Vincent Ariel Tydeman was born in New Jersey on August 24, 1883, to Edmund and Sarah Tydeman, who emigrated from England to the U.S. in 1878 with their nine children. The Tydemans welcomed another child, Florence, just before the 1880 census. Edmund Tydeman, the eldest son of a Baptist minister and an optician by profession, moved his family to Camden, New Jersey, from Pennsylvania after Florence’s birth in April 1880. According to the 1887-1888 Camden City Directory, the family resided at 1046 Cooper Street, later moving to 523 Spruce Street the following year. By the 1900 census, they were living at 512 Bailey Street, with Vincent, his older brother Herbert, and sister Florence still at home.
Vincent Tydeman was a talented athlete, excelling in acrobatics, track and field, and baseball. His athletic prowess led to a successful career in vaudeville and professional baseball during the early 1900s and 1910s. He was part of a generation of North Camden children who became well-known stage performers, including dancer Ann Pennington and members of the Dooley Family.
Tydeman partnered with Johnny Dooley for three years in a popular vaudeville act called Tydeman & Dooley. The duo enjoyed significant success before eventually parting ways.
Vincent Tydeman learned his acrobatic routine from an ex-vaudeville clown named Charlie Sheldon who had moved to Camden from Wilmington in 1903. My great-grandfather practiced his routine of back flips and running leaps under Sheldon’s direction out at Old Coxey Farm near the State Street Bridge. It was during this time that he mastered his legendary trick of making a running dive over seven chairs into a handstand on a table and then a return leap over five more chairs. It was this trick that made him the most sensational and highest paid acrobat on the Keith Vaudeville Circuit. He traveled for weeks at a time doing this act from coast to coast. Vince won the Camden All-around Championship at the Camden YMCA in 1903, 1904, and 1905. He was also the Camden County Pole Vaulting Champion in 1905. In 1905 the Tydeman and Dooley act played at the Broadway Theatre on Broadway and Sycamore Streets to sold-out shows both matinees and evening performances. My great-grandfather was the straight man and originator of the act. His partner Johnny Dooley lived in Camden between North 2nd and North 3rd Street on Pearl Street. The act lasted for three years when they then parted professionally.
Maryann Foster, great-granddaughter of Vincent Tydeman
Vincent Tydeman married around 1906 and continued his professional baseball career that same year. He started with the Savannah team in the South Atlantic League, then moved to Valdosta, GA, in the Georgia State League. When the Valdosta team folded in July, he was transferred to the Orangeburg, SC franchise. In April 1908, he signed with the Paterson, NJ franchise in the Union Baseball League.
By 1904, Vincent’s father, Edmund Tydeman, had passed away, and the family was living at 228 Burns Street in the Poet’s Row section of North Camden. Later, Vincent settled at 106 Elm Street in North Camden with his wife, Jennie, their daughter Alice, son Robert, and his 70-year-old mother, Sarah.
During the fall and winter of the 1910s, Vincent performed on the B.F. Keith vaudeville circuit, often as part of the comedic acrobatic duo “Tydeman and Dooley.” Another North Camden neighbor, Dan McConnell, worked as a publicist for the Keith circuit and was breaking into journalism during this time.
In 1910, Vincent played baseball for teams in Danville and Norfolk in the Virginia League. The following year, he joined teams in Johnstown, PA, and the Erie Sailors in the Tri-State League, returning to Erie in 1912. In 1911, the Erie Sailors moved to the Ohio-Pennsylvania League, where Vincent was managed by Billy Gilbert, a former major leaguer and second baseman for the 1905 World Series-winning New York Giants. Erie joined the Central League in 1912, and after holding out for a better contract at the start of the season, Vincent was traded to the Grand Rapids, MI team. He excelled that year, batting .287 and stealing 30 bases in just 97 games.
