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It was a local Gem
Tomorrow, Wednesday, at first we had no idea what was on the schedule...
A baseball oracle
By Bob Cudmore
A man who spent the last four months of his life in Amsterdam was living in Rome, New York, when he correctly predicted the outcome of 21 St. Louis Cardinals baseball games at the end of the 1930 season.
According to his son, James J. Sheridan III of Amsterdam, James J. Sheridan II was operating a candy store called the Smoke Shop in Rome when he began sending uncannily accurate telegrams to the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Charles “Gabby” Street. The messages predicted the outcome of pending games and often gave Street instruction on who should pitch.
According to a 1930 column by Harry T. Brundidge in the St. Louis Star about “this fellow Sheridan in Rome, N.Y.,” the first telegram came September 9 when the Cardinals were in fourth place, “Do not worry, you will lose today, regardless of your pitching choice; you will win the next three.”
That day the Cardinals lost to the New York Giants before winning the next three games. The following day another message promised, “Everything O.K. You will win two and lose one.”
Street read the prediction to the team. "Say," he exclaimed, "it's from the same nut who sent me the telegram in New York." But the Cardinals performed as the “nut” predicted.
The telegrams continued and on the final weekend of the season, St. Louis hosted Pittsburgh for a four-game series. Street received a telegram stating, “Have no worries. Pitch (Burleigh) Grimes and (Jesse) Haines in first two games and Cards are in the bag. The pennant will be clinched Friday so you can have some rest.”
Grimes pitched a shutout. Haines helped clinch the pennant the next night as St. Louis won again.
The Cards moved into the World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics. A telegram from Sheridan said Sylvester Johnson should pitch. He warned Street that St. Louis would lose two in a row if Grimes pitched that day. Street ignored his oracle, put Grimes on the mound and St. Louis lost two games.
The next telegram from Sheridan in Rome said, “Don't worry. I'm praying. (Bill) Hallahan and Haines will win Saturday and Sunday. I'll wire you about Monday's game.” Hallahan and Haines won their two games.
The Monday telegram failed to arrive. Team members were reported unsettled by their loss of direction from Sheridan and lost Monday’s game.
A final telegram arrived before game six, “Hallahan and Haines will win the championship for St. Louis tomorrow and Thursday.” For the first time, Sheridan was wrong. Philadelphia defeated St. Louis by a score of 7 to 1 and won the World Series.
Sheridan left Rome in 1931 and lived in other valley municipalities such as Herkimer. In late 1934, the family moved to Stewart Street in Amsterdam. He was working as a cigar salesman. Overwhelmed when he lost that job, Sheridan sent a goodbye note to a friend, a reporter at the Rome Sentinel. The reporter contacted the Recorder newsroom in Amsterdam and their reporters went to Sheridan’s house; the 42-year old already had hung himself.
The Sentinel wrote in an editor’s note following Sheridan’s death, “This fellow Sheridan of Rome, N.Y.” was one of the best-liked men ever to live in this city. Although beset by financial difficulties, he seldom lost his smile for his friends, his spirit of good fellowship. Many Romans knew and liked Jimmie Sheridan.”
James Sheridan III said his mother Ursula and two sisters briefly went on welfare but his mother soon found work in finance. Ursula Sheridan became well known for operating a finance company on Chuctanunda Street in Amsterdam.
Wednesday on The Historians with Bob Cudmore
Richard Hamm on what really happened during Prohibition. He is co-editor of “Prohibition’s Greatest Myths: The Distilled Truth About America’s Anti-Alcohol Crusade.”
Thursday, September 8, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette— The Chalmers building
Chalmers advertised in a spectacular way for a decade with a large lighted sign above New York’s Times Square, touting the superiority of Porosknit and its other products.
Four Historians podcasts "rolled into One"
Friday, September 9, 2022
Episode 439-2022 Highlights Episode Four with excerpts from a history of the Mohawk River with Mary Zawacki of Schenectady County Historical Society; Kelly Yacobucci Farquhar, Montgomery County New York historian, on a national family history TV show visit to Fonda; Susanne Dunlap discusses The Portraitist, a novel based on the life of an 18th century French artist; Stephen Williams, author of Off the Northway on the history of the GlobalFoundries semiconductor facility in Malta; Bob Cudmore on Ukrainians in Amsterdam and Rick Herrera, author of Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Rain likely, mainly before 10am. Cloudy, with a high near 67. Northeast wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tonight
A chance of rain, mainly before 11pm. Cloudy, with a low around 58. Northeast wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Wednesday
A chance of rain. Patchy fog between 7am and 8am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. Northeast wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Tuesday, September 6, 2022
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Towns, villages, cities and counties this summer are reeling in the second tranche of COVID-era federal relief money that has…
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View all episodes
By Bob CudmoreTomorrow, Wednesday, at first we had no idea what was on the schedule...
A baseball oracle
By Bob Cudmore
A man who spent the last four months of his life in Amsterdam was living in Rome, New York, when he correctly predicted the outcome of 21 St. Louis Cardinals baseball games at the end of the 1930 season.
