Charles Bender

Charles “Chief” Bender

Charles “Chief” Albert Bender was an American baseball player. Bender was born on May 5th, 1884 on the White Earth Indian Reservation near Patridge Lake near Crow Wing County. On the reservation he went by the name “Mandowescence” which was translated as “Little Spirit Animal.” His mother, Mary Razor, was of Ojibwe descent and his father, Albertus Bliss Bender, was German. This meant that Bender was half Ojibwe, but he stayed true to his native roots of his. While living in Minnesota, Bender learned how to farm from his father and he took a job as a farmhand off the reservation for $1 per week. At seven years old, he took a train to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to go to a boarding school. His parents wanted to send him there for a better education in the hopes that he would return with greater knowledge and be able to help the family more.

While in Pennsylvania, Bender went to a couple of different boarding schools. His parents sent him to the Educational Home in Philadelphia. Instead of returning home for breaks, the school required that you go to local homes and farms and learn a trained skill such as carpentry, shoemaking, farming, and tailoring. Bender stayed there until he was thirteen years old and then chose to go back home. When he got back home there was a lot of land being sold, but noone was sure if Bender’s father was involved. The record states that even if he was involved, there was not much profit from it. After two months of being home and little work, he decided to run away from home and headed back to Pennsylvania to attend the strict military school called the Carlisle Indian Training School. Bender attended the school from September 5th, 1896 through May 14th, 1902. The school taught him English, chemistry, history, geography, mathematics, as well as agricultural and life farming skills. He found that the history for Native people in Pennsylvania was completely different than that of the Natives from Minnesota. Bender credits the “Quaker folk” for his best training, both in the classroom and on the baseball diamond. Baseball, being America’s pastime, was the perfect way to integrate Natives into Us culture. Those who excelled at sports could enter semi-pro and minor league teams. For many students baseball refigured the warrior tradition(Kashatus, 2006).

Bender was built like a first baseman, however, he predominantly played right field. Bender would throw during the club team’s indoor batting practice and that is when he caught the coach’s eye at just sixteen years old. Bender pitched for Glenn “Pop” Warner” for two years at Carlisle which Warner wanted to turn into an “athlete incubator” that produced the best athletes. After Carlisle, Bender attended Dixon College(Kashatus, 2006). Then, also in 1902, Bender signed on to Harrisburg club as a semi-pro pitcher for the sum of $100 per month. Bender got his big break when he lead his team to a three to one victory in an exhibition game against the Chicago Cubs. There was a scout for the Philadelphia Athletics in the stands at the time and immediately signed Bender after the game for an $1,800 contract(Kashatus, 2006). Bender is and was recognized as one of the best baseball players of his era. Despite the racial gap in sports, Bender was able to receive an endorsement deal from Mike Martin’s Liniment(Swift, 2008). He was told to endorse a cream that was supposed to be rubbed into the skin in order to make all of the aches, pains and soreness go away. Bender was chosen to endorse this product because he suffered from muscular rheumatism which is a condition that usually involves muscle pain, fatigue, and sleep disturbances. Other players were chosen for more luxurious endorsement deals such as: candy bars, chewing tobacco, soft drinks, automobiles, and baseball equipment(Swift, 2008). This highlighted the significant differences were dependent upon race. The gap is expanded even further when we talk directly about the difference in pay. At the time when premium baseball players were making between $8,000 to $12,000 per year, Bender, considered one of the top pitchers, never made more than $2,500 per season(Kashatus, 2006).

Though Bender supported and endorsed this product, he did not promote the use of medicine for himself. When lying in his hotel bed sick, he was asked by the manager of his team Connie Mack if he needed to go to see a doctor. Bender, staying true to his Native roots, simply responded by telling him that he was sick, but did not need medicine. Shortly after that, Bender  vanished. When he returned, two days later, Mack asked him where he had gone. He replied by saying “I went away where it was quiet and where I could be alone. When an Indian is sick he doesn’t want any noise around and he doesn’t want medicine or doctors(Swift, 2008). He just wants to let nature take its course in curing him.” This is just one of many examples of how Bender fully accepted his native background and lived true to it. Another example is how he even kept his Minnesota roots with him. He only spent his early years here, but they obviously traveled with him all of his life. Bender owned one hundred and sixty acres on the White Earth Reservation that he was born on for him to come back and come and go trap shooting as he so pleased.

Charles Bender died in 1954 but inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame in 1953(Swift, 2008). This is one way that Charles Bender’s name will be remembered. Charles Bender is a name that everyone should know and honor. If you are a baseball fan, a person from Minnesota, or just someone who enjoys good history, Bender’s story tells it all. He is a true, American hero.

References

Kashatus , W. C. (2006). Money Pitcher: Chief Bender and the Tradegy of Indian assimilation. University Park, pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press.

Swift, T. (2008). Chief Bender's Burden, The Silent Struggle of a BaseBall Star. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication.

 https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/03e80f4d

https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/bender-chief