Thursday, December 18, 2014

Ringing Out, Ringing In

It's hard for me to believe that A Manly Pastime will reach its third anniversary in February.  The blog began because it seemed to be the best way to start writing about 19th New Jersey base ball.  With minimal forethought, it then expanded into describing the adventures and misadventures of the Flemington Neshanock Base Ball Club seasoned with related historical reflections.  Other topics also found their way on to the "page," especially Brooklyn Dodger history and, more recently, second looks at what well known players considered to be their "greatest day in baseball."  All of this along with an interest in doing more work on the early days of the pre-professional period made it only natural to modify the blog's subtitle, formalizing both the expanded interests and possible future changes.


Article from the Jersey City Daily Sentinel of September 9, 1856, noting that two-thirds of the Eagle Club of New York's lineup in an upcoming match were originally members of Jersey City's first two base ball clubs

Earlier in 2014, in response to some compliments about a series of posts, I explained I was doing a lot of research and the more research, the more blog content.  Most of that work  was concentrated on working my way through all the extant 19th Century New Jersey newspapers.  It was a big job, made significantly simpler due to the large number of weekly newspapers and the high percentage held at Rutgers' Alexander Library.  The research not only confirmed how the game spread throughout the state's 21 counties between 1855 and 1870, but also generated most of the aforementioned blog content.  Much of the data has been entered on the Protoball web site and a goal for 2015 is to finish entering at least all of the club names. Reflecting on this especially in light of the recent SABR symposium on 19th century base ball in the greater New York area has made further study of the 1845-1860 period a future priority.  While that work will still have a heavy New Jersey focus, looking at greater New York as a region is, I believe, extremely important.



Rare box score from the Elizabeth Daily Mercury of July 29, 1869 of a match between two African-American Clubs.  

A subset of this is continued emphasis on African-American clubs through at least 1870.  To say original source material is scarce, is a vast understatement, but some combination of hard work and hard thinking should shed further light on the subject.  Coverage of the Neshanock will resume earlier in 2015 as I understand opening day had been pushed back into March (brr!).I'm also far from done with "My Greatest Day in Baseball," as there are a number of entries from the Deadball Era that merit further attention.  The entries in all three editions, of what was for me a foundational base ball history book, were originally published in the Chicago Daily News.  At some point, I'd love to take a look at the paper in some detail especially to see if there were more articles than the roughly 60 that were incorporated into book form.  To my knowledge, the papers is not available online, but regardless, it's not something I will get to in 2015.


Charles Ebbets in his prime 

I say that with certainty because of a much larger project which will take up most of the next two years, researching and writing a full length biography of Charles Ebbets.  It's a prospect that is more than a little daunting as Ebbets' Dodger career lasted more than 40 years including more than a quarter of a century as club president and primary owner which may partially explain why there are no earlier biographies of Ebbets.  At the same time, I've been interested in Ebbets for a long time and have always wanted to try my hand (and mind) at a biography.  Now with the much appreciated faith of McFarland & Company, I'm about embark on that journey.  Ebbets' years with the Dodgers span my two favorite eras, the 19th century and the Deadball Era and offer the opportunity for an in depth look at base ball club ownership during those periods.  As an added benefit, I'm confident the Ebbets' research will provide interesting content for this blog, so stay tuned.

This is the last post of 2014 and the blog will be back around the middle of January as the batteries need some recharging.  Thanks to all those who read along throughout the year and especially those who took the time to offer feedback, comments and advice.  The first post of 2015 will focus on base ball games where the biggest meteorological concern was whether or not it would be cold enough!  Until then best wishes for the holidays and all of next year.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Poems, Plays and Paterson Base Ball Clubs

Analyzing the spread of base ball in New Jersey requires looking not just at where the game took root, but also at where it didn't.  One of the most important places in the latter category is Paterson, the state's third largest city in 1860, located only about 20 miles from New York and 15-20 miles from Newark and Jersey City.  Yet in spite of its proximity to the cities where New Jersey's first clubs were formed in 1855, the earliest documented clubs in Paterson didn't take the field until 1860, some five years later.  While this is somewhat surprising, it's further evidence of the relationship between the game's growth and a railroad connection to Newark since unlike more rural Somerville and Morristown, a railroad link between Paterson and Newark didn't exist in the ante bellum period.  However, even though young men from Paterson got a later start than their urban neighbors, they finally got organized in 1860 and formed two clubs with the unlikely names of the Unknown and Flora Temple clubs.


