Strike! The Secret History of Elmira's 1840s Bowling Saloons

By Milo Miller, CCHS Volunteer

Lucy Rossi Cesari, 1950s, CCHS Collection

Because bowling surged in popularity during the twentieth-century, many in today’s Elmira would be surprised to learn that the sport first became popular downtown in the 1840s. In those days, bowling was not played in lanes with automated pinsetters. Instead, it was more likely for city goers to play the game in establishments known as bowling saloons. Bowling saloons typically had an upstairs that contained a standard saloon along with bowling alleys in the basement. In the alleys, working-class men would meet, bowl, drink, gamble, and socialize. Due to these activities, those who gathered at the bowling saloons developed unsavory reputations, influencing the public perception of the sport.

Before the 1830s, when New York City’s Knickerbocker Hotel began to house indoor lanes, bowling was an exclusively outdoor sport in the United States. Often, establishments had side lots where they hosted lawn bowling on bowling greens. With the rise of bowling saloons, this changed rapidly, and indoor alleys sprang up across the country during the 1840s. By 1850, New York City alone had over 400 indoor alleys, all of which had sprung up within a 15-year span. This rise in popularity catalyzed changes to bowling that have carried over to today’s game. On bowling greens, early Americans usually played nine-pin bowling rather than the now-popular ten-pin game. During the 1840s boom of indoor bowling, several cities and states outlawed nine-pin bowling in an attempt to curb the drinking and gambling that became associated with the sport.  Many alleys quickly switched to ten-pin bowling to circumvent these laws. Even though lawmakers caught on to this change quickly, banning all forms of bowling, this switch resulted in the ten-pin game becoming the more popular option in the United States.

In Elmira, early bowling matched the objectionable reputation that plagued bowling alleys nationwide.

Stone Bowling Ball, CCHS Collection

Though the location and inception date of the first bowling alley in Elmira are unknown, the first mention of the game in Elmira’s newspapers occurred in The Elmira Gazette on January 2nd, 1841. In the story, a writer for the Elmira Gazette lists a number of places he thought that young men ought not go, explaining that when he saw the “young entering the gin palaces, or the rum shops, or the illuminated billiard rooms, or the dark bowling alleys...I could wish some spirit would put the thought into their minds- ‘Never go there.’”

This reputation prevailed for years- in one extreme instance, quoting a Baptist pastor, Elder Knapp, an 1846 article from the Elmira Gazette claimed “the devil was rolling ten pins, and the little devils [set] them up; and that the devil rolled three balls, the first of Infidelity, the second Universalism, and the third ball of Damnation.” By 1850, it seems there were several bowling saloons in Elmira. On Main Street, in the Globe Hotel, R.P. Kinyon and E.A. Darling operated one bowling saloon until the hotel burned down in 1850. On Lake Street, Thomas B. Borden operated an alley in Knickerbocker Hall, and Miles Cook operated the Old Soldier’s Bowling Saloon, which appeared to be quite popular.

Unfortunately, bowling at the Old Soldier’s may have claimed a child’s life in Elmira. An 1854 story in The Elmira Gazette reported that a boy named Thomas Doolin was hit in the stomach by a ball. Though he was still alive, the newspaper was not optimistic about his recovery. There likely were other Elmira bowling saloons that went unreported. In a unique case, after a Maine ban on alcohol an 1855 article in the Elmira Advertiser speaks of an underground alley on Water Street that flew a white banner, “though not [one] of truce,” exclaiming “Maine Law Drinks Below.” The days of the bowling saloon were relatively short, losing popularity quickly after the 1850s. In Elmira, they leave few traces, existing only in old newspapers and business directories.

Elmira Bowling Alley, 1900-1932, CCHS Collection

 

Drew "Lefty" Rader

 by Susan Zehnder, Education Director

Wouldn’t it be great to travel back in time to find out the missing part of a story? A case in point involves "Lefty" Rader, a local baseball star, whose 1921 foray into the major leagues lasted two innings of one game.

"Lefty" was born Drew Leon Rader in 1901 to parents James Benjamin Franklin Rader and Ida May Vanatta Rader of Elmira. His father was a fire fighter then worked as an engineer for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Rader was the couple's only child. They lived on Jefferson Street, later moving to Pennsylvania Avenue to live above the Red Brick Food Mart, a small neighborhood grocery they owned and operated. 

