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[[Image:ohioworks.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Youngstown Ohio Works (1906)]]

{{short description|US baseball team}}

The '''Youngstown Ohio Works''' baseball team was one of scores of minor league clubs that appeared in Ohio and Pennsylvania in the early 20th century. Like many of its minor league counterparts, the team served as a training ground for players and officials who would later establish themselves in [[major league baseball]].

{{for|the steel works at Youngstown|Youngstown Sheet and Tube}}

[[File:Ohio works 1906.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Youngstown Ohio Works (1906), with pitcher Roy Castleton seated in second row, second from left]]

The '''Youngstown Ohio Works''' baseball team was a [[minor league baseball|minor league]] club that was known for winning the premier championship of the [[Ohio–Pennsylvania League]] in 1905,<ref name="ohio-pa-1905">{{cite web|url=http://www.sabr.org/sabr.cfm?a=cms,c,412,5,0 |first=Jim |last=Holl |title=Ohio–Pennsylvania League of 1905 |publisher=Society for American Baseball Research |access-date=March 4, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031107131758/http://www.sabr.org/sabr.cfm?a=cms%2Cc%2C412%2C5%2C0 |archive-date=November 7, 2003 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and for launching the professional career of [[pitcher]] [[Roy Castleton]] a year later.<ref name=sabrbio1>{{Sabrbio|01ef1537|Roy Castleton|Craig Lammers|2007-03-08}}</ref> A training ground for several players and officials who later established careers in [[Major League Baseball]], the team proved a formidable regional competitor and also won the 1906 league championship.

During its brief span of activity, the Ohio Works team faced challenges that reflected common difficulties within the Ohio–Pennsylvania League, including weak financial support for teams.<ref name="sp217">''Spalding's Official Athletic Library Baseball Guide'' (New York: American Sports Publishing Co., 1910), p. 217.</ref> Following a dispute over funding, the team's owners sold the club to outside investors, just a few months before the opening of the 1907 season.<ref name="vindy-yo-2-24-07">{{cite news

== Formation and league championship==

| title = Why Hogan Withdrew

| work = The Youngstown Vindicator

| date = February 24, 1907

}}</ref>

The club's strong record and regional visibility spurred the growth of amateur and minor league baseball in the Youngstown area, and the community's minor league teams produced notable players throughout the first half of the 20th century.<ref name="Landolf">{{cite news

The Ohio Works team was organized in [[Youngstown, Ohio]], as early as [[1903]], under the sponsorship of local industrialist Joseph McDonald. In [[1905]], the club joined the Class C Division [[Ohio-Pennsylvania League]]. Records suggest that the name, "Youngstown Ohio Works", became officially associated with the club at that time. From the outset, the Ohio Works club was managed by ex-major leaguer [[Marty Hogan]], a former outfielder for the [[Cincinnati Reds]] and [[St. Louis Browns]].<ref>The Hogan-Cullinan Family Collection, Mahoning Valley Historical Society, Youngstown, Ohio.</ref>

| first = Charles A.

| last = Landolf

| title = Youngstown Once Main Link in Minor League Loop Baseball Chain

| work = The Youngstown Vindicator

| page = 26

| date = April 1, 1977

}}</ref> In the late 1990s, this tradition was rekindled, with the establishment of the [[Mahoning Valley Scrappers]], a minor league team based in neighboring [[Niles, Ohio]].<ref name="scrappers">{{cite web | url = http://www.mvscrappers.com/ | title = Mahoning Valley Scrappers Web site | publisher = Mahoning Valley Scrappers | access-date = March 8, 2007 | archive-date = March 19, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070319192145/http://www.mvscrappers.com/ | url-status = live }}</ref>

== Formation and league championship ==

In September 1905, Hogan led the Youngstown team to the league championship, though sources disagree on the club's final record. As baseball researcher John Zajc writes: "''The Reach Guide'' (1906) credits Youngstown with an 84-32 won-lost record where the ''Spalding Guide'' of the same year list a 90-35 record. The ''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'' (1993) tells a third story, giving Youngstown an 88-35 mark".<ref>http://www.sabr.org/sabr.cfm?a=cms,c,412,5,0</ref>

