The Sport
August 1857
National Association News
The unusually cool spring weather in March, April, May and June gave way to a heat wave in late July and much of August. The dog days kept most teams off the field and only three Association games were played during the month.
HARLEM - 28; UNION - 18
On the 2nd, the Harlem and Union clubs met in Morrisania, New York in the first match game of the season for each. Behind the batting and fielding prowess of the Wood brothers (John and James), Harlem defeated the Unions of Morrisania 28-18. 3B John Wood finished the game with seven hits, including a double, and scored six runs, while brother James had six hits and five runs. Harlem played stellar defense in the field, holding the Unions scoreless through the first two innings. Lead-off hitter Gifford was one of the few bright spots on offense for Union. He finished with five hits and scored four runs.
Code:
R H E
HARLEM 143 581 222 - 28 41 3
UNION 002 313 423 - 18 27 7
HARLEM
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BATTING AB R H BI
Wood, Jo., 3B 10 6 7 2
Wood, Ja., C 10 5 6 6
Marsh, 1B 9 3 5 6
Robinson, 2B 10 3 4 4
Dyer, CF 8 2 3 2
Kanski, RF 9 2 3 1
Thompson, P 8 2 4 1
Liscomb, LF 8 3 5 1
Hughes, SS 9 2 4 0
-----------------------------
PITCHING IP H R ER SO
Thompson (W) 9 27 18 16 4
-----------------------------
UNION
-----------------------------
BATTING AB R H BI
Gifford, C 9 4 5 0
Rodman, LF 9 3 3 3
Booth, 1B 8 3 3 4
Todd, 3B 9 1 3 3
Ferdon, SS 9 2 3 3
Pinckney, P 8 2 3 2
Dickerson, RF 8 2 2 2
Balcolm, 2B 8 0 2 0
Durell, CF 8 1 3 1
-----------------------------
PITCHING IP H R ER SO
Pinckney (L) 9 41 28 21 0
EMPIRE - 19; EAGLE - 14
On the 20th, New York's Eagle and Empire clubs met for the second time this season. In the first meeting, the Eagles soared past Empire 28-16. This time, Empire used strong hitting by LF Hoyt and C Gorff and a good outing by P Dick Thorn to defeat Eagle 19-14. Hoyt had four hits and scored four runs. Gorff was a perfect five-for-five, had a double and scored four runs. Thorn was able to put good movement on his pitches and scored five strikeouts against Eagle -- the highest one game total so far this season. C Gelston was the star for Eagle. He tallied five hits, including a home run and a double, and scored three times.
Code:
R H E
EAGLE 220 360 010 - 14 25 6
EMPIRE 407 340 01X - 19 24 3
EAGLE
-----------------------------
BATTING AB R H BI
Yates, RF 6 1 4 0
Houseman, 2B 5 3 3 1
Gelston, C 5 3 5 3
Smith, SS 5 2 2 1
Wandell, CF 6 1 4 3
Place, 3B 5 1 0 0
Williams, LF 6 0 3 2
Bixby, P 6 0 3 0
Winslow, 1B 6 2 1 0
-----------------------------
PITCHING IP H R ER SO
Bixby (L) 8 24 19 17 3
-----------------------------
EMPIRE
-----------------------------
BATTING AB R H BI
Miller, 2B 5 2 1 2
Moore, 3B 6 3 3 1
Hoyt, LF 5 4 4 3
Gorff, C 5 4 5 1
Thorn, P 5 1 3 1
Leavy, 1B 5 1 3 1
H. Smith, SS 5 1 2 2
Benson, CF 6 1 1 0
Ward, RF 6 2 1 0
-----------------------------
PITCHING IP H R ER SO
Thorn (W) 9 25 14 10 5
ATLANTIC - 45; CONTINENTAL - 25
On the 21st, Brooklyn's Atlantic club opened their season in impressive fashion, dropping Continental of Brooklyn 45-25. Atlantic was in control from the beginning, exploding for 12 runs in the second inning. By the top of the fourth inning, Atlantic led 28-5. Accolades go to Atlantic's Peter O'Brien and Mattie O'Brien. Pete had nine hits in ten plate appearances and scored six runs. Brother Mat went five-for-eight and scored seven runs in addition to picking up honors as the contest's winning pitcher. Despite surrending 45 runs in the pitcher's box, the Continentals' Kelly distinguished himself with his bat, tallying seven hits in seven appearances and scoring five runs.
