by Charles Norman | May 15, 2026 | Baseball, Wilson Matthews
Here Lies Wilson Matthews – 6 The Cadet It had the fine authority of provincialism – the provincialism of an older South. Nothing mattered but the State: the State was a mighty empire, a rich kingdom – there was, beyond, a remote and semi-barbaric world.–...
by Charles Norman | May 14, 2026 | Baseball, Wilson Matthews
Here Lies Wilson Matthews – 7 Uncivil Matters People who don’t know think it is easy to be a madam – just sit in a big chair and drink beer and take half the money the girls make, they think. But it’s not like that at all.– John Steinbeck, East of Eden...
by Charles Norman | Oct 15, 2025 | Baseball
Requiem for a Minor League Baseball Season On Friday, September 2, the Beaumont Millionaires of the Class C South Texas League closed out their 1904 season with an 8-5 win over the Houston Wanderers, known as the Mud Cats, a team that had gone belly-up nearly a decade...
by Charles Norman | Mar 17, 2024 | Baseball
Trials of a Minor League Umpire in 1909 Are you blind? Where do you think you are? In a cow-pasture?– Thomas Wolfe, A Portrait of Bascom Hawke The cash-poor lower leagues of the South assigned a single umpire to each game. Most worked behind the plate until a...
by Charles Norman | Feb 10, 2024 | Baseball
Charles Durmeyer, the Cotton States Baby Charles Philip Durmeyer, Jr. was born in New Orleans on August 29, 1889. His father, Charles Durmeyer, Sr., was a butcher with a few seasons of minor league ball to his credit. Charles Sr. gave up the professional game when his...
