Warren Athletic Hall of Fame :: Warren Athletic Hall of Fame Pre-1931 Photos

1880s-1890s The Warren Armory on Jefferson Street was the home of the Warren Artillery State Championship target shooting teams of 1896 and 1897. And it also hosted basketball, boxing, ping-pong, a play in which a horse starred, outdoor roller polo, and walking. A published book opined that roller polo was "the sport" in New England in 1885.

1908-1909 The Warren nine were the 1908 Co-Champions and the 1909 Champions of the Inter-State League. Seated: William "Beany" Ryan; William "Biddy" Smith; Joe Wylie; and Joe St.Peter. Standing: Charlie Kelley; Jack Simister; Curt Chappelle; Howie Martin; Fred LaFlamme; Jim Lonergan; and Jim Parks. (Chappelle, LaFlamme, Martin, Ryan, and Simister are members of the Athletic Hall of Fame.)

1909 Warren Silk Hats won the Inter-State Baseball League Championship. Bottom row: Unidentified; Joe Foley, Holy Cross star pitcher who may have been paid $100 for the season; Howie Martin; Bill "Biddy" Smith; Bill "Beany" Ryan; and Fred LaFlamme. Middle row: Jim Parks; Jim Lonergan; Joe Wylie; unidentified; Charlie Kelley; unidentified; Jack Simister; and unidentified. Top row: John McPike and John Simister,Sr. The Bristol team and its fans argued to no avail that one more game had been scheduled and should have been played. (LaFlamme, Martin, Ryan, and Jack Simister are members of the Athletic Hall of Fame.)

1909 Warren Silk Hats Baseball Club that won the Inter-State League pennant were featured in a supplement to the Warren and Barrington Gazette of September 17. Their championship dinner, held at Goff's Hotel on the northeast corner of Main and Joyce Sts., consisted of oysters, chicken soup, salmon salad, roast turkey, banana fritters, Narragansett Lager beer, desserts, and, of course, Silk Hat Cigars.

1909 With Warren having defeated Bristol in the Little World Series, which was conducted that year in conjunction with the Inter-State League schedule, one of their fans then proceeded to "rub it in." (A ticket from this Series is displayed in the Hall of Fame Museum that is located in the Town Council chambers.)

1910 The Silk Hats/Warren Shoe Baseball team that replaced a losing Inter-City League squad won all nine games that they played. Top row: Charlie Kelley; Barry; Jim Parks; Aiken; Howie Martin; Jack Simister; Bill "Beany" Ryan; and William "Biddy" Smith. Middle row: Joe Wiley and Lee. Front row: Wardwell; Brightman; Curt Chappelle; St. Onge; and scorer M. Turner. The Inter-City was Rhode Island's most prominent league. (Chappelle, Martin, Ryan, and Simister are members of the Athletic Hall of Fame.)

1910 Warren Baseball Club. Bottom row: Herman "Manny" Heuberger; William "Biddy" Smith; Curt Chappelle; Jim Parks; and Jack Simister. Top row: Joe St. Peter; Howie Martin; Joe Wylie; Fred LaFlamme; William "Beany" Ryan; Jim Lonergan; and unidentified. Many of the same players competed for more than one team in town during the summer of 1910. (Later in life Manny Heuberger, Jim Lonergan, Howie Martin, and Biddy Smith were elected to public office.) (Chappelle, Heuberger, LaFlamme, Martin, Ryan, and Simister are members of the Athletic Hall of Fame.)

1911 Besides playing for a number of Warren baseball clubs, Hall of Famer Jack Simister starred for the J & P Coats team in the Providence Amateur League. In 1911, approximately when this picture was taken, the Providence Journal unofficially named Jack the league's Most Valuable Player.

1912 Warren's Manufacturers Baseball League Champions. Top row: Joe Wiley; Joe Rockett; Curt Chappelle; Bill "Beany" Ryan; Jack Simister; Howie Martin; and Jim Parks. Middle row: Fred LaFlamme; Walt "Chit" Beauregard; and Donat Fortier. Bottom row: Eddie Conrick; Bill Beauregard; Red Downs; Joe St.Peter; and Herman "Manny" Heuberger. The team's championship trophy is displayed in the Hall of Fame Museum in the Town Council chambers. (Chit Beauregard, Chappelle, Heuberger, LaFlamme, Martin, Ryan, and Simister are members of the Athletic Hall of Fame.)