Code:
CONTINENTAL 3 20 344 540 - 25 36 6
ATLANTIC 7129 512 72X - 45 55 3
CONTINENTAL
-----------------------------
BATTING AB R H BI
Ryno, SS 6 4 3 0
J. Law, 3B 8 4 4 2
Berry, RF 7 5 6 2
Masten, C 6 6 5 2
Kelly, P 7 5 7 7
Briggs, 2B 7 0 5 6
Brown, 1B 6 0 3 3
Law, CF 7 0 2 0
Oliver, LF 7 1 1 0
-----------------------------
PITCHING IP H R ER SO
Kelly (L) 8 55 45 41 1
-----------------------------
ATLANTIC
-----------------------------
BATTING AB R H BI
Price, 1B 9 4 6 6
P. O'Brien, RF 10 6 9 4
Holder, 2B 9 5 7 4
Boerum, 3B 9 5 5 6
M. OëBrien, P 8 7 5 6
Hamilton, CF 9 3 5 4
McMahon, LF 9 4 6 9
Bergen, C 9 5 6 2
Pearce, SS 8 6 6 3
-----------------------------
PITCHING IP H R ER SO
M. O'Brien(W) 9 36 25 23 2
Around the Association -- As I See It
By Sport Columnist Finn Casey
Who is the best team in the Association so far, you ask? The Atlantics of Brooklyn certainly took their own sweet time to take the field this year, but now that they have (a 45-25 thrashing of Brooklyn's Continentals), they certainly look like the world-beaters everyone said they would be. While I am a great believer that on any given day, one team can beat another, I must confess I wouldn't be surprised to see Atlantic go undefeated in match play this year.
While the brother tandems of Mattie and Peter O'Brien for Atlantic and James and John Wood of Harlem deserve accolades for their play so far, I still have to give the nod to Eagle's starting catcher Marvin Gelston as the Association's best player. A veteran of base ball for many seasons now, Gelston is having another excellent year. He is one of the best fielders in the game today and he is no slouch with the bat. In a losing effort against Empire this month, Gelston went five-for-five and scored three runs.
Pat Kelly, the pitcher for the Continentals, put up one of the more impressive statistical efforts in August. Against Atlantic, Kelly went seven-for-seven and scored five runs. Four of his seven hits were for extra bases. It's too bad his pitching didn't match his batting. Kelly was hit often (55 hits) and hard (45 runs) by the victorious Atlantic squad.
Prior to the season, I predicted the Eckfords of Brooklyn would vie with Atlantic for the top spot in the Association's table. Could I have been more wrong? It is very doubtful. I suppose I was fooled by their undefeated campaign of last season. So far this year, they have looked very beatable, winning only one match and losing two.
It would be difficult to convince me that the passion for our sport is higher anywhere else than in New York and Brooklyn. Alright, I'd be willing to grant you Boston, except that they play their own strange contraption of town ball rather than the National Game. For years, there has been idle discussion among those of us devoted to the sport about assembling nines of the best players in the area and matching them against nines of similar quality. Now, I'm hearing rumors that as early as next year, a select nine of New York's best players might play a match or series of matches against the best that Brooklyn has to offer. If such an event does occur, I can die a happy man.
Obviously, no one loves the game of base ball more than I do, but there are areas where the game and the Association can be improved. First, eliminate the rule that awards an out by catching a batted fly ball on the first bound. In this respect, the town-ballers of Philadelphia and Boston have it right -- an out should only be awarded when the ball is caught on the fly. Second, I'd love to see a regular schedule implemented where every team in the Association plays every other team at least once. This would ensure two things: first, more games -- hurrah; and second, it would provide a more accurate picture of just how good or bad each team actually is.
