Spalding's Baseball Guide and Official League Book for 1889

Chapter 11

Chapter 113,277 wordsPublic domain

ST. LOUIS. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- PLAYERS. |Games.|At |Runs.|Earned|Hits.|Totals.|Wild |Struck |Bases | |Bat. | |Runs. | | |Pitches.|Out. |on | | | | | | | | |Balls. -----------+------+-----+-----+------+-----+-------+--------+-------+----- -- King | 5 | 137 | 25 | 8 | 34 | 43 | 2 | 11 | 9 Chamberlain| 4 | 210 | 43 | 22 | 64 | 94 | 7 | 14 | 20 +------+-----+-----+------+-----+-------+--------+-------+----- --- Total | 10 | 347 | 68 | 30 | 98 | 137 | 9 | 25 | 29 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---

In the fielding figures of pitchers the assistances on strikes were mixed up with the fielding assistances which rendered them useless.

The record of the batting and fielding of the two club teams as a whole, is as follows:

CLUB BATTING. CLUBS. |Games.|At Bat.|Runs.|Base |S.B.|Average. | | | |Hits.| | ----------+------+-------+-----+-----+----+-------- New York | 10 | 366 | 64 | 96 | 37 | .289 St. Louis | 10 | 333 | 61 | 73 | 26 | .219

CLUBS. |Games | P.O. | A. | E.|Total |Per Cent | | | | |Chances.|Accepted. ----------+------+------+----+---+--------+-------- New York | 10 | 213 | 174| 40| 427| .906 St. Louis | 10 | 249 | 157| 42| 449| .906

THE FINANCIAL RECORD.

The appended figures showing the gate receipts of each day in each city, are as follows:

Of the New York's share of the receipts, $200 was paid to each of their eighteen players, reducing the club's profits by some $3,600. The general expense account includes traveling expenses and advertising for both clubs. The following table shows the figures for the series between St. Louis and Detroit in 1887:

RECEIPTS.--At St. Louis, $9,000; Detroit, $6,750; Pittsburgh, $2,300; Brooklyn, $5,800; New York, $4,100; Philadelphia, $8,000; Washington, $800; Boston, $3,100; Baltimore, $2,000; Chicago, $200; total $42,000. The expenses of the trip was $18,000, leaving a balance of $24,000. This was divided evenly, so that St. Louis received $12,000 and Detroit $12,000.

The St. Louis papers complimented the visiting New York team highly. In fact, the St. Louis _Post-Dispatch_ said that no more gentlemanly appearing or behaving set of men belonging to a ball club ever played in St. Louis. Messrs. Von der Ahe and the secretary of his club, Mr. George Munson, did everything in their power for the visiting newspaper men.

THE FIELDING FIGURES.

NEW YORK. PLAYERS. |Positions.|Games.|Fielding | | |Average. -----------+----------+------+-------- Ewing |C | 7| .875 Brown |C | 2| 1.000 Murphy |C | 3| .759 Connor |1B | 7| .975 Richardson |2B | 9| .978 Whitney |3B | 10| .862 Ward |S S | 8| .919 O'Rourke |L F | 10| .955 Slattery |C F | 10| .826 Tiernan |R F | 10| .783

ST. LOUIS. PLAYERS. |Positions.|Games.|Fielding | | |Average. ---------+----------+------+------- Milligan |C | 8| .932 Comiskey |1B | 10| .966 Robinson |2B | 10| .891 Latham |3B | 10| .923 White |S S | 10| .796 O'Neill |L F | 10| .885 Lyons |C F | 5| .941 McCarthy |R F | 10| .765

THE AMERICAN PENNANT HOLDERS OF 1886, 1887 AND 1888.