[[Image:ohioworkschamp.jpg|thumb|left|O – P League Champions (1905)]]

The Ohio Works team was organized in [[Youngstown, Ohio|Youngstown]], in 1902, under the sponsorship of [[Joseph A. McDonald]], superintendent of the Ohio Works of the [[Carnegie Steel Company]].<ref name="vindy-yo-05-03-05">{{cite news

| title = Baseball Bits: Regard Them as Champions

| work = The Youngstown Daily Vindicator

| date = May 3, 1905

}}</ref> In 1905, the club joined the Class C Division, Ohio–Pennsylvania League, which was founded that year in [[Akron, Ohio]], by veteran ballplayer [[Charlie Morton (baseball, born 1854)|Charlie Morton]].<ref name="sp288">''Spalding's Official Athletic Library Baseball Guide'' (New York: American Sports Publishing Co., 1906), p. 288.</ref> The league's Ohio members included clubs from Akron, [[Barberton, Ohio|Barberton]], [[Bucyrus, Ohio|Bucyrus]], [[Canton, Ohio|Canton]], [[Kent, Ohio|Kent]], [[Lima, Ohio|Lima]], [[Massillon, Ohio|Massillon]], [[Mount Vernon, Ohio|Mount Vernon]], [[Newark, Ohio|Newark]], Niles, [[Steubenville, Ohio|Steubenville]], [[Washington, Ohio|Washington]], [[Wooster, Ohio|Wooster]], Youngstown, and [[Zanesville, Ohio|Zanesville]], while Pennsylvania was initially represented by teams from [[Braddock, Pennsylvania|Braddock]], [[Butler, Pennsylvania|Butler]], [[Homestead, Pennsylvania|Homestead]], and [[Sharon, Pennsylvania|Sharon]]. Within the first two weeks of the season, clubs from [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]] and [[McKeesport, Pennsylvania|McKeesport]] also joined the league. Only eight of the original 21 participating clubs finished the 1905 season.<ref name="sp1906289">''Spalding's Official Athletic Library Baseball Guide'' (New York: American Sports Publishing Co., 1906), p. 289.</ref> These included clubs from Akron, Homestead, Lancaster, Newark, Niles, Sharon, Youngstown, and Zanesville.<ref name="sp1906289"/> The name, "Youngstown Ohio Works", became officially associated with the Youngstown team when it joined the Ohio–Pennsylvania League.<ref name="Filchia258">

{{cite book

| last = Filchia

| first = Peter

| title = Professional Baseball Franchises: From the Abbeville Athletics to the Zanesville Indians

| year = 1993

| publisher = Facts on File

| ___location = New York

| page = 258

}}</ref> From the outset, the Youngstown ball club was managed by ex-major leaguer [[Marty Hogan]], a former [[outfielder]] for the [[Cincinnati Reds]] and [[St. Louis Browns (NL)|St. Louis Browns]].<ref name="sp288"/>

The team opened the 1905 season with an unexpected 4–1 loss to the Canton Protectives, inspiring a local newspaper to comment that the Youngstown team made "as many errors as hits while Canton fielded almost perfectly and hit opportunely".<ref name="vind-yo-05-03-1905">

According to an article that appeared in the ''[[The Vindicator|Youngstown Daily Vindicator]]'' in October [[1906]], the Ohio Works team won three "state pennants" under Hogan's leadership.<ref>''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator'', Youngstown, Ohio, Oct. 14, 1906.</ref>

{{cite news

| title = Defeated: Ohio Works Lost Its First Game of the Season to Canton

| work = The Youngstown Daily Vindicator

| date = May 3, 1905

}}</ref> The Ohio Works club gained steam and began to win games. On May 11, 1905, the Youngstown team garnered controversy when ''The Akron Times-Democrat'' reported that the Ohio Works' sponsors provided player salaries that nearly doubled those offered by other clubs in the Ohio–Pennsylvania League.<ref name="vind-yo-05-11-1905">

