Arising from the hardship at the turn of the century was a stock of young players eager to prove their mettle on the diamond. The most intriguing of the performers was Constantine “Cap” Anson.5 Anson, although not a Waterloo player, consistently brought a huge crowd to Waterloo baseball when he faced the Lulus. The Hall of Famer from the Marshalltown club provoked a rivalry between the two cities for the next seven decades. Maravitz outlines an interesting episode in A Love Affair, when after Ansons playing career was over the city wanted him to umpire one of the Lulus games. At the time (1914), Anson was touring the country with a vaudeville act that consisted mainly of a collection of stories about the old days of baseball. In order to get the “Captain” (Anson) to take the job, the city had to book his act for a week.6 Anson was asked to umpire one of the Lulus' games and League President Justice gave his permission for Anson to officiate the game. Thus, the man from Marshalltown who had a career batting average of .333 spent a profitable week in the city of Waterloo.7
Anson must have endured a great amount of abuse from the fans of the Lulus during his appearance in Waterloo. As it was, the fans of the team were listed as among the most intense and hostile in the state, undoubtedly due to their proximity to the actual field of play. Waterloo Baseball Park was minuscule when compared to the stadiums that are played in today. This disparity allowed the fans to sit within only an earshot of the umpires. Among the most vigilant of the spectators was a journalist by the name of “Old Poke.” Although his real name remains unknown, “Old Poke” belonged to a league of writers known as “Muckrakers,” who espoused the practice of “yellow journalism.” The Theodore Roosevelt administration adopted these terms to label the members of the press who obnoxiously stirred up controversy with their columns, inciting a public that quite often had no other source of information. “Old Poke” was no different. Much of the content of his writing was biased, subjective, and basically rude when he described the Lulus opposition. A case in point, “Old Poke” fired at the team from Oskaloosa after they lost to the Lulus, “Among all the disappointments of life, the Oskaloosa players should remember that salvation is full, free, and for all.” “Old Poke” was no exception to the climate of the journalistic industry of the day.
