The Pittsburgh Rebels were a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

club based in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

, from 1913 to 1915. The team was a member of the short-lived

Federal League The Federal League of Base Ball Clubs, known simply as the Federal League, was an American professional baseball league that played its first season as a minor league in 1913 and operated as a "third major league", in competition with the e ...

. The team was originally called the Pittsburgh Stogies after an earlier Pittsburgh team that played in the Union Association in 1884, but became known as the Rebels by the end of the 1914 season. The team played all of its home games at Exposition Park, located on Pittsburgh's Northside. The Pittsburgh Pirates of the

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 ...

left the stadium for

Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers ...

in 1909. After the Rebels left Exposition Park in 1915, the field was demolished and its property became part of the adjacent rail yards.

History

Origins

The team's origins can be traced to the

Pittsburgh Filipinos The Pittsburgh Filipinos were a minor league baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team began play in 1912 in the United States Baseball League. The team played all of its home games at Exposition Park, located on Pittsburgh's No ...

a short-lived minor league club in the independent United States Baseball League in 1912. The team was known as the Pittsburgh Filipinos in honor of their manager,

Deacon Phillippe Charles Louis "Deacon" Phillippe (originally Phillippi) (May 23, 1872 – March 30, 1952) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Louisville Colonels and the Pittsburgh Pirates. Biography Born in Rural Retreat, Virginia to Andrew ...

, a former

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 ...

with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Filipinos finished in first place during the league's inaugural season, which lasted only one month, with a 19-7 record.

Federal League

The team joined the Federal League, which launched as an independent minor league in 1913, and were renamed the Stogies. They finished the season in last place with a 49–71 record in a 120-game season. In early 1914, the Federal League president

James A. Gilmore James Alexander Gilmore (March 2, 1876 – March 19, 1947) was an American businessman who served as president of baseball's Federal League when it attempted to become a third major league, alongside the American League and National League, i ...

discussed with Robert B. Ward, owner of the

Brooklyn Tip Tops The Brooklyn Tip-Tops were a team in the short-lived Federal League of professional baseball from 1914 to 1915. The team's name came from Tip Top Bread, a product of Ward Baking Company, which was also owned by team owner Robert Ward. They were so ...

, that he was concerned about the financial backing of the Stogies' franchise. Ward then found Edward Gwinner, a railroad contractor with deep pockets. Gwinner was then partnered with architect C. B. Comstock as the new backers of the Pittsburgh Stogies.

Doc Gessler Henry Homer "Doc" Gessler (December 23, 1880 – December 27, 1924) was a Major League Baseball player born in Indiana, Pennsylvania, who began his eight-season career, at the age of 22, with the Detroit Tigers in . He played mainly as a right fie ...

was named the Stogies' manager. However, he was fired after only one month. Gessler was replaced by

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

, Rebel Oakes. The team then took on the nickname of the Rebels, after Oakes took over as the team's manager. With some strong financial backing, the team did not fare so well on the field. They ended up in seventh place (next to last) that season, with a 64-86 record. During the 1915 season, the team finished in third position with an 86-67 mark, 0.5 games behind the first place

Chicago Whales The Chicago Whales were a professional baseball team based in Chicago. They played in the Federal League, a short-lived "third Major League", in 1914 and 1915. They originally lacked a formal nickname, and were known simply as the "Chicago Fed ...

, who would go on to win the league pennant. That season Frank Allen pitched the first

no hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

of the season, after the Rebels defeated the St. Louis Terriers 2-0 on April 24, 1915.

Notable players

Some Rebels players had American and

experience.

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 ...

Cy Barger Eros Bolivar "Cy" Barger (May 18, 1885 – September 23, 1964) was a right-handed starting pitcher and left-handed batter who played in the American League for the New York Highlanders (1906–07); in the National League with the Brooklyn teams S ...

played two seasons with the

New York Highlanders The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

(later renamed the New York Yankees) and another three seasons with the Brooklyn Superbas-Dodgers before joining the Rebels. Meanwhile, fellow pitcher

Howie Camnitz Samuel Howard Camnitz (August 22, 1881 – March 2, 1960) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies (1913) in the National League and for the Pittsburgh Rebels (1914–15) in the Fede ...

played for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1904 until 1913 and was a member of their 1909 World Series team. Catcher Claude Berry had played for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

in 1904 and the Philadelphia Athletics in 1906-07.

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 ...

Ed Konetchy Edward Joseph Konetchy (September 3, 1885 – May 27, 1947), nicknamed "Big Ed" and "The Candy Kid", was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball for a number of teams, primarily in the National League, from to . He played for the St. L ...

, played for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

and the Pirates, before playing for the Rebels. After the team and the league folded in 1915, Konetchy continued his playing career with the Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies.

References

External links