Moses Yellowhorse, Part 3

(Editor's note: This concludes a three-part series, picking up the story of Moses Yellowhorse, who was traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to Sacramento in the Pacific Coast League following the 1922 season.)

A review of the coming 1923 P.C.L. season in The Sporting News allowed as how Yellowhorse "ought to do good on the Coast, provided he keeps himself in condition." That was a 1920s euphemism for staying away from the bottle.

The 1923 Zeenuts card of
Moses Yellowhorse. An
example graded EX sold
in a Robert Edward Auction
Oct. 17, 2015 for $600.

With Yellowhorse as the staff ace, Sacramento raised itself from last place in the Coast League in 1922 to second place in 1923. The Chief pitched in 57 contests, including 19 complete games. His record was 22-13 with an ERA of 3.68. Yellowhorse put in 311 innings of work for the Solons, walking 79 and whiffing 99. The 351 hits he surrendered gave the league a .293 batting average against him.

With the glove, Yellowhorse fielded in about the bottom 25% of P.C.L. pitchers, typical for his career. Yellowhorse's season at bat was also fairly typical, he hit .168 with only three doubles, two RBIs and 14 runs scored in 113 at-bats.

In the first month of the 1924 season, Yellowhorse suffered a serious injury to his pitching arm. Sacramento was carrying an 18-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth inning at Salt Lake City when the home team began to rally. With cozy fences and the high altitude, the lead was by no 
means safe and Solons manager Charley Pick began going through his bullpen.

When the Bees had scored 10 runs, Pick told Yellowhorse, "Warm up fast, if the next batter gets a hit, in you're going." With only three warm-up pitches, Yellowhorse was called to the mound with the bases loaded, the tying run on first base. He reminisced later, "I went in and I threw just nine pitches, striking out in order John Peters, Tony Lazzeri and Duffy Lewis," and nailing down the victory.

"That was the finest job of pitching I ever did," Yellowhorse said, "But I couldn't raise my arm the next day. Jack Downey was the trainer but he couldn't stop the pain."

The 1924 Zeenuts candy
card of Yellowhorse.

Yellowhorse apparently resorted to heavy applications of 80-proof pain relief. By mid-June, The Sporting News reported, "Chief Moses Yellowhorse has gone the way of all bad Injuns. The Chief would not keep in condition, and was no longer of use to the team, so he was sold to Fort Worth, Texas. The Chief is his own worst enemy. He has the ability to be a big league pitcher, but lacks the inclination to keep in shape to pitch."

Yellowhorse left the P.C.L. in 1924 with just 10 games pitched, and a 1-4 record on a 6.07 ERA. The league had hit him to the tune of .337 in 46 innings; he had walked 14 and struck out 10.

Less than a month later, his right arm unable to come around, Yellowhorse was sent back to Sacramento by Ft. Worth, apparently never having appeared in an official game.

In early May of 1925, Yellowhorse once again teamed up with Kid Elberfeld, who was managing a pitching-poor Mobile team in the Southern Association. He joined the Bears on May 5, with the team in last place.

His first outing was on the 11th, when he came on in the 9th inning to beat Little Rock, 5-4, while giving up a walk, two hits and a run. Yellowhorse lasted just four games with Mobile. Though he had a 2-0 record, in his 9.2 innings of work he gave up 14 hits, and four walks, striking out two. (Editor's note: Yellowhorse's stint with Mobile is not recorded on baseball-reference.com. If memory serves, the details provided here were taken from contemporary accounts in The Sporting News.)

Yellowhorse was apparently returned to Sacramento sometime during the season, for he appears on the team's "suspended" list in the November report of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues.

In January of 1926, he was sold to Omaha, in the Western League, the circuit where his pro career had begun in 1918. Yellowhorse played in fewer than 10 games or 45 innings for Omaha; his record is not included in the league's stats. Baseball-reference.com credits him with a 1-1 record in three appearances. He was released in May, ending his professional career.

Following his playing days, Yellowhorse returned to the Pawnee reservation. He was active with his tribe, coaching youth baseball teams and umpiring semi-pro games. He also gave up drinking. In 1958 he returned to Sacramento for a brunch hosted by his old owner, Sam Gordon. He told a local newspaper, "I used to hit it up pretty good, but 13 years ago I decided I'd give up drinking. I came to that decision on my own. And I did it with willpower.

"It was quite a surprise to my old friends," he was quoted, "when I went back for a World Series. They'd almost filled a room with the stuff, and they couldn't believe it when I sat there and drank tall sodas. I've been very proud that I quit. Today I'm one of the happiest men in the world. I go here and there without fear and the people I meet and get to know have grown close to me."

Bill Conlin, sports editor of the Sacramento Union, commented, "It was a sincere and poignant moment with a once great and proud athlete, who carries the blood of warriors. Yellow Horse, in gaining humility has attained a new measure of greatness."

In 1947, when the Brooklyn Dodgers established a Class D minor league team at Ponca City, Okla., Yellowhorse attempted to catch on as a coach or umpire, but the best he could do was land a job as groundskeeper. In 1951, he spent the season as an umpire in the Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League.

