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Left with only a traceBy Glenn Miller They're a history mystery, a baseball team wrapped in the mists of the past. All the information easily found on the 1926 Fort Myers Palms is one line in the 1926 Florida State League standings in a guidebook and a photo on the Internet with these words above it: "Buck Conroy's Palms in Formal Pose." Their names were Davenport and Domingo, Williams and Grandio, O'Reilly and Hernandez. And others. They were Southwest Florida's first pro team. The Palms lasted one season, moving away from Terry Park because of low attendance. Eighty years later, they remain a puzzle. Who were they? Who was Buck Conroy? Who were Davenport and Domingo? And Williams, Grandio, Hernandez and all the others? Although they’re all likely dead, their legacy lives on in a roundabout way. The Palms moved to Miami in 1927 and the franchise eventually returned here in 1992, becoming the Fort Myers Miracle. The Palms/Miracle have combined for 1,000 victories. The Miracle won their 1,000th game in franchise history Friday night in Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach. There was irony in going after win No. 1,000 in Jackie Robinson Ballpark, which is named after the player who broke baseball’s color barrier. In 1926, the Palms did not allow black players. That was the custom in pro ball 80 years ago. The Fort Myers Press, a predecessor of The News-Press, carried ads for Ku Klux Klan meetings. A March 26, 1926, ad proclaimed that the grand dragon of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan for the realm of Florida would give a public lecture on the courthouse steps at 7:30 p.m. Not all 1926 ads were so unsettling. A Ford Runabout could be purchased for $290. The Arcade Theater’s double-feature that spring included two silent pictures, "Dance Madness" starring Conrad Nagel and Clare Windsor and "The Dark Angel," featuring Ronald Coleman and Vilma Banks. The Piggly-Wiggly supermarket at 207 Second St. had its grand opening March 27. What about the Palms? Southwest Florida didn’t have another pro team of its own until 1978, when the Fort Myers Royals joined the FSL, a Class A minor league. Since then, the area has also had pro hockey, indoor football and basketball teams of its own. Southwest Florida’s minor-league history began with the 1926 Palms, who have faded away into grainy, microfilmed obscurity at the Lee County Library. "The Story of Fort Myers," a 348-page history published in 1982, does not include one Palms mention. Fort Myers resident David Seehaver helped organize a baseball history exhibit at the Southwest Florida Museum of History. The Palms weren’t part of that exhibit. They’re little more than a whiff of a rumor floating through eight decades. "I know they existed, but that’s about it," Seehaver said. Lee County Parks director John Yarbrough has seen the Palms photo. Does he know anything about the players? "I have no idea," Yarbrough said. And what about Buck Conroy? Why is the team referred to as "Buck Conroy’s Palms?" How did he become the manager? What became of him? "I have no idea," Yarbrough said. The Palms president was John W. Hendry, a well-known Southwest Florida name. The first Hendry came to Fort Myers in the 1870s. Hendry County is east of Lee County. The 2006 Lee County phone book lists Hendry Drywall, Hendry Aluminum, Bruce Hendry Insurance, two attorneys named Hendry and two dentists with the name. Ten Hendry family members are mentioned in Grismer’s history. But not John W. Hendry. Fort Myers attorney Hank Hendry, 54, isn’t a baseball fan and never heard of the Palms. "This is all news to me," Hendry said. Hank Hendry believes the team’s president was John Wall Hendry, who was born in 1896. "That would have to be a relative," Hendry said. John W. Hendry died in Saluda, N.C., in 1979. This team is lost in the mists of the past. For the most part. The Palms had a 66-52 record, third-best in the eight-team league. At one point, they posed for that formal portrait, virtually all the evidence of their existence that remains. Fourteen players stared into the camera of an unknown photographer. Only last names are provided, except for secretary W.H. Merrill, standing to the side, wearing a long-sleeve shirt. Conroy, wrapped in a sweater, sits in the center of the middle row, hands on knee. Conroy and the team didn’t last long. An April 9, 1926, headline: "S.O.S. Call Made By Baseball Club; May Lose Franchise." John W. Hendry played hardball. "If the people in Fort Myers want the club, they must purchase the stock," Hendry told the paper. "If they do not want it, I will sell the franchise to some other city in the state. I just want to arouse the people to the fact that the club must be supported if we are to have real baseball this summer." On June 4, an ominous item appeared. "All season tickets to Florida state league ball games at Terry Park were recalled today by the club management. All of the 1926 tickets now out have been officially made void. ... Those now out will not be honored at the gate." A June 25, 1926, front page headline let fans know the outlook was bleak: "Ballclub fate to be settled this evening." Although the Lions Club fought to keep the team, low attendance doomed the Palms. How low was attendance? The Fort Myers Press and the rival Fort Myers Tropical News didn’t report attendance figures. Much else wasn’t reported. Game stories typically mentioned only last names. Player backgrounds and hometowns were rarely provided. This is a typical reference: "The work of pitcher Thielsen has made a strong impression on Conroy." Some first names were mentioned. Former University of Alabama "twirler" Tom McRae joined the team on April 14. Some first names were printed over the course of the season. Gene Davenport. Big Boy Williams. Joe Hernandez. Jack O’Reilly. Joe Domingo. Mike Bouza. Cliff Chauncey. Pat Doran. Jim Moore. Not one played in the majors. Conroy was fired in late May and replaced by catcher Joe Johnston. Johnston was later replaced by Pete Doyle, who was replaced by Doran. FSL teams sported nifty names: Bradenton Growers. Sarasota Gulls. St. Petersburg Saints. Lakeland Highlanders. Tampa Smokers. Sanford Celeryfeds. Celeryfeds? Yep. Managers were always looking for edges, even 80 years ago. Gulls manager Ivy Olson played in the majors from 1911 to 1924. His name was spelled incorrectly in the paper in an account of a 9-0 Palms victory: "The game was protested by manager Ivy Olsen of the Gulls on the ground that McRae’s uniform differed in color from those worn by other members of the team." The Palms played their final game Sept. 15, 1926, losing 5-0 on the road to the Smokers. Now, 80 years later, they’ve emerged from the mists of history. The Miracle may hold a Palms night this season at the Lee County Sports Complex. "We need to pay tribute, to do something like that," Miracle vice president Andrew Seymour said. "Nothing planned at the moment." Somewhere, Buck Conroy may be smiling. Reporter's note: How did we stumble upon the 1926 Fort Myers Palms? In researching other local history stories, I've stumbled across the photo that accompanies this story. It carries this label: "Buck Conroy's Palms in Formal Pose." I assumed they were a local amateur team. The Florida State League media guide lists year-by-year attendance figures for teams. The first Fort Myers entry is for 1978, when the Fort Myers Royals began play at Terry Park. The News-Press copy editor Steve Bloch noticed something else in the media guide — under the year-by-year standings Fort Myers was listed for 1926. Just 1926. Hmm. The research fun commenced. PALMS/MIRACLE CHRONOLOGY1926: Fort Myers Palms play at Terry Park 1926 AT GLANCE
Webposted on June 03, 2006
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Home  This article is copyright 2006 by the Fort Myers News Press and is used for entertainment/educational purposes only.
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Calvin Coolidge president