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Help Us Solve History’s Mysteries!: Baseball Edition

A Partnership Between Weelunk, Archiving Wheeling, and the Ohio County Public Library Archives

Do you recognize any of these people? These are all historic photos of Wheeling people, places, and things that need to be identified. Weelunk, Archiving Wheeling, and the Ohio County Public Library Archives have teamed up to reach out to Wheeling area residents or people that have lived in the Wheeling area at any time—we need your help identifying the individuals in these photos!

This is an ongoing monthly project to connect today’s Wheeling community to its historical resources and stories. In honor of the return of spring weather, this month’s photos are all related to baseball in Wheeling. The more we know about the people in these photos, the more we can uncover important and sometimes forgotten histories of Wheeling. To learn more about crowdsourced history and unlocking history’s mysteries, check out Archiving Wheeling’s partner article here!

Check out the photos listed below—if you recognize someone, please submit your comment in the entry space below the specific photo! The more information you can give us, the more complete the historical record. Please help us by sharing this article far and wide on social media and directly with anyone you know from Wheeling—even if they don’t live here anymore!

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Wheeling Dodgers, circa 1950s (American Legion Collection, OCPL Archives)

The Wheeling Dodgers were a Black baseball team in the 1950s. This photo is from the American Legion Collection, but little is known about the team itself. To learn more about another Ohio Valley resident who played for Wheeling and became Black baseball’s first historian, click here. Do you know any of these individuals or any history about the Wheeling Dodgers?

White Eagle Baseball Team, circa mid-1900s (Courtesy of the Ohio County Public Library Archives)
This undated photo is of the White Eagles baseball team, probably from the mid-1900s. Do you recognize any of these individuals?

East Wheeling Pirates, 1954 (American Legion Collection, OCPL Archives)
The East Wheeling Pirates were part of the Wheeling Midget League in the 1950s. This photo is from 1954 and notes that they were sponsored by the American Legion Post #1, whose collection this photo is from.

Unidentified Baseball Team, circa early 1900s (Joseph Hoffmann Collection, OCPL Archives)
Other than the fact that it’s of a baseball team, very little is known about this photo. It is probably from the early 1900s. Many amateur baseball teams in Wheeling were organized by local companies—look closely at the emblem on their shirts, do you recognize it?

Kindelberger Baseball Team, circa early 1900s (Joseph Hoffmann Collection, OCPL Archives)
The Kindelberger team was one of the amateur teams that organized early in Wheeling’s baseball history. Don’t miss the little photobomber peeking over the fence! To learn more about baseball’s early history in Wheeling, check out this Archiving Wheeling article.

All photos are courtesy of the Ohio County Public Library Archives, Wheeling, WV. For more historic photos of the Wheeling area, events, and residents, check out OCPL’s Flickr page, here.

To access previous months’ Solving History’s Mysteries projects, click here.

For more information or questions about this project, please email ewiley9@gmail.com.

This project is a partnership between Weelunk, Archiving Wheeling, and the Ohio County Public Library with additional support from Preserve WV AmeriCorps.

• Emma Wiley, originally from Falls Church, Virginia, was a former AmeriCorps member with Wheeling Heritage. Emma has a B.A. in history from Vassar College and is passionate about connecting communities, history, and social justice.

  • Emma Wiley

    Emma Wiley, originally from Falls Church, Virginia, was a former AmeriCorps member with Wheeling Heritage. Emma has a B.A. in history from Vassar College and is passionate about connecting communities, history, and social justice.

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