In closing, I'll address perhaps my biggest concern about the future of our great game. Friendly wagers on the outcome of matches have been part of base ball since its inception. In my day, it wasn't unusual for captains of competing clubs to make wagers on upcoming games. If nothing else, this added extra incentive for a team to win and uphold the honor of its captain. Lately, however, I have noticed individuals of questionable integrity attending matches. These men reportedly make their living solely as bookmakers and gamblers. More and more, they are becoming the focal point of all wagering that goes on during games. In addition, I have often seen these men talking to players prior to matches. I find this disturbing on many levels. I consider base ball to be a gentleman's sport. The individuals I have mentioned do not have a high standing in the eyes of society at large since they often associate with and have ties to criminal elements. To have such men associated with our sport in any way sullies the game's reputation among respectable folk. I would hate to see the level of esteem for the National Game drop to that of say prize-fighting or horseracing. More importantly, I fear some of these men might someday pay bribes to players to perform poorly and influence the outcomes of matches in a favorable way for them. Although I'd like to think that all ball players would be above reproach in such a situation, my observation of basic human nature convinces me that my hope is, at best, naive. For the sake of base ball's future, I pray that players and spectators alike will avoid such men in the future.
Until next time, I'll see you at the field.
Code:
ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
W L PCT GB R RA
KNICKERBOCKER 2 0 1.000 -- 44 41
ATLANTIC 1 0 1.000 0.5 45 25
GOTHAM 1 0 1.000 0.5 33 20
PUTNAM 1 0 1.000 0.5 21 14
HARLEM 1 0 1.000 0.5 28 18
EAGLE 2 3 .400 1.5 100 92
EMPIRE 2 3 .400 1.5 115 109
ECKFORD 1 2 .333 1.5 47 77
EXCELSIOR 0 1 .000 1.5 14 21
UNION 0 1 .000 1.5 18 28
CONTINENTAL 0 1 .000 1.5 25 45
LEADERS
RUNS SCORED
NAMES TEAM GP R AVG
1. Gelston EAGLE 5 23 4.6
2. Gorff EMPIRE 5 18 3.6
3. Moore EMPIRE 5 17 3.4
4. Hoyt EMPIRE 5 15 3.0
4. Thorn EMPIRE 5 15 3.0
6. Houseman EAGLE 5 14 2.8
7. Williams EAGLE 5 13 2.8
8. Leavy EMPIRE 5 12 2.4
8. Miller EMPIRE 5 12 2.4
10. Yates EAGLE 5 11 2.2
11. Grum ECKFORD 3 10 3.3
11. Smith, H EMPIRE 5 10 2.0
11. Ward EMPIRE 5 10 2.0
14. Neibuhr KNICKS 2 9 4.5
14. Pidgeon ECKFORD 3 9 3.0
14. Bixby EAGLE 5 9 1.8
14. Wandell EAGLE 5 9 1.8
18. Vrendenburgh KNICKS 2 8 4.0
18. Tostivan ECKFORD 3 8 2.7
18. Place EAGLE 5 8 1.8
18. Smith EAGLE 5 8 1.8
BATTING AVERAGE
NAMES TEAM GP AVG
1. Kelly CONTINENTAL 1 1.000
2. O'Brien, P ATLANTIC 1 .900
3. Berry CONTINENTAL 1 .857
4. Cudlipp CONTINENTAL 1 .857
5. Neibuhr KNICKS 2 .833
5. Masten CONTINENTAL 1 .833
7. Holder ATLANTIC 1 .778
8. Stephens KNICKS 2 .769
9. Vrendenburg KNICKS 2 .750
9. Bergen ATLANTIC 1 .750
9. Pearce ATLANTIC 1 .750
12. Briggs CONTINENTAL 1 .714
13. Wood, Jo HARLEM 1 .700
14. McMahon ATLANTIC 1 .667
14. Price ATLANTIC 1 .667
16. Gray ECKFORD 1 .650
17. Gelston EAGLE 5 .643
18. Adams KNICKS 2 .643
19. O'Brien, M ATLANTIC 1 .625
20. Tostivan ECKFORD 3 .619
Massachusetts Game
In the only match game played on the Commons during August, the veteran Tri-Mountain club introduced newly minted Rough-N-Ready to Massachusetts Association competition and trounced the muffins 100-59. Tri-Mountain controlled the tempo of the contest from the beginning. By the top side of the fourth inning, the Tri-Mountains led 19-3 and by the top side of the tenth, their lead was 44-16. R-N-R's strikers did find some consistent offense during the latter innings. However, at that point they were simply seeking to make the final tally more respectable. With the victory, the undefeated Tri-Mountains take a half-game lead over Olympic in the Association's standings.
