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MAY COVER STORY
In the picture above, Sir Knight William H. Koon II, M.E. Grand Master of the Grand Encampment of the United States, presents the Sword of Merit to Sir Knight Paxton Mendelssohn, KCT, for his generosity in donating to the Knights Templar Eye Foundation. Sir Knight Koon also conferred the Knight Commander of the Temple honor on Sir Knight Mendelssohn during the inspection of Middletown Commandery No. 71, Middletown, Ohio, January 26,2008. Left to right are Sir Knights: Richard M. Holcombe, KCT, V.E.D.G.C of the Grand Commandery of Ohio; Burch E. Zehner, KCT, R.E.G.C. of the Grand Commandery of Ohio; Paxton Mendelssohn, KCT; William H. Koon II, GCT, M.E.G.M. of the Grand Encampment; and Bruce D. Basil, KCT, P.G.C., G.R., of the Grand Commandery of Ohio.
This WEBSITE is published monthly as an official publication of the
Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States of America.
Sid Cornelius Dorris III, Grand Generalissimo and Publisher,
2007 Brenthaven Drive, Mount Juliet, TN 37122
Lawrence E. Tucker, Grand Recorder and Editor
Grand Encampment Office
5909 West Loop South, Suite 495, Bellaire, TX 77401-2402
(713) 349-8700 (telephone), (713) 349-8710 (facsimile)
E-mail: gr@knightstemplar.org
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Joan B. Morton Assistant Editor
Mail materials and correspondence, to:
Editor, Grand Encampment of Knights Templar
Post Office Box 478448, Chicago, IL 60647-8448
phone and fax: (773) 489-0689
Material for the Grand Commanderies' two-page supplements
is to be directed to the respective Supplement editors.
Supplement Editors are encouraged to create their own sites
or submit "NEWS" to kych52va@aol.com
Address corrections from members are to be sent to the local Recorders LISTED HERE
MAY: Grand Master Koon looks forward to events of spring and summer, and CLICK HERE as Grand Recorder Tucker brings us up-to-date on Grand Encampment changes that will affect the future. We have some very interesting articles concerning the religious tenets of Templary, including notes on one Sir Knight's understanding of the relationship of Templary to Christianity, notes on the significance of the Ascension to Templary, and notes on the York Rite's lessons in morality. For those Commanderies that are feeling the financial pinch, there is a real success story concerning the endowment fund of the Grand Commandery of Pennsylvania, so Commanderies can get some ideas for improving financial positions. Also, don't miss an interesting article on Brother Epps Rixey, Hall of Fame Pitcher, by Dr. Ivan Tribe and all the news from Commanderies.
  
Grand Master's Message for May 2008
May is here, Spring has sprung, and Summer is just around the corner! What a great time of the year to live. For the farmer it's a time of excitement as the busy planting season begins. Hopes and dreams are renewed, and everyone's spirits are high.
Soon our children and grandchildren will be home for the Summer, and everyone is looking forward to that special vacation that's been planned for months. Masonry is full of wonderful and exciting things to look forward to and plan to attend during this month. Summer Assembly will be coming soon in Maggie Valley, DeMolay will have its annual meeting next month as will the Red Cross of Constantine. These and other exciting events will keep us busy through the warm days of Summer.
As we consider the excitement of the Spring season, why not think about those of our friends who have not yet become a part of the Masonic Fraternity? Why not consider those of our Masonic brothers who've not sought further light in the York Rite? Perhaps now would be a good time to encourage them to join with us in our quest. With the excitement of spring, it is most pleasing to witness the enthusiasm of those who are coming to our ranks. I see a renewed interest in our Fraternity that should excite us all.
However you spend your Spring, whether it's planting the garden, mowing the grass, or getting the house spruced up, take a moment, and smell the freshness of the season. Take a deep breath and enjoy the freshness of this time of year. Spring is a great time to be alive! Enjoy it!
 
Sir Knight William H. Koon II, GCT
Grand Master
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Greetings, Sir Knights:
MORE CHANGE
In January 2008, Grand Master Koon conveyed the goals of the Grand Encampment Officers for the coming year. In keeping with this theme of CHANGE, I am pleased to update you on upcoming changes to the Knight Templar magazine.
