Image from Old Judge card set	Pete Somers Born: 1868 Died: December 31, 1921 Goto Baseball Reference for Pete Somers p Majors: No
	St. Louis Position: p First game: DNP Last game: # of games: 0	Signed by the St. Louis Browns in November 1887. Pitched with the Whites in spring training. Released May 7, 1888 without pitching for either club in an official game. Player profile from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (March 11, 1888).

Pete Somers was a left-handed pitcher from Mansfield, Ohio, signed by Chris Von der Ahe in December of 1887 to play with the St. Louis Browns, filling out the rotation after the trades of Bob Caruthers and Dave Foutz. He played with both the Browns and St. Louis Whites (in the new Western Association) in pre-season games but never appeared in a regular season game for either club. He was released by St. Louis in early May, just a week or so into the season. After leaving St. Louis in 1888, he played for Mansfield and Columbus (OH) in the Tri State League.

Spring stats for the Whites and Browns

Batting stats
  Date       Opponent      Pos.    AB    R   BH   2B   3B   HR	SB   BB    K
3/25/1888    Whites          p      4    1    1                  0           (with the Browns)
3/27/1888    Whites          p      3    0    1                  0           (with the Browns)
3/28/1888    Whites          p      4    1    1                  0           (with the Browns)
3/29/1888    Whites          p      4    1    0                  0           (with the Browns)
4/15/1888    Browns          p      3    0    1                  0
4/18/1888    Bloomington     p      3    0    0                  0
4/21/1888    Davenport       p      3    0    0                  0
4/24/1888    Rockford        p      5    0    0                  1
4/26/1888    Dubuque         p      2    1    0                  0
Totals (9 G)                       31    4    4    0    0    0   1
0 HBP; 5 putouts, 74 assists and 19 errors
(Note walks allowed were counted as errors for the pitcher)

Pitching stats
  Date       Opponent      Pos.    IP    R   ER    H   BB    K  HBP   WP
3/25/1888    Whites          p      4    0    0    2    2    6    0    1    (with the Browns)
3/27/1888    Whites          p      5    0    0    2    1    3    1         (with the Browns)
3/28/1888    Whites          p      4    2    2    3    0    1    0    0    (with the Browns)
3/29/1888    Whites          p      2    1    0    2    1    3    0         (with the Browns)
4/15/1888    Browns          p      8    9    5   13    3    4    0
4/18/1888    Bloomington     p      9    4    0    7    1    6    0    0
4/21/1888    Davenport       p      9    1    1    4    1   11    0
4/24/1888    Rockford        p      9    9    8    9    0   10    2
4/26/1888    Dubuque         p      6    2    2    6    0    2    0    0
Totals (9 G)                       54   28   18   48    9    46   3    0

Most of the pre-season game articles and box scores have his name as either 'Somers' or 'Sommers', while two season previews in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (February 19, 1888 and March 11, 1888) give his name as 'Chas. Summers' and 'Chas. Sumers'. Baseball-Reference identifies him as Pete Sommers (sommer002pet), born in 1868. According to Baseball-Reference, Pete Sommers played for Columbus (OH) and Akron in the Ohio State League in 1887. This does not match the March biography presented for Charles Sumers in the Post-Dispatch, which cites him as having previously played with New Orleans and Reading.

The earliest reference for Pete Somers playing professional baseball is in an article in the Mansfield News-Journal from May of 1910, describing a photo of the Mansfield ball club from 1886. "Pete Somers, p." is listed as one of the players, along with Ed Delahanty. ¹

Delahanty played sixteen years in the majors from 1888 to 1903 before dying in 1903 after either falling off or jumping from the International Bridge at Niagra Falls. He was a career .346 hitter who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1945.

While Delahanty may have been the best player who ever played in Mansfield, Pete Somers was locally recognized in town long after his playing days were over. The article mentions Somers still lived in Mansfield. A later article from the same paper (as part of a 1936 series of articles about the history of professional baseball in Mansfield) also mentions Pete Somers played for the 1886 Mansfield club, and refers to him parenthetically as "Somerhalter".