Civil War era Paterson 

Not surprisingly the war slowed down the organization of other new teams in Paterson with no further club formations until 1863 (four clubs) and 1864 (another four).  Among the 1864 vintage was the Olympic Club which became Paterson's premier team of the 1860's only to go out of existence at the end of the decade before being re-incarnated in the 1870's and sending four players to the major leagues including future Hall of Famer, Mike "King" Kelly.  As with the rest of the country, the post war period then saw rapid growth in Paterson with 26 teams formed in both 1866 and 1867.  Each of these teams, of course, needed a name many of which came from the categories identified by George Kirsch in his book Baseball and Cricket: The Creation of American Team Sports, 1838-1872 including the use of patriotic/national monikers as well as those claiming some level of athletic ability.  Especially popular in Paterson were names endowing its members, at least figuratively, with superior mental and physical traits such as having a "quickstep," being "active" and "alert" or in such command they "neversweat."  Interestingly  another Unknown club was formed in 1866 with the name also adopted by one of the old-fashioned clubs that played in the summer of 1867.


Flora Temple in a Currier and Ives print

Given the number of teams formed in 1866 and 1867 alone, club organizers had to exercise a degree of creativity in choosing a name.  Some apparently decided to try to replicate some of the country's distinguished clubs like the Atlantics and Mutuals, but at least two other teams followed the example of the Flora Temple Club organizers by going outside of the mainstream.  In 1860 the most casual observer recognized the name Flora Temple and even today, it's an easy name to research.  Born in Oneida County, New York in 1845, Flora Temple was reportedly the famous "bob tailed nag" of Stephen Foster's "Camptown Races."  Originally named Flora, the relatively small mare (14 hands or 56 inches) wasn't recognized for her racing ability until 1852 when renamed Flora Temple, she defeated a horse named Brown Jim.  Over the next nine years, the trotter won 92 races, came in second 14 times and was the first horse to break the 2:20 mile.  Over the course of her career,Flora Temple raced throughout the eastern half of the United States and was immortalized by numerous Currier and Ives lithographs.  Less than two months before an 1860 account of a Flora Temple Club base ball match appeared in the New York Sunday Mercury, Flora Temple swept a best of five heat race against George M. Patchen, another famous horse before 4000 fans in Philadelphia.  It's no wonder these young men from Paterson (home to its own horse racing track) aimed to replicate the speed, strength and heart of the champion race horse.



Currier and Ives print of Mazeppa

Seven years later, another group of Paterson ball players also chose a name with an equestrian connection, but this time with a literary twist, deciding to call themselves the Mazeppa Club.  Unlike, Flora Temple, however, its less likely the average reader of the Paterson Daily Press immediately picked up on the allusion to an 1809 narrative poem by the English poet Lord Byron.  The work tells the story of Ivan Mazeppa, a Ukrainian page at the Polish court who has an affair with the young wife of a much older count.  Outraged when he learns of the incident, the nobleman has Mazeppa tied naked to a wild horse which is then released into the wilderness.  The bulk of the poem describes the long hazardous journey during which Mazeppa almost dies twice but ultimately survives and returns to his native Ukraine.  Unlike the founders of the Flora Temple Club, the reason for the Mazeppa Club member's choice is less clear.  It may be nothing more than a literary joke or possibly an attempt to compare their endurance on the ball field with Mazeppa.  Perhaps there is also a subconscious desire to share his amorous affair with a different end result.



