𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗙𝗟𝗔𝗚𝗣𝗢𝗟𝗘 𝗔𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗟𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞 𝗛𝗔𝗗 𝗔 𝗙𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗛 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬

 by Rene Torres

In 1910 Brownsville's baseball team captured the Southwest Texas League championship trophy and flag.  It was a strong baseball circuit that included the Brownsville Brownies, Bay City Rice Eaters, Beeville Green Growers, Corpus Christi Pelicans, Laredo Bermudas and the Victoria Rosebuds.

The Brownies demonstrated that they could compete with the big boys as they defeated the crack nine from Victoria in a playoff series.  

The main reason Brownsville could field a team on the eve of the Mexican Revolution was because a passenger train had been in town since 1904.  By 1906, the St. Louis, Brownsville, Mexico Railway made it possible to travel as far as Bay City without missing a pitch.

But this story is not about the team--it's about the flagpole and the building that became part of Brownsville's historical landscape.  

The championship flag presented to the team did not come with a flagpole, so the word was out that a pole was needed to hoist the championship flag at the ballpark.  

Before long, Mrs. Bollack, owner of a dry good store in town, donated a flagpole and this story centers on the store and the flagpole that played a significant role in shaping part of Brownsville's history.  

The Bollack Building that today displays like a cathedral on Elizabeth Street was erected in 1878 and was ranked as one of the most historic buildings in the Valley as among the first dry goods stores in this section of the state.

                                     

The Bollack Building, 1223 E. Elizabeth Street

It was founded by Henry Bollack, who came to America from Alsace-Lorraine, France. When the store was founded it was housed in a lower constructed wooden building at the corner of Southeast Washington and E. 12th Street.

Later, it was moved to building situated on Southeast Elizabeth Street which was completed around 1910-1911.  It was during that period that the old flag pole began its baseball history.

The Brownsville Herald wrote the following: An old flag pole, which in years past was said to have carried to colors of France, stood in front of the Bollack Building, formerly occupied by the French Consul in Brownsville, was donated yesterday (April 12, 1911) to the Brownsville Baseball Association by Mrs H. Bollack.

The thirty-five foot long pole, that had stood in front of the Bollack Building, made its way to the ball park.  The old flagpole that once carried the French flag was now waving the pennant flag of the champion Brownies, but, unfortunately, it's association with America's game was short-lived.

Not even a special train rate by the Texas Railroad Commission could help the league survive.  When the league folded after the 1911 season, the flagpole became part of Brownsville's baseball history.  Traveling by train became simply too expensive so the league took a premature dive.

The Bollack Building survived through the decades and still remains one of Brownsville's most decorated historical landmarks located at 1223 E. Elizabeth Street.  

NOTE: A moment in the history of the Bollack family

The entire Bollack family, originally migrated from France, is buried in the Hebrew

Cemetery in Brownsville. The first to come to Brownsville was Adolph Bollack.

His story is embedded in the annals of this city’s history. Evidence comes from

the civil war and the last battle at Palmito Hill near Brownsville.

Adolph story resembles that of Desmond Doss, who served in WW II as a medic.

Desmond was considered a conscientious objector. He refused to carry a

weapon and kill the enemy. His exploits in saving people as a medic won him the

Medal of Honor without firing a shot. His story was told in the movie Hacksaw

Ridge.

Adolph, like Desmond, refused to engage the enemy with weapons. As a medical

runner (medic) he focused on saving lives without firing a shot. Perhaps he

deserved the same honor.

As time progressed, Adolph encouraged his brother Henry, and his wife, Pauline,

to come to Brownsville. His encouraging words described Brownville as having a

very positive business climate.

Henry died of yellow fever in 1882; Pauline continued the business establishing

the first department store in Brownsville in 1911.

The Bollack Building has been restored to look like its glory days. If you drive by

1223 E. Elizabeth St, you’ll be amazed at its beauty.