I cannot recall how many times I have heard the expression, "It was worth the price of the ticket to see Peanut COWELL play baseball." Other than his great ability as a player, Clyde (Peanut) COWELL was a very colorful competitor. His use of a white potato at a ball game at Grant City, Missouri almost created a riot when a player was called out. By reversing the decision, calm was restored.

On another occasion he ws to play at Maryville, Missouri and was late getting there so the public address announcer advised the spectators that Peanut COWELL was arriving on his bicycle from Maloy, Iowa. The manager met him at the gate and he was giving a cycle and he hung his gear on it and peddled up in front of the grandstand, wiped his brow, nodded to the appaluding crowd and took his position. Naturally no one bothered to tell the crowd differently.

I am told of another game when the umpire called a very low ball a strike so Peanut proceded to sit on the ground and refused the umpire's request to stand up. He advised that umpire if he was going to call strikes that low, he was going to get down to where he could see them.

Peanut was especially proud of the game played in 1917 for the benefit of the Red Cross at Maloy. Several major leaaguers were on the Field Hospital team of Fort Dodge and played that day. Peanut warned them that the major portion of the crowd had never seen a big league player and wanted to see them at their best. They rallied to his challenge and beat Maloy 19 to 0, but after expenses $507 was delivered to the Red Cross.

Peanut was 48 when he quit playing. He had played semi-pro ball in 45 of Iowa's 99 counties. Eight major league friends of his had been in his barber shop in Maloy.

Outside of his devotion to his family, baseball was his second love.

SOURCE: Maloy, Iowa Centennial History: 1887 - 1987 p. 55. 1987.
Courtesy of Mount Ayr Public Library

Transcriptions by Sharon R. Becker, August of 2011