{{cite news

| title = They Scream: Akron Believes Youngstown Will Kill the Independent Game

| work = The Youngstown Daily Vindicator

| date = May 11, 1905

}}</ref> In a report on the outcry in Akron, ''[[The Vindicator|The Youngstown Daily Vindicator]]'' warned that, "if the Youngstown backers keep adding and force the other clubs to add to the salaries, it is a question of only a short time until independent baseball will be an impossibility".<ref name="vind-yo-05-11-1905"/> The newspaper article concluded that the large salaries provided by the Ohio Works's sponsors placed a special burden on teams based in "smaller cities".<ref name="vind-yo-05-11-1905"/>

Competition among league participants was intense, and games were often raucous affairs. On July 16, 1905, a riot broke out during a contest with a team in neighboring Niles, Ohio. According to a newspaper account, the trouble began when two female fans became involved in a "hair-pulling fight". At one point, two "well-known men" were arrested for "taking an umbrella from a woman and breaking it after she had been annoying them with it". Finally, dozens of fans swarmed into the field, where they "pushed around the umpire and interfered with the defensive play of the Youngstown fielders".<ref name="vind-yo-04-11-99">

{{cite news

| title = A Century of Sports: The Mahoning and Shenango Valleys

| work = The Vindicator

| page = D-6

| date = April 11, 1999

}}</ref>

In September 1905, the Youngstown Ohio Works won the first league championship, though sources disagree on the club's final record. This confusion may be due to the disorganized nature of the new league, with its sprawling roster of teams.<ref name="ohio-pa-1905"/> According to the ''Spalding Guide'' (1906), "The failure to furnish official reports was probably due to the clubs being new to a league".<ref name="sp1906289"/> Baseball researcher Jim Holl summarizes the varied accounts as follows: "''The Reach Guide'' (1906) credits Youngstown with an 84–32 won–lost record where the ''Spalding Guide'' of the same year list a 90–35 record. The ''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'' (1993) tells a third story, giving Youngstown an 88–35 mark".<ref name="ohio-pa-1905"/> Despite this uncertainty over the club's record, its championship status was not in dispute, and the team became popularly known as "the Champs".<ref name="vindy-yo-06-19-06">{{cite news

| title = Champs Back: They Returned from Zanesville on Early Morning Train

| work = The Youngstown Vindicator

| date = June 19, 1906

}}</ref> This moniker, however, was not officially connected to a Youngstown-based ball club until 1907, when it became the legal name of the Ohio Works' local successors.<ref name="Filchia258"/>

== Final season ==

[[Image:Royal Eugene Castleton(baseball).JPG|thumb|right|upright|Roy Castleton]]

By the outset of the 1906 season, the Ohio–Pennsylvania League had trimmed down to a more manageable eight teams. Departing teams included franchises from Barberton, Braddock, Bucyrus, Butler, Canton, Homestead, Kent, Lima, Massillon, McKeesport, Mount Vernon, Niles, Steubenville, Washington, and Wooster. At the same time, the league attracted new teams from [[New Castle, Pennsylvania]], and [[Mansfield, Ohio]].<ref name=sabrbio1 />

The Ohio Works team opened with 16 players, three of whom had been part of the club during the 1905 season.<ref name="sportinglife02-17-06">

{{cite news

| title = Ohio–Pennsylvania League: Marty Hogan Has Sixteen Men Under Contract For His Champion Youngstown Club

| work = Sporting Life

| date = February 17, 1906

| page = 10

}}</ref> The team's lineup included William J. Maloney of Bradford, Kentucky; Will M. Thomas of Morristown, Pennsylvania; Tommy Thomas of [[Piqua, Ohio]]; [[Lee Fohl]] of [[Allegheny, Pennsylvania]]; Louis Schettler of [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]]; "Dotty" Freck of [[Columbus, Ohio]]; A. C. McClintock of Columbus; Roy Castleton of [[Salt Lake City, Utah]]; Lewis Groh of [[Rochester, New York]]; John Kennedy of Youngstown, Charles Crouse of [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]]; Roy Chase of [[Andover, Ohio]]; Forrester J. Dressner of Garrettsville, Pennsylvania; Harry Schwartz of [[Cleveland, Ohio]]; and Roy Gould of Middlesex, Pennsylvania.<ref name="sportinglife02-17-06"/> Other players associated with the club during the 1906 season were Edward Hilley,<ref name="vindy-yo-06-21-1906">{{cite news

