faroese Americans, Finnish Americans (estimate: 653,222), Greenlandic Americans, Icelandic Americans (esti ...

were good-natured but a little slow. This humorous stereotype had been employed in the 1890s by the playwright Gus Heege in such theatrical works as "Ole Olson" and "Yon Yonson". Scandinavian dialect humor took other forms:

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

sketches, joke books, movies, records and sheet music. In quick succession

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

published "Hello Wisconsin", "Holy Yumpin Yiminy" and "Scandinavia" (Sing Dose Song And Make Dose Music). The popular recording artists

Eleonora and Ethel Olson Between 1905 and 1925 Eleonora and Ethel Olson were well-known figures in Scandinavian communities throughout the United States. They toured extensively in the Midwest, and their recordings on major record labels gained them a nationwide following. ...

were known for their warm depictions of immigrant life in such stories as "The Old Sogning Woman" and "A Norwegian Woman Using the Telephone".

El Brendel Elmer Goodfellow "El" Brendel (March 25, 1890 – April 9, 1964) was an American vaudeville comedian turned movie star, best remembered for his dialect routine as a Swedish immigrant. His biggest role was as "Single-0" in the sci-fi musical ' ...

Yogi Yorgesson Harry Stewart (October 21, 1908 – May 20, 1956), born Harry Skarbo, was an entertainer, singer, comedian, and songwriter. He was best known for his portrayal of Yogi Yorgesson, a comically exaggerated Swedish American.Stan Boreson Stan Boreson (May 5, 1925 – January 27, 2017), the "King of Scandinavian Humor," was a Norwegian-American comedian, accordionist and singer from Everett, Washington. Boreson was an early local TV star in the Seattle area, with a career that includ ...

and countless others have followed in Kirk's footsteps, and there is still a receptive audience — especially among

— for tales of lumberjacks and sergeants with more heart than brain.

Works

Books

*''Fleeting Fancies'' 1904 *''The Norsk Nightingale'' 1905 *''Right Off The Bat'' 1911 *''Songs Of Sergeant Swanson'' 1918 *''Out Of The Current'' 1923 *''The Harp Of Fate'' 1925

Songs

* "Steve" - William F. Kirk and

Harry von Tilzer Harry Von Tilzer (born Aaron Gumbinsky, also known as Harry Gumm; 8 July 1872 – 10 January 1946) was an American composer, songwriter, publisher and vaudeville performer. Early life Von Tilzer was born in Detroit, Michigan. His parents, Sarah ...

(1910) * "I'm Going Down to Beat My Wife" - William F. Kirk and Harry von Tilzer (c. 1910) * "Flirt" - lyrics by

Edward Madden Edward Madden (July 17, 1878 – March 11, 1952) was an American lyricist. Early life Madden was born in New York City and graduated from Fordham University. After graduation, he wrote material for many singers including Fanny Brice and ...

and William F. Kirk, music by Henri Bereny (1911) * "Little White Rose of Mine" - William F. Kirk and Robert Matthews (1911) * "Consolation" - William F. Kirk and Gustave Ferrari (1917) * "Flag of My Heart" - William F. Kirk and Gustave Ferrari (1917) * "The Other Love" - William F. Kirk and Gustave Ferrari (1917) * "The Rainbow of Love" - William F. Kirk and Gustave Ferrari (1917) * "The Harbor of Dreams" - William F. Kirk and Gustave Ferrari (1918) * "A Sunset Song" - William F. Kirk and Gustave Ferrari (1918) * "Glory Land" - William F. Kirk and Gustave Ferrari (1919) * "Red Rose of Love, Bloom Again" - William F. Kirk and J. Stanton Gladwin (1920) * "Speak For Yureself, Yohn" - William F. Kirk and Henry S. Sawyer (1922) : :"Flirt" was in the Broadway musical Little Boy Blue. :"Flag Of My Heart" was recorded by

Reinald Werrenrath Reinald Werrenrath (August 7, 1883 – September 12, 1953) was an American baritone opera singer, who also recorded popular songs and appeared regularly on radio in the early decades of the twentieth century. Werrenrath commonly used the ps ...

for

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

. :"The Rainbow Of Love" was recorded by John McCormack for

.Victor 64732 (New York City: Victor Records, 1917).
/ref>

Gallery

File:Smart set 1911 09.jpg, The Smart Set 1911 File:Holy Yumpin Yiminy 1918.jpg, Holy Yumpin Yiminy 1918

References

External links

* * * *
''The Harp Of Fate''
at

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...

Historic American newspapers

William F. KirkThe Norsk Nightingale:
dialect verse
Little Bobbie's Pa:
humorous prose series
The Manicure Lady:
humorous prose series

Articles and advertisements

"America's Newest Humorist" in ''The National Magazine'' 1904"The Norsk Nightingale" in ''The Publishers Weekly'' 1905William F. Kirk in ''Volume One Magazine'' 2010

William F. Kirk
at the

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

The Norsk Nightingale

Poems by William F. Kirk

Sheet music

"Scandinavia"
at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

.
"Holy Yumpin Yiminy"
at

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

.
"Hello Wisconsin"
at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

.
"Flag of My Heart"
at the Library of Congress
"Glory Land"
at the Library of Congress

Streaming audio

"Flag Of My Heart"
at the Library of Congress
"The Rainbow Of Love"
at the Library of Congress
"Little Boy Blue Medley"
at the Library of Congress
William F. Kirk
at the Internet Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirk, William F. 1877 births 1927 deaths American columnists American humorists Baseball writers Ethnic humour Stereotypes of white people American humorous poets Norwegian migration to North America People from Mankato, Minnesota People from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin Swedish migration to North America Writers from Minnesota Writers from Wisconsin