MORTON'S RETIREMENT
Ms. Joan Morton began her employment in the Editorial Department of the Knight Templar magazine in 1988. Working for the magazine during the tenure of nine Grand Masters, Joan has been witness to many changes in the operations of the Grand Encampment. During the transition of the Grand Encampment office move from Chicago to Houston, Joan continued to maintain the high standard and quality of the publication.
As Joan announced her plans for retirement later this year, your Grand Encampment Officers interviewed several candidates to serve as Managing Editor of the Knight Templar.
John L. Palmer, KTCH, KCT
PALMER NAMED MANAGING EDITOR
Sir Knight John L. Palmer, KTCH, KCT, comes to the Grand Encampment with a diverse background in management. A short bio follows:
Sir Knight John L. Palmer is Past Commander of DePayens Commandery No. 11 in Franklin, Tennessee. A native Tennessean, Palmer served the Grand Lodge of Masons in Tennessee as Most Worshipful Grand Master in 1997 and as Grand Secretary from 2005 until 2007. He ;s a holder of the Knights Temprar Cross of Honor, a Knight Commander of the Temple, an Associate Regent of the York Rite College, a 33° Inspector General Honorary for the Southern Jurisdiction of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, and a KYGCH. Sir Knight Palmer holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Tennessee Technological University and is retired from both BellSouth and Electronic Data Systems, where he was the Director of Special Projects for a major outsourcing account. Palmer served as the Sentinel of the York Rite Grand Bodies of Tennessee for over fourteen years before being elected to the Grand Lodge line in 1994. He served on the Commission for Information and Recognition of the Grand Masters Conference of North America, chairing the commission in 2002, and is currently serving on the board of directors of the George Washington Masonic Memorial. John and Lady Glenda, his wife of thirty-eight years, have one grown son, Lawrence, and reside in the small town of Nolensville, Tennessee, a short distance south of Nashville.
Lawrence E. Tucker, GCT
Grand Recorder
Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States of America
5909 West Loop South, Suite 495
Bellaire, TX 77401-2402
Web Site: www.knightstemplar.org
Office E-mail: gr@knightstemplar.org
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Templar Freemasonry and My Personal Relationship With Christianity
By Sir Knight Merlinus Goodman Monroe, Esquire, 32°
I can say confidently that the Order of the Temple has dramatically reinforced my own personal faith in Christianity. I have spent all of my life comfortably as a strong Deist, and was active in my membership in the Boy Scouts of America, where I became an Eagle Scout and earned both the “God and Community” and the “God and Country” awards, and in the Presbyterian Church during my adolescent years, professing a belief in Christ but never subjecting that belief to a more critical examination. Although my faith in God has never wavered, I failed to ever subject my belief system itself to the critical examination it deserves, instead blindly accepting conventional notions of Christianity.
I still have these doubts concerning the commonly accepted, hierarchical view of Jesus of Nazareth, and feel a deeper connection to my God without the limitations I feel are imposed by stereotypical “religion”, but I have sought greater answers and understanding of the religion of Christianity, and have willingly accepted it into my life, as a consequence of my membership in the Order of the Temple and my decision to become a Christian Knight.
On July 3, 2003, I was involved in a single-vehicle automobile accident during a tropical storm, while driving to cover Court for another attorney. I died, but was resuscitated, and spent approximately four months hospitalized, in a coma and then unconscious. When I awoke, I discovered I was paralyzed on the right side of my body, and I could no longer speak. Subsequently, I spent almost seven months of my life re-learning how to walk and talk again, before returning to work as a self-employed attorney, having been unable to find work for others due to my speaking and movement difficulties. Throughout the course of my hospitalization and my subsequent therapy, my Masonic Lodge and particularly my good friend Johnie Garmon, an officer in the Grand Commandery of Georgia, supported me and checked on my progress. After my return to work, I resolved to become a Knight Templar because of the kindness I had been shown by a man I so deeply respected, who was substantially involved with the Order.
However, though the organizational aspects were important to me, I found myself bound by an oath I constantly reflect on –to defend the Christian religion with force, if need arises. Having sworn to fulfill this duty, I resolved that I needed a deeper understanding of the faith I had professed, and I realized that I had paid that faith only “lip service” throughout much of my life.