Yellowhorse left Organized Baseball after that stint and took a job with the Oklahoma state highway department at Stillwater.

D. Jo Ferguson of the Pawnee Chief wrote of Yellowhorse's later years. "He worked outdoors for the state highway department and drew a fair salary and liked the work. He was always very friendly to both his white and Indian friends and made a fine appearance anywhere. They tell me that he drank considerably although I never saw him drunk. He had the physique of a 35-year-old athlete. I never knew him to look sloppy."

At the tribe's annual homecoming celebrations, Yellowhorse served as arena director, assisting the 300 costumed native dancers in their performance before crowds of up to 6,000 visitors. His picture was used on a promotional brochure produced by the tribe, confirming his status as his people's most famous athlete.

According to Ferguson, during the homecoming festivities, "He was always introduced to the crowd and always wore street clothes. I never saw him in an Indian outfit. Maybe he didn't dance."

Ferguson summarized Yellowhorse's status within the tribe thusly, "They would not hold him aloft as a mighty warrior but loved him for the honor he gave the tribe. At the same time they could not forget the added honor he could have brought them had he left the fire water alone."

On his 66th birthday, in January, 1964, Yellowhorse was honored by his tribe with a feast and war dance. A few months later, on April 10, he died of an apparent heart attack.

Following funeral services and preceding a traditional tribal mourning feast, Yellowhorse was buried in the North Indian Cemetery in Pawnee. He had never married and was survived by only a half-brother.

This photo, depicting Moses Yellowhorse in later life,

when he was a respected member of the community 

at Pawnee, Okla., was published in 1994, on the 

occasion of his posthumous induction into the 

American Indian Hall of Fame. 

(Editor's note: Check in tomorrow for some personal reflections on my 1994 visit to Pawnee, Okla., and a look at an unusual tribute paid to Moses Yellowhorse.)

Moses Yellowhorse, Part 2

(Editor's note: This is the second of a three-part series begun yesterday.)

The only major league baseball card on which Moses

Yellowhorse can be found is the 1922 Exhibit Supply Co. issue.

On Sept. 16, 1920, Moses Yellowhorse's contract was purchased from Little Rock by the Pittsburgh Pirates, who were closing out a fourth-place season. "A.W.P.," a baseball writer covering the Southern Association, commented in The Sporting News, "The sale of Moses Yellowhorse to Pittsburgh was rather unexpected, not that the Indian is not worthy of advancement, but it was generally expected that the young Pawnee would be allowed to remain another season here. Yellowhorse is sure to make good. He is a close student and soaks up every ounce of information that is given by a wise manager. The Indian will keep National League batters swinging with one foot free when he is on the mound. He has terrific speed, but wonderful control of it. He also has a good curve ball and controls it equally as well as his fast one."

It was later revealed that Yellowhorse's purchase by the Pirates had been a ruse to prevent his being drafted from Little Rock. The Pirates were to have returned him to the Travelers for 1921. The Indian showed so well in spring training with the Bucs, however, that manager Moon Gibson insisted on keeping him for the season.

Early in the season, a large photo of Yellowhorse appeared on Page 1 of The Sporting News under the headline, "Lo, the Indian Reappears." The caption read, "The 'native stock' American has furnished the 'national game' some shining lights in its day, but the Indian seems to have lost caste in the recent years with major league managers. A new entrant appears this season in Moses Yellowhorse and on his early showing with the Pittsburgh Pirates he may sculp his name in the Hall of Fame along with Bender, Meyers and others of his race famous in the past. He made such an impression on Manager Gibson in training camp that the leader of the Pirates insisted that he should be retained, whatever price might be asked for his release. Gibson's judgement seems justified, for Yellowhorse in such brief trials as he has had indicates he is worth any sort of money to a club that needs just one more winning pitcher on its staff to make it a pennant favorite."

Other writers were mixed in their pre-season reviews. One anonymous scribe in the March 19 Sporting News said, "Pittsburgh critics are comparing Moses Yellowhorse, the Indian pitcher Barney Dreyfuss bought from Little Rock, to Chief Bender. All he lacks is Bender's size, stuff and disposition. He's an Indian, with two legs and two arms. Not a bad pitching prospect at that, however, but hardly a Bender."

Long-time New York baseball writer Joe Vila described Yellowhorse as, "strongly built, well educated and smart. He has an exceptional knowledge of baseball strategy and is eager to remain in fast company."

Yellowhorse opened his major league career with two innings of hitless relief in the premiere series at Cincinnati, earning a save. When the team returned to Pittsburgh for its home curtain-raiser on April 21, the Pawnee pitcher became the first Pirates rookie to win a home opener. The Sporting News' account of the game read: "The opening game here gave Pittsburgers a glimpse of the Pirates' aboriginal pitcher, Moses Yellowhorse, a copper-hued young giant, who looks like a sure comer.

"Yellowhorse went to the mound last Thursday after Babe Adams and Elmer Ponder had been chased. He assumed the burden under most trying circumstances, but he got right down to work, stopped the Reds' hitting, and pitched air-tight ball during the remainder of the game." The Pirates rallied to win 8-7, giving Yellowhorse his first major league victory.

