Take a close look at this photo. Has anyone ever heard of the 1909 Houston Pirates? If so, do you know anything about their history? We are in the process of researching the identity of this team, and thus far we must confess to mystification in this matter. Those of us at the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame who’ve looked at this picture, so far, are at a loss to explain who these guys really are. We’re not totally clueless in this matter, but we’re pretty close to dealing with a cold case here. The photo apparently was taken 97 years ago and that’s a pretty far skip back in time. To place 1909 in even greater perspective on the time line, remember this fact:  the Chicago Cubs of 1909 were only one year removed from their most recent (and still last) World Series championship when this photo was taken—Hmmm! Some things in baseball haven’t changed at all since this classic 9 men, 1 apparent manager team picture was taken.

Here’s where the fun starts—and we have a wonderful contributor named Al Wilkerson of Canton, Michigan to thank for both the photo and the unsolved mystery that it brings to our table. Where is Robert Stack when you really need him? Yeah, we know. Mr. Stack is in the cemetery now so we’re just going to have to take on solving this case without him.

Wilkerson is a long-time collector of baseball memorabilia. He acquired this photo and others at an estate sale in Michigan a few years ago. Al pretty much set the photo aside until he read an interview that sportswriter John Lowe did with me about Texas baseball history for the Detroit Free Press during last fall’s World Series. Wilkerson then filed that information away too until we got through the holidays.

On Saturday, January 7th, Wilkerson called and left me a voice mail about his find. Like all passionate baseball researchers and collectors, Al had gone online and found our TBHOF website address and also my personal telephone number. After a long and most enjoyable conversation over the phone, Wilkerson scanned and e-mailed the photo to us so that we could begin our search for the truth. I don’t how you feel, but I live for moments like this one.

Help us solve the first of what we hope will be many more mysteries to come about Texas baseball history that are brought to our attention by outside contributors. Help us establish the true identity of these men who once played as the 1909 Houston Pirates.

For starters, here’s what we do know:

(1.) The Pirates were not Houston’s club in the Class C 1909 Texas League. By 1909, our local professional team was firmly established in the Texas League as the “Houston Buffaloes.” In fact, the Buffs even won the pennant in 1909 with a best record of 86-57.

(2.) There was a Pirates club that played in the Texas League during the 1909 season, but they played the entire year as “Shreveport Pirates.”

(3.) According to www.mapquest.com, ten states contain cities named “Houston.” In addition to our most famous and beloved city of Houston, Texas, other places called “Houston” exist in the states of Delaware, Florida, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Arkansas, and Alabama.

(4.) None of the 9 other cities named “Houston” is displayed as having a minor league club that was active in professional baseball during the 1909 season.

So, what are the probable best avenues of research?

Town ball, amateur, and semi-pro clubs were fairly common in 1909. We need to check with newspapers and libraries for the existence of such a club in all ten of the cities named “Houston.” Houston, Pennsylvania looms as a hot suspect for fairly obvious reasons. That “Houston” is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, not far from Pittsburgh—and 1909 was a big year for the Pittsburgh Pirates. What are the odds in favor of a nearby small town also calling their club the Pirates too?

If you have an idea or theory about the photo, or would like to join us in the hunt for the truth, please get in touch through our website. Until we learn the truth, the faces of these ten young men who call themselves the “Houston Pirates” shall remain pleasantly frozen in time. They are gone now, but thanks to collector Al Wilkerson, and whatever we do here to eventually confirm their true identity, they will not be forgotten.

When your passion is the life of working to save history before an item falls into the big abyss of time, it doesn’t get any better than this search for the 1909 Houston Pirates. If you feel the same, join us. We want you and all other kindred spirits who feel this way about baseball history on our TBHOF team.

- Bill McCurdy