I was depressed by the idea that it might not hold the truth I was searching for, especially after my own close brush with mortality. However, the realization that I had pledged myself wholeheartedly to this Order and that my life was of finite duration provided me with a greater zeal to my studies for personal growth, and a direction for my own personal researches. To that end, I have bought, and read fully, Lost Christianities, The Nag Hamadi Library, and many other works on the origins of Christianity. Subsequently, I have also become a Scottish Rite Mason, and have used that expansion of my education to similarly expand my own personal knowledge, having become an active member of that Body and purchased a copy of Morals and Dogma, A Bridge to Light, and The Scottish Rite Monitor, among other publications, all of which touch on deep truths about tolerance, history, and religious truisms in Christianity and Deism, in general. Without a doubt, my membership in the Masonic Knights Templar has strengthened my Christianity.
Sir Knight Merlinus Goodman Monroe, LLC, was a member of Blue Ridge Mountain Commandery (in McCaysville, Georgia - #37) until last June before he moved to Gainesville, Georgia. He is the Law Librarian for Hall County and is the Sword Bearer for Pilgrim Commandery #15, Gainesville, Georgia. Contact at PO Box 2686, Gainsville GA 30503; email: mmonroe@hallcounty.org.
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The Ascension-Are You Waiting for a Sign?
by Sir Knight James N. Higdon, KCT,
P.G.C. of Texas and E. Grand Prelate of Texas, 2007-2008
Texas and E. Grand Prelate of Texas, 2007-2008
The Ascension was a seminal event in the lives of the remaining eleven disciples and their converts. They saw the resurrected Christ taken up into heaven before their very eyes, until a cloud hid Him from their sight. (Acts 1: 9) They were, also, according to Acts 1: 11, instructed by two angels that Jesus would return in the same way that He departed from them.
Left in shock at what they had seen, they were challenged by these angels to stop gawking at the sky and follow Jesus's instructions to them. Jesus wanted them to be certain that He had left the earth and had left to them the task of carrying out the duties He had assigned to them. They'd been trained and equipped. Though they lacked Jesus's physical presence and guidance, they had a job to do.
He had sent them out in twos before, on a training mission as it were, to intern as teachers, preachers, and healers, making their mistakes along the way while they could come back to their mentor for more instruction. They knew Jesus was still there physically so they could report back to Him; they knew that Jesus was then still their teacher. Now that they had seen with their own eyes His physical ascent into heaven and had been charged by the angels, they knew it was now up to them to carry out that Great Commission (Matthew 28: 19-20) without his physical presence.
Ascension is the last of the obligatory observances of Templary. Given mere lip service in the four gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, it's a footnote to Christian history given the amount of writings that address it, yet it is a very significant and seminal event in Christian history, in Templar liturgy.
What is the significance of the Ascension? Why did Jesus allow His disciples to witness His Ascension? Why did He, in fact, lead them out away from Jerusalem to a spot near Bethany according to Luke 24: 50 or even farther away from Jerusalem to a mountain in Galilee according to Matthew 28: 16, but in either case, away from the historical center of Jewish religious and political thought and govemment and away from the Temple to witness His Ascension into heaven? Associated with coming to some answers to these questions is arriving at an answer to the question of why Jesus appeared to the disciples and others in His earthly entourage over a period of forty days before His Ascension.
Although these questions are thought-provoking, we will never know the answer to them in this earthly life. One answer might be that Jesus wanted to prove to them that He had overcome death and was just as alive as was Lazarus, whom they had all seen Jesus command to come forth from the tomb. (John 11: 1-44)
It is also significant that the gospels and the Acts have recorded that Jesus ate fish with His disciples on several different occasions, again proving His humanness, His being alive, thus alleviating their fears that He was just a ghost or a spirit. He walked and talked and taught His disciples on several occasions during this forty-day period to also give them several opportunities to validate for themselves that He was the same Jesus that had lived among them, ate with them, and taught them so short a time ago, making them "legal" witnesses under the law of His Resurrection and life after death, but, also again, reinforcing to them His humanity.
Throughout this forty days after the Resurrection (Acts 1: 3), Jesus continued to teach them and to talk to them but now more earnestly about the kingdom of God and their role in it on earth, the real significance of the Ascension. Here, at the end of His earthly ministry, He instructed His disciples as to their duties in the furtherance of the Kingdom.
