100 years ago in The Saratogian
Sunday, June 3, 1917
A Saratoga Springs man falls out of a boat during an overnight fishing trip and drowns in Saratoga Lake early this morning, The Saratogian reports.
George H. Burdick of 105 Catherine Street went on the lake last night with two Saratoga Coal Company coworkers, Elijah J. Dowen Jr. and George E. Kilbara. They initially meant to fish at Stafford’s Bridge, but were unable to rent a boat there. They walked to Smith W. Tolmie’s fishery on the lake and rented a boat around 10:30 p.m.
Shortly before 1 a.m. the men head for shore in calm waters. “Burdick was standing up with the lantern looking for spiles along the shore,” a reporter writes, “when suddenly the light was extinguished and [his friends] heard a splash as he fell into the water.”
Dowen reaches for Burdick in the sudden darkness, but only manages to grab his hat. “As Burdick carried the only lantern, the boat and surrounding waters were in darkness. If Burdick’s body came to the surface, it was not seen. “
Burdick’s friends make their way through the dark to Tolmie’s place, where a rescue party is formed. Using grappling hooks, they first recover the lantern, and then find Burdick’s body around 5 a.m. The 39 year old is survived by his mother, four sisters, two brothers and a daughter. Another brother, William D. Burdick, drowned in the Hudson River at Corinth in 1915.
LOCAL BASEBALL
The financially struggling Corinth Athletics have “easily their best game of the year” this afternoon, and hope that news of the contest will boost attendance for what may otherwise be their season finale next week.
The Athletics face a game Glens Falls nine at Brown Athletic Field. The game is scoreless until the sixth inning, when Glens Falls exploits several Corinth errors to take a 3-0 lead. The As answer with two runs in the bottom of the sixth, and tie the game in the bottom of the eighth.
Corinth has a chance to end the game in regulation with two men on the bottom of the ninth but fail to get the winning run across. After retiring Glens Falls in order in the top of the tenth, the As win on Sweeney’s two-out hit and Cohan’s RBI.
Despite a winning record, “the management has lost money on the last two games, but is willing to try one more.” The Athletics will host a Victory Mills team next Sunday. “A fast game is looked for, the Victory Mills team having declared that it is capable of handing the Athletics a trimming.”