Although the Mazeppa Club members get some points for obscurity, their efforts paled in comparison with the Michael Erle's, one of the old fashioned base ball clubs which sprang up in Paterson in 1867.  The only reference discovered to date is a play called "Michael Erle, the Maniac Lover or the Fayre Lass of Lichfield," by the English author, Thomas Egerton Wilks (1812-1854).  Reportedly one of many plays by Wilks, the text of "Michael Erle" survives, but Internet searches have revealed next to nothing about Wilks beyond an interesting connection to a much better known English author.  In 1837 Wilks edited the memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi, a famous British clown which he submitted to Bentley's Miscellany magazine for publication.  Apparently not completely satisfied with the text, Bentley's asked a young, but promising writer named Charles Dickens to finish the job.   Apparently a fan of Grimaldi's from his youth, Dickens undertook the project even though he was hard at work at what would become Oliver Twist.  Given the apparent literary inclinations of the men in Paterson, it's surprising that by the 1860's, at least one new club didn't choose a name from Dickens like the Fezziwigs or the Cheerybles.  Drawing on Dickens' works was left for a group of Jersey City players who opted to call themselves the Dolly Vardons after a character from Barnaby Rudge, one of Dickens lesser known novels.  Although none of these clubs produced memorable results on the ball field, they certainly chose club names that are hard to forget.

Monday, November 17, 2014

Setting the Context for Context

As part of facilitating the NYC 19th Century Baseball Interdisciplinary Symposium on November 15th at John Jay College (CUNY), I had the opportunity to offer the following opening remarks.

Base ball historians and base ball umpires have some things in common, the most important of which is a shared mission to "get it right." Umpires try objectively to interpret what they see to make the correct call, while base ball historians interpret and analyze facts to get the story "right," to help construct a house built on a rock of facts.  Those who work in the pre-professional period (1840-1870) have the added challenge of not just trying to help build something, but also to help dispose of the debris of another house built not on the rock of facts, but upon the sand of myth - the Doubleday myth.  When I give a talk on early New Jersey base ball, right at the beginning, I test the audience by observing that when the first New Jersey clubs were formed in 1855, base ball was a relatively new game since it had been invented less than 20 years earlier by Abner Doubleday in Cooperstown.  When I say that, about one-third of the audience looks at me as if to say, "This guy doesn't know what he is talking about," another third seems to think, "I'm not sure, but this guy may not know what he's talking about," and the remaining third looks at the other two-thirds as if to say, "What's the problem?"



So myth deconstruction continues, but committed as we are to the belief that the history of base ball is a history of evolution, not creation, we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the process of evolution has times and places that are especially noteworthy.  The greater New York area is one of those places and the pre-professional era is one of those times.  Here, during that period, base ball first became organized, first became competitive and first received significant media attention.  That doesn't make the greater New York area base ball's birthplace, but it is fair to say it was the game's cradle or incubator.

In my view, it's also important to think of the greater New York regionally since different places made significant contributions.  New York City gave the game a critical mass of organized clubs at the same time New Jersey provided an important playing venue and the first instance of organized African-American base ball while Brooklyn broadened the playing population and increased the level of competition.  There were numerous interactions throughout the area some of which we most likely don't completely understand.  For example, the Eagle Club of New York was one of the city's oldest clubs, but after 1856 at least half of its regular lineup was made up of Jersey City residents.  Our initial reaction may be to wonder about far they had to travel to games when, in fact, their trip to neighboring Hoboken was easier than that of the New York members.



Thinking in terms of a geographic region is part of thinking about context.  Today's symposium is all about context which is especially important for the pre-professional period because the fact that much about base ball was just getting started or just getting noticed means original source material is less readily available.  For instance by 1860 in New Jersey, there was a random pattern of clubs throughout the northern part of the state - one connection seems to be that almost without exception the communities which had clubs also had a direct railroad link to Newark.  What that means isn't entirely clear, but the knowledge opens ways to better understand how the game grew and spread throughout the state.  Today, our hope is that by the end of the symposium, each of us will have a better understanding of the context that helped shaped "our game" in the greater New York area.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

A Stolen Base is a Stolen Base, is a ?