In Matthew 28: 18-20 He tells them, and us, that He has been given authority in heaven and on earth and then commands that if we are to be His disciples as we are going about living life, we are to make disciples-not just of the Jewish nation from which they came-but Qf all nations and to baptize them as John had done Him "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."
But the duty of their lives was not to end with just making and baptizing disciples. He then further instructed them-He further instructed each of us-to teach these newly made disciples to obey everything He commanded the first disciples to do.
Their commission is our commission.
Luke tells us that after Jesus had ascended out of sight, they worshipped Him there on the mountain and then returned to Jerusalem "with great joy" and "stayed continually at the temple, praising God." (Luke 24: 52) Just as the disciples returned to Jerusalem ''with great joy" and praised God at the temple, that is our charge as well: to returrl to our homes, our churches, our work places, ''with great joy," praising God, waiting always for our instructions from the Holy Spirit.
The disciples were following Christ's instructions by remaining in Jerusalem, waiting to receive the gift promised them, waiting to be clothed with the Holy Spirit. It came down and empowered the disciples at Pentecost, ten days after the Ascension.
That was their sign and their power.
That began their ministry to all nations. Then, they went into "all the world and (preached) the good news to all creation." We are the fruit of the labor of those original eleven disciples and of many, many other disciples throughout history since. We don't have to wait for the Holy Spirit to come; it has already come and surrounds each of us if we will simply reach out and be open enough to allowing it to indwell in us.
Our charge today is the same as that given to the eleven, to "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (Mark 16: 15, Matthew 28: 19-20), remembering that Our Lord is with us "always, even to the end of the age," until He returns from heaven just as the angels said He would.
Thus, the significance of the celebration of the Ascension is that it confirms our belief in the Risen Lord; it affirms our challenge of The Great Commission! He is with us today, tomorrow, and forever. If you have been ''waiting for a sign," the record of the Ascension and the gift of the Holy Spirit is that sign, our sign! So as you are going on your way through life, that is, living your life; preach the Good News, preach the Ascension, and preach the gift of the Holy Spirit!
Sir Knight James N. Higdon, KCT, P.G.C. of Texas and E. Grand Prelate of Texas2007-2008, is a member of San Antonio Commandery No.7, San Antonio, Texas. He resides at 10122 N. Manton Lane, San Antonio, TX 78213.
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Pennsylvania Endowment Fund: A Templar Success!
by Sir Knight David L. Kempfer, Sr., P.G.C. of PA and Trustee of the Fund
It is with pride that we relate to you an amazing success story of the Sir Knights and the ladies of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Pennsylvania. It happened over the past eleven and one half years in their quest to fund the Pennsylvania Endowment Fund.
In 1995 the Grand Commandery of Pennsylvania was faced with a declining membership, diminished income, and rising costs. The grand officers decided to address these problems by creating an Endowment Fund to supplement the operating budget of the Grand Commandery.
The Grand Commandery at its 1995 Annual Conclave held at Mars, Pennsylvania, and its 1996 Annual Conclave held at Champion, Pennsylvania, did approve amendments to the Constitution of the Grand Commandery establishing an Endowment Fund for the financial security of said Grand Commandery.
In 1995 and 1996 funds for the Endowment Fund were voluntary. Whereas voluntary contributions by the membership were disappointing and insufficient to fund this Endowment Fund to any meaningful level, the grand officers at the 1997 Annual Conclave held at King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, proposed the following resolution: "That, all Sir Knights who are members of Constituent Commanderies in the jurisdiction of the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of Pennsylvania be assessed the sum of five dollars ($5.00) per annum for a period of ten years. Proceeds to be used for the purpose of funding the Endowment Fund. The first annual installment is to be due and payable on May 1, 1999. The tenth and final installment is to be due and payable on May 1, 2008. An optional method of payment is for a Sir Knight to make a one-time payment of forty dollars ($40.00) between June 1, 1997, and May 1, 1999. Such payment will completely satisfy the assessment and exempt the Sir Knight from paying the requirement of five dollars ($5.00) per annum."
