Independence Jewelers

The Independence Jewelers were a minor league baseball team that played during the 1908 season. Based in Independence, Kansas, the team played in the Oklahoma–Kansas League.[https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?id=c98e6793 BR Minors] They were managed by Harry Truby.[http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1908/VOL_51_NO_18/SL5118023.pdf July 11, 1908 Sporting Life] The team was the best-drawing squad in the league, with Sporting Life calling the city of Independence "baseball mad."[http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1908/VOL_51_NO_22/SL5122025.pdf August 8, 1908 Sporting Life]

The most notable player on the 1908 Jewelers team was pitcher Gene Packard. While pitching for Independence against Tulsa, Oklahoma on July 26, Packard had a single hit shutout victory.{{cite web|last1=Lamb|first1=Bill|title=Gene Packard|url=http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/4e228512|publisher=Society for American Baseball Research|accessdate=24 March 2016}} On August 8 Packard pitched a game against Bartlesville, Oklahoma in which no Bartlesville player reached first base. The headlines in the local newspaper described the perfect game as a world's record.{{cite news|title=Packard Breaks World's Record|publisher=Independence Daily Reporter|date=August 10, 1908}}