Eau Claire Baseballer—Uncle Russ Bailey

Background

Russell Claude Bailey was Grandma Eiden's uncle—her father Bill's brother. She was very proud of him.

Russell was born January 26, 1879 in Sparta, Monroe County, Wisconsin. His father, Charles Bailey was born in 1844 in Canada and his mother Josephine "Rebecca" Hall was born in 1850 in New York.
Rebecca's family had moved to Sparta between 1857 and 1860. Though Charles was born in Canada, the family migrated to New York. Grandma and her sister Florence both said that Charles's father, Russel, was from Newfoundland and either he or his father was a doctor. They also mentioned that they were of English extraction. (This was often said because no one wanted to be associated with the Irish at the time) I'm not sure if Charles traveled alone or with family to Wisconsin but there is a Russell C Bailey showing up as a Civil War vet in Wisconsin and I think he could be the father of Charles. Obviously, the name Russell came from his grandfather.

Charles and Rebecca were married in Eau Claire in 1869. They had four children, William, Russell, John "Jack", and Lyda. All the boys were born in Sparta and I suspect Lyda was too.

Russell married twice. His first wife was Jessie Stumm. Grandma remembers they had a house up on top of the hill in Eau Claire and she and her siblings enjoyed visiting with Russ and Jessie who loved having them as they had no children of their own. The kids would have a lot of fun sliding down that hill in the winter.

Russ ran a clothing store called Hollen Clothing Company in Eau Claire. In 1917 he resigned and took a position with the Campen Clothing Company.

Rose Ada

Russ and Jessie divorced and he married Rose Ada Robinson. Russ and Rose

Virginia

had one daughter, Virginia. who was a local celebrity in her own right. Described as having "red hair and a torrid new style", she auditioned for WISN to play opposite Dick Powell in a fall series and won. I believe she was only 17 at the time. In 1936 she also won the opportunity to sing with a local band on a commercial on WTMJ radio on Monday evenings in Milwaukee. She was very talented and judging from the many articles written about her in the Eau Claire newspaper, she participated in a lot of theater and singing productions as well. There is even a delightful article on how as a little girl she managed to convince a circus manager to donate tickets to inmates of the local Children's Home. She said "I am going and I wish all the little boys and girls who have no fathers and mothers could go too."

Baseball Career

I was contacted several years ago by a gentleman in Eau Claire who was trying to get Russ into the Eau Claire Baseball Hall of Fame. Below is the information from the nomination form.

Connection to Eau Claire baseball

• Amateur ball player beginning in 1901 (possibly earlier) for a team in Shawtown.
• Continued as a star amateur until 1906, when he was an easy choice to be the center fielder for the Eau Claire-Chippewa Falls professional team.
• Played nearly his entire professional career in Eau Claire.
• He was out of pro ball in 1908 when Eau Claire didn't have a team, but he stayed in Eau Claire to play for a local team.
• Additionally, he played 31 games for Milwaukee in 1910 before injuring an ankle and finishing out the season in Eau Claire.
• He also played half a season in Wausau.
• Named player-manager of the professional team in 1912.
• The team finished 25-16 before having to fold.
• When club president Henry Davis unexpectedly resigned in April, 1912, Bailey was also given that title.
• That season, he secured a player for Eau Claire from tiny Clear Lake, WI—Burleigh Grimes.
• Also gave future major leaguer Happy Feisch a shot at making the club, but Grimes beat him out for the last spot on the roster.
• Had the unenviable task of pulling the plug on professional baseball in Eau Claire due to poor fan support.
• Played for Wausau following the demise of the Eau Claire club and apparently did very well (though likely not as well as his obituary reads).
• Was a clothing store owner that played in small industrial leagues in Eau Claire.
• Cursory search shows a box score in 1919 (Bailey was 40 at the time) where he dominated on the mound.
• Art Roach's father recalled seeing Bailey play very well at Chappell Field—Bailey would be in his 40's or 50's by this time.
• In 1949, he was named Commissioner of the 11^th District of the Wisconsin Semi-Pro Baseball Congress. He organized a tournament in which the top teams of the six-county area competed for a chance at the state tournament in Milwaukee.
• Art recalls Russ working at Carson Park as a ticket taker in his later years. This would put Bailey as likely the only person to have connections to the last three major baseball parks in the City of Eau Claire: Driving Park, Chappell Field, and Carson Park.

Professional statistics:

A whiz in the outfield, he could also handle the bat very well. He had nearly 1,900 professional at bats and hit .274 for his career. His 1907 extra base hit statistics are missing, but if you were to remove the season completely his career slugging percentage would be close to .400 (if you consider all of his 76 hits in 1907 to be singles, his slugging was still .358). He was having his best season in 1912 but due to financial constraints he elected to stay behind on a few road trips to save expenses.

Biography

Russ Bailey was born in Sparta in 1879 but moved to Eau Claire at an early age. A Corporal in the Spanish American War at the tender age of 19, Bailey's first games in Eau Claire can be traced in box scores of the Eau Claire Leader beginning three years later as an amateur in 1901.

He continued to play for Eau Claire teams until 1906, when he was considered a no-brainer choice to be on the first professional baseball club in Eau Claire since 1887.

He continued to play professionally for Eau Claire through 1912, with the only interruptions coming in 1908 (when the city didn't have a pro team) and a brief, 31-game call up to Milwaukee in 1910.

In 1912, he was not only named player-manager of the club (he secured a young man from Western Wisconsin named Burleigh Grimes to play for the team), but he also was given the unenviable task of being team president. He was so well liked, the directors reasoned, that he would be able to easily raise much-needed cash for the team.

Bailey did what he could, but just couldn't make a go of it. After a scant 177 spectators watched him hit two triples on a glorious Sunday afternoon at the Driving Park, Bailey had to make the gut-wrenching decision to throw in the towel for professional baseball in Eau Claire.

The Leader [Eau Claire Leader] did not blame him. Instead, the following day it took the opportunity to bash the people of Eau Claire—the paper's own customers—for not supporting Bailey and the team. A professional game would not be played in Eau Claire for 21 years.

After Eau Claire folded, Bailey was a very popular "free agent", and though he was playing for Wausau, Superior claimed he had signed him to a contract as well. The National Association briefly suspended him until the contract situation was resolved, but it appears he finished the season in Wausau.

Bailey's obituary reads that he hit 16 home runs for Wausau in what amounted to half a season. That claim seems unlikely at best, but he probably still had some power and speed. After the 1912 season, he hung up his professional spikes but continued playing on an amateur level until at least 1919 (and likely longer), suiting up for the teams sponsored by his clothing stores. Art Roach's father said he recalled watching Bailey play at a high level at Chappell Field—which would put Bailey in at least his 40's at the time.

In 1949, Bailey was named Commissioner of the 11^th District of the Wisconsin Semi-Pro Baseball Congress.

Art also related that Bailey was a ticket taker at Carson Park in his later years.

Russ is top left.

Russ is standing third from right