A lively discussion on the pros and cons of the resolution then followed. Many Sir Knights expressed their opinions. Before a vote was taken, the following amendment was offered:
"That, the resolution be amended by adding the following: When the principal of the Fund reaches $250,000.00, 25% of the fund's income may be transferred to the Grand Commandery General Fund for the programs of the Grand Commandery.
"When the principal reaches $500,000.00, 50% of the income may be used for support.
"When the principal reaches $750,000.00, 75% of the income may be used for support.
"When the principal reaches $1,000,000.00, 90% of the income may be used for support.
''The principal may never be utilized for support. Should the Grand Commandery ever cease to exist, the principal of this fund will be returned to the Constituent Commanderies in proportion to their contributions."
This amendment was approved, and the amended resolution was approved, both by a majority vote of the Conclave.
With the assessments started May 1, 1998, and payment due to the Grand Commandery on May 1, 1999, it was decided that the Endowment Fund and assessment had to be explained to the Constituent Commanderies and to answer any questions the Sir Knights might have. As I was the first Grand Commander with the assessment, I visited each of the seventy-eight Commanderies and spoke for fifteen to twenty minutes on why the Endowment Fund and assessment were important to the Grand Commandery. I then opened the Conclave for questions and/or opinions and answered all that were asked. There were many spirited discussions.
Our Commanderies and our members have responded much better to the Endowment Fund and assessment then we had anticipated, and we are elated with the response. Ten months after the assessment was passed and one year before the first assessments were due, the Endowment Fund received from the Sir Knights of Pennsylvania, their ladies, and the Constituent Commanderies the amazing sum of $163,651.00.
At the Annual Conclave in 1998, held at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, donations were called from the Sir Knights in attendance. Over $25,000.00 was donated. At the Annual Conclave in 1999, held at Grantville, Pennsylvania, the Trustees reported the Endowment Fund had a market value of $256,082.00. After one year of the assessment, the Endowment Fund had crossed the first threshold of $250,000.00, and 25% of the income was paid over to the Grand Commandery.
It took an additional six years to cross the next threshold of $500,000.00. At the Annual Conclave in 2005, held in Erie, Pennsylvania, the Trustees reported that the Endowment Fund had a market value of $560,664.00, and for the first time 50% of the income of the Endowment was paid over to the Grand Commandery.
In 2007 at the Annual Conclave, held in Trevose, Pennsylvania, the Trustees reported that the Endowment Fund had a market value in excess of $750,000.00, and 75% of the income was paid over to the Grand Commandery.
As we near the' end of the ten-year assessment, May 1, 2008, an outstanding event of generosity and support has taken place. On January 28, 2008, Hutchinson-Jerusalem Commandery No. 15, with a membership of 107 members, presented Sir Knight Bryan L. Berry, Right Eminent Grand Commander, a check for $200,000.00 for the Endowment Fund. With this check and the final assessment to be paid on May 1, 2008, we are very confident that we will cross the final threshold of $1,000,000.00 in 2008.
Sir Knights, over the past 11 and 1/2 years, the Sir Knights of Pennsylvania, their ladies, and the Constituent Commanderies have been untiring in their support of the Endowment Fund. Here are a few of the things that have been done:
In the first two years a number of Commanderies paid the entire assessment for their members; a number of Commanderies are giving a memorial donation to the Endowment Fund for deceased members and this can be from $5.00 to $25.00 per member; a number of our Commanderies give an annual donation to the Endowment Fund; our ladies through the Auxiliaries and the Social Order of the Beauceant have made donations to the Endowment Fund; Sir Knight Lawrence R. Breletic, Past Grand Commander, Grand Treasurer, created the "Illustrious Knight of the Triangle" award, established to recognize Sir Knights for exemplary and dedicated service to Templary, and the net proceeds of this award have been dedicated to the Endowment Fund, giving to date over $36,000.00 to the Fund; Sir Knight Charles A. Garnes, Past Grand Commander, Honorary Past Department Commander, has written an entire year of appeals for the Constituent Commanderies to put in the Stated Conclave notices, which resulted in extra donations; and the grand officers have been staunch supporters of the Endowment Fund, and each Grand Commander since 1996 has included the Endowment Fund in his program for the year.
