Bigtopia Barnumstormers

Cosmic Player	POS
Augur, George Mr. Augur was known as the "Cardiff Giant" and he stood nearly eight feet tall and tipped the scales at 360 pounds. Barnum added him to his show while touring Europe in 1844. Augur accompanied Barnum when he returned to the United States in 1903. On November 30, 1922, George Augur died of acute indigestion in New York City.	C
Bass, Jonathan R. A popular sideshow attraction was the "Ossified Man". He was said to have turned to stone before he died.	P
Bowen, Eli A legless man, he stood two feet and weighed 140 pounds. Bowen was both a husband and father of four. His good friend was Charles Tripp, the armless man. Together they would appear in various sideshows. Often they would amaze patrons by riding a bicycle built for two.	LF
Campbell, Jane The "Connecticut Countess", Ms. Campbell weighed 628 pounds.	OF
Codona, Anita	P
Coffey, James W. Known as the "Skeleton Dude" he was average in height, but weighed in at only 70 pounds.	3B
Earles, Harry	P
Kung, Free	P
Lentini, Francesco A. Mr. Lentini had an extra leg. His oddity was a popular feature in the side shows and he toured with Barnum, Walter Main's circus, and with Buffalo Bill's show. Lentini was married and had three children, two boys and a girl.	CF
Libbera, Jean-Jacques Born in Rome in 1884 the Libberas toured with Barnum in 1907. Jacques was a parasitic body living within Jean's body. Jacques had arms, legs, hands and feet. X-rays indicated a rudimentary head was embedded inside Jean's body. Jean was married and fathered four normal offspring.	1B
Mack, Vantile Billed by Barnum as the "Giant Baby", Vantile weighed 257 pounds at seven years of age.	P
Ma Phoon Ma Phoon was enveloped from head to toe in thick hair.	SS
Orloff, Ivannow The "Translucent Man". It was possible to observe the circulation of Count Orloff's blood in his veins and arteries.	IF/C
Peteroff, Theodore Known variously as "Jo Jo the Dog-Faced Boy" and the "Human Sky Terrier". His appearance explains these nicknames.	IF
Stiles, Grady III Son of the Lobster-Boy.	IF/OF
Stratton, Charles n 1842, Barnum featured a perfectly formed midget, whom he billed as "General Tom Thumb". The son of a carpenter from Connecticut, "Tom Thumb" quickly became a sensation and earned a lot of money for himself and Barnum. On a European tour, "Tom" met Queen Victoria (three times) and otherwise enchanted European high society with his theatrics. In 1863 he married Lavina Warren, also a midget. A couple of years after the marriage, Barnum, ever the persistent huckster, arranged a publicity stunt claiming that Charles and Lavina had had a child. Pictures and news accounts were made announcing the event. But alas, it was just another Barnum hoax. There was no child. But Stratton became a wealthy man. He owned a stable, a yacht and a mansion when he died at age 45 in 1883.	P
Tripp, Charles B. An armless man, who became a passable painter by painting with his feet. Tripp was friends with Eli Bowen, a legless man. Together they would ride a bicycle built for two. Charles would peddle and Eli would steer. The two men were exhibited side by side for a number of years in a variety of side shows.	RF
Wells, Billy Mr. Wells had a triple thick skull, earning him the name "block head". He would stand, unfazed, while brick blocks on his head were pounded with a sledgehammer.	2B
Wilkinson, Thomas Mr. Wilkinson sported a five foot beard.	P
Zarate, Lucia One of the world's smallest of the small. Fully grown she weighed five pounds and stood twenty inches small.	P
Team Management
Stiles, Grady Jr. The Lobster-Boy.	Manager
Lind, Jenny Swedish-born soprano signed by Barnum to give American concerts. Barnum paid her $1,000 for each of a 150 performances. At the conclusion of her American tour in 1852, gross concert receipts were nearly $700,000.	Coach
Jacobs, Lou A "white face" clown and originator of the midget automobile act.	GM
Barnum, Phineas T. Shortly before he died in 1891 Barnum wrote: I am prouder of my title 'the children's friend' than if I were to be called 'the king of the world'. That he thought he might be called 'king of the world' gives us some insight into this uniquely American figure. Known as the "father of the American circus" and described, after his death, by the Boston Herald as "the greatest showman of all time", Phineas Taylor Barnum was one-of-a-kind. At various times in his life he was a grocer, journalist, marketing wizard, city mayor, college benefactor, huckster, temperance lecturer, and circus owner. He was also married twice and the father of three daughters. His name adorns the popular animal crackers baked by the National Biscuit Company (NABISCO). Throughout his hometown of Bridgeport, Connecticut Barnum-related names abound on streets, parks and buildings. Barnum played cosmic baseball as a firstbaseman for the Paradise Pisces between 1989 and 1994. He compiled a career batting average of .276 with 68 homeruns. The Barnum Stormers have been created, in part, to honor the great American Barnum.	Owner
Bigtopia Dome Seats: 17,118	Park

Underleague Team

The Bigtopia Barnumstormers are a cosmic baseball team of sideshow freaks and other human oddities.

Season 2002 Record
82-80

Rookies on Roster
None

Link to B'Stormers Roster Index

Marvelous Human Curiosities. Freaks of Nature. Monstrosities. These were the features that attracted the masses to Barnum's American Museum in New York and to his circus sideshows. An entertainer, an exploiter, humbug or humanitarian? What are we to make of Mr. Barnum? And what are we to make of ourselves? When we view our strangely formed fellow human beings ...is it compassion or something else we feel?

Barnum was the "Shakespeare of advertising." He knew that people would pay to see the unusual and the weird. In the summer of 1842 he exhibited the "Feejee Mermaid" in his new museum of curiosities. This exhibition consisted of a dead monkey's head and torso in a fish's body. Barnum knew that people would pay money to see it. Real or scam, it didn't seem to matter. Barnum's museum made a profit of nearly $3,000 in its first year.

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Published: March 9, 2003
Last Update: July 8, 2003
Contact: editor@cosmicbaseball.com
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