In The Summer Game, the initial collection of his classic "New Yorker Magazine" baseball essays, Roger Angell wrote:

"Good pitching in a close game is the cement that makes baseball the marvelous, complicated structure that it is.  It raises players to keenness and courage; it forces managers to think about strategy rather than raw power, it nails the fan's attention, so that he remembers every pitch, every throw, every span of inches that separates hits from outs.  And in the end, of course, it implacably reveals the true talents of the teams in the field."


Roger Angell 

Anyone looking for support for that argument need look no further than 2014's last major league game, the seventh game of this year's World Series won by the Giants largely on the strong left arm of Madison Bumgarner.   No one who saw any part of his pitching performances will forget the Giant lefty's dominating performance reminiscent of Sandy Koufax's three hit shut out on two days rest in the seventh game of the 1965 World Series almost a half a century ago.  And just as Angell predicted, the strong pitching of both teams produced a full measure of keenness, courage and strategy.


Henry Chadwick 

Especially memorable was the diving stop and scoop of Giant second baseman Joe Panik which changed what could easily have been first and third with no one out to two out with no one on.  As brilliant as that play was, however, it wasn't the only "little" thing that played a "big" part in the game.  Far less attention seems to have been paid to two base running maneuvers which led to two of the game's five runs, most importantly the winning run tallied by the Giants in the top of the fifth.  In each case a runner on second (Alex Gordon of the Royals and Pablo Sandoval of the Giants) tagged up on a fly ball and advanced to third, putting himself in position to score a run that wouldn't have scored if he had waited for a batter to drive him in from second.  Both plays were important, but Sandoval's surprisingly (at least to me) quick move from second to third, led to the go ahead run brilliantly defended by Bumgarner.


Sliding Billy Hamilton 

Both runners, of course, received credit in the box score for scoring a run, but somehow it doesn't seem sufficient recognition for the actual contribution.  In his initial efforts at developing baseball statistics, the only offensive number tracked by Henry Chadwick was runs scored.  I remember reading somewhere that Chadwick's position was that once a runner reached base, it was his responsibility to get himself around the bases to score.  That's a little extreme, but carries the seeds for recognizing the importance of what Sandoval and Gordon did in getting themselves not just in scoring position, but close enough to score on an out.

Regardless of whether it was because of Chadwick's influence or some other reason,19th century major league score keepers had more discretion in recognizing these feats of feet.  According to an article by David Pietrusza and Bob Tiemann in the "Baseball Research Journal," through 1897 scorers could give a stolen base for runners who advanced on fly balls, infield outs and even when advancing from first to third on a base hit.  All but advancing on fly balls were eliminated beginning with the 1898 season and the fly ball out joined the extinct group in 1904.  While on the surface this seems far too liberal, the stolen base was supposed to be awarded only if there was "a palpable attempt" to retire the runner.  At least one study on the subject confirmed that the discretion given to the score keeper was used only sparingly.


Details of Billy Hamilton's 13 game base stealing streak including the opposition pitcher and catcher

Peter Morris in A Game of Inches notes that this difference in scoring makes it impossible to compare more modern base running statistics with those of the 19th century.  Understandable as this may be, however, Morris also notes that far more regrettably, the difference has led to an unwillingness to take 19th century statistics and records seriously.  One example of this is the difficulty Billy Hamilton, who played for the Philadelphia and Boston in the National League in the 1890's, had in being elected to the Hall of Fame.  Although obviously eligible since 1939, it wasn't until 1962, more than 20 years after his death that "Sliding Billy" got his well deserved recognition as an offensive force.  Perhaps the most impressive of Hamilton's accomplishments is 1697 runs scored in 1594 games, the highest ratio of runs scored to games played in baseball history.  Given that number of runs scored, it's not surprising that Hamilton didn't ignore the base stealing side of things. Two of his records which still stand are stolen bases in one game (7 in 1894) and consecutive games with a stolen base, 13 in 1891.  Working only with online newspapers, I was able to check "Sliding Billy's" performance in the latter streak without finding a single instance where a stolen base was awarded for any of the discretionary options,validating at least on that limited research the significance of Hamilton's achievement.