An interesting chapter of American club history is the record made by the four leading clubs of the Association in their games together during the seasons of 1886, 1887 and 1888. In each year the St. Louis Club occupied the leading position at the end of the season, while the other three followed close after the champions. Here is the record of 1886:

1886. |St. Louis.|Brooklyn.|Athletic.|Cincinnati.||Won. ----------+----------+---------+---------+-----------++----- St. Louis | --| 13| 15| 15|| 43 Brooklyn | 7| --| 12| 13|| 32 Athletic | 5| 7| --| 10|| 22 Cincinnati| 5| 7| 10| --|| 22 +----------+---------+---------+-----------++--- Lost | 17| 27| 37| 38|| 119

It will be seen that while St. Louis led in 1886 Brooklyn stood second, with the Athletics third, and Cincinnati fourth. The record of 1887 is appended:

1887. |Cincinnati.|Brooklyn.|Athletic.|St. Louis.||Won. -----------+-----------+---------+---------+----------++----- Cincinnati | --| 12| 11| 13|| 36 St. Louis | 6| --| 12| 16|| 34 Athletic | 9| 8| --| 8|| 25 Brooklyn | 4| 4| 10| --|| 18 +-----------+---------+---------+----------++--- Lost | 19| 24| 33| 37|| 113

This year, though St. Louis won the pennant, it will be seen that in their games together Cincinnati held the lead, the Athletics being second, the St. Louis third and Brooklyn last, the season being a very hard one for Brooklyn through the drinking habits of the players, which the management failed to repress. The record for 1888 is as follows:

1888. |Brooklyn.|St. Louis.|Athletic.|Cincinnati.||Won. -----------+-----------+---------+---------+----------++----- Brooklyn | --| 10| 12| 14|| 36 St. Louis | 10| --| 10| 9|| 29 Athletic | 7| 8| --| 10|| 25 Cincinnati | 7| 6| 10| --|| 23 +-----------+---------+---------+----------++----- Lost | 24| 24| 32| 33|| 113

Last season, it will be seen, that while St. Louis again won the pennant, in their games together Brooklyn took the lead, St. Louis being second, the Athletics third, and Cincinnati last.

EAST vs. WEST.

THE LEAGUE GAMES.

The contests between the four clubs of the East and the four of the West in the League in 1888 ended in favor of the East, as will be seen by the appended record:

EAST VS. WEST.

CLUBS. | | | | I || | G | | | | | n || | a | | | | P | d || | m | P | | | i | i || G | e | e | | | t | a || a | s | r | C | D | t | n || m | | c | h | e | s | a || e | P | e | I | t | b | p || s | l | n | c | r | u | o || | a | t | a | o | r | l || W | y | a | g | i | g | i || o | e | g | o | t | h | s || n | d | e | . | . | . | . || . | . | . ------------+---+---+---+---++----+---+--- Philadelphia| 10| 7| 14| 13|| 44| 73|.693 New York | 8| 11| 10| 14|| 43| 73|.589 Boston | 7| 10| 10| 11|| 38| 75|.567 Washington | 6| 7| 9| 8|| 30| 76|.359 ----+---+---+---++----+---+ Games lost | 31| 35| 43| 46|| 155|297|

WEST VS. EAST.

CLUBS. | P | | | || | G | | h | | | || | a | | i | | | W || | m | P | l | | | a || G | e | e | a | N | | s || a | s | r | d | e | | h || m | | c | e | w | B | i || e | P | e | l | | o | n || s | l | n | p | Y | s | g || | a | t | h | o | t | t || W | y | a | i | r | o | o || o | e | g | a | k | n | n || n | d | e | . | . | . | . || . | . | . ------------+---+---+---+---++----+---+----- Chicago | 8| 11| 12| 13|| 44| 76|.587 Detroit | 11| 7| 8| 11|| 37| 72|.614 Pittsburg | 6| 1| 8| 10|| 31| 74|.419 Indianapolis| 4| 5| 9| 12|| 30| 76|.305 +---+---+---+---++----+---+ Games lost | 29| 30| 37| 46|| 142|297|

It will be seen that the four Eastern clubs won 155 victories to 142 by the four Western clubs.

THE AMERICAN GAMES.

The struggle between the East and the West in the American arena in 1888 resulted as follows:

EAST VS. WEST.