The year 1913 was a standout season for Vincent Tydeman. He hit .299, scored 86 runs, and led the league with 51 stolen bases. Tydeman also ranked second in home runs, hitting 13—an impressive number given the “dead ball” era of baseball. Additionally, he led the league in total bases, amassing 254. That year, his team, the Grand Rapids club, won the Central League pennant by 15 games.
The Grand Rapids team was owned by its star pitcher, Bill Essick, who not only managed the team to the 1913 pennant but would also lead them to Central League championships in 1916 and 1917. Essick had a long career in baseball as a minor league manager and scout, continuing until 1951. He is best remembered for scouting and signing legendary players like Joe DiMaggio, Bob Meusel, Tony Lazzeri, Lefty Gomez, Frank Crosetti, Jimmie Reese, and Ralph Houk. DiMaggio, Lazzeri, and Gomez are enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, and arguments have been made for Meusel and Joe Gordon.
Among Tydeman’s teammates in 1913 was Jeff Pfeffer, who later enjoyed a successful major league career, winning 158 games with teams like the Brooklyn Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Pittsburgh Pirates.
My Great grandfather played the vaudeville circuits during the winter months and played baseball during the summer months. A professional baseball scout did come out once to see my great-grandfather play but he made Vince so nervous that he didn’t play his best game and never made it into the big leagues.
Maryann Foster, great granddaughter of Vincent Tydeman
Vincent Tydeman returned to the Grand Rapids team in 1914, then played for the Topeka team in the Western League during the 1915 and 1916 seasons. In 1917, he rejoined the Central League, playing for the South Bend Benders in Indiana, though his performance dipped, with a batting average of only .201. He finished that season with the Scranton Miners of the New York State League.
Tydeman struggled at the plate in 1917, and by mid-June, his batting average had fallen to .205, suggesting that his playing career was starting to wind down. After the 1917 season, the Central League disbanded. Following this, Tydeman returned to Camden and took a job as a driller at the New York Shipbuilding Company Corporation on Broadway in South Camden.
It was in 1918 that he gave up vaudeville, and baseball shortly afterwards to settle down to his own printing business. He held various jobs in his lifetime including being a truck driver and a chauffeur. He was also musically inclined. He played the accordion. He was married to Jennie for 69 years. They had seven children. They were Alice, Robert, Clifford, Doris, Harold, Douglas, and Joan.
Maryann Foster, great granddaughter of Vincent Tydeman
When Vincent Tydeman returned to Camden for good, he and his family lived at 909 York Street in North Camden. By January 1919, Vincent had transitioned to working as a printer, and the family had grown with the addition of three more children: Clifford, Doris, and Harold Vincent Tydeman. Though his professional baseball career had wound down, Vincent remained connected to the sport. He played for the Newport News Shipbuilders in the Class B Virginia League in 1919 and for the Ludington Mariners in the Class C Central League in 1920, which marked his final year of professional baseball. Even after that, he continued playing semi-professionally in and around Camden. At age 38, he was still effective, playing center field and batting clean-up for the 1921 Camden team that won the Camden County championship.
During the 1920s, the Tydeman family bought a home at 2116 Howell Street. Two more children were born, Douglas Tydeman and Joan. By the time of the 1930 census, Vincent was working as a truck driver for the City of Camden. The family continued to live at the Howell Street address, as listed in the 1947 Camden City Directory.
Three of Vincent’s sons served in the military during World War II. Staff Sergeant Harold V. Tydeman was awarded the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for his service in the Pacific, where he fought against Japanese forces. Douglas Tydeman, who had dropped out of high school and lied about his age to enlist in the Army, saw action on D-Day and at the Battle of the Bulge. He was wounded three times and earned a Purple Heart with two oak leaf clusters. Douglas later served on the Camden police force for 28 years, retiring in 1981.
Vincent A. Tydeman passed away in January 1975. The family continued to reside at 2116 Howell Street. In the early 1990s, Doris moved to Audubon, and Alice relocated to Gloucester City.
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