DID YOU KNOW��.. A look back at early area history as found in the archives of the Enderlin Historical Society and Museum ��� by Susan Schlecht The following information is taken from various sources including the 1891-1966 Enderlin Diamond Jubilee Book, the 1900 Census of Enderlin, the Baseball Almanac website, etc. EARLY NEW YORK YANKEE�S PITCHER BURIED IN ENDERLIN CEMETERY Most everyone who has been around Enderlin for a little while knows that baseball is a big deal here and has been for a long time! However, not everyone knows that Enderlin had its own baseball hero long before members of the current generation can remember. The 1900 Census of Enderlin, Liberty Township, ND shows a family living here by the name of Pieh. The census shows the family consisted of the head of household, German-born Andreas Pieh, a butcher, age 64, his 45 year-old wife Barbara who was born in Wisconsin, and their six children, Rudolph � age 15, John � age 13, Lily � age 11, Earnest � age 8, George � age 3, and an older child August � age 25 who worked at the roundhouse. August was evidently from a previous marriage of Mr. Pieh since Andreas had only been married to Barbara for 17 years and she indicated she had only given birth to five children, according to information on the census. The full given name of son John listed on the census was Edwin John Pieh who was born on September 29, 1886 in Waunakee, Wisconsin. The family moved to Enderlin sometime between 1892 and 1897 and John became known as Johnny and later as Cy. Upon checking the list of Enderlin graduates, we find that the first class to graduate from Enderlin High School was in 1906 and one of the four graduates was Lily Pieh, Johnny�s sister. Since Johnny (Cy) was older, he would not have had the opportunity to graduate from high school here. Early information in the Enderlin Jubilee book indicated Cy once pitched three games in one day during a celebration in Enderlin. The next information we find on Cy was a record indicating he was drafted in the second round of an amateur draft by the Zebras in 1904 at age 17. Exactly who or where the Zebras played is unclear. The Jubilee book also states that after leaving Enderlin, Cy pitched with a minor league in Canada and in the Illinois-Ohio League for the Dayton Vets. According to the �baseball-almanac.com�, Cy finally broke into the big leagues on September 6, 1913 with the New York Yankees at the age of 26 and pitched for the Yankees for three seasons with his last game on September 25, 1915. Cy�s debut with the Yankees indicated he rescued the game with Brooklyn both as pitcher and batsman. Yankee stats indicated he was 6� 2� tall and weighted 190 pounds, and was a right-handed hitter and pitcher. In his three years with the Yankees, Cy pitched in 43 games with an ERA of 3.78. In an article entitled �Yankees� Muscles Sore� in the March 4, 1915 issue of The New York Times, concerning the start of training camp for the year, it notes that Cy Pieh arrived at camp �train-weary after a trip from New York to North Dakota to attend the funeral of his mother, and thence to Savannah, (and) was excused from practice� for the day. ND death records indicate his mother Barbara died on February 21, 1915 at 59 years of age. On May 22, 1917 a New York Times article notes that Cy was signed by the San Antonio Club of the Texas League. He also played for the Textile League. The obituary for E.J. (Cy) Peih in The New York Times states he died September 12, 1945 in Jacksonville, FL at the age of 59 following a heart attack. At the time of his death he worked as a house officer for a Jacksonville hotel. Cy is buried in the southwest section of the Enderlin Cemetery along side his mother and brother Rudolph who died in 1905. A large Pieh monument marks the lots along with smaller individual tombstones. |