Former Red Brick Food Mart

Young  Rader attended Grammar School Number 9 and finished 8^th grade in 1914. He entered Elmira Free Academy that fall. In the EFA yearbook for 1920, it notes that senior Rader was “slow and steady” in his academic pursuits, which may account for why he shows up as a sophomore in the 1916, 1917, and 1918 yearbooks. He graduated when he was 20 years old in 1920.

Grammar School, No. 9

A 21^st century lens suggests World War I, the 1918 flu pandemic, or lack of academic skills may have slowed his progress, but there’s no evidence for this. There is evidence that he had athletic and management skills. As a sophomore, Rader played on, and was team captain, for the varsity basketball team, something he repeated as a junior when the team had a championship season. As a sophomore, junior, and senior, he competed in the high jump for the track team. As a junior he was manager for the varsity baseball team and served on the school’s Athletic Council. And in his senior year, in addition to athletics, Rader served on the Athletic Council, sang second tenor in the Senior Glee club, and helped organize the Senior Reception, a large formal event. Outside of school he was Captain of Company B 10^th regiment Military training commission. The wide range of his activities looks familiar to any current student applying to college. The description next to his senior portrait says that despite taking his time with academics “(h)e intends, however, to go to college…” which he did.  He enrolled and graduated from Syracuse University. So if Rader was the baseball manager, but didn't play for the school’s baseball team how was it he earned a berth as a pitcher for the 1921 Pittsburgh Pirates?

Apparently Rader showed such athletic promise and pitching prowess, he'd been been recruited and played for the Arctic League, a local semi-pro team. Articles in the Elmira Star Gazette praised his pitching, cool headedness, and overall potential for success in the game. The reporter also wrote of comments his father made that nothing would interfere with his son’s college aspirations.

Rader was 6’ 2” and 185 lbs.  Described as “husky” for his time, it was his left-handed pitching that earned him his nickname. Crowds would gather to watch him pitch. It was also his powerful southpaw style that brought in major league recruiters. Impressed, they offered Rader a spot on the 1921 Pittsburgh Pirates team. The 1921 season was notable for another reason. It was the year professional games were broadcast using the new medium of radio, and the  Pirates' games were among the first to hit the airwaves. 

When the twenty-year old joined the team, he proved in practice he could hit and throw with both hands. Things looked very promising. On July 18^th, 1921, Rader made his debut in the seventh inning of a game against the New York Giants. He gave up two hits but kept the Giants scoreless. The Pirates went on to win the game that night. Later, two of his teammates and two of his opponents from that game were inducted into the Hall of Fame. In October the Giants won the 1921 World Series against the New York Yankees.

In February of 1922, Rader was traded to the Minneapolis Millers, a minor league team for “more schooling.” He never played for Millers, apparently unhappy with how he was treated. The feeling must have been mutual since he was placed on a voluntary retired list that May. He approached the Arctics about playing in Elmira again, but was turned down by the manager when his salary request was deemed “too high.”

In the fall of 1921 Rader entered Syracuse University. His affiliation with a professional team however came with restrictions. He was prohibited to play with the university baseball team. He studied business administration, was active in the Square and Compass club, manager of the Boar’s Head Dramatic Society, and a member of Beta Theta Pi, an honorary accounting fraternity. When he was a junior he was appointed team manager. 

Rader graduated from Syracuse in 1926 and in 1931, he married twenty-six year old Annette J. Cullen from a suburb of New York City. Rader worked for the New York Telephone Company and they lived in Rockville Center, on Long Island, NY. The last reference to him playing ball shows up in a small article that mentions him playing for the 1931 Red Stars, a team sponsored by Macy’s. 

Here the trail ends. Rader died in 1975 with no obituary printed in the newspapers. An online search brings up a picture of him wearing a Pirates ball cap. This picture was added just a few years ago.

What circumstances stopped him from excelling as a ball player? Was he able to pursue his interests in managing and leadership the rest of his life? And what advice would he give to young players today? One can only dream.

Throw Like a Girl

by Susan Zehnder, Education Director

One day while playing ball, thirteen-year-old Clara Cook threw a life changing pitch. Clara was a left-handed pitcher and batter who honed her skills playing with friends and family in after-school pick-up games. She went on to make history as one of the founding members of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). During the two years she played professional ball, she was a member of three teams, two of which earned championship titles.

