Local History: Del and Ivon Howard, The Kenney Boys of Summer
- Terri
- Apr 3
- 6 min read
In this month's local history blog, Terri delves into the fascinating journey of Del and Ivon Howard, two remarkable individuals who made their way from the small town of Kenney, Illinois, to the illustrious world of Major League Baseball. This exploration not only highlights their personal stories but also sheds light on the broader context of baseball during their era, the challenges they faced, and the impact they had on their community and the sport itself.
For years, Abner Doubleday was credited with inventing the game of baseball in Cooperstown, New York, in 1839, but in fact, it has roots dating as far back as mid-1700’s England. One thing we know is that by the 1840’s, newspapers were reporting that it was a mania in America. It earned a reputation as “America’s pastime,” and that moniker stuck for generations and was especially true in Kenney, Illinois.
Joseph Howard brought his large family from Ohio around 1836 and settled just east of where the village of Kenney would later be founded. One of his sons, Peter, married and started a family of his own in 1859. He and his wife had nine children who survived beyond childhood (yes, I know – their own baseball team). Two of their sons would one day play major league baseball and spend their entire careers involved in the sport.
Kenney was built on the railroad in 1871, and 20 years later, it would boast 8 ball clubs. Other small towns in the area also had teams, and they would travel by train to compete against each other. George Elmer Howard, born in 1877, was probably on a team by his late teens. In 1896, the Lincoln team had two deaf-mutes on their roster; George Cummings, pitcher, and Charles Hussey, catcher. Cummings decided to put together a majority deaf-mute team and chose Kenney as their home base. They needed at least one player who could do their talking, so in 1897, Howard joined their team. Keep in mind, these teams charged admission to their games, and the players split the profit. It’s doubtful if that amounted to more than $10 per player, but before 1900, that was a nice little windfall for an afternoon playing ball. The Kenney Mutes were good, racking up 25 wins and just two losses until… August of 1897 when Cummings absconded with the most recent game’s gate receipts and was never heard from again.
It's uncertain how George, better known as Elmer, spent the next few years, but in 1904, he was picked up by the minor league Omaha Rangers. The next year, he moved up to the majors with the Pittsburg Pirates. In 1906, he played for the Boston Nationals, AKA/”Beaneaters” (which evolved into the Boston Braves, then Milwaukee Braves, then Atlanta Braves - baseball is crazy.) Somewhere along the way, he picked up the nickname “Del” after the power hitter Ed Delehanty and was forever after known professionally as Del Howard. (Ed Delahanty, while a renowned
heavy hitter, was also a heavy drinker. He died at age 35 when he fell into the Niagra River after being removed from a train for drunken and disorderly conduct.)
The pinnacle of Del Howard’s career was just around the bend when he joined the Chicago Cubs in 1907. This was the glory days for the Cubs, winning the World Series in both 1908 and 1909. In the deciding game of the 1909 Series, Del caught a line drive at first base and completed a triple play. Alas, his performance did not prevent the Cubs from shuffling him off to the Louisville Colonels, a minor league team, the following year. There was speculation, however, that by playing for and managing the Colonels, he would make twice as much as he did as just a player and might earn as much as a $5000 salary.
Meanwhile, Ivon Chester Howard, born in 1882, was working his way up the ranks in the sport of professional baseball. (Almost every newspaper or internet reference to him spells his name I-V-A-N, but apparently, he spelled it with an O.) By 1910, he had got hired onto the minor league team, the Los Angeles Angels, where he played for four years until he was picked up by the major American League St. Louis Browns. (This team was named in homage to the Brown Stockings, which eventually became the St. Louis Cardinals.) Then in 1917, he moved up to the American League Cleveland Indians, where he spent two seasons. The Indians then apparently dropped him, and he declared, at age 36, that he would retire and start a truck farm on his land near Kenney.
Del Howard never seemed satisfied with the Louisville Colonels, and in 1912, he secured a position with the San Francisco Seals as both player and manager, as well as west coast scout for the Cubs. The Seals was a minor league team in the Pacific Coast League. Just two years later, however, Del was suspended indefinitely for attacking an umpire over a close decision at first base. Late the same year, Del announced his own retirement with a plan to grow cantaloupes and alfalfa on his Imperial Valley California farm.
It turns out, though, that neither brother truly wanted to walk away from baseball. In 1916, Del, approaching age 40, became partial owner and manager of the Oakland Oaks, another team in the Pacific Coast League. In 1921, Ivon, now close to 40 himself, joined the team as player and later manager.
Del and Ivon were both featured on Zee-Nut collector’s cards with the Oakland
Oaks team. Del’s card is dated 1923 and Ivon’s is dated 1925.
(Zee-Nut was a treat similar to Crackerjack but shaped into a bar. Their cards depicted only Pacific Coast Minor League teams.)
In 1924, the Oakland Oaks team sold for $385,000. This may have essentially marked the end of Del’s involvement in baseball, though he did retain ownership of Oaks Park in Emeryville, CA, where the Oaks played their home games. It is unknown when he gave up his interest in the ball park, but today, it is a parking lot for Pixar Studios. Ivon stayed with the Oaks until 1930, then did some managing work for various teams in the minor league.
It is doubtful if either of the Howard brothers would turn down a good fight, and there are newspaper accounts of some of their shenanigans in their younger days. As they matured, they developed other business interests besides baseball. Ivon tried his hand at selling real estate and late in life owned a car dealership in Seattle. Together, they purchased Camp Lowe Ranch near Hornbrook in northern California. It was 320 acres on the Klamath River across from the Pacific Highway upon which 12 cabins were located. Both men married Kenney girls, and in the early years of their careers, spent most winters at their homes in Kenney. Del married Jessie Suttle in 1901; they had no children. Jessie died in California at age 53 in 1933. Del died in 1959 at age 79 in Seattle, Washington. Ivon married Nellie McElhiney (who had taught at the Kenney Grade School for a time) in 1909; they had one daughter, Ruth Elizabeth. Nellie died in 1963, age 77, and Ruth died in 2001, age 87 – both are buried in the aforementioned Hornbrook, CA. Ivon passed away in 1967 at age 84 and is buried beside his wife in Hornbrook.
The 2025 baseball season kicked off in Tokyo, Japan on March 18th with a game between the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers. What do you suppose the Howards would think about that?
References:
DeWitt County Newspapers on microfilm - Available in the DeWitt County Genealogical Society Room on the Lower Level of the Library.
newspapers.com - Available for free on any library computer or a device attached to the library wi-fi.
Terri Lemmel was born and raised in DeWitt County near Kenney. Upon completing her education at Clinton High School, she lived in Bloomington for several years before returning to Clinton in 1990. Her interest in genealogy was piqued in the mid-90s when she found unidentified obituaries in her late grandmother's scrapbook that family members could not identify. While she initially dabbled in the subject, it wasn't until her retirement in 2018 that she jumped in with both feet. Terri joined the Genealogical Society and has been serving as its President since 2022. Research is a passion of hers, and there are lots of interesting stories to uncover! You can find Terri in the DeWitt County Genealogical Society room at the Vespasian Warner Public Library every Thursday completing research and helping others with their family and local history research.
To learn more about the DeWitt County Genealogical Society, feel free to reach out to them via phone at 217-935-5174, email at dewittcgs@gmail.com, their website, or their Facebook page.
The Vespasian Warner Library, located at 310 N. Quincy St. in Clinton, IL, features an extensive collection of local history and archives. To learn more, visit our Local History Page on the website or stop by in person! We are always excited to showcase our local history resources and discuss DeWitt County's local history.
Until Next Time Library Friends!