East Lynn WV Reds
 

Went to the graveyards over Memorial Day, because that's what we do. Ran into this photo of the East Lynn Reds. East Lynn now consists of a carryout grocery, a few falling down homes, and a considerable number of copperheads.

In 1908, East Lynn was incorporated. East Lynn continued to grow in the 1910s and at various times had three movie theaters, doctors, lawyers, and a detective agency. In the late 1910s, the residents decided to abandon the town's charter, and the town became unincorporated once again. Much of the town was destroyed by fire in November 1919.

I love how baseball spread to literally every town in North America with enough young men to field a team in the early 20th century. I imagine most of their games were played against teams from other small towns in the area. Many of our cardboard heroes started off playing on teams just like these. If you grew up in one of those towns, and had never been to a big city before — and many hadn't — those local games were likely a very big deal.