West Baden Sprudels

The Sprudels played out of West Baden Springs, an Indiana resort town whose hotels drew visitors to its mineral water — sprudel is a German word for a spring. C. I. Taylor managed all four recorded seasons, going 43-58, and the club was in effect an attraction for the hotel trade as much as a competitive side.

Taylor took the club to Indianapolis in 1914 and renamed it the ABCs, which became one of the strongest Black clubs of the decade and beat Rube Foster's American Giants for the western championship in 1916. This archive holds the ABCs separately.

One Hall of Famer played here, Ben Taylor, C. I.'s brother, at first base. The club played at Sprudel Park. The recorded figures rest on the surviving box scores and cover a fraction of what was played.