Those famous Coleta Cousins made history and put Coleta and Whiteside county on the map in perhaps larger letters than nay other organization in the history of the Genesee village. There were various other baseball teams representing Coleta during the past 75 years or more, but none can match wit the Cousins. It was a most unusual group and one that could play ball wit the best teams in these parts. Organized about 1901, they were not the oldest, but claim to be “just the best.” However, the claim of the Cousins to greatness might be contested quite strenuously by the Coleta Plow Boys, a team organized around 1883 or 1884, and possible others.
As the name implies the Coleta Cousins were mostly relatives but not all first cousins. The first organization consisted of Lester Beers, Ralph Overholser, Frank Lawrence, William Hurless, James Overholser, Frank Bushman, Arthur Becker, Leroy Hurless and George Begerman. This organization played for three years defeating teams from Sterling, Morrison, Prophetstown, Oregon, Milledgeville, Chadwick, Tampico and Fulton, in fact, they defeated most of the teams representing surrounding towns. Finally in 1903 they were recognized as the championship team of Whiteside, Carroll and Ogle counties.
After 1903 other players were asked to play with the club and help maintain the championship. Among those were Joe Killian, Charles Baylor, Joe Netolicky, Clarence “Iky” Booth, Harry Carbaugh, Ward Deets, Harvey Becker, Harry and George Milne, Henry Olds and Carl Roderick. Umpires included Delbert Hoffman, Frank Morgaridge, Bill Killian, Roy Allison and Ab Howe. In the latter years of the organization, the businessmen of Coleta lent their aid to the home team. Charles Ackerman, Dr. George Proctor and Henry Meakins sponsored the team for the businessmen.
Going further back into the history of baseball in Coleta there are those who remember the Coleta Plow Boys. This team was composed of Frank Wetzel, Frank Buntley, Jacob Wetzel, George Hurless, J. B. Fenton, Judson Wells, Will Deets, Martin Overholser and James Hurless. It was around 1883 or 1884 that this team organized. Others of the personnel included William Beers, Charles H. Deets, Frank Lee, Ted Arford, Henry Overholser and Clark Vinson. The team played under that name some five or six years, possibly longer, and each year won a majority of their games. They were recognized as Whiteside and adjoining counties champions.
Coleta was always enthusiastic over baseball and usually had two teams and sometimes three. During the Plow Boys regime there was a second called the Red Lights. This team could give the Plow Boys a pretty good tussle any time and occasionally won. W. H. Colcord umpired most of the games at that time and was well posted in the rules. He was fair in his decisions and very few complaints were registered against him. About 1885 a third team was organized and was known as the Fire Flies. It was composed of boys under 18. The personnel changed frequently, but included such players as Ed Overholser, Luther Sayers, George Harvey, George Frankfother, Ed and Perry McCray, Ed Putnam, Will Hurless, and Frank Deets. The latter acted as a substitute and was the youngest member of the club.
Going further back into history, W. H. Colcord is authority for the statement that the first team was organized shortly after the Civil war and was composed of such men as Abner R. Hurless, M. H. Hurless, J. P. Overholser, Henry and Samuel Wetzel, E. I. and Henry Ferguson, R. H. Lawrence, O. M. Van Swearingen, Johnathan Patch, Nathaniel Buntley and other sports of that day.
In the late nineties a married men’s team was organized an claimed the world’s championship as they were never defeated by any team composed strictly of married men. Occasionally they took down a drubbing by teams composed of younger players. Baseball, the national pastime, made history for Coleta and Coleta aided in making history by virtue of baseball.