Box scores from early 1887 have Somers pitching with Savannah in the Southern League (eg. the New Orleans Time-Picayune, May 14, 1887). After Savannah disbanded in late May, the Times-Picayune reported that "Sommers, the ex-Savannah left-handed pitcher, arrived last night. He will pitch for the New Orleans nine against Memphis today." (June 2, 1888) He pitched for New Orleans in June and into July, when he developed arm trouble. He was released by New Orleans in late July, 1887.

The connection between Somers from the Southern League and Columbus in the Ohio State League is more tenuous. The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer identifies "Somers" as the pitcher for Columbus in the box score on September 1, 1887, while the Times-Picayune states on September 8, 1887 that "Sommers pitched for the Columbus team on Monday". Along with the unlikelihood of Columbus having two different players named "Somers" and "Sommers" pitching for then in the span of a week or so, it seems reasonable to think that the New Orleans paper is referring to the pitcher who just a few months earlier pitched for the New Orleans club.

The Sun (New York city) reported on December 10, 1887 that Chris Von der Ahe signed pitchers Fred Nyce and Sommers, and the Leavenworth (Kansas) Times reported that Nyce and Sommers from the Columbus team of the Ohio League would be playing in the Western League in 1888 (February 12, 1888). (This blurb was printed in multiple papers around this time.) Finally, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (February 20, 1888) included Pete Sommers and Fred Nyce and Parson Nicholson from the Ohio League in a list of new players with the champions (the St. Louis Browns) in the coming season.

From this trail, it seems reasonable to conclude that Pete Somers played for Savannah, New Orleans and Columbus (and Akron, per Baseball-Reference) in 1887, and then signed with the St. Louis Browns for the 1888 season. After appearing with the Browns in their first few games of spring training in March, 1888 (against the Whites), he pitched the rest of the spring for the Whites. He failed to make either club and was released by the Whites in early May of 1888. The Sporting News reported that Mansfield signed Pete Somers in its May 19, 1888 issue, and the Sporting Life reported that "Columbus has signed Somers, the left-hander that did such good work for them last year" in its issue of August 15, 1888.

After 1888, Somers bounced around the minor leagues for many years. In 1889 he pitched with Springfield, winning 17 of his last 18 games (and going 20-8 overall). This earned him a shot with Des Moines in 1890. The Sioux City Journal reports that Des Moines signed "Pete Somers, pitcher, Mansfield, O." (January 12, 1890). He was released by Des Moines in early August of 1890 and signed with Evansville. In September of 1890, he headed out to Seattle. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer noted his signing in October of 1890.

"Pete Somers, the crack left-handed pitcher, is a native of Massachusetts, in which state he was born in 1867. His home is now in Mansfield, O. He first played ball for a living with New Orleans in 1887. In 1888 he was with Columbus, O., where he accomplished the wonderful feat of retiring the Akron team without a single run or safe hit. The season of 1889 found him with Springfield, Ill. He materially aided in helping this team win the pennant in the Interstate League, winning twenty out of twenty-eight games in which he pitched. This season he was with Des Moines, Ia. of the Western Association, until that team was transferred to Lincoln, Neb. He then played a few games with Evansville, Ind., and was signed to pitch for Seattle.

Sommers pitched his usual base-on-balls game. He sent thirteen men to first on a walk, and yet his side won.

In May of 1892, the Altoona Tribune reported that "Altoona has signed a new battery in the persons of Pete Somers, of Mansfield, Ohio, as pitcher, and Met Flanagan, of Elyria, Ohio, as catcher". The Pittsburgh Daily Post indicated that "Sommers played with the St. Louis Whites with [Jake] Beckley and [Harry] Staley", and that last season (1891) he pitched for San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento. He was released by Altoona in July, and may have signed with Clarfield later that month.

In the spring of 1893, there are mentions in papers at various points that indicate that indicate Pete Somers signed with Danville (April 27), was negotiating with Harrisburg (May 2), and had been signed by Mansfield (May 10). The Mansfield News-Journal noted that Somers pitched for the Mansfield club in 1893 during a history of the team published in 1936. The Mansfield team disbanded July 4 when the Ohio-Michigan League, of which it was a member, folded. In late July, 1893, the Harrisburg Daily Independent reported that "Pete Sommers, of Mansfield, Ohio, wired that he would meet the club at Altoona today. Pete is a good pitcher and will strengthen our own in the box." (July 26, 1893). I have not located a box score for Somers for any club in 1893, but it seems plausible that he played for multiple teams that year.

