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Fred Syberg

Image Frederick Von Syberg, born about 1853 in Pennsylvania, was an amateur baseball player for various Little Rock, AR teams during the 1870s. He was also president of the 1875 Foul Flag Association.

Biography

Syberg was the only son of Arnold Von Syberg, a civil engineer and Confederate Civil War Colonel from Germany. When Fred was young, the Syberg family moved from Pennsylvania to Arkansas. By 1873, Fred began playing baseball in Little Rock as a pitcher for the Capital Base Ball club.

In 1875, Syberg joined the Accidentals, one of several amateur teams in Little Rock. To decide which of Little Rock's teams was best, the Foul Flag Association was created. Subsequently, Syberg was made president of the Association, continuing to play with the Accidentals, who in the end won the championship.

Syberg perhaps did not play baseball past 1875. He became a civil engineer like his father and took a job with the Mexican National Railway. On May 19th, 1883, his life came to a tragic end. While in Acambaro, Mexico, Syberg, under the influence of alcohol, got into a dispute with a man who in return threatened to shoot him. Syberg, looking for a means of self-defense, attempted to borrow a pistol from a friend. However, the two men soon began arguing over the pistol and a fist fight resulted. Later, a furious Syberg returned with a pistol in hand and shot his friend, who in turn shot Syberg. Both men died that day and were buried in a nearby cemetery.

Sources

1) The Two Republics, May 24th, 1883, P1