CLUBS. | | | K | || | G | | | C | a | L || | a | | S | i | n | o || | m | P | t | n | s | u || G | e | e | . | c | a | i || a | s | r | | i | s | s || m | | c | L | n | | v || e | P | e | o | n | C | i || s | l | n | u | a | i | l || | a | t | i | t | t | l || W | y | a | s | i | y | e || o | e | g | . | . | . | . || n | d | e | | | | || . | . | . ----------+---+---+---+---++----+----+----- Athletic | 7| 10| 14| 15|| 46| 74|.622 Brooklyn | 10| 14| 11| 13|| 48| 80|.600 Baltimore | 6| 6| 11| 11|| 34| 79|.430 Cleveland | 4| 7| 10| 9|| 30| 73|.411 +---+---+---+---++----+----+ Games lost| 27| 37| 40| 48|| 158| 306|

WEST VS. EAST.

CLUBS. | | | | || | G | | | | | || | a | | | | | || | m | P | | | B | C || G | e | e | A | B | a | l || a | s | r | t | r | l | e || m | | c | h | o | t | v || e | P | e | l | o | i | e || s | l | n | e | k | m | l || | a | t | t | l | o | a || W | y | a | i | y | r | n || o | e | g | c | n | e | d || n | d | e | . | . | . | . || . | . | . ------------+---+---+---+---++----+----+----- St. Louis | 10| 10| 14| 16|| 50| 77|.649 Cincinnati | 10| 6| 14| 10|| 40| 77|.519 Kansas City | 3| 9| 8| 9|| 29| 75|.387 Louisville | 5| 7| 9| 8|| 29| 77|.377 +---+---+---+---++----+----+----- Games lost | 28| 32| 45| 43|| 148| 306|

It will be seen that the East won by 158 to 148.

PHENOMENAL CONTEST.

The most noteworthy contest of the season in the League championship arena in 1888, was the game played at the Polo Grounds on September 4, between the New York and Philadelphia teams. In this game eleven innings had been completed without either side being able to score a single run when sunset obliged the umpire to call the game on account of darkness. The turnstile count showed that 9,505 people had passed through the gates.

It was a pitchers' contest from start to finish, both Keefe and Sanders doing great work in the curving line. But ten base hits were made in the eleven innings, six against Sanders and but four against Keefe. O'Rourke, Richardson and Andrews led the little batting that was done.

The fielding play was of a phenomenal order, brilliant stops, catches and throws occurring in every inning, and being loudly applauded.

The Philadelphians all but had the game in the tenth inning, but over anxiety lost them the chance. Farrar was on third and might have scored on Mulvey's fly to Slattery. He left the base, however, before the ball was caught, and was promptly declared out. The score was:

NEW YORK. | T.| R.| B.| P.| A.| E. --------------+---+---+---+---+---+--- Slattery, cf | 5| 0| 0| 1| 1| 0 Ewing, c | 5| 0| 0| 8| 3| 0 Tiernan, rf | 5| 0| 0| 1| 0| 0 Connor, 1b | 3| 0| 0| 15| 0| 0 Ward, ss | 4| 0| 0| 2| 3| 1 Richardson, 2b| 4| 0| 2| 3| 2| 0 Whitney, 3b | 3| 0| 1| 1| 5| 1 O'Rourke, lf | 4| 0| 2| 1| 1| 0 Keefe, p | 4| 0| 1| 1| 10| 0 +---+---+---+---+---+--- Totals | 37| 0| 6| 33| 25| 2

PHILADELPHIA. | T.| R.| B.| P.| A.| E. -------------+---+---+---+---+---+--- Andrew, 3 cf | 5| 0| 2| 1| 0| 0 Fogarty, rf | 4| 0| 1| 1| 0| 0 Farrar, 1b | 4| 0| 0| 12| 1| 0 Delahanty, lf| 4| 0| 0| 2| 0| 0 Mulvey, 3b | 4| 0| 0| 0| 2| 0 Sanders, p | 4| 0| 0| 1| 7| 0 Schriver, c | 4| 0| 1| 9| 4| 0 Irwin, ss | 4| 0| 0| 5| 4| 0 Bastian, 1b | 3| 0| 0| 2| 3| 0

