With springtime comes the sights and sounds of baseball, a game still considered America's favorite pastime. Stories of Ohio's professional teams, the Reds and the Indians, and their chances of success have begun to appear in local newspapers. The age-old dream is once again ignited in many a young man. Can I make it to the big time? The recent college baseball achievements of Sidney high school graduate Derik Goffena have some Sidney sports enthusiasts talking about Goffena as a potential pro prospect. Even at his level of achievement, the odds are still long. In fact, no Sidney player has ever made the big leagues in over a century of organized baseball. Sidney did play a role in the launching of the major league career of one of the best Cincinnati Reds pitchers of all time. This is his story.

One hundred and twenty-five years ago this April, a baby boy was born in the small Auglaize County village of New Hampshire. He was given the name of George Lemuel Ewing, but everyone knew him as 'Bob'. By the time this young man had grown to his manhood height of six feet six inches, he had acquired the nickname of 'Long Bob' Ewing. Later he would also be given the moniker of 'Old Wapak', in reference to the town he called home.

Near the turn of the century, after the conclusion of the season, professional baseball teams typically toured, or 'barnstormed' for a few weeks to generate interest among the fans who could not attend the regular season games. So it was in 1901. After slicing through a series of local Ohio teams like a hot knife through butter, the confident Reds arrived in Sidney on October 10 for a contest with the Sidney semi-pro team.

Baseball was a serious local proposition in those days. Town leaders first sponsored a Sidney team in 1893. During the next ten years, a Board of Control was established to operate the team and raise funds on an annual basis. The team's schedule included such far away road trips as Portsmouth, Canton, Lancaster, Washington Court House, Columbus, and Parkersburg, West Va. Players were recruited from Cincinnati, Dayton, Lancaster, Wapakoneta, and other towns.

As the Reds warmed up on the evening of October 10, 1901, they could not have anticipated what they were about to see. The visitors were up to bat first. On the mound stood all six feet six inches of Long Bob Ewing. The next evening, the editor of the Sidney Journal described the game as a "masterly exhibition of fine ball playing." Hundreds of fans crowded in to watch the contest, which was held at the South Miami Avenue Ball Grounds (This location is now known as Berger Park.)

Ewing dueled Schwab, his Reds counterpart, to a 3 to 3 tie when the game was called because of darkness after eight innings. The author of the Journal article concluded: "The country has few pitchers equal to Ewing, who struck out many more batters than Schwab..." Apparently the Reds players felt the same way. At the beginning of the 1902 baseball season, Long Bob was wearing a Cincinnati Reds uniform. In a round about way, Sidney had produced its first major leaguer. In the end, Ewing became more that just a player. Nearly a century after his last game, his statistics qualify him as one of the best Reds hurlers of all time.

Ewing the pitcher had actually been a long time in the making. He started on the sandlots of Wapakoneta in 1895, and played his first game against a team from nearby New Bremen. Chris Ewing, one of his eight surviving grandchildren, recalls family folklore about his grandfather's efforts to learn the art of pitching: "Grandfather worked on the family farm as a young lad, helping raise potatoes. One day his parents discovered much of the potato crop was bruised. An investigation revealed that their son was hurling the spuds at a circle on the side of the barn, in an effort to improve his control as a pitcher."

His first semi-pro experience came in 1897 when he joined the Toledo team in the Interstate League. He was consistently the best pitcher in the league, going 21-9 and 25-13 in consecutive seasons. His next stop was with Kansas City in the Western League. Ewing later recalled that Kansas City was "...the only pennant winning team I ever played on."

Apparently, Long Bob had concluded his season with Kansas City when he joined the Sidney team and took advantage of the opportunity of his life on that October, 1901 evening in Sidney. The Cincinnati Reds had just completed a new playing field when Ewing arrived in 1902. It was affectionately known as the 'Palace of the Fans'. This stadium, which served as the home of the Reds until the construction of Crosley Field at the same site, was one of the most modern and futuristic parks of the era. (It is interesting to note that spring training was held at the Palace in 1902 - one of eight different cities where the Reds held spring training in Ewing's eight seasons.)

The debut of Long Bob Ewing at the Palace was on April 10, 1902. The next week's edition of the Shelby County Democrat carried the results in an article entitled: 'Bob's Good Start.' Ewing pitched the better part of two innings, striking out four of the eight men he faced. The author proudly reported that Bob "...further added to his laurels by bringing in two runs with a hard drive while at the bat." A future star had been born.

After working his way into the starting lineup that first season, Ewing finished with a 6 and 6 won-lost record. He pitched ten complete games in twelve starts and compiled a fine 2.98 earned run average. A sore arm limited his playing time toward the end of the season.

In 1903, Long Bob developed into the workhorse of the staff. Completing 27 of the 28 games he started, Ewing posted 14 wins and lowered his ERA to 2.73. He delivered at the plate as well. That season, Ewing hit an impressive .253.

The season's highlight came on August 18. The headline in the "Cincinnati Post" told the story: "Kelley Claims Ewing Pitched a No-Hitter" He blanked the New York Giants 7 to 0, giving up one infield hit, and it was a hotly disputed one at that. The official scorer recorded the play as an out, but was ordered to score it as a hit. A dispatch from New York after the game stated: "Long Bob Ewing, fed on raw meat and clams for a week, was taken out of his cage and sent against the Giants...Old Wapak fired the leather down the alley so fast that the haze in its wake looked like the smoke in a shooting gallery." A seasoned and confident Bob Ewing barnstormed with the Reds after the season concluded.

Above is the Palace of the Fans — home to the Cincinnati Reds in the early 1900s. Ewing made his debut in The Palace on
April 10, 1902, and struck out four of the eight men he faced. He also drove in two runs that day.

During Ewing's hiatus from Sidney, the locals developed a serious love for the nation's past time. The April 25, 1902, edition of the Sidney Journal reported the construction of a new ball diamond known as Lakeside Park. (It was situated where the municipal pool is now located in Tawawa Park.) Three inches of clay were brought in and rolled with the city's street roller to cover what would be the ball diamond. The editor also noted: "The outfield was cleared of all obstructions."

It was a confident Cincinnati crew that rolled into town for a rematch with Sidney on September 30, 1903. Long Bob was on the mound for Reds, which had just pummeled Lima 9 to 1 the day before. This would be a laugher. After the game the "Journal's" editor, William Binkley, wryly observed that the Reds came to town to show "...what a difference there is between a professional team and pumpkin puller aggregations in smaller towns...and to prick what bubbles of vanity they entertain." After Long Bob took his seat at the end of the first inning, Sidney led 5 to 1. Binkley chortled: "The Reds were amazed, and in a figurative sense, more blue than red."