Philadelphia Inquirer - September 1, 1894

Hamilton did, of course, ultimately get his just deserts and the Hall of Fame's new process for evaluating players from the game's early days, which includes input from historians, should help to avoid similar situations in the future.  Unless, however, there's some sabermetric or other modern statistical measure that I'm not aware of for recognizing good base running, consistent performances like those in the seventh game could be over looked or not receive the appropriate emphasis.  While giving a "blank check" to score keepers to award stolen bases would be an over reaction, it seems to me there is merit in finding a way to give due credit to a player who advances on his own "skill and smarts."  After all what a base runner does when he beats a throw to move from second to third on a fly ball is using speed and judgement to "steal" a base.  And as Roger Angell observed, in a pitcher's duel, it's plays like that which make the difference between winning or losing and, as the Giants showed, sometimes the difference in winning it all.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Taking Brevity to a New Level



As anyone who watched the Giants-Royals seventh game is well aware, Tim Hudson, the Giant starter didn't make it through the second inning, the shortest stint by a starting pitcher in a seventh game of the World Series since 1960.  Hearing that reminded me of something I wanted to mention in the post about Buck Weaver and the 5th game of the 1917 World Series, but inadvertently left out.  Without doing any real research that the game may have marked the two briefest appearances for starting players in any World Series game.  Part of this was mentioned in the earlier post in the description of the Giants hot start in the top of the first when they knocked out White Sox starter, Reb Russell after he faced only three batters without recording an out.  The part I left out, however, was that the Giants actually used a pinch hitter in the first inning.

Jim Thorpe

Since Russell was a left-hander, John McGraw replaced Dave Robertson his regular right field with the famous Olympian, Jim Thorpe.  Thorpe had an unusual season that year as the Giants sold him to the Reds in April, but for some reason he was returned to the Giants in August.  All told Thorpe only hit .237, but apparently Robertson, not a lot better at .259, was considered unable to hit left handed  pitching thus the change.  However, Russell's early exit brought right-hander, Eddie Cicotte into the game thus obviating the need for the lefty-righty switch and as soon as Thorpe was due up, the Giant manager quickly replaced him with Robertson.  That move paid off as Robertson singled in the Giants second run of the inning getting the Giants off to the early lead they couldn't hold.  So the net result was that Russell lasted three batters while Thorpe was in the game until the sixth batter (himself) came up or as one writer commented Russell wasn't in the game as long as Thorpe, but saw more action.   Come to think of it, it's hard to imagine any baseball game in history where a starting pitcher and a started player both exited in the top of the first inning.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Buck Weaver's (yes, that Buck Weaver) Greatest Day in Baseball Revisited



Buck Weaver

While working on posts about Ty Cobb and Casey Stengel's greatest days in baseball, I used my copy of John Carmichael's book of the same name which is the third and final edition published in 1951.  It isn't the same book that I remember reading in the 1950's so I bought a copy of the first edition published in 1945 before the end of World War II.  There's also obviously a second edition which I want to seek out as the first edition also doesn't seem to be the version I remember.  The oral histories which make up all three editions appeared first in the Chicago Daily News and the selections in the first and third editions aren't identical.  That by itself wasn't surprising, but I was more than a little taken aback to find the first edition included the story of one Buck Weaver, famous third baseman of the infamous 1919 Chicago White Sox, better known as the Black Sox.


Brooklyn Daily Eagle - October 14, 1917

As far as I know Weaver is the only one of the eight White Sox banned from baseball to have his story included in these anthologies which may be because Weaver is pretty much viewed as the least culpable and most sympathetic of those who felt the wrath of Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis.  From what I've read and heard there seems to be consensus that Weaver's only sin was to learn of the conspiracy and not tell anyone about it.  During the series itself he played hard and it seems more than a little unfair that Weaver should receive the same lifetime banishment imposed on those who not only knew, but participated.  This sympathetic view of Weaver got further ammunition from John Cusack's portrayal of Weaver in the movie "Eight Men Out" based on Eliot Asinof's book.  Cusack presents Weaver as a decent, sincere hard working ball player, at worse perhaps guilty of being naive about what is going on around him.



