A special thank you to all those who have participated in our “I Remember Rippey” series. Your remembrances have allowed readers to share in our town’s history, activities, sports, school, church, and daily life covering 150 years.
We will continue posting online here, using “I Remember Rippey” remembrances received, though those received after April, 2020 will not be in the printed history book. If you would like to read more Rippey history, you may also click on the History tab of the Rippey Library website: https://www.rippey.lib.ia.us .
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Buckeye Coal Mine Baseball Team 1905 by Matthew Lepke, Grandson Of Jean McKelvey McElheney
The love of baseball spans generations in my family. The man in the center of this photo, my great-great uncle, Mick Feith, played in Rippey for the Buckeye Coal Mine team over 115 years ago. The team was sponsored by the mine, which was owned by my great-great grandfather, Mike Feith.
My grandma, Jean McElheney, used to tell stories of trips in the 1930s that her father, Charles McKelvey, took to Chicago to watch baseball games at Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park.
During the first time I visited Wrigley, in the late 1990s, I thought of him and how–over 60 years later–I was seeing a game at the same ballpark. Carrying on the family tradition, I’ve now visited over 60 major- and minor-league ballparks across the country, from Asheville, Albuquerque, and Atlanta, to Philadelphia, El Paso, San Diego, and many points in between.
The team was sponsored by the Buckeye Coal Mine owned by Matthew Lepke’s great-great grandad Mike Feith. The ball field was southwest of Rippey, near where “Old Rippey” was located.
Front row, L to R– Bert Lovejoy, 1st base, Mick Feith, pitcher, Bill Bedwell, catcher
Back row, L to R– Rudolph Fogle, 3rd base, Frank Johnson, right field, Otis Rohrer, 2nd base, Bill Guthrie, center field, Dick Anschutz, substitute, Ralph Bayard, left field, Emanuel States, short stop
This is a copy of the original picture given to Matt Lepke, Christmas 1998, by Matt’s grandmother, Jean McElheney.