With a nickname borne from too many passed balls, Alfred Gorden Jennings used his initiative and good nature to build two successful businesses following a fun career in baseball – only to leave this world way too soon.

Jennings was born in Newport, Kentucky on November 30, 1850, but spent most of his life in Cincinnati. He was the son of Isreal Jennings and Lucy A. Snead. Lucy was already a widow by 1860 – to her second husband, that is – and she cleaned houses to help care for the five children listed as living with her according to that year’s census record. Alfred Jennings was the youngest of those five and still lived with his mother in 1880. In an 1891 Cincinnati city directory, Lucy once again listed her name as Jennings and her record shows she was a widow to Isreal Jennings, though.

Alfred played ball on several Cincinnati area teams in the late 1860s and 1870s, later managed a semi-pro team and would occasionally catch. He had good mobility for his size and would earn the respect and friendship of players and umpires throughout his career. He was also known for his “…quaint sayings and funny actions on the ballfield.”

On August 15, 1878, the National League’s Milwaukee Grays ran into a problem while in Cincinnati. Two catchers had injured hands and a third was banged up from the previous day’s game. The manager wired back to Milwaukee for an emergency catcher, but he couldn’t reach the guy he wanted (he was out fishing – and it would have been too late to catch a train to Cincinnati on time if they found him) so Alfred Jennings was introduced to the Milwaukee manager, Jack Chapman, who deemed him acceptable to play this one game.

Only Jennings wasn’t good enough. Oh – he was tough enough for sure. Years later, he claimed that he broke two fingers catching the first pitch when he and the pitcher’s signals got mixed up. Back then, the catchers usually stood well behind the plate until runners reached base and then moved up closer to the batter – and the Milwaukee pitcher, Mike Golden, threw harder than the pitchers Jennings was used to catching. Ten passed balls and four other errors later – Jennings was responsible for five unearned runs himself – Milwaukee lost to Cincinnati 13 – 2. Jennings, who said he’d keep catching using his elbows if necessary, offered to catch the next game – but Chapman didn’t take him up on his offer.

O.P. Caylor, the baseball writer for the Cincinnati Enquirer, penned a witty article that made the morning paper calling Jennings “Allamazoo” (as in, the ball was pitched, and, “Allamazoo!” it got by him). Jennings said that initially he was mad when reading the article, but a few lines later he started laughing at it, too. Jennings was known for having a good nature; it made sense that he took it in stride.

Over time, the name lost an L, but from that day on Alfred Gorden Jennings was known as Alamazoo Jennings.

Jennings became an umpire; he served in the Union Association in 1884 and American Association in 1887, as well as many other local and minor leagues. While his reputation as an arbiter was generally good, he ran into a problem while in Washington in 1884. When a D.C. sports editor claimed he was doing favors for St. Louis, Jennings went down to the newspaper office to have words with that editor only to wind up being doused with paste and thrown out of the building by various members of the newspaper staff.

Jennings also did time as a police officer and driver of the police department’s detention van. By the early 1890s, he started a successful corn business (earning him a new nickname – “The Parched Corn King”) and then a Roachicide chemical company. His businesses were so successful that Jennings left the diamond for good. Unfortunately, his health failed him soon after. In fact, just four weeks shy of turning 44, days after he was admitted to the city hospital with bowel issues, he was gone. Jennings died November 2, 1894.

Leaving behind a wife and his legend, Gorden is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Southgate, Kentucky.

1860, 1870, 1880 US Censuses
1891, 1894 Cincinnati City Directories
Baseball-Reference.com
FindAGrave.com

“Epitome of the Week,” Darlington (WI) Republican, November 9, 1894: 6.
Caylor, O. P. “The Coming Catcher,” Cincinnati Enquirer, August 16, 1878: 8.
“Malreating Our Alamazoo,” Cincinnati Enquirer, September 16, 1884: 2.
“‘Kalamazoo’ Jennings,” Cincinnati Enquirer, September 11, 1889: 4.
Mulford, Jr. Ren. “Umpire Jennings,” Meriden (CT) Daily Journal, November 21, 1891: 7.
“‘Alamazoo’ Jennings,” Cincinnati Enquirer, November 3, 1894: 2.