| title = Moguls Were Swamped; Champs Had Many Hits

| work = The Youngstown Vindicator

| date = June 21, 1906

}}</ref> Curley Blount,<ref name="vindy-yo-04-22-1906">{{cite news

| title = Youngstown's Fast Work Won in the Tenth Inning: Locals Beat Out Cleveland Leaders by Hard Work

| work = The Youngstown Vindicator

| date = April 22, 1906

| page = B-1

}}</ref> and Charles McCloskey.<ref name="vindy-yo-04-22-1906"/>

The Youngstown club kicked off the 1906 season with an exhibition game against a Cleveland team, emerging as victors in a close contest of 3–4.<ref name="vindy-yo-04-22-1906"/> "Up till the closing minutes it looked like the visiting team, the Cleveland Leaders, would stow the contest away in their bat-bags and leave the field on top", the ''Vindicator'' reported. "The finish was exciting, and 400 fanatics who took chances on pneumonia had a chance to warm up and go home in good spirits.".<ref name="vindy-yo-04-22-1906"/> The paper stated that, at the top of the first inning, the Cleveland team was leading by one point, when "the Youngstown gentlemen got busy in the most approved style".<ref name="vindy-yo-04-22-1906"/> According to the ''Vindicator'', Ohio Works player Curley Blount "stepped in front of a slow pitched ball and was sent to third", while A. C. McClintock "stole second with all hands asleep".<ref name="vindy-yo-04-22-1906"/> At this point, the paper added, "[Charles] McCloskey took another base hit and Blount and McClintock scored".<ref name="vindy-yo-04-22-1906"/> The ''Vindicator'''s summary of the game called attention to pitcher Roy Castleton, "who struck out all three batters in the tenth and got one in the ninth".<ref name="vindy-yo-04-22-1906"/> The paper described McClintock and McCloskey (the "two Macs") as the Youngstown club's "star hitters".<ref name="vindy-yo-04-22-1906"/>

Early in the season, as the Ohio Works team prepared for a second game with the Zanesville Moguls (close rivals in the 1905 championship games),<ref name="sp1906289"/> the club manager, Hogan, spoke confidently on their chances of capturing the league pennant. "If the boys go through the season as they are playing now, we will have no trouble winning out", he said to a reporter with ''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator''. "Our pitchers are in good condition and are holding the opposing batsmen to few hits. It is the pitching staff that has saved many a game for us. We have no .350 batters on the club, but any man on it is liable to step in and break up a game".<ref name="vindy-yo-06-19-06"/> A local newspaper confirmed Hogan's assessment of the team, observing that only one player, outfielder Will Thomas, had worked up a [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] of .306.<ref name="vindy-yo-06-25-1906">{{cite news

| title = Fielding Is Improved; Batting Not So Strong

| work = The Youngstown Vindicator

| date = June 25, 1906

}}</ref> Nevertheless, as Hogan predicted, the team defeated the Moguls, with a final score of 11–8. The game's highlights included the pitching of "Long John" Kennedy, who kept the Moguls to seven hits, and the batting of Edward Hilley, who "unloosened a drive to middle field that permitted him to go all the way around".<ref name="vindy-yo-06-21-1906"/>

Hogan's overall confidence in the club was rewarded. The Youngstown team closed the season with an 84–53 record and won its second consecutive Ohio–Pennsylvania League championship.<ref name="sp1910219">''Spalding's Official Athletic Library Baseball Guide'' (New York: American Sports Publishing Co., 1910), p. 219.</ref> The star of the Ohio Works team was a gangling, left-handed pitcher named Roy Castleton, a [[Utah]] native who went on to pitch for the [[New York Highlanders]] and Cincinnati Reds.<ref name= sabrbio1 /> On August 17, 1906, Castleton gained national recognition when he pitched a [[Perfect game (baseball)|perfect game]] against rival Akron, shutting them out at 4–0.<ref name=sabrbio1 /> With Castleton's assistance, the Youngstown Ohio Works claimed its third consecutive Ohio state pennant, a prize distinct from the league championship.<ref name="vindy-yo-10-14-06">{{cite news

| title = Hogan Is Popular Here; Fans Glad He Returned

| work = The Youngstown Vindicator

| date = October 14, 1906

}}</ref>

== Dissolution ==

[[Image:zsignal.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''Zanesville Signal'', February 18, 1907]]

