From 'Resorters' To 'Bums': Baseball In TC

Locals can get their first look at the Traverse City Beach Bums at an intrasquad scrimmage this Saturday at Wuerfel Park. For those who just can’t wait for shouts of “play ball,” The Ticker is kicking off the season by recalling some players of Traverse City’s first professional team, the Traverse City Resorters, and one who might still be “hanging around.”

The Resorters opened their first TC season at the city’s Driving Park Association (today’s Civic Center) in the spring of 1910 as part of the newly formed West Michigan League. In 1911, the team became part of the Michigan State League playing the Cadillac Chiefs, Boyne City Boosters, Manistee Colts, Muskegon Reds and the Holland Wooden Shoes.

The team was led by hometown slugger and Resorter standout Bundy “Bunny” Brief. Originally from Remus, Mich., he was born Anthony Vincent Grzeszkowski and moved with his family to the Traverse City area as a toddler. The story goes that the team manager thought his name was too long so he called him “Brief” and it stuck.

In 1911, Brief led the Resorters with a .351 batting average. By the fall of 1912, the St. Louis Browns eyed Brief’s batting average and signed him to a big league contract. In only fifteen games, he slammed a .310 batting average. Brief played with the Browns for a second season, before moving to the Chicago White Sox. In 1915, Brief broke a Pacific Coast League home run record while playing with Salt Lake City.

After his major league career ended, he continued playing in the minors before hanging up his bat for good in 1928. He never forgot where it all started though – following his death in Milwaukee in 1963, he was buried in TC’s Oakwood Cemetery.

Another major leaguer who got his start with the TC Resorters was LaRue Kirby, who made his major league debut in 1912 with the New York Giants. A center fielder and sometimes pitcher, Kirby played baseball for 14 seasons between the major and minor leagues.

There is also a bit of lore surrounding the team. Reportedly, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum was informed that the ghost of Ed Matt, a player on the 1912 Resorters team, is still hanging around town. The story goes that a family living in a home a block away from the former Resorters’ field saw Matt appear with baggy pants, striped socks and an old-fashioned baseball cap.

Even though the Traverse City Resorters were short-lived – folding in 1914 – the ghost of Matt might still be looking for a game at the Civic Center or Wuerfel Park.

First pitch of the Bums free intrasquad scrimmage this Saturday, May 10, is at 1 p.m. Gates open at noon. The event offers an opportunity to see the squad in action prior to the season opener on May 16 at Gateway. The Bums first home game will be May 23.

Lynn Geiger contributed to this story; thanks to Don Harrison of UpNorth Memories Antiques for the photo.