George Edward “Rube” Waddell was an original oddball lefty, who could endear himself to fans, provide fodder for sportswriters, and alienate his teammates and manager. He was also immensely talented. Hijinks notwithstanding, he was the premier power pitcher in the opening decade of the 1900s. The enigmatic Waddell struggled during the first few years of his professional career though, and was lucky just to be a .500 pitcher. It was not until Connie Mack coerced him into coming to the Philadelphia Athletics in June 1902 that Waddell was finally able to harness his talents, becoming one of the first great left-handed pitchers the game had seen.

From the moment Andy Pafko put on a Chicago Cubs uniform he was a fan favorite. He debuted on September 24, 1943, in a rain-shortened, five-inning 7–4 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. In front of a crowd of 342—the smallest to ever see a game at Wrigley Field—he went 2-for-3 with a double and four RBIs.

It is hard to fathom that something that has been around for over a century and has had more than 12,000 participants can remain unknown to so many people in the Chippewa Valley. Thus is the story of the Chippewa River Baseball League, a wood bat amateur baseball league in western Wisconsin. The 2016 season will mark the 71st consecutive (and 87th overall) year of play for the league known as “The CRBL.” That longevity makes it not only one of the longest running leagues in Wisconsin, but in the entire country.

This year marks the 110th anniversary of an important event in the history of Chippewa Falls.

In March 1906 prominent businessman William Irvine donated 85 acres to the city for a park. His philanthropic efforts, as well as those of the Chippewa Lumber and Boom Co. (an Irvine-owned enterprise) and L.C. Stanley, another distinguished name in area business, led to the establishment of Irvine Park.

That same month another announcement of interest was made, perhaps one that may have been met with more excitement. After years of trying, the city landed its first and to date last minor league baseball team.

William Lucas had no idea he was auditioning for the Chippewa Falls Base Ball Association when he arrived in Eau Claire on July 4, 1884. Playing third base for the St. Paul Red Caps, Lucas wowed the crowd of over 1,000 with daring baserunning and sparkling defense. Following the Red Caps 12-10, 11-inning defeat of the Eau Claire Crescents he was approached by the officers of the Chippewa Falls Base Ball Association. On the spot they offered him managerial reigns for the city’s struggling ball club. Lucas accepted.

Over a century ago, an indoor winter sport was taking on a life of its own in the Chippewa Valley. It was played in front of large audiences at gymnasiums, auditoriums, armories, and opera houses. The games were heavily covered by local press, often followed by a dance with orchestral accompaniment, and attended by a large fan base including, as one paper put it, a “who’s who of society people.”

The game was a modified version of baseball, called “indoor baseball,” and colorfully known as kitten ball, diamond ball, mush ball, and pumpkin ball. It was touted as an equivalent of the outdoor game and a means of exercise for males and females alike. For close to four decades, indoor baseball was played throughout the Chippewa Valley.

On Memorial Day in 1894 over 500 people filed into the park before the afternoon game. The crowd stretched down the foul lines and beyond the outfield fence where fans could watch from their carriages. An estimated 300 packed the grandstands, many of them women who were admitted for free. Underneath the grandstands carpenters John McCurdy and Duncan McMullen were strategically placing braces to support the unfinished stands.

Shortly before the 3:30 start the grandstands started to crack under the weight of the onlookers. Several men, including McMullen and McCurdy, rushed towards the sagging stands with braces as the crowd scrambled to get to safety. According to the Daily Independent, “The screams of women and men were heard and the plaintive moans of those who were hurt or imagined danger were pitiful.”

Since it’s inception in 1867, there have been numerous people who have contributed to the continuation and success of organized baseball in Chippewa Falls.

In the late 1890s and the first few decades of the 1900s there was no one more important than Andy Porter.

In the annals of Chippewa Falls, the year of 1867 is most often lauded as the year of Leinenkugel’s. That year, Jacob Leinenkugel and John Miller arrived in the Village of Chippewa (it would become Chippewa Falls two years later), bought a $250 parcel of land from the Union Lumbering Company, and built a brewing facility and living quarters for brewery workers and their families.

The brewery remains a city landmark, and is Chippewa Falls’ oldest industry. Although this may be the most remembered local event of the year, another Chippewa Falls mainstay was also established that year. In 1867, organized baseball came to the Village of Chippewa.

The sights and sounds of the Chippewa Valley have been a muse to artists of all mediums, but no one may have channeled that inspiration into the written word more successfully than Chippewa Falls native William Kirk. A literary renaissance man, he dabbled in poetry, sports writing, dialect humor, and Broadway musicals. While still at the height of fame, he returned to the city of his youth to live out his days.

Chippewa Falls White Sox player/manager Andy Porter was starting to get worried. His team was coming off a season that earned them the title of the "undisputed champion of Wisconsin" by the St. Paul Appeal, but the club was entering the 1904 season without the services of their best player, Billy Williams. As one of the first full-time African-American players in the Chippewa Valley, Williams was a slick-fielding first baseman with a powerful bat. It would be a tall task to replace a man known to the fans and local press as "Gentleman Bill."