In the wake of the Ohio Works' second league championship, steps were taken to incorporate the club.<ref name="sportinglife12-08-06">{{cite news| title = Ohio–Pennsylvania League: The Status of the Champion Youngstown Club to be Radically Changed Next Year With Great Benefit| work = Sporting Life| date = December 8, 1906| page = 4}}</ref> ''[[Sporting Life (sports journal)|Sporting Life]]'' noted in December 1906 that the team's backers, Joseph and Thomas McDonald (superintendent and assistant superintendent, respectively, of the Ohio Works of the Carnegie Steel Company) were compelled to invite additional investors because of planned (and costly) improvements at the steel plant.<ref name="sportinglife12-08-06"/> "The incorporators of the club will be Thomas McDonald, Joseph McDonald, Thomas Carr, Thomas Carter and Marty Hogan", the paper stated. "Manager Hogan will be given even more control of the team next season than he has had. Heretofore he has had the entire control of the team and transacted most of the business".<ref name="sportinglife12-08-06"/>

DisagreementsAt some point, disagreements over funding, however,evidently culminatedarose inbetween the club'sMcDonald salebrothers and relocation in early 1907Hogan. AnOn articleFebruary published18, in1907, the [[''Zanesville]] (Ohio) ''Signal'' on February 19, [[1907]], reported that Hogan had received permission from "the Messrs. McDonald" (Joseph and Thomas) to negotiate a $3,000 deal for the sale of the team, (including its players), to a group of Zanesville investors.<ref Inname="Zanesville-signal">{{cite thenews| sametitle article= Franchise, Team and Marty Hogan are Coming Here| work = The Zanesville Signal| page = 1| date = February 18, 1907}}</ref> The following day, Hogan was quoted as saying, "Youngstown couldn't or didn't raise enough money to cover a sparrow's blanket".<ref name="Zanesville-signal2">{{cite news| title = Zanesville Has Them Guessing; Marty Hogan Says He''s Glad to Be Located in This City| work = The Zanesville Signal'',| Zanesville,page Ohio,= 1| date = February 19, 1907.}}</ref> The ball club manager's evident frustration during this period was reflected in comments published in ''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator'' almost a week after the team's sale. When questioned on his widely publicized decision to resign as manager of the Youngstown club before the opening of the 1907 season, Hogan reportedly said that he had received "the short end of the deal".<ref name="vindy-yo-2-24-07"/> No reference was made to the club's sale.<ref name="vindy-yo-2-24-07"/>

The former Ohio Works manager was apparently not the only observer to suggest that Joseph McDonald engaged in "unsportsmanlike tactics".<ref name="vindy-yo-05-02-20">{{cite news| title = Youngstown's Old Circus Grounds| work = The Youngstown Vindicator| date = May 2, 1920}}</ref> A feature story, that appeared in ''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator'' in 1920, stated that McDonald took deliberate steps in 1907 to replace the Ohio Works team with a more seasoned club from [[Homestead, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="vindy-yo-05-02-20"/> The new club became known officially as the "[[Youngstown Champs]]".<ref name="Filchia258"/> Rumors of McDonald's supposed strategy apparently angered local baseball fans.<ref name="vindy-yo-05-02-20"/> According to the 1920 feature article, the Youngstown media highlighted the Champs' unexpected loss to the amateur [[Rayen High School (Youngstown, Ohio)|Rayen]] Athletics in 1907.<ref name="vindy-yo-05-02-20"/> At this point McDonald's relationship with the club was less direct. According to ''Sporting Life'', the Youngstown franchise had been "declared forfeit" in early 1907, on the recommendation of the Akron club; it was subsequently "awarded" to a recently established baseball company.<ref name="sportinglife04-13-07">{{cite news| title = Ohio–Pennsylvania League: Adopted the 1907 Championship Schedule–The Season to Run From May 1 to September 29 for 140 Games| work = Sporting Life| date = April 13, 1907| page = 9}}</ref> "This was only a formality to make legal the actions taken by Magnate [Joseph] McDonald when they turned over the old franchise to the newly organized company in Youngstown", the paper reported.<ref name="sportinglife04-13-07"/> In any event, the Youngstown Champs went on to win the Ohio–Pennsylvania League championship.<ref name="sp1910219"/>