+---+---+---+---+---+--- Totals | 36| 0| 4| 33| 18| 0

Philadelphia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0--0 NewYork 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0--0

Two-base hit--O'Rourke. Double plays--Keefe and Connor, Farrar and Sanders. First base on balls--Connor, Whitney, Bastain. First base on errors--Philadelphia, 1. Struck out--Tiernan, Whitney, Keefe, 2; Andrews, Fogarty, 2: Delehanty, Mulvey, Sanders, Schriver, Irwin. Wild pitches-- Keefe, 2; Sanders, 1. Time--Two hours. Umpire--Kelly.

REMARKABLE EVENTS.

LONGEST GAME.--Played at Boston May 11, 1877, between the Harvard College nine and the Manchester professional team, twenty-four innings, score 0 to 0.

BEST LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH.--Played August 17, 1882, at Providence, between the Providence and Detroit teams, eighteen innings, score 1 to 0-- _seventeen innings without a run!_

NEXT BEST LEAGUE CLUB GAME.--Played at St. Louis on May 1, 1877, between the St. Louis team and the Syracuse Stars, fifteen innings, score 0 to 0-- a drawn match.

BEST INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION GAME.--Played May 7, 1878, at Lynn, Mass., between the Live Oak team of Lynn, and the Crickets of Binghamton, fifteen innings, score 1 to 0.

BEST JUNIOR GAME.--Played at Hoboken, August 19, 1878, fifteen innings, score 1 to 0.

SHORTEST GAME.--Excelsior vs. Field in Brooklyn on Excelsior's grounds, in May, 1861--50 minutes, 9 innings.

LONGEST THROW.--By John Hatfield, made at Union Grounds, Brooklyn, Oct. 15, 1872. Distance 133 yards, 1 foot, 7 inches-- over 400 feet.

GREATEST SCORE.--In match between the Niagara Club, of Buffalo, and a visiting nine at Buffalo in 1864, score 202 to 26.

THE THROWING CONTESTS RECORDS.

The longest throw of a baseball on record up to 1872 was that made in 1868 by John Hatfield, then a member of the Cincinnati team, he then throwing a ball 132 yards. In October, 1872, a throwing contest took place on the old Union ball grounds, Brooklyn, in which John Hatfield--then of the Mutuals--threw the ball 133 yds, 1 ft 7-1/2 in., the distance being officially measured. The contest was also participated in by Andy Leonard, whose record was 119 yds. 1 ft. 10 in.; George Wright, 117 yds. 1 ft. 1 in.; Billy Boyd, 115 yds. 1 ft. 7 in.; Fisler, 112 yds. 6 in., and Anson, 110 yds. 6 in. This throw of Hatfield's--over 400 ft.--has never been equaled in any regular throwing contest.

On September 9, 1882, a throwing match took place on the Chicago ball grounds between E. Williamson of the Chicago Club and Pfeffer of the Troys. Three trials were had and Pfeffer's best throw was 132 yards and 5 inches. Williamson's best throw was 132 yards, 1 foot, or four feet seven and one half inches short of Hatfield's champion throw.

In 1884, while connected with the Boston Union Association Club, Ed Crane, while in Cincinnati October 12 of that year, was credited with throwing a baseball 135 yards, 1 foot, and 1/2 inch, and also again at St. Louis on October 19, he was credited with throwing a ball 134 yards, 5 inches. But the circumstances attendant upon both trials were not such as to warrant an official record, so the _Clipper_ says, through its editor for 1888, Mr. A. H. Wright, in his answer to a query on the subject. At any rate, Crane has not since reached such figures, and he is as swift a thrower now as ever.