Clara "Babe" Cook

Born in 1921 to John H. and Clara B. Cook in Pine City, Clara was the youngest of eleven children. The family had six boys and five girls. Being the youngest earned her the nickname "Babe," and being just 5' 2" tall, it was a nickname that stuck. The combination of her diminutive height and being the youngest in a large family didn’t hold her back. She proved herself to be a fierce afterschool player against her brothers and friends. That determination is what a Remington Rand employee named Riley observed in 1922 when he came across the kids playing a casual game. Riley was looking for new talent to join the Remington factory softball team and was so impressed with what he saw, he approached Clara's parents. He received permission for her to play ball and promised to be responsible for transporting Clara back and forth from practices and games. At thirteen years old, Clara started playing for Remington's ball team.

John H. Cook, Clara's father, served as school trustee for the Pine City School in the 1920s and for over thirty years he was employed as an interior designer for F. M. Bottcher & Lowman Construction Company.

John H. and Clara B. Cook

Clara's mother taught sewing skills at the YWCA, and the family belonged to the Baptist church. During her school years, Clara moved with her family to Elmira, and graduated from Southside High School. After graduation, she went to work full time for Remington Rand.

In July 1941, when Clara was 20 years old, the Star-Gazette announced that Clara Ruth Cook had become engaged to Henry A. Pickel, but no wedding date had been set. Henry had grown up in Pine City and was a Southside wrestling champion. He had enlisted in the US Army before WWII and was a Sargent in Company L. The month the couple was engaged, he left for military training. The couple never married.

Clara worked for Remington Rand and continued to play ball. In 1942, she was recruited by an AAGPBL scout who was looking to start a new league. Clara tried out and was accepted. She was offered a contract to play with the 1943 Rockford Peaches. Clara signed on the dotted line and left Elmira heading for Rockford, Illinois.

1943 Rockford Peaches. Clara is the player on the far left in the front row

Clara began her season as a Rockford Peach. The team went on to earn the most league titles and had a resurgence of popularity in the 1990s when Gina Davis starred in "A League of One's Own" based on their story.

The AAGPBL had invited two hundred white women to try out for four teams. Sixty women made the cut as the original founding members. Like the men's leagues at the time, teams were segregated. In 1948 seven women of color from Cuba were invited to join the league. In 1951 the first African American woman ball player, Toni Stone, joined the men’s Negro League. It was the only league open to Blacks, and the players weren't too happy to have a woman join them. The AAGPBL players used baseball rules, but played with a 12-inch softball. The league was located entirely in the Midwest and lasted from 1943 – 1954. It grew to have ten teams and audiences in the thousands. Players were selected on their skill and looks and were required to wear lipstick and short skirts while playing ball.

The beginning of Clara's 1943 pitching season didn't go well. Despite her best efforts, she allowed more runs than any other pitcher. After 30 games she held a record of 6 wins to 17 losses. By mid-season, Clara was traded to the Kenosha Comets from Kenosha, Wisconsin. This season ended better for her. The Comets won the league’s Championship title for the year.

1944 Milwaukee Chicks. Clara is the player on the far right in the back row

The next season Clara was traded to the Milwaukee Chicks based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This team won the 1944 Championship title. However, the Chicks struggled financially, and despite being league champions the owners couldn't secure support or additional funding from the city of Milwaukee. The team moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Clara never joined them, leaving just before the 1945 season began to return to Elmira.

Clara returned to work at Remington Rand and she never played professional ball again. Clara's father died in January 1946. In 1955, the Remington Rand plant was bought by the Sperry Corporation. Clara moved to California to work at an aircraft company, returning to Elmira when she retired. She stayed active in local baseball organizing teams and mentoring young women interested in pitching.

In 1975, Clara Cook was inducted into the Metro-Elmira Sports Hall of Fame. She is also part of the Women in Baseball exhibit on display at the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY. On display since 1988, it honors the accomplishments of the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball league and remains one of their most popular exhibits. Clara Ruth "Babe" Cook died in Elmira on July 23, 1996 at the age of 75. She was buried at Webb Mills Cemetery near the Town of Southport.