Hogan's anger evidently arose from the fact that he had turned down an offer to manage a ball club in [[Nashville, Tennessee]],<ref>''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator'', Youngstown, Ohio, October 10, 1906.</ref> only to be presented with terms in Youngstown that fell short of an earlier agreement. This interpretation is supported by comments that appeared in ''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator'' almost a week later. When Hogan was asked why he would not manage the Youngstown ball club in the 1907 season, he reportedly replied, "I'm the man who got the short end of the deal and I do not intend to stand for it".<ref>''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator'', Youngstown, Ohio, Feb. 24, 1907.</ref> (The story must have been published at least a week following its submission, because no reference was made to the club's sale.)

Meanwhile, former Ohio Works players in Zanesville quickly regained their momentum. In March 1907, the new club was admitted into the [[Pennsylvania–Ohio–Maryland League]], a Division D league.<ref name="sportinglife03-23-07">{{cite news| title = Combined Despatches| work = Sporting Life| date = March 23, 1907| page = 5}}</ref> By the close of the 1907 season, the club had seized the championship of the eight-team P-O-M league.<ref name="sportinglifejune1907">{{cite web | url = http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1907/VOL_49_NO_13/SL4913026.pdf | title = The P.-O.-M. League: Record of the Championship Race, Results of Game Played and News and Gossip of Clubs and Players | publisher = Sporting Life | access-date = January 21, 2009 | archive-date = March 4, 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090304200547/http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1907/VOL_49_NO_13/SL4913026.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref> In 1908, Hogan's final season as manager, the team was christened as the [[Zanesville Infants]] and joined the [[Central League]].<ref name="central">{{cite web | url = http://www.ballparkwatch.com/leagues/central_league.htm | title = Central League | publisher = BallParkWatch | access-date = March 12, 2007|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071208090857/http://www.ballparkwatch.com/leagues/central_league.htm |archive-date = December 8, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> Further research is needed to determine the Zanesville Infants' league ranking at the close of the 1908 season, but available information shows that the team neither won the championship nor placed as a runner-up.<ref name="central"/>

Nor was the former Ohio Works manager alone in suggesting that Joseph McDonald had employed "unsportsmanlike tactics".<ref>''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator'', Youngstown, Ohio, May 2, 1920.</ref> According to a later newspaper account, McDonald had taken deliberate steps to replace the "amateur" Ohio Works team with a more seasoned club from [[Homestead, Pennsylvania]],<ref>''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator'', Youngstown, Ohio, May 2, 1920.</ref> which became known as the "Youngstown Champs".<ref>Peter Filchia, ''Professional Baseball Franchises: From the Abbeville Athletics to the Zanesville Indians'' (New York: Facts on File, 1993), p. 258.</ref> Manager Hogan would have been unlikely to cooperate in such a scheme. While newspaper reports indicate "he was a hard loser and handled his men without gloves when the occasion required", they also suggest Hogan was loyal to his players.<ref>''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator'', Youngstown, Ohio, Oct. 14, 1906.</ref> McDonald's reported move, which may have been at the center of his rift with Hogan, also angered Youngstown baseball fans; and the local media highlighted the Champs' unexpected loss to the amateur Rayen Athletics in 1907.<ref>''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator'', Youngstown, Ohio, May 2, 1920.</ref>

With the exception of a few notable figures, the progress of former Ohio Works players is difficult to track. After leaving the club at the end of the 1906 season, Roy Castleton went on to pitch for the New York Highlanders and Cincinnati Reds.<ref name=sabrbio1 /> Lee Fohl, another noteworthy alumnus, managed the [[Cleveland Indians]] between 1915 and 1919.<ref name="nyt07-20-19">

On November 6, 1912, ''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator'' reported that Hogan (fresh from stints as a manager in Zanesville and [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania]]) was likely to once again manage a local minor league ball club.<ref>''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator'', Youngstown, Ohio, Nov. 6, 1912.</ref> Further research will be required to confirm the outcome of this development.

