Baseball and a Sunday afternoon tragedy

Lewiston Daily Sun, Lewiston Maine. May 25, 1896

It was May 24th, 1896, 116 years ago, and the Puritan spirit still ran strong in Attleborough.  The town had not yet become a city nor dropped the “ugh”, and North Attleborough had just recently seceded. Local blue laws outlawed the selling of beer and, surprisingly, the playing of baseball on Sundays. And the prosecution of these crimes was relentless. 

On that beautiful Sunday afternoon, a group numbering fifty, mostly Irish members and friends from the East Side sporting club of Pawtucket, gathered at Robinson’s farm in South Attleboro.  It was the charter of the club to provide relaxation and leisure activities for the membership on Sundays, and they customarily visited bucolic spots outside of the city to achieve that end.

On the agenda that day were a clam bake and baseball game, the perfect antidotes for a long, hard, work week.   As the day progressed and the baseball game was well underway, someone snitched.  The Attleborough police somehow obtained information that a game of baseball was being played on the Sabbath and that the devil’s brew was being consumed. Soon after a squad of five policemen in civilian dress approached Robinson’s farm.

The Pawtucket sportsmen spied the strangers coming over the hill and suspected that their ball game was to be suspended.  Michael Connors, representing the club, approached the men and asked them their business.  Officer John Nerney, after first engaging in conversation regarding the baseball game, then asked if there was beer on the premises.  To this point the officers had not yet identified themselves as police, so Connors suggested they could stay if they paid a $1 assessment, otherwise they should move on.  Nerney reportedly exclaimed that Connors was “putting up a bluff,” at which point Nerney was ordered to leave.

Now, things quickly went awry.  Nerney pulled his .38 revolver and threatened to shoot unless Connors assumed a more docile attitude.  Connor, unfortunately, took several steps forward and tried to disarm Nerney, at which point a shot was fired and Connors was hit in the side.  Badly hurt, Connors struggled with Nerney and called out to his companions for help.  The other officers, drawn by the shooting and general clamor, gathered swiftly and tried to quell the fight.  One reportedly struck Connors with a blackjack.

Nerney, in a high state of excitement, pointed his revolver at Connors head and fired.  Connors dropped heavily, dead in his tracks.

Daniel Mountain, one of Connors' companions, was nearby and attempted to catch him as he fell.  Mountain apparently made some remarks to Nerney and soon after another shot rang out – Mountain fell, mortally wounded.  Edward Morse, another Pawtucket sportsman, demanded to know why the two men had been shot.  Nerney ordered him off under threat of being shot himself.  Morse wisely retreated.

Once they realized what Nerney had done, the other officers devoted themselves to the victims.  But Connors was already gone, and Mountain expired within a half hour.

The county Sheriff was notified of the events and within an hour, Officer Nerney himself was under arrest.  Nerney, when questioned, said that he did not know what happened, that he had lost all control of himself. 

To the utter shock of the friends, family, and children of the deceased, Nerney was ultimately and inexplicably exonerated. The news of this episode and its outcome was shocking and enthralling, and appeared in eastern newspapers from New Jersey to Maine.

Quite a sad tale, this, and leaves us with a few observations.

First, note that a modern, professional police force would never show up in civilian dress and fail to identify themselves.  And their use of force would be far more judiciously governed.  The potential for a repeat of this tragedy is vanishingly slim.

But, also, remember this – government is force.  If you disagree, try not paying your taxes on some principle, ignore the warnings, and wait until the U.S. Marshals show up in full SWAT regalia.  Government is force. Which is great cause for us to give thanks for the strength of our Constitution and its guaranteed freedoms.  It took many years for the grip of Puritanism to ease.  We don’t ever again want government to tell us that we can’t play baseball on Sunday.