The Lincoln franchise in 1910 was one of the better teams in the Western League. The managed a 95-71 record for the year and third place in the league. They were third in the league in batting with a .264 average and third in fielding for the year.

Tuesday afternoon May 10th saw the business houses closed and the baseball field busy as Lincoln opened with their first home game of the year in the Western League. William Jennings Bryan was chosen to throw the first pitch with Mayor Love at the bat and Henry Clarke, railroad commissioner behind the mask. The Commercial Club arranged for a street parade to the park. President Don Despain was pleased as 7,000 fans crowded into Antelope Park on 22nd and "M" for the opening game. The bleachers were full well before the game started and the crowd spilled out next to the foul lines. Unfortunately the Lincoln team dropped the game to Denver 5-3.

Pinback courtesy Dan Bretta

Sunday baseball was once again a hot topic of discussion in Lincoln. The New York Legislature passed a bill allowing Sunday afternoon baseball in the spring of 1910 and proponents of Sunday ball were hopeful that the Nebraska legislature would do the same. The Nebraska legislature passed a Sunday baseball bill in 1911 but it was vetoed by the governor.

President Don Despain was born in Plattsmouth in 1882. He was one of the youngest magnates of a minor league club. He had been an executive of the American Shade Fixture Company before taking over the Lincoln team.

Roster:
Jimmy Sullivan was the manager of the Lincoln team in 1910.
Infield:
The infield for the Railsplitters was consistent during the year. They had one of the better fielding infields and were consistent in the batters box.
Jack Thomas held down first base for Lincoln in 1910. He averaged .263 for the year and led the league with 22 home runs for the year. Otto Floto of the Denver Post declared that one of Jack's blows in early May was the longest home run ever seen in the Grizzlies park. He was a nine year veteran of the Western League, having played for Omaha and Lincoln during his minor league tenure.

Weidensaul was on second and had a .274 average.

James Cockman played third base for Lincoln in 1910 and 1911. He had experience with Roanoke Va., Indianapolis, Reading, Toronto, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Newark. In 1910 he averaged .273.

The Railsplitters short stop for the year was Edward Gagnier . He led the short stops in the league in fielding and managed a .269 batting average. Ed was born in France, listed Detroit Michigan as his home and played with Ottumwa Iowa before coming to Lincoln. This was his fourth year with Lincoln. After the 1911 season he was purchased by Washington. He played with the Brooklyn Tip Tops in the Federal league for two years.

The catching chores were split between W. C. Clark who averaged .255 and Art Krueger . At the end of the season Art was suspended by the club and was not heard from in 1911.

Outfield:
The outfield for 1910 included Willis Cole who averaged .287. Willis was from Milton Junction Wisconsin. The right handed fielder and batter had played with the White Sox for part of the 1909 season and was also called up for part of the 1910 season. In all he played 68 major league games and had a .216 average. He had other minor league experience with Erie PA and with Wichita before coming to Lincoln.

Frank Jude also played in the garden and averaged .261. Frand was listed by the paper as being a member of the Chipewa tribe. He played for Dubuque in the III league in 1914.

A. S.Davis played some in the garden and Paul Cobb who was Ty Cobbs brother. Paul, from Georgia was the Railsplitters leading batter. He averaged .310 for the year.

Pitchers:
John P. Fox from Reading PA was 15-11 in 1910. He had prior experience with the Reading minor league club.

Z. Z. "Rip" Hagerman was 14-9. He had pitched for a short time for the Cubs in 1909. He pitched for Lincoln in 1910-1912. He made it back to the major leagues in 1914, played for three years for Cleveland. The flinger from Lyndon Kansas managed a 19-33 lifetime major league record. He died in New Mexico in 1930.

George V. "Parson" Farthing was 15-13 for the 1910 season. The Lincoln Star described his pitching as "a delivery pleasing smooth, fortified by a sharp breaking curve and quick hop on his zipping fast one". He pitched a no hit no run game against Des Moines and no ball went out of the infield. He was picked up by the White Sox at the end of the year. It was contingent on him making the big club for 1911.. He was impressive in the spring of 1911 but an arm injury caused the White Sox to send him back to Lincoln in early May of 1911.

McGrath was 16-7.

Levi Knapp was 15-13 and had a .303 average at the plate. Levi was born in Delaware county New York and made his home in Fisher's Eddy. He had experience with Buffalo and WilkesBarre Pennsylvania.

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