This has been an amazing 11 and 1/2 years. Starting with voluntary contributions to a ten-year assessment with zero dollars in 1996 to over $1,000,000.00 in 2008. All this was accomplished with a declining membership. We started in 1996 with 11,934 members. At the close of 2007, we had 6,906 members.
The Sir Knights of Pennsylvania, their ladies, and our Constituent Commanderies are to be congratulated for their outstanding dedication, generous giving of their time and money to the Endowment Fund, and for their support of the Grand Commandery of Pennsylvania. It is an example of what can be accomplished with motivation and dedication. It is truly an amazing success story.
Sir Knight David L. Kempfer, Sr., P.G.C. of Pennsylvania and a Trustee of the Endowment Fund, resides at 614 Drexel Road, Harrisburg, PA 17109.
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A Melancholy Memento of Morality
by Sir Knight Jeff Bennett, P.C.
As I reflect on our ritual symbolism of the melancholy mementos of morality, I meditate on the teaching of darkness, the fallen nature of this world, and the gleaming hope of immortality.
As for the teaching of darkness, the Elements in the Chamber of Reflection and on the Triangle reveal and conceal a very striking theological stance in my mind. Its presentation is stark and looming. This scene overwhelms me by breathing a penetrating fear of Death and of an unknown afterlife. It shows our frailty, our vulnerability, and that Life is given by God and supported by Jesus, built on His Salvation, and communicated through the New Testament and Faith. The Truth of God is the only thing between us and Damnation. In our ritual the Bible holds up this Truth and supports our feeble wasting efforts while holding back eternal judgment. Such dark elements gather the glorious message of God's Grace and Redemption through His Son, Jesus.
As shown in Genesis with summation in the writings of the Apostle Paul, the fallen nature of our world is unmistakable. The Great Architect of the Universe's original plan was tainted by Sin. The Relics in our customs rest upon a divine nature not a created one. Darkness spreads out below it, seemingly without bounds. Yet the Truth needs only to be as wide as needed to support the frail relics. Note, the Bible doesn't cover all the darkness, just that necessary space to save them from the being in darkness. When on the Triangle, it shines from above emblematic of God's Truth, Holiness, Character, Glory. Brilliance shining through the darkness to a terminal being supported by only his Grace. Further in the Rites, we are admonished to hold truth to service to Christ and His Kingdom. The darkened Asylum represents our imperfect world. Dwell your mind here; the further away from the Bible, the lesser the light of God's Truth is shone or penetrates. The further the distance from the Bible, the more the Darkness of Sin surrounds you. This scene when first revealed usually reaches its aim (to strike fear) of the End. How do I know? Because when my eyes first beheld this "memento of morality," I felt shock and unease. My focus was on the darkness, the finality of death not the Bible or the Light. In the chamber, hope is yet a flickering candle. While the sands of our time are wasting, we are charged with duties and questions that must be answered. We assume a pilgrim's garb, one who is in a foreign country, not one just journeying through and not yet to the final destination.
The Darkness is only removed when the Asylum is reached and our final station is reached. The scenes passed through remind us that we are depraved, helpless creatures who journey toward an accolade there to our new title or name. Along the way, much like in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, we are assisted by others with food, teachings, and Truth.
The span of time in the execution of the Order of the Temple ceremony is lengthy, yet I ask you to ponder the depth of its lessons that will strengthen your faith, your hope, and your charity which we have as Sir Knights enlisted under the Banner of our Great Captain of our Salvation, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Sir Knight Jeff Bennett is a member and P.C. of Arlington Commandery NO.1 07, Arlington, Texas. He resides at 5501 Tiara Ct., Arlington, TX 76017.
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Brother Eppa Rixey:
Hall of Fame Southpaw Pitcher
by Dr. Ivan M. Tribe, KCT, KYCH, 33o
The winningest left-handed pitcher in National League baseball history is Warren Spahn who toiled for many years for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves prior to ending his career with the New York Mets. In the American League, Sir Knight “Gettysburg” Eddie Plank who spent most of his playing days with Connie Mack’s old Philadelphia Athletics holds the honor. Both Spahn and Plank won more than three hundred games. In between these two individuals, another southpaw hurler chalked up enough wins to make the Hall of Fame while often taking the mound with second division clubs. Until the advent of Spahn, Eppa Rixey held the National League record for victories by lefthanders. This is his story.
