1902: Corsicana's Finest Hour, by Brad Del Barba Corsicana's player-manager Big Mike O'Connor. The details are as fuzzy as the images left behind, but the record stands for all to admire. The year was 1902 and the Texas league reinvented itself with six clubs taking stock in the Class D circuit. With the "oil boom" sweeping through the Longhorn State, J. Doak Roberts saw the opportunity to bring professional baseball to Corsicana. Armed with oil money, Roberts enlisted veteran manager Big Mike O'Connor to guide the Oil City Oilers for their inaugural campaign. The Oilers would feature future major-league infielders J. Walter Morris and Hunter Hill, along with the league's top hurler, William "Lucky" Wright. Texas League veterans from an earlier era, Ike Pendleton and third baseman George Markey, also graced the roster. The Oilers grabbed an early lead in the standings, as fans crowded into Oil City Park, situated on the south side of town. Along the way one miscalculation on Roberts' behalf arose, as the owner mistakenly scheduled a game against [the] Texarkana ["Casketmkers"] on Sunday, June 15 [1902]. Local "blue laws" prohibited most businesses from operation on Sundays, leaving the owner in a quandary. After taking inventory of options, Roberts found that Ennis, a town 35 miles to the north, had a ballpark and no blue laws. With the promise of a split gate, Texarkana and Corsicana played in a ballpark that saw the right-field foul pole reach a distance reported to be anywhere from 140 feet to 210 feet from the home plate. Taking the mound for the Casketmakers was a pitcher named DeWitt, who was either the owner of the Texarkana club or the owner's son, as reports are sketchy. Nevertheless, DeWitt took the mound in what was to be the greatest whipping in Texas League history. The star of the day turned out to be catcher Jay Justin Clarke, a 19-year-old Canadian who dark complexion led to his un-politically correct nickname of "Nig." The left-handed swinger found the cozy conditions at the Ennis ballpark much to his liking, as Clarke enjoyed one of the biggest offensive days ever in the history of minor league ball. Clarke's outburst included EIGHT home runs in eight at-bats, as the catcher drove in anywhere from 16 to 20 runs on the day, according to various reports. Legend has it that a wealthy cattleman came out of the stands and pressed a $50 bill into Clarke's hand, while the traditional passing of the hat which accompanied home runs netted $185 for the young slugger that day. Corsicana's Bill Alexander and Pendelton each reportedly collected eight hits in the game, while Malarkey and player-manager O'Connor both scored seven runs. At the end of the titanic struggle that lasted a reported two hours and 10 minutes, Corsicana routed Texarkana, 51-3! While no box scores can accurately determine the validity of the day, former Texas League historian William Ruggles substantiated the claims in a series of interviews. Clarke confirmed the account, as the day was his greatest of his 25-year playing career, which included nine seasons in the majors. Corsicana would proceed to finish the season 86-22, capturing first place by a whopping 28-1/2 games ahead of the second-place Dallas Griffins. The Oilers established Texas League team records for most runs (51), hits (53), singles (26) and home runs (21) in the drubbing. Clarke's records for home runs and RBIs still stand as individual marks that will most likely never be equalled. Though the Corsicana franchise would eventually fold following the 1905 season, history was made on June 15, 1902, enabling the Oilers and Jay Justin Clarke to live atop the annals in Texas League history. [From he website: http://www.attheyard.com/InRetrospect/article_669.shtml]