Mordecai Hamilton Davidson was not a player – but he is listed as the manager of the Louisville Colonels in 1888 (he was actually the president of the club). Technically he was manager twice; briefly as an interim, then after manager #3 gave up the reins, Davidson ran the team the rest of the way to seventh place…

The son and fifth child of Mordecai Davidson and Mary Watson was born November 30, 1845 in Port Washington, Ohio, but his mother moved to Indiana and remarried following the death of her husband while the younger Mordecai was still a youngster.

Davidson was also a Union soldier, serving for three years in Company A of the 17th Indiana mounted infantry. Davidson entered as a private and exited as a corporal without a scratch on him – even while serving on the front in Georgia and other battle locations. At the time of his death, there were only two other Union soldiers still alive in Kentucky. Davidson was proud of his service; for many years he served as the department commander of the Grand Army of the Republic fraternal organization in Kentucky, even marching in regional and national events into his 90s.

Davidson invested in the Louisville Base Ball Club around 1882, he was added to the board over time and made president in 1888 when the board, unhappy with the state of the team, couldn’t agree on how to manage the roster. Some members wanted to sell off the entire infield, but Davidson thought a complete mid-season overhaul would be folly. Davidson called the other directors out – offering to buy their shares or sell his. When the others offered to sell, Davidson scooped up those shares. Manager John (Kick) Kelly left the team soon after, so Davidson managed three games until giving the reins to Jack Kerins. That lasted barely a week and Davidson took over from there – ostensibly to save money.

The next year, Louisville was even worse – 27-111-2. Financial problems follow teams that lose a lot; so do issues between players and management. As the team lost games, Davidson lost money.  Eventually, he started fining players for mistakes, errors, whatever, all in the name of saving money…  A losing streak began, reaching 19 games. He got to the point to where he told his players they would be fined $25 each if they lost another game. So, led by Guy Hecker, a bunch of players chose not to play.  This was essentially the first player strike in baseball history. In late June the league intervened. Davidson was removed from his role with the Colonels and the team was sold to new owners. (Under new management and ownership in 1890, the Colonels went from that abysmal record to an American Association pennant in one year. ONE year.)

Outside of his baseball interest, he was a businessman. After the war he was a bookkeeper, he sold furniture and jewelry, and was involved in real estate enterprises – not bad for someone who was a teen laborer before joining the Union Army. The 1889 Louisville roster notwithstanding, Davidson was a well-liked and respected man who was active and employed right up until the end of his life.

In noting his death, the Louisville Courier-Journal added that Davidson died of senility on September 6, 1940, but got his age wrong (he was almost 95 when he passed to the next league). In truth, he had a heart attack a month earlier and whatever senility he had was likely a result of that. He was a charter member of the Louisville Chess Club and regularly played chess (and worked) until his heart attack.

His remains lie next to his wife, the former Emma Belle Board. They had a child, Clifford, and they are near each other in death at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville.

Notes:

Baseball-Reference.com
Kentucky Marriage Records
Civil War Pension Records
Kentucky Death Certificate
1850, 1860, 1880, 1900, 1910, 1920, 1930 US Censuses

“Base-Ball Election,” Louisville Courier-Journal, February 23, 1887: 6.
“The Louisvilles Sold,” Louisville Courier-Journal, June 7, 1888: 6.
“In Debt to Davidson,” Louisville Courier-Journal, June 22, 1889: 6.
“Davidson Out,” The Sporting News, July 10, 1889:3.
“Louisville’s Oldest Member of G.A.R. Greeted on his 94th Birthday,” Louisville Courier-Journal, December 1, 1939: 2.
“M.H. Davidson, Union Veteran, Dies After Brief Illness at 93,” Louisville Courier-Journal, September 7, 1940: 11.
“Deaths,” Louisville Courier-Journal, September 10, 1940: 18.
James H. Bready, “First Strike in Baseball History: The More Things Change,” Baltimore Sun, October 16, 1994: 4E.