Somers played for Mansfield in 1895. In an article announcing his signing, it was noted that he played for Peoria the season prior (1894). By now he had transitioned to playing the outfield. The Mansfield News-Journal published a brief bio of him on May 26, 1895, complete with a sketch and his position listed as Left Fielder. Playing infield for Mansfield, for at least a portion of that season, was a 21 year old whom the News-Journal referred to as "Germany" Wagner, who is more well known as Honus Wagner, in his first professional season. The Mansfield club disbanded in mid-June, and the News-Journal reported that Somers,, "the best left fielder in the Interstate League", was considering offers from Columbus and Elmira, but it does not seem that he signed with either club.

In 1896, Somers and fellow Mansfield resident played for the Philadelphia Athletics of the Pennsylvania State League. This club seems to have been the successor to the Athletics franchise in the American Association, which was dropped from the majors when that league merged with the National League after the 1891 season. He came back from Philadelphia in mid-June 1896. Somers was back with Mansfield again in 1897, at which time it was noted he had played with Youngstown in 1896. In July of 1897, the Mansfield News-Journal reported that he signed with New Castle. This was his last active season as a player.

Peter Somers married Mary Whalon in 1897 in Mansfield, where he remained active in baseball circles. At one point, he was involved in an effort to revive the Mansfield team for the Interstate League. He also had stints as a manager for Terre Haute in 1903 and Newark in 1906. In 1910, he pitched in a game between the Mansfield police and a team of Mansfield bartenders.

Baseball-Reference lists Somers as playing with Springfield in 1889 and Des Moines and Evansville in 1890, in agreement with the history described in the Seattle article. They also indicate he played with Rockford in 1891, Altoona in 1892 and Mansfield in 1893, with no reference to playing on the west coast. There is a gap in his record between 1893 and 1896, when he is listed as playing for Philadelphia. His career wraps up with Mansfield and New Castle in 1897. Baseball-Reference identifies Joseph Sommers (sommer001jos) as playing for Savannah and New Orleans in 1887, Seattle in 1890, Oakland, San Francisco and Sacramento in 1891, Peoria in 1894, Kenton and Mansfield in 1895 and Youngstown in 1896. It seems likely that these two players are in fact the same person. Based on the records from the San Francisco papers in 1891, it seems unlikely that Pete Sommers played for Rockford that season.

Who was Peter Somers?

Most box scores and articles during his career referred to him as "Somers" or "Sommers". However, in 1889, the Cincinnati Inquirer reported "Petie Somers has invested $950 in real estate. His real name is Peter Somerhalter. - Mansfield News". In addition, one of the articles on the history of baseball in Mansfield from 1936 referred to him parenthetically as "Somerhalter". So what was his actual name? In 1905, John Whalon died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Peter Somers, in Mansfield, OH. A week later, the News-Journal reported on the execution of his will, and it reported that the bulk of his property was given to his daughter, Mary A. Summerholder. Then, in 1913, Anna Sommers, Peter's mother, died in Mansfield. The funeral announcement a few days later referred to her as "Anna Summerholder" and that was the name put on her tombstone. In 1910, Pete Sommers purchased a cafe in Mansfield, and a few years later, a liquor license was issued to the name of Peter Sommerholder. And finally, in 1920, the Polar Petroleum Comapany was established in Mansfield, including Peter Sommers as a partner, but the name on the records was P.G. Summerholder. (The company opened one of the first gas stations in Mansfield that same year.) It seems that while he used the name Somers in his everyday life, his legal name was still some variation on the name Somerhalter, the Swiss name of his parents. (His mother's obituary said she was born in Switzerland; it is not clear about his father.) To add one last layer of confusion, his obituary names him as Peter Summers, and that is the the name on his tombstone. Peter Somers (or Summers, or Sommerholder) died in Mansfield on December 31, 1921. The obituary in the Mansfield News-Journal states he was born in 1864 in Warehouse Point, Connecticut.

In his younger life Mr. Summers was a professional baseball player, having played in several leagues from New Orleans to Seattle, having won a pennant while pitching for the Springfield team in 1890. Mr. Summers was married to Mary Whalen in 1897. He is survived by his wife, five daughters... three sons.