Eppa Rixey was also the first Virginia native to earn Hall of Fame honors. Born in Culpepper on May 3, 1891, Eppa Rixey, Jr. was the son of a local banker. The Rixey family had originally come from Italy where their name had been spelled “Riccia.” But by the time of Eppa’s birth, it had long been Anglicised. The fourth child in a family of six, Eppa’s parents moved to Charlottesville when he was ten. After completing high school, he entered the University of Virginia from whence he was graduated in 1912 with a major in chemistry. Growing to the impressive height of six feet five inches, the lanky lefty became the mainstay of the Cavalier’s baseball pitching staff and also proved to be a standout in the then relatively new sport of basketball. Charles Rigler, a major league umpire who worked as a coach at Virginia, thought Rixey had a promising career in the major’s and arranged for a contract for the young lefty with the Philadelphia Phillies. The whole incident to a ban on umpires scouting for professional teams, but it launched Eppa’s career although neither he nor Rigler ever received the promised $2000 cash bonus for signing. Rixey had initially not wanted a baseball career, preferring to pursue work as a chemist. But fearing an economic downturn and wanting to help his brother with college expenses, he journeyed to the City of Brotherly Love.
Eppa Rixey became one of the first baseball players to go directly from the college campus to the majors. He made his major league debut on June 21, 1912, and pitching for a fifth place team in his rookie year, had a respectable if unspectacular 10-10 record with a 2.50 earned run average. In the off seasons, the young pitcher completed a master’s degree in chemistry back in Charlottesville. One winter he taught Latin at Episcopal High School in Washington, D. C. Atypically well educated for a major league ballplayer, he proved to be something of a “Renaissance man” who enjoyed writing poetry in his spare moments.
In his second year with the Phils, Rixey had a 9-5 record, but his third year proved to be a disaster, going 2-11 while his ERA climbed to 4.37. However, 1915 showed improvement for both Eppa (2.39 ERA) and the Phils, who took their first ever pennant. Scholars of the game credit his comeback to new team manager Patrick Moran who had a reputation as a skillful handler of young pitchers. Still the Virginia lefty had a losing record (11-12) and his performance lagged behind that of Phillie ace Grover Cleveland Alexander (31-10, 1.22 ERA), Erskine Mayer (21-15) and Al Demaree (14-11). In the World Series, Rixey relieved Mayer in the third inning of the fifth game and took the loss, giving up an uncharacteristic two home runs in the eighth inning. Doing better at the plate, he actually went one for two. Sadly, this was his only opportunity to play in the Fall Classic.
Under Moran’s tutelage, Eppa came onto his own in 1916 with a 22-10 season and a 1.85 ERA. The team actually won more games that year than in 1915, but lost out to Brooklyn in the pennant race. Rixey propelled his team into first by winning the first game of a doubleheader over the Brooklyn Robins on September 30, but Alex lost the second game and that was close as Philadelphia got. The Phils fell back into the second division in 1917 and Eppa led the league in losses with 21, despite a good earned run average. The following year saw Rixey in military service with the Chemical Warfare Division. This unit-- in retrospect--seems to have been a haven for Masonic ball players including Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson and Branch Rickey, although Rixey was not yet a member of the Craft. Back with the Phillies, Eppa seemed to have lost his touch experiencing two consecutive poor seasons with a team that sank into the league cellar both times. It has been reported that the tall Virginian did not hit it off well with Manager Gavvy Cravath. In fact, after eight seasons in Philadelphia Rixey had an 86-103 won-lost record, not exactly what one could be considered Hall of Fame material. As a result, he was happy to be traded to Cincinnati on January 22, 1921 where he could again be guided by Pat Moran.
Eppa Rixey not only found his niche in the Queen City, but it became his home for the rest of his life. Over the next five years, the tall southpaw blossomed into one of the league’s premier hurlers winning 100 games over the next five years including three twenty-win seasons, and never less than fifteen. Only once did his ERA go over 3.00 and that was 1922, the year that he experienced a career high twenty-five wins. Perhaps his keenest achievement--in 1921--was allowing only one home run in 301 innings pitched. Known as something of a playboy during his early years in town, he soon settled down and as Jan Finkel, who wrote in an authoritative sketch on him, said “enriched his community.”