{{cite news| title = Lee Fohl Resigns as Indians' Boss: Tris Speaker Appointed to Manage Cleveland Club for Remainder of Season| work = The New York Times| date = July 20, 1919| page = 17}}</ref> Fohl later served as manager of the [[St. Louis Browns]] and [[Boston Red Sox]].<ref name="baseballmagazineaug1924">{{cite news| first = John J. | last = Ward| title = Lee Fohl's Unique Career: Three Times Lee Fohl Has Made a Weak Club Strong, But Three Times He Has Been Opposed| work = Baseball Magazine| date = August 1924}}</ref> Although Fohl was often criticized as a manager, sports journalist John J. Ward (writing in August 1924) credited him, to a large extent, for the early successes of the Red Sox, an underdog that briefly challenged the New York Yankees and [[Washington Senators (1901–60)|Washington Senators]] before slipping to seventh place in the eight-team [[American League]].<ref name="baseballmagazineaug1924"/> Former major leaguer Billy Phyle, who played for the Ohio Works team during the 1905 season,<ref name="sportinglife12-16-05">{{cite news| title = News Notes| work = Sporting Life| date = December 16, 1905| page = 9}}</ref> went on to the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] in 1906.<ref name="billphylestats">{{cite web | url = http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=phylebi01 | title = Bill Phyle Stats | publisher = Baseball Almanac | access-date = March 17, 2009 | archive-date = June 9, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080609011723/http://baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=phylebi01 | url-status = live }}</ref> A fourth ex-team member, Louis Schettler, played for the [[Philadelphia Phillies]] during the 1910 season.<ref name="louschettlerstats">{{cite web | url = http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=schetlo01 | title = Lou Schettler Stats | publisher = Baseball Almanac | access-date = March 13, 2009 | archive-date = June 25, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080625011938/http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=schetlo01 | url-status = live }}</ref> Schettler (a Pittsburgh native) eventually settled in Youngstown, where he died in 1960.<ref name="louschettlerstats"/>

Much is known about the subsequent career of the team's ex-manager. In 1909, Marty Hogan moved to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he signed future [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Hall of Fame]] pitcher [[Stan Coveleski]] to his first professional contract.<ref name=sabrbio1 /> In 1909, the [[Lancaster Red Roses]] worked up a 75–39 record,<ref name="rose">{{cite web | url = http://www.lancasterhistory.org/collections/exhibitions/Baseball/baseball5.htm | title = 1906–1914: A Rose by Any Other Name | publisher = Lancaster County Historical Society | access-date = March 4, 2007|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070415131848/http://www.lancasterhistory.org/collections/exhibitions/Baseball/baseball5.htm |archive-date = April 15, 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> seizing the championship of the [[Tri-State League]].<ref name="sp181">''Spalding's Official Athletic Library Baseball Guide'' (New York: American Sports Publishing Co., 1910), p. 181.</ref> As ''Spalding's Baseball Guide'' (1910) reported: "Lancaster, under manager Marty Hogan, won its first pennant in the league, and the top rung of the ladder was only gained by the hardest kind of fighting".<ref name="sp181"/> Hogan went on to manage clubs in Zanesville and [[Fond du Lac, Wisconsin]].<ref name="nyt-07-20-13">{{cite news| title = Hogan to Manage Fond Du Lac Nine| work = The New York Times| date = July 20, 1913}}</ref> In 1913, during a stint in Zanesville, the manager signed pitcher [[Sad Sam Jones|Sam Jones]] to his first professional contract.<ref name=sabrbio1 /> In the mid-1910s, Hogan permanently resettled in Youngstown, where he died in 1923, several months after being injured in an automobile accident.<ref name="vindy-yo-08-17-23">{{cite news| title = Death Takes Marty Hogan: Baseball Star Succumbs After Long Illness—Hurt in Auto Crash| work = The Youngstown Daily Vindicator| date = August 17, 1923}}</ref>