According to his son, James J. Sheridan III of Amsterdam, James J. Sheridan II was operating a candy store called the Smoke Shop in Rome when he began sending uncannily accurate telegrams to the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Charles “Gabby” Street. The messages predicted the outcome of pending games and often gave Street instruction on who should pitch.
According to a 1930 column by Harry T. Brundidge in the St. Louis Star about “this fellow Sheridan in Rome, N.Y.,” the first telegram came September 9 when the Cardinals were in fourth place, “Do not worry, you will lose today, regardless of your pitching choice; you will win the next three.”
That day the Cardinals lost to the New York Giants before winning the next three games. The following day another message promised, “Everything O.K. You will win two and lose one.”
Street read the prediction to the team. "Say," he exclaimed, "it's from the same nut who sent me the telegram in New York." But the Cardinals performed as the “nut” predicted.
The telegrams continued and on the final weekend of the season, St. Louis hosted Pittsburgh for a four-game series. Street received a telegram stating, “Have no worries. Pitch (Burleigh) Grimes and (Jesse) Haines in first two games and Cards are in the bag. The pennant will be clinched Friday so you can have some rest.”
Grimes pitched a shutout. Haines helped clinch the pennant the next night as St. Louis won again.
The Cards moved into the World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics. A telegram from Sheridan said Sylvester Johnson should pitch. He warned Street that St. Louis would lose two in a row if Grimes pitched that day. Street ignored his oracle, put Grimes on the mound and St. Louis lost two games.
The next telegram from Sheridan in Rome said, “Don't worry. I'm praying. (Bill) Hallahan and Haines will win Saturday and Sunday. I'll wire you about Monday's game.” Hallahan and Haines won their two games.
The Monday telegram failed to arrive. Team members were reported unsettled by their loss of direction from Sheridan and lost Monday’s game.
A final telegram arrived before game six, “Hallahan and Haines will win the championship for St. Louis tomorrow and Thursday.” For the first time, Sheridan was wrong. Philadelphia defeated St. Louis by a score of 7 to 1 and won the World Series.
Sheridan left Rome in 1931 and lived in other valley municipalities such as Herkimer. In late 1934, the family moved to Stewart Street in Amsterdam. He was working as a cigar salesman. Overwhelmed when he lost that job, Sheridan sent a goodbye note to a friend, a reporter at the Rome Sentinel. The reporter contacted the Recorder newsroom in Amsterdam and their reporters went to Sheridan’s house; the 42-year old already had hung himself.
The Sentinel wrote in an editor’s note following Sheridan’s death, “This fellow Sheridan of Rome, N.Y.” was one of the best-liked men ever to live in this city. Although beset by financial difficulties, he seldom lost his smile for his friends, his spirit of good fellowship. Many Romans knew and liked Jimmie Sheridan.”
James Sheridan III said his mother Ursula and two sisters briefly went on welfare but his mother soon found work in finance. Ursula Sheridan became well known for operating a finance company on Chuctanunda Street in Amsterdam.
Wednesday on The Historians with Bob Cudmore
Richard Hamm on what really happened during Prohibition. He is co-editor of “Prohibition’s Greatest Myths: The Distilled Truth About America’s Anti-Alcohol Crusade.”
Thursday, September 8, 2022- From the Archives of the Daily Gazette— The Chalmers building
Chalmers advertised in a spectacular way for a decade with a large lighted sign above New York’s Times Square, touting the superiority of Porosknit and its other products.
Four Historians podcasts "rolled into One"
Friday, September 9, 2022
Episode 439-2022 Highlights Episode Four with excerpts from a history of the Mohawk River with Mary Zawacki of Schenectady County Historical Society; Kelly Yacobucci Farquhar, Montgomery County New York historian, on a national family history TV show visit to Fonda; Susanne Dunlap discusses The Portraitist, a novel based on the life of an 18th century French artist; Stephen Williams, author of Off the Northway on the history of the GlobalFoundries semiconductor facility in Malta; Bob Cudmore on Ukrainians in Amsterdam and Rick Herrera, author of Feeding Washington’s Army: Surviving the Valley Forge Winter of 1778.
Mohawk Valley Weather, Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Rain likely, mainly before 10am. Cloudy, with a high near 67. Northeast wind around 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tonight
A chance of rain, mainly before 11pm. Cloudy, with a low around 58. Northeast wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
Wednesday
A chance of rain. Patchy fog between 7am and 8am. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. Northeast wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Mohawk Valley News Headlines, Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Daily Gazette
Here’s where some of ARPA’s $1.9 trillion is going in the Capital Region
Towns, villages, cities and counties this summer are reeling in the second tranche of COVID-era federal relief money that has…
Towns, villages, cities and counties this summer are reeling in the second tranche of COVID-era federal relief money that has…
https://dailygazette.com/
Amsterdam Recorder
Dygert Farms Creamery named second-best milk in New York State
Robbie and Shannon Dygert are part of the 13th generation of milk producers at their 650-acre...
https://www.recordernews.com/
Leader Herald
Make Us A Part Of Your Day
https://www.leaderherald.com/