Culver Comics  

The all-Negro Comics were outfitted by J. P. Walters, who owned and operated the Palmer House on Lake Maxinkuckee.

In 1912 The Culver Comics Brought Baseball Fame To Culver

by Robert Kyle
Aug. 10, 1964 The Culver Citizen

"Rufus Rastus Johnson Brown" When The Rent Comes 'Round, etc., triggered one of the most eventful bush-league baseball games ever held in Northern Indiana back in 1912.

The Culver Comics played the Bourbon Athletic Club which Bourbon won 9 to 6.

This writer, at the age of 14, was the official scorer and he consulted the files of the Bourbon News-Mirror to refreshen his memory.

Ed River, the genial druggist at Bourbon had window cards printed that read: "Rufus. Rastus Johnson rown, the Culver Comics are Coming to Bourbon Town" and it drew a crowd of 400 horses and buggies and Overland, Maxwell and Ford automobiles and their occupants, the like of which was never equaled before or since.

Both teams had exceptional baseball players, who played just for the fun of it. The all-Negro Comics were outfitted by J. P. Walters, who owned and operated the Palmer House on Lake Maxinkuckee. These superb players of whom three still live in Culver are Charles Dickerson, former head waiter at the Culver Military Academy dining hall, Roy "Sheep" Scott, still active as a baseball expert and former widely known umpire and employee of the Academy, and Luther Whitted, many years an employee of the Claypool Hotel in Indianapolis. He was a pitcher whom "Sheep" Scott thinks would, if he was pitching today, be in the Big Leagues. He had a pitch in those days known as a 'fadeaway" made famous by the great christy mathewson, but known as the "slider" by current baseball announcers.

The Comics came to Bourbon town and were quartered in Chris and Jennie Ringgenberg's New Colonial Hotel. William "Crappie" Keller was the business manager of the Bourbon team and he saw to it that the Comics had the best of everything.

The game was played in William Reed's former pasture field at the north edge of town where a grandstand had been erected that year.

The lineups of the teams were: Bourbon — Fure1 "Corky" Burns, cf; "Boots" Shaw, c; Dick Blue 3b; "Bookey" Miller, lb; "Curly" Rhodes, ss; Fred Hunter, 2b; "Snowball" Morrical, rf; Kerr , If; Jones, 2b, and Mike Eby, p. Culver — "Sheep" Scott, 3b; Lyons, ss; Coleman Jackson, c; Charles Dickerson, p and 3b; Dave Whitted p and 3b; Luther Whitted, lb and rf; Wade, 2b; Moore, If; Fentress, cf. The game was played Sept. 5, 1912. Vern Snyder of Bourbon was the sole umpire and "Sheep" still claims that "we was robbed."

Anyway the record doesn't exactly bear this out because Eby, the Bourbon pitcher, struck out seven while Dickerson issued 6 bases on balls before relieved in the 5th inning by Dave Whitted, who evidently did even worse and was replaced by Wade. Hunter and Rhodes got two hits apiece for Bourbon.

Coleman Jackson, the Comic catcher, was the center of attraction. He was stocky, fearless, quick as lightning and reminded this writer of Roy Campanella, the wonderful Brooklyn Dodgers catcher of a later era. His great sense of humor helped a lot when it came to "jockeying" the batters.

"Rufus, Rastus Johnson Brown," was a song written by Andrew B. Sterling a n d Harry Von Tilzer. Von Tilzer was a native of Indianapolis and the writer of more than a hundred lyrics of popular songs.

Bert Williams, the Negro comic and pantominist sang this song in the Ziegfield Follies in 1911 and it was one of the hits of the show. Williams died in 1922 in Harlem, New York City, and, Mr. Kyle reported his funeral for the old New York Tribune before joining the Hearst organization.