Perhaps his settling down was related to his petitioning Kilwinning Lodge No. 356 in 1922 where he received his Entered Apprentice degree on August 30, 1922. His other two degrees took place that winter as he was passed a Fellowcraft on December 27, 1922 and raised a Master Mason on January 31, 1923. Fellow lodge members included his longtime room mate Raymond “Rube” Bressler and Ex-President, Chief Justice William Howard Taft. He remained a member of Kilwinning Lodge for twenty-five years. Another factor in Rixey’s change was his October 29, 1924 marriage to Dorothy Meyers in suburban Terrace Park’s St. Thomas Church. The Rixeys subsequently had two children, Eppa III and Ann. In the off season, Eppa worked for his father-in-law’s insurance business of which he ultimately became the owner. In more recent years, this has been operated by Eppa Rixey IV as the Eppa Rixey Insurance Agency.
As a pitcher, Rixey was apparently a master at fooling hitters. His roomie Bressler later related to baseball historian Lawrence Ritter that Rixey had once told him that when he was behind on hitters, they invariably expected him to throw a fastball, but that he never did. Rixey, it was said, struck out few batters and walked even fewer. Known as a mild mannered gentleman most of the time, he could really get angry at himself when he made costly mistakes on the mound and would take it out in the clubhouse afterwards on the furniture. He took the good-natured and not so good-natured kidding from team mates and rival players about his southern background with grace. Nicknamed “Jeptha” by sportswriters because it rhymed with Eppa, he learned to accept it, but never really liked it.
Following the death of his favorite manager Pat Moran in March 1924, Rixey had an off-year that season going only 15-14, but bounced back to win 21 in 1925. Although his best days were behind, he still managed to turn in credible pitching for the rest of the decade although as the Reds fell into the second division, his effectiveness also declined. In 1930, he went 9-13 and had a 5.10 ERA, the worst of his career. With the Reds mired in the league cellar in his last three years, Eppa became a spot starter and accumulated fifteen wins and the same number of losses. He closed with 266 wins and 251 losses often playing for mediocre and weak teams in the second division that scored few runs. A better examination of Rixey’s quality pitching might be his career ERA of 3.15 which compares favorably with contemporary Hall of Fame hurlers as Jess Haines, Ted Lyons, Herb Pennock, and Red Ruffing, all of whom had better won-lost percentages.
After his 6-3 record in 1933, Eppa Rixey hung up his glove and spikes announcing his retirement just prior to spring training on February 16, 1934. Concentrating on the family insurance business, he prospered and eventually passed it on to his descendants. Some years after his retirement, he visited the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown and humorously wrote postcards back to Cincinnati saying “I finally made it!” When Warren Spahn broke his record on September 26, 1959 for the most wins by a National League lefthander, Eppa told the press that he was glad his record had been broken because people had forgotten that he had earlier set it. That recollection may have got him into the Reds Hall of Fame that same year. He still holds the post-1900 record for the most wins by a Cincinnati pitcher with 179. Four years later on January 27, 1963, he was selected for the bigger Hall of Fame in upstate New York. With characteristic modesty, he told reporters, “They’re really scraping the bottom of the barrel, aren’t they?” Sadly, he suffered a fatal heart attack a month and a day later on February 28, before his induction. He was buried in Greenlawn Cemetery in suburban Milford, Ohio. The bad news for Eppa Rixey, as John B. Holway and Bob Carroll stated in the second edition of Total Baseball (1991), was “he seldom pitched for teams that were likely to make him a household name at World Series time.” The good news for the tall Virginia gentleman was that he made it in to the Baseball Hall of Fame anyway.
NOTE: The principal sources for the life of Eppa Rixey are the sketch by Jan Finkel on the SABR website and the uncredited sketch on BaseballLibrary.com, plus various histories of the Cincinnati Reds. His baseball records are in Total Baseball (1991); Masonic Records were furnished by George O. Braatz, Grand Secretary of the Grand Lodge of Ohio. The portrait came from my Rio Grande colleague, Prof. Samuel Wilson.
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"Boston Commandery March/Onward Christian Soldiers"
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