In the 1900 U.S. Federal Census, Demaree was the oldest of two children born to Albert, a typesetter, and Ella. The family resided in Cicero, Illinois.
The Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index, at Ancestry.com, said Demaree married Alpha C. Windle on March 31, 1909, in Chicago.
The 1910 census recorded commercial artist Demaree, but not his wife, in his father’s household, which included his brother Eaton. They lived in Chicago at 3739 Humboldt Avenue. The census said Demaree was a widower, but his wife was named on his World War I draft card and in future censuses.
According to Wikipedia, Demaree was a pitcher in the baseball Major Leagues from 1912 to 1919. He played for the New York Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Boston Braves. Two of his cartoons can be viewed here and here. Demaree was profiled in the El Paso Herald (Texas), October 2, 1913.
.jpg)
When Demaree was with the Cubs, the Santa Fe Magazine, April 1917, published a story about his mule ride at the Grand Canyon.
Demaree signed his World War I draft card, on September 12, 1918. He resided in Manhattan, New York City, at 51 St. Nicholas Place. His occupation was draftsman at Federal Shipbuilding Company in Kearney, New Jersey. The description of him was tall, medium build with gray eyes and brown and gray hair.
Demaree returned to Chicago. In the 1920 census he resided at 1096 Pratt Blvd. He made his living as a commercial artist. Collier’s, August 3, 1929, published Demaree’s illustrated article, “Bumping the Umps”. An excerpt from Demaree’s account about “baseball daisies” was printed in Breaking Into Baseball: Women and the National Pastime (2005).
Ten years later, the census said Demaree was a newspaper cartoonist who lived in the same neighborhood. Demaree, his wife and mother resided in an apartment building at 1140 Pratt Blvd.
The Lawrence Daily Journal-World (Kansas) carried Demaree’s sports column in 1930 and 1931. The column covered baseball, bowling, boxing and golf.
Demaree illustrated Edwina Guilfoil’s Major 1st Events in a Century of Base Ball which was published in 1939 by Charles E. Line.
Demaree has not yet been found in the 1940 census. He signed his World War II draft card on April 27, 1942. His residence was the Niagara Hotel in Peoria, Illinois. Demaree’s employer was the Peoria Star.
The California, Death Index said Demaree passed away April 30, 1962, in Los Angeles. He was buried at Harbor Lawn-Mount Olive Memorial Park.
—Alex Jay
Bob H has some additional info that he sent privately:
ReplyDeleteHowdy, Allan,
I don't know to what extent you collect biographical info, but I thought I'd send this along.
This regards the July 30, 2015 blog post about Al Demaree, at
http://strippersguide.blogspot.com/search?q=Demaree
I have come across some additional biographical info.
An article in the Sep/27/1914 Chicago Tribune, here
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1914/09/27/page/22
contains two paragraphs of non-baseball biog info. This includes the answer to the question raised in the blog post, about where he got his art training. Earlier in the article it indicates that (at the time of the article), Demaree was distributing his cartoons nationally through his own company.
You may also find it interesting that while Demaree drew the artwork for that column, it looks like Quin Hall normally drew for this column. The column, written by Woodruff, was a regular Sunday feature.
Another Tribune article suggests that by age 49 he was on the skids financially, sent to jail for failure to pay his hotel bill:
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1939/03/17/page/30/article/al-demaree-is-sent-to-jail-for-two-weeks
The El Paso Herald cartoon of Demaree featured on that blog post was part of a series of 28 (I think) players who were about to play in the 1913 World Series. AS you probably know, Demaree did not draw this -- the signature looks to be "Scar"
Hope that is of interest,
Bob H