Today in Wheeling History: April 20 -- Sam Barkley, former Major League Baseball player and Wheeling native, died (1912).
Samuel W. Barkley was born in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) on May 24, 1858, to Joseph Barkley, a local cigar manufacturer, and Catherine Colbert Barkley. He developed his baseball skills on vacant lots on Wheeling Island before joining the semi-professional Wheeling Standards club in the 1870s, where he played catcher and second base. Barkley began his professional career with Detroit in 1879, followed by the Toledo Blue Stockings. His Major League career spanned from 1884-1889, playing for four teams including the St. Louis Browns and Pittsburgh Alleghenys. His personal life was marked by a dramatic marriage to Flora "Dora" Feldman, whom he met while playing in Kansas City. She reportedly threatened suicide if he wouldn't marry her. They had a son named Harold, but the marriage ended when Dora began an affair with Chicago political boss Michael Cassius McDonald, who allegedly paid Barkley $30,000 for a divorce and later adopted Harold. After baseball, Barkley operated businesses in Pittsburgh and Chicago before returning to Wheeling in 1910 following financial setbacks. Shortly before his death, Barkley was converted by baseball evangelist Billy Sunday and baptized into St. Luke's Episcopal Church. He died from chronic kidney disease on April 20, 1912, at age 53. His funeral was held at 34 Indiana Street on Wheeling Island, with fellow baseball players serving as pallbearers, and he was buried in Peninsula Cemetery.
To learn more: Wheeling News-Register (https://tinyurl.com/mrjswfh8), Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/339bs7y3), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/3nbcktsf), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/yksxbtmp), Wheeling Daily Register (https://tinyurl.com/yax6247c)
Photo credits: Wheeling News-Register, Wheeling Intelligencer, Wheeling Daily Register, Zillow, Find a Grave, Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons
Samuel W. Barkley was born in Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) on May 24, 1858, to Joseph Barkley, a local cigar manufacturer, and Catherine Colbert Barkley. He developed his baseball skills on vacant lots on Wheeling Island before joining the semi-professional Wheeling Standards club in the 1870s, where he played catcher and second base. Barkley began his professional career with Detroit in 1879, followed by the Toledo Blue Stockings. His Major League career spanned from 1884-1889, playing for four teams including the St. Louis Browns and Pittsburgh Alleghenys. His personal life was marked by a dramatic marriage to Flora "Dora" Feldman, whom he met while playing in Kansas City. She reportedly threatened suicide if he wouldn't marry her. They had a son named Harold, but the marriage ended when Dora began an affair with Chicago political boss Michael Cassius McDonald, who allegedly paid Barkley $30,000 for a divorce and later adopted Harold. After baseball, Barkley operated businesses in Pittsburgh and Chicago before returning to Wheeling in 1910 following financial setbacks. Shortly before his death, Barkley was converted by baseball evangelist Billy Sunday and baptized into St. Luke's Episcopal Church. He died from chronic kidney disease on April 20, 1912, at age 53. His funeral was held at 34 Indiana Street on Wheeling Island, with fellow baseball players serving as pallbearers, and he was buried in Peninsula Cemetery.
To learn more: Wheeling News-Register (https://tinyurl.com/mrjswfh8), Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/339bs7y3), Find a Grave (https://tinyurl.com/3nbcktsf), Wheeling Intelligencer (https://tinyurl.com/yksxbtmp), Wheeling Daily Register (https://tinyurl.com/yax6247c)
Photo credits: Wheeling News-Register, Wheeling Intelligencer, Wheeling Daily Register, Zillow, Find a Grave, Library of Congress, Wikimedia Commons
RSS Feed