"The young Indian has a free and easy delivery, and is quite methodical in his work," the TSN account continued, "He doesn't use any extended windup, and has splendid control. He has not had a great deal of experience, but it looks as if he were sure of retention, and, if he continues as he has started out, he will be a big help to the club."

One of those early press accounts nicked Yellowhorse for not being of "Bender's size," while another called him a "young giant." The Macmillan Baseball Encyclopedia lists Yellowhorse as 5'10", 180 lbs. In his prime, Bender was 6'2", 185 lbs. Yellowhorse, however, photographed large, which may have caused some confusion as to his true physical stature.

By early June, Yellowhorse was becoming a popular part of the Pirates pen. TSN reported, "Fandom here has gone wild over Moses Yellowhorse, the young Indian slabman, who has been used to date only as a relief artist. They like the young Indian's actions, and are convinced he his going to shine when given the proper opportunity.

"Walter Schmidt, the veteran Pirate receiver, has been quoted as saying that Moses has more stuff than any twirler he ever handled, and his only drawback seems to be his youth."

A Pittsburgh tradition was born with Yellowhorse's penchant for successful relief pitching appearances. It wasn't long before fans began to chant, "Put in Yellowhorse" whenever the starting pitcher faltered. The chant became so ingrained during the Indian's short career with Pittsburgh, that it survived him by many years. Yellowhorse himself related hearing the call while attending a lop-sided boxing match in the city many years later. Edward Wolfe, who wrote for The Sporting News under the name "Jim Nasium," related in a 1926 column that during a lecture at the University of Pittsburgh a professor became lost in his notes, confused and tongue-tied and that his stammering was interrupted by a student who yelled, "Put in Yellowhorse."

In a July 5 game against the Cardinals, Yellowhorse suffered a rupture which required surgical repair and shelved him for more than two months.

Yellowhorse's 1921 season showed a 5-3 record in 10 games on a 2.98 ERA. Six of his appearances were in relief, where he notched three of his wins and a save. In 48 innings pitched he gave up 45 hits, walked 13 and struck out 19. He was 0-for-17 at the plate.

Presumably because of his long injury lay-off, Yellowhorse's teammates voted him only a 2/3 share of their second-place World Series money, but that was overruled by Commissioner Landis, who decreed the Indian was due a full share of $800.

Two months into the 1922 season, "Deacon" Bill McKechnie took over as manager of the Pirates. The team had been picked to win the National League pennant the previous year and was headed to a third-place finish in 1922. Much of the blame was placed on the shoulders of manager Gibson, who was accused of being unable to discipline his troops. Charges of heavy drinking against unnamed players were rife in the press. The departing skipper warned McKechnie that he would need to keep an eye on roommates Yellowhorse and "that Irish Indian" Rabbit Maranville. The hard-drinking Maranville had introduced Yellowhorse to whiskey and the two had been raising hell ever since. McKechnie devised a plan to control the pair by setting them up with him in a hotel suite while on the road.

Early on in the behavioral control experiment, the team was in Boston and McKechnie returned to his hotel room after dinner and a movie to find the merry-makers tucked in their beds. As the manager opened a closet door to hang up his coat, he was assaulted by a small flock of pigeons. Maranville cracked an eye and warned, "Don't open the other closet, Bill, the Chief's got his pigeons in there and he'd really be mad if you let them out."

McKechnie later learned that the pair had been conducting a competition by tippy-toeing out onto the 16th floor window ledge to see who could scoop up the most pigeons with their bare hands in 15 minutes. Maranville won, 8-5. McKechnie roomed by himself thereafter.

Yellowhorse had remained basically healthy through the 1922 season, save for a couple of weeks around the beginning of August when he was out of commission with tonsillitis.

On Sept. 26, Yellowhorse was called upon to pitch against the Detroit Tigers in an exhibition game at Detroit. In a 5-4 loss he plunked Ty Cobb so severely that the Georgia Peach had to be carried off the field.

Yellowhorse appeared in 28 games for the Bucs in 1922, all but five of them out of the bullpen. He compiled a 3-1 record (two of the wins in relief) on a 4.52 ERA. In 78 innings he gave up 92 hits, walked 20 and fanned 24. At bat, he managed to connect for a .316 average, while opposing hitters touched him to the tune of .273.

In December, Yellowhorse was traded to Sacramento in the Pacific Coast League with three other players and $7,500 for a pitching phenom named Earl Kunz (whose entire big league career was with the Pirates in 1923, for whom he was 1-2 with a 5.52 ERA in 21 appearances).

The trade marked the end of Moses Yellowhorse's major league career. In his two years with the Pirates, his career stats shook out like this:

 Games 38

 Starts 8

 Complete games 3

 Wins 8

 Losses 4

 Saves 1

 ERA 3.93

 Innings 126

 Hits 137

 Walks 33

 Strikeouts 43

 BA.167

 FA.920

(Editor's note: The series will conclude tomorrow with Yellowhorse's return to the minors.)