From the first few pages, Lane Murphy knew he’d found something special.
Lane and Amy Murphy may be best known for their heroic decade’s long struggle to preserve the historic St. James United Methodist Church at Second and Clay Streets, but Lane is also a historian and a serious baseball fan.
When he successfully bid on eBay for a crumbling photo book from turn-of-the-century Waco, Murphy found a glorious collection of Waco-area photographs from 1914–1915, most of which featured the beloved Waco Navigators minor league baseball club.
The Navigators, the most successful of Waco’s three minor league teams, flourished in the Texas League from 1889–1919, winning three league championships from 1914 to 1916 under manager Ellis Hardy. The 1914 team had one of the best records in professional baseball with 102 wins against only 50 losses.
Murphy believes that someone on the team (or close to the team) must have purchased a camera during this period because the bulk of the more than 100 black and white photos feature Navigator players from 1914, including some shots taken during games, as well as posing for publicity photos, or even on outings (including fishing) in nearby waterways.
We thought it would be fun to provide a small sampling of these unique photographs, all of which offer a rarely seen side of Waco, with research and captions by Murphy.
1. Manager Ellis Hardy stands in old Katy Park with what appears to be three new-in-box baseballs in his left hand. Born in Waco, Hardy played for the Waco Tigers in 1905 and managed the Navigators from 1911–18. He died in 1946 in Greenville, Texas.
2. Pitcher Cliff Hill played most of four seasons for the Navigators (1913–16). At age 24, Hill was called up by Connie Mack’s Philadelphia A’s, where he appeared in a single game, giving up 4 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits over 2.2 innings.
3. Game time at Katy Park! The umpire tidies up, players and coaches amble to their positions, with a glimpse into the visitor “dugout” with spectators perched atop steep bleachers. The words “Times-Herald Bulletin” can be read on the left field fence.
4. From 1905 to 1924, catcher Tom “Zeke” Carson played in 890 games in a career spanning 10 teams and four minor leagues. Later, he became an umpire. Carson died in Waco on February 18, 1963, and was interred at Oakwood Cemetery. He was 87.
5. A Navigator catcher stands at the ready in Katy Park. Note the elaborate chalk lines, more detailed than what is standard in today’s baseball.
6. Somewhere in Waco, three youngsters proudly pose for the camera while a fourth scratches in the dirt.
7. Pitcher Ed Donalds (note the “W” sleeve patch), went an extraordinary 30–4 for the 1914 Navigators, pitching 304 innings over 42 games. In 1912, Donalds pitched four innings of relief for the Cincinnati Reds, earning the victory in his only major league game.
8. Outfielder Bert “Jesse” James, with bat, at Katy Park. (The photographer mistakenly misspelled his nickname as Jessie.) At age 22, he moved from the Navigators to appear in six games with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1909 where he accumulated six hits, four walks and a stolen base. He ended his career from 1914–1919 back with Navigators.
9. In this charming photo, four young women pose with a baseball bat and a scattered deck of cards.
10. Infielder Harvey Grubb spent five seasons with the Navigators, from 1914–1919. On September 27, 1912, Grubb got his only major league at bat with the Cleveland Naps. He was hit by a pitch, earning a 1.000 lifetime on base percentage (OBP) in the majors — thus becoming one of a tiny handful of ballplayers who can claim that distinction!
11. Shortstop Archie “Buddy” Tanner played eight seasons with the Navigators and six more when the team became the Wichita Falls Spudders. He later appeared briefly with the Waco Cubs in 1933. Tanner died in 1969 in Bosque County in the same area he was born — Walnut Springs.
12. Unfortunately, these two delightful photographs appear on the same page in the photo album without additional information. The two young women in what appears to be theater costumes (a local theater production of “The Mikado,” perhaps?) stand in front of an unidentified Victorian house.
13. Six team members don smart suits, ties and hats for an excursion. To the new-fangled Hippodrome Theatre? A dance at the Huaco Club? A picnic in Cameron Park? Alas, the photographer doesn’t say.
14. Outfielder Bob Clemens poses with his hands on his hips at Katy Park. (His name is misspelled as Clements by the photographer.) At age 27, Clemens played seven games with the St. Louis Browns, where he had three hits (including a triple) and three RBI in 13 at bats. The callup was a result of Clemens’ stellar lone season with the Navigators, where he batted .327 with an .853 OPS over 702 plate appearances before the call-up.
15. A Navigator team fishing trip proves a resounding success, signaled by a stringer with dozens of — admittedly small — fish.
Photographs scanned to a flash drive by Lane Murphy at Baylor University’s Texas Collection, February 27, 2026. All original photos owned by Lane Murphy, co-owner of 2nd and Clay. All photographs appear to be from the 1914 team.
All information compiled from baseball-reference.com, statscrew.com and digital.la84.org.