Perhaps not surprisingly, the verbal picture Weaver paints of himself in describing his greatest day in the game is quite different than Cusack's portrayal and, at least to me, more than a little unattractive.  The game in question is the 5th game of the 1917 World Series between the Giants and the White Sox, with the latter team featuring a number of those who would play a major part in the 1919 scandal.  Weaver sets the stage for his account by describing the  1913-1914 world tour where Weaver says he and some teammates spent a lot of time "riding" the Giants on the opposing squad with Weaver in particular going after legendary manager John McGraw.  Although fisticuffs were averted, Weaver claimed his parting shot was to hope the White Sox would some day get to play the Giants in the World Series where they would show them "what a real fighting ball club is."



New York Herald - October 14, 1917

In 1917 Weaver got his wish and he describes how part of the White Sox preparation for the Series went beyond planning pitching and defensive strategy to evaluating how each member of the Giants responded to what was called "riding" or "bench jocking,"but today would more likely be called trash talking or even verbal abuse.  The key claimed Weaver was to know which players let  "riding" get to them and which only raised their level of play so the Sox would know who to harass and who to leave alone.  According to Weaver while discussing this immediately prior to the series someone suggested they simply give the Giants the silent treatment which would confuse their opponents even more.  Whether it was this strategy or some more logical reason, Chicago won the first two games in New York, but came home only to lose two straight with a important fifth game to be played on October 13th at Comiskey Park.


Chicago Sunday Tribune - October 14, 1917


At this point, Weaver said the White Sox knew the silent treatment wasn't working so they planned go back to their original plans with a new twist.  Borrowing a page from Ty Cobb's approach to baseball intimidation, Weaver said the Sox "took files and sharpened our spikes till they were like razors" with every intention of sliding in high at ever opportunity.  Supposedly the only White Sox who didn't go along was Eddie Collins who supposedly feared retaliation so much he would avoid taking throws at second if a "tough gent" was trying to steal the base.  Weaver dismissed the future Hall of Famer as a "great guy to look out for himself."


Chicago Sunday Tribune - October 14, 1917

Weaver and his teammates probably didn't know that the day had already gotten off to a bad start for their chances as club owner Charles Comiskey lost a coin flip to determine the location of a seventh game if one was necessary.  Since the sixth game was already scheduled for New York, winning their last home game became even more imperative for Chicago.   Unfortunately the game itself couldn't have gotten off to a worse start as Reb Russell walked George Burns on four pitches, gave up a single to Buck Herzog and then a double to Benny Kauff, scoring Burns and putting runners on second and third with none out.  Chicago manager, Clarence "Pants" Rowland wasted no time pulling Russell and bring in Eddie Cicotte.  Deadball Era teams were known for aggressive base running and none more so than John McGraw's Giants, but this time the strategy backfired.  Cicotte was not much more effective than Russell allowing a "hot grounder" to Heinie Zimmerman and a "hot smash" to Art Fletcher, but both times the runner on third tried to score only to be thrown out.  Dave Robertson did single in one additional run, but the White Sox got out of the inning only down 2-0.


New York Sun - October 14, 1917

Cicotte stayed in the game for five more innings, allowing two more runs while Chicago could only manage one tally off Slim Sallee.  However, the White Sox rallied for a run in the sixth scored by Weaver after the running a gauntlet between the Giant shortstop and second baseman who tried to block his path even though they didn't have the ball.  Claude "Lefty" Williams, another future Black Sox, took the mound in the seventh and allowed another run so the White Sox trailed 5-2 facing a trip to New York down 3 games to 2 hardly a good situation for players who had bragged so much about their superiority.  Writing in the Chicago Daily Tribune, I. E. Sanborn said the Sox were "apparently beaten - hopelessly, disgracefully licked" at that point.  Seldom, however, has a game and a series turned around so quickly.


Chicago Sunday Tribune - October 14, 1917

With one out Chicago had runners on first and second when Chick Gandil (another Black Soxer) doubled to cut the margin to just one run.  Up came our hero Buck Weaver, did he come through in the clutch to tie the game?   He did not!  After fouling off five pitches, Buck grounded weakly to shortstop allowing Gandil to