== Legacy ==

[[Image:YoungstownOhio1910s.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Youngstown, Ohio]]

The Youngstown Ohio Works team gave several members a "shot" at the major leagues, and played an indirect role in launching the career of [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Hall of Fame]] umpire [[Billy Evans]]. On September 1, 1903, Evans, a reporter at ''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator'', was assigned to cover a game between the Ohio Works and the [[Homestead Library Athletic Club]] that was held in Youngstown. Evans took his first step toward a legendary career when club manager Hogan offered him $15 to fill an umpire vacancy.<ref name="baker">{{cite news

| first = Jon

| last = Baker

| title = In Valley's baseball history, Evans was an early scrapper

| work = The Valley Voice

| page = 27

| date = July 1, 2005

}}</ref> (In 1905, Evans received a major career boost from Youngstown native [[Jimmy McAleer]], who recommended Evans to the [[American League]].)<ref name="baker"/>

The story of the Ohio Works team proved to be an early chapter in Youngstown's long history of amateur and minor league baseball. In the 1930s and 1940s, the city was a frequent host of the National Amateur Baseball Federation (NABF) championship. NABF officials praised the community for the condition of its sandlot [[baseball diamond]]s, which they rated as among the best in the country.<ref name="ward">{{cite news

The Youngstown Ohio Works is often remembered for its role in launching the career of [[Hall of Fame]] umpire [[Billy Evans]]. On September 1, 1903, Evans, a reporter at ''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator'', was assigned to cover a game between the Ohio Works and the [[Homestead]] (Pennsylvania) Library Athletic Club in Youngstown. Club manager Hogan offered Evans $15 to fill an umpire vacancy. (In 1905, Evans received another career boost from Youngstown native [[Jimmy McAleer]], who recommended Evans to the [[American League]].)<ref>''The Valley Voice'', Youngstown, Ohio, July 1-7, 2005.</ref>

| first = Frank B.

| last = Ward

Overall, the Ohio Works team would prove to be just one chapter in Youngstown's rich history of minor league baseball. For decades, the community hosted the National Amateur Baseball Federation championship. Significantly, NABF officials praised Youngstown's sports establishment in 1946 for the pristine condition of the community's sandlot baseball diamonds, which were regarded as among the best in the country.<ref>''The Youngstown Daily Vindicator'', Youngstown, Ohio, Sept. 16, 1946.</ref>

| title = Along the Sports Rialto

| work = The Youngstown Vindicator

| page = 7

| date = September 16, 1946

}}</ref> During the first half of the 20th century, Youngstown-based teams provided experience and exposure to future major league players such as [[Everett Scott]],<ref name="boston1918">{{cite web | url = http://www.1918redsox.com/players/scott.htm | title = Lewis Everett "Deacon" Scott | publisher = 1918 Red Sox | access-date = January 31, 2008 | archive-date = May 9, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080509192116/http://www.1918redsox.com/players/scott.htm | url-status = live }}</ref> [[Floyd Baker]], and [[Johnny Kucab]].<ref name="Landolf"/> Today, the Youngstown–Warren area is home base to the [[Mahoning Valley Scrappers]], a [[collegiate summer baseball]] team and former minor league team, that currently plays in the [[MLB Draft League]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mahoning Valley Scrappers {{!}} Mahoning Valley Scrappers |url=https://www.mlbdraftleague.com/mahoning-valley/ |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=www.mlbdraftleague.com |language=en}}</ref>

== References ==

{{Reflist|30em}}

<references/>

== Related Links ==

{{featured article}}

* http://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Youngstown_Ohio_Works

{{Ohio-Pennsylvania League |state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Minor leagueDefunct baseball teams in Ohio]]

[[Category: Defunct minor league baseball teams|Youngstown Ohio Works]]

[[Category:Sports in Youngstown, Ohio]]

[[Category:Baseball teams disestablished in 1907]]

[[Category:Baseball teams established in 1902]]

[[Category:1902 establishments in Ohio]]

[[Category:1907 disestablishments in Ohio]]

[[Category:Ohio-Pennsylvania League teams]]