 Cedar Rapids Gazette May 15, 1891 |
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| Sioux City Position: p First game: July 6, 1888 Last game: July 6, 1888 # of games: 1 | In the game report, the Sioux City Journal reported that "Manager Bryan put in a young pitcher named Allen, from Minneapolis, to try him." The Journal then reported that after the game "Manager Bryan has sent Allen home and has signed Ray Harkness" (July 7, 1888). Player profile from the Cedar Rapids Gazette (May 15, 1891).
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James Allen was born in New Jersey on November 21, 1866. His family moved to Minneapolis when he was young; most contemporary reports describe him as being from Minneapolis. He was signed by the Minneapolis club of the Northwestern League in March 1887 for his first professional experience. The young right hander was compared to Billy Sowders at the time of the signing. (Sowders would go 34-17 in the Northwestern League in 1887.) Allen pitched ten innings for Minneapolis against Detroit in spring training in his debut with the club, losing 5-4. He then made one regular season start for Minneapolis, a win against La Crosse, but was hurt shortly after and cut from the team in early May. He pitched locally in Minneapolis in 1887 and 1888 aside from his one game with Sioux City.
The name Allen appears in box scores for local amateur clubs in Minneapolis/St. Paul throughout the 1888 season. On August 15, 1888 the Minneapolis club in the Western Association released all its players, as it was unable to pay them. The manager, W.E. Gooding, signed a local club, the Lyndales, to play the game that day against Kansas City. The shortstop for the Lyndales that day was named Allen. It is possible that this was James Allen, but no direct connection has been established between him and the Lyndales, and there is no evidence he played a position other than pitching.
In 1889, Allen played for Kalamazoo, Michigan and Hamilton, Ohio. In 1890 he played for a local Minneapolis club, the Palace (sponsored by the Palace Clothing Company). He was set to play for the Palace again in 1891 when he got sick right before the season started. By the time he was well enough, he had been replaced on that club. He was signed by Cedar Rapids, Iowa in late spring. The Cedar Rapids Gazette described Allen and his battery-mate Ed Williams as "a pair of kids." Allen was 5 feet 4 inches, while Williams was only one inch taller. His record with Cedar rapids was only 5-12, but his ERA was 0.95 (107 runs allowed, only 16 earned). After he was released by Cedar Rapids, he went 1-5 with Ottumwa, Iowa, and then 0-1 with Qunicy, Illinois. All three clubs were in the Illinois-Iowa league. This was his final professional season.
The St. Paul Globe reported that a marraige license was issued to "James G. Allen and Sadie E. Icenberger" on November 8, 1887. In 1888, James G. Allen is identified in the Minneapolis street directory as a blacksmith living with Frank Allen, also a blacksmith. This aligns with James Allen in the 1870 Census (age 3) and the 1880 Census (age 12), son of Frank and Mary Allen, with Frank Allen identified as a blacksmith by profession. Allen was the fourth of eight children.
Census records from 1900 have James (born in November 1866) and Sarah living in Ohio with four children. In 1910, they were still in Ohio living with his mother-in-law, Sarah Isenberger. James was workinhg as a sheet metal roofer. His wife Sarah died in February, 1916 in Minneapolis, placing them back in Minnesota at that time.
In 1920, James G Allen, sheet metal worker, was living in Minneapolis with wife Edith and daughter Dora, age 12. So how did James Allen go from having wife Sarah with four kids in 1910 to wife Edith with daughter Dora in 1920? It is not completely clear, but the answer seems to be found in the 1910 Census, when Edith Allen was married to William Allen, with three children, the youngest of whom was Dora, at age 2. William Allen was James' younger brother. By 1920, Edith and William were divorced. It is not clear if James married Edith, or if he was just living with his sister-in-law.
James G. Allen died on April 14, 1926. He was still living with Edith and Dora at that time. Edith is in the 1926 street directory, identified as the widow of James. (William died in 1848, so she can't be his widow.)
Much of the information on his career in this bio comes from an article in the Cedar Rapids Gazette on May 15, 1891.
| Date | Pos | AB | R | BH | 2B | 3B | HR | SB | PO | A | E | BB | HPB | K |
| 7-6-1888 | p | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | ||||||
| 1 Games | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Date | Pos | IP | H | R | ER | K | BB | HPB | WP |
| 7-6-1888 | p | 9 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1 Games | 9 | 14 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