Code:
AUGUST 8th
ROUGH-N-READY 02 1 324 040 343 214 043 640 513 - 59
TRI-MOUNTAIN 5410 443 482 153 722 721 332 486 - 100
MASSACHUSETTS ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
W L PCT GB R RA
TRI-MOUNTAIN 3 0 1.000 -- 307 254
OLYMPIC 3 1 .750 0.5 404 361
WASSAPOAG 1 0 1.000 1.0 62 48
WINTHROP 1 0 1.000 1.0 100 71
GREEN MOUNTAIN 2 2 .500 1.5 367 331
BUNKER HILL 1 1 .500 1.5 197 193
ELM TREE 1 1 .500 1.5 199 199
ROUGH-N-READY 0 1 .000 2.0 59 100
BAY STATE 0 2 .000 2.5 142 168
AMERICAN 0 2 .000 2.5 185 201
UNION 0 2 .000 2.5 104 200
Philadelphia Town Ball
The Olympics, Philadelphia's oldest base ball club, showed cricket-happy Philadelphians that they are the masters of that "other bat and ball" game as they downed the Philadelphia Cricket Club 2-0 in a best of three-match series using town ball rules. Most of the cricketers who participated said they enjoyed the faster pace of the base ball match compared to their own sport. However, Philadelphia team captain William Wister did express his distaste about "soaking" or "burning" a runner on the bases for an out. "I didn't like it at all," he said, "I can't say I enjoyed being plunked in the ribs by the ball."
Following the match, as the players exchanged greetings, Wister invited the Olympics to his club's home grounds for a cricket match before the end of the outdoor season. "They showed us they are masters of their sport," Wister said, "we would relish a chance to show them that we are masters of ours."
Code:
GAME 1 (August 15th)
PHILADELPHIA 201 120 211 01 - 11
OLYMPIC 133 214 133 2X - 23
GAME 2 (August 22nd)
PHILADELPHIA 001 321 320 04 - 16
OLYMPIC 421 232 322 5X - 27
Cricket News
Led by James Higham's half century, the New York Cricket Club remained undefeated in match play this year and handed the St. George Cricket Club its first loss of the season on its home grounds. New York downed St. George by 53 runs batting a strong 249/3. The victory was New York's seventh of the season and was the tenth consecutive win starting from July of last year.
Players from New York such as Higham and William Raney should be featured prominently on this year's American national team, which in the past has been dominated by players from Philadelphia. The U.S. team is supposed to face the Canadian national team sometime late in September.
Code:
CRICKET TABLES
NEW YORK AREA
CLUB P W L D
New York CC 7 7 0 0
St. George CC 6 4 1 1
Essex CC 4 3 1 0
New Brighton 4 2 1 1
Chosen Eleven 1 0 1 0
Brooklyn CC 2 0 2 0
Camden CC 4 0 3 1
Newark CC 3 0 3 0
Mechanics 5 0 4 1
PHILADELPHIA AREA
CLUB P W L D
Star CC 5 3 0 2
Germantown CC 6 2 1 3
Philadelphia CC 5 2 1 2
Delphian CC 5 1 0 4
Reading Railroad 5 1 1 3
Keystone CC 4 1 1 2
Merion CC 4 0 0 4
Belmont CC 2 0 0 2
Union CC 2 0 1 1
Young American 7 0 6 1
MASSACHUSETTS
CLUB P W L D
Olympic CC 2 2 0 0
Rumford CC 2 0 0 2
Lincoln CC 3 0 1 2
United CC 3 0 1 2
Prize Fighting News
On August 7, Joe Coburn defeated Patsy Flynn by knock-out in the fourth round of their bout in New York. It was Coburn's first victory -- he lost to Ned Price last year in a marathon fight that lasted 160 rounds.