The throwing contest which took place at Cincinnati in 1888, at intervals through the summer and fall, failed to result in the record being beaten, though some very good long distance throwing was done, as will be seen by the appended record:

When Williamson threw, the grounds were slippery, but he managed to easily win the $100 prize money and diamond locket. One hundred and thirty- three yards eight inches, was the distance Williamson threw, and he would have done still better and beaten Hatfield's throw, had the conditions been more favorable.

The best throw of a cricket ball on record is that of W. F. Torbes, of Eton College, England, in March, 1876, the distance foeing 132 yards.

The longest throw of a lacrosse ball is that made by W. B. Kenny, at Melbourne, Australia, in September, 1886, the ball being thrown from his lacrosse stick 446 feet. The longest in America was that of Ross McKenzie, in Montreal, on October, 1882, he throwing the ball 422 feet.

THE TRIP TO ENGLAND IN 1874.

Mr. Spalding made an effort to introduce base ball in England in 1874, but the experiment proved to be a costly one financially, and it did not result favorably in popularizing the American game in England. The two teams who visited England in July, 1874, included the following players of the Boston and Athletic clubs of that year:

BOSTON. POSITIONS. ATHLETIC. ------------------------------------------------- James White Catcher James E. Clapp. A.G. Spalding Pitcher James D. McBride. James O'Rourke First Base West D. Fisler. Ross C. Barnes Second Base Joseph Battin. Henry Shafer Third Base Edward B. Sutton. George Wright Short Stop M.H. McGeary. And. J. Leonard Left Field Albert W. Gedney. Harry Wright Center Field James F. McMullen. Col. C. McVey Right Field A.C. Arisen. George W. Hall Substitute Al. J. Reach. Thomas L. Beals Substitute J.P. Sensenderfer. Sam Wright, Jr Substitute Thomas Murnan.[A]

[**Proofreaders note A: "Murnan" might be a typo, as it appears as "Murnam" later on the page.]

The record of the games played in England on the trip is as follows:

Boston victories 8, Athletic victories 6.

In the percentage of base hits of those who played in a majority of the games on the Boston side McVey led with .435, Leonard being second, with .418, and George Hall third, with .364, Barnes, O'Rourke, Schafer, Harry and George Wright and Spalding following in order. On the Athletic side Anson led with .437, McGeary being second, with .388, and McMullen third, with .367. McBride, Clapp, Murnam, Sutter, Gedner and Battin following in order, the latter having a percentage of .323. Sensenderfer only played in 9 games, Kent in 8, Fisler in 5, and Beals in 4. All the others played in 10 games and over.

In the description of the players of the team given in the London papers at the time of their visit the following paragraph appeared, quoted from Mr. Chadwick's comments in the _Clipper_:

"Spalding is justly regarded as one of the most successful of the strategic class of pitchers. In judgment, command of the ball, pluck, endurance, and nerve, in his position he has no superior; while his education and gentlemanly qualities place him above the generality of base- ball pitchers. As a batsman he now equals the best of what are called 'scientific' batsmen--men who use their heads more than their muscle in handling the ash. His force in delivery is the success with which he disguises a change of pace from swift to medium, a great essential in successful pitching. Spalding is a thorough representative of the spirited young men of the Western States, he being from Illinois."

Of George Wright the same writer said: "George Wright is generally regarded as a model base-ball player, especially in his responsible position of short-stop; and until he injured his leg he had no equal in the position. He is a jolly, good-natured youth full of life and spirit, up to all the dodges of the game, and especially is he noted for his sure catching of high balls in the infield, and for his swift and accurate throwing. At the bat, too, he excels; while as a bowler, fielder, and batsman, in cricket, he ranks with the best of American cricketers. He comes of real old English stock, his father being a veteran English cricketer, and formerly the professional of the St. George Cricket Club of New York."

Besides the base-ball matches played during the tour, the following table shows what the two clubs combined did on the cricket field, against the strongest players of London, Sheffield, Manchester and Dublin. The sides in each contest were eighteen Americans against twelve British cricketers: