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Community Corner

The Wayback Machine: Les German Was a Hot Shot

Just how did Les German know Annie Oakley?

As you may recall from my previous article, Aberdeen resident Les German was one of the early professional baseball players, with his first season being in 1890.

Following the end of his baseball career in 1897, he embarked upon a surprising new career.

But first, we’ll backtrack a little bit, and explore his personal connection to Aberdeen.

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Aside from living at Hall’s Cross Roads since sometime in the 1870’s, German married a local girl, Alice Garretson. They built their home on a road which was then called Broadway. We now know it as Philadelphia Boulevard or Route 40. 

The large, green Victorian house, complete with gables and gingerbread trim, is still standing and looks much as it did when the Germans lived there, with the exception of a store-front addition which came about in the 20th Century.  It sits catercorner to the east of the intersection of West Bel Air Avenue and Philadelphia Boulevard.

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Alice and Les were described as being happy in their home, and Alice traveled with her husband during his early baseball career, until she became a mother and taking care of their two sons became her priority, according to information from The Aberdeen Room.

As fate would have it, their children died young, and so did Alice. She passed away in 1908, at the age of 34. German remarried within two years, to another local girl, Grace Evans, who was 22 years his junior, according to the U.S. Census of 1910.  The couple would have a son and a daughter, both of whom survived to grow into adults.

When German’s baseball career ended, he returned to life in Aberdeen. The U.S. Census of 1900 lists German as being a clerk, who sold guns and ammo, “and local sportsmen depended upon him to choose their firearms,” according to The Aberdeen Room Museum.

This seemingly radical change in professions isn’t actually all that surprising given his background in trapshooting. German’s involvement in that sport dated back to 1883, when he began organizing tournaments with Neaf Apgar, and their association would last for almost 50 years, according to information from the Trapshooting Hall of Fame website.

What is surprising is that German was a part of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show , and he even shot with the star of the show, Annie Oakley, according to information from The Aberdeen Room.  This would have been following his baseball career, from 1898 until his trapshooting tournament began in earnest.

In an interesting anecdote related by Charlotte Cronin of , it just so happened that her father, Clinton Garretson, was German’s very much younger brother-in-law. 

German took the 9-year-old along with him once when he performed with Annie Oakley in 1898 and the two were introduced. Oakley told German to make sure the lad got an ice cream. It would be Garretson’s first ever taste of the sweet treat.  How memorable must that have been?

In 1903, German won a trapshooting tournament in Baltimore, hitting 97 out of 100 birds. His average at shooting far exceeded that of his baseball record, as he obviously had great hand-eye coordination as well as a natural talent.

In 1906, he competed in the National Amateur Championship in Indianapolis and hit 138 of 150 targets at 18 yards, losing to Guy Ward, who hit 144.

The following year German turned professional, and the 1910 census lists him as a “demonstrator” for the DuPont Powder Co. He would also represent the Parker Gun Co. and the Winchester Gun Co. 

German was definitely hitting his stride. In June of 1911, he won the Grand American Handicap to become the National Professional Champion. He scored 198 out of 200 hits.

And, in 1915, he set a new trapshooting world’s record at the Westy Hogan shoot in Atlantic City, NJ.  German hit an amazing 499 out of 500 targets shooting singles.

Whether it was for his career or simply personal preference, the 1920 census showed he lived in Baltimore at the time, and when the next census was taken, he was living in Germantown, Montgomery, MD.

Lester German passed away on June 15, 1934, at the age of 65, according to his obituary in the Harford Democrat/Aberdeen Enterprise newspaper.

Between being one of the pioneers of professional baseball and a champion trapshooter, he would have undoubtedly been a legend in his own time.

Especially in his hometown of Aberdeen.

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