Town Ball was an early version of present-day baseball. John Edward, "Coke," and his brother, Alonzo, played town ball in the town of Waldron, MO. Coke was the pitcher, and Alonzo was the catcher. An article in the Platte-Clay Shopper, the local paper, reported the play in this way: "The brothers, Lon and Coke, played the positons of catcher and pitcher, and their antics on the field, as well as their superior playing skill, ensured a crowd and made each game an experience not readily forgotten. For example, Lon would catch the ball, sitting flat on the ground, in a deceptively casual one-handed catch, quite a feat in those days, for instead of the large glove now used, the glove of those days was a mere strip of leather across the palm, and then he would slowly roll the ball out to the pitcher's mound . . . a maneuver that for some reason enraged Coke each time."

Waldron, Missouri was at one time the horse and mule trading center for the state, and John Edward "Coke" Cocayne was an important reason for this. Coke owned the sale barn where the trading took place. An article in the local paper, The Platte-Clay Shopper, 21 March 1963, described Coke this way: "Coke Cocayne was the owner of the sale barn, and he was, in his own lifetime, a figure of legendary fame. It is undoubtedly due to Coke Cocayne that Waldron attained its status as an up and coming town in the early part of the century.

Part of the Sunday afternoon entertainment consisted of bronc-busting up and down Main Street, and, weekly, hords of half-wild horses and mules were raced pell-mell through town to the detriment of unwary citizens and to the accompaniment of the whoops and hollers of various cowboys..

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The Kansas City Times (Kansas City, MO) 31 March 1958, page 24

John Edward Cocayne, 80, Waldron, Platte County, died yesterday at Research hospital. Mr. Cocayne had been in ill health two years. He was born in Clark County, Missouri, and moved to Waldron 60 years ago. He operated a hardware business in Waldron and at the time of his retirement two years ago was engaged in livestock sales. Surviving is a sister, Mrs. Ida Miller, Topeka. Services will be at 2:30 o'clock Tuesday in the Francis chapel, Parkville. Burial will be in Gray Cemetery, Waldron.