JOEL LINZA BUTCHER

BUTCHER, WILLIAMS, GORE, SEYMOUR, NORMAN

Posted By: Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert (email)
Date: 3/1/2002 at 18:13:18

Decatur County Journal
Thursday, February l4, l9l8

The news of the death of LINDSEY BUTCHER was
a shock to his many friends
of Decatur County.

"BUTCH" was probably one of the most widely
known men in southern Iowa,
for more reasons than one.

His ability as a "southpaw" baseball pitcher,
made him an ideal and
favorite of every baseball player and fan in
the country. During the
past fifteen years he has played baseball
over southern Iowa and
northern Missouri, proving himself a star of
the national game.

He was the mainstay and bulwork of the Davis
City team for several
years, when that club was one of the most
formidable in this section of
the country. For the past five years, the
wise ones have announced at
the beginning of the baseball season that
"BUTCH"
the old faithful was done with baseball, and
would not be able to stay
in the game with the promising youngsters.
But when Davis City wanted a
game won most awful bad, the old veteran
would come in from the farm,
don a suit, warm up for a few minutes, and
mow down the hitters of the
opposing club in easy fashion.

He never "crabbed" at raw decisions by the
umpires and was always in the
game with the same old fight regardless of
the marks on the score
board. He was a dangerous hitter and has
been known to win his own game
with a home run swat over the railroad
trestle at the Miller Park in
Davis City. Opposing pitchers feared him as
much as they did the clean
up hitter of the team.

I recall an incident, a sad one indeed for
the Leon boys. It was a game
between Leon and Davis City a few years ago
at the Woodard Park, west of
Leon. In the ninth inning, Davis City was at
bat with the game
apparently on ice for the Leon gang with one
run to the good. Davis
City had a man on first with two gone and
LINDSEY at bat with two
strikes and one ball as the count I will
remember that I called for a
straight fast one over the pan from BERT
SMITH who was performing the
mound duty for Leon. Most any batter would
have looked for a curve or
pitch out at that stage but "BUTCH" must have
had us figured out for he
took a full step forward and lifted the pill
into the Leon-Decatur City
highway and crossed the plate behind his mate
while the fleet footed
PICKERING was still chasing the ball. The
next batter was retired and
LINDSEY ended the game for us in one, two,
three, order.

Decatur County has produced some remarkably
good baseball hurlers in the
past twenty years. Such men as JIM HURST of
the old Maroons, HENRY
DENIO, THEDE SMITH, GORGE INMAN and RALPH
RUMLEY, were stars and more
than a credit to the game. These men, with
the exceptions of RUMLEY
have retired from active baseball, yet the
veteran BUTCHER has played
many more games than any of the above men,
and was no doubt good for
several more years on the pitcher's mound.

LINDSEY was consistent, dependable and always
spoke well of his
fellow-men, in fact he was a friend of
everybody who knew him. We mourn
the loss of this man, a good citizen, whose
truly good morals, character
and ability made him such a host of friends.

--V.A. OGILVIE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OBITUARY

JOEL LINZA BUTCHER was born in Decatur
County, Iowa, May llth, l886 and
died at the home of his parents, February
4th, l9l8, aged 3l years, 8
months and 24 days.

He was taken sick Sunday, January 20 in his
restaurant which he had
recently purchased in Davis City, but nothing
could save him, although
all was done that human love could do but
alas he passed away from us.

He was known among the baseball men as a
straight, clean and honest
fellow, with a kind perennial smile always
for everyone. He leaves to
mourn his demise his parents, MR. and MRS.
JAMES BUTCHER, 5 brothers and
4 sisters: WILLIAM E., CLAUD W., GEORGE M,
MALLET O., RUSSELL J., MRS.
EDGAR WILLIAMS, MRS. JOHN GORE, MRS. EVERETT
SEYMOUR, MRS. WILFIELD
NORMAN. Three other children preceded him to
the great unknown.

Funeral srvices were held at the Terre Haute
School House at 2 p.m.
February 7th, conducted b the Rev. W.E. Shugg
of the Methodist Church,
Davis City. The body was tenderly laid to
rest in the presence of a
large gathering of friends at Terre Haute
Cemetery there to await the
Resurrection.

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Copied by Nancee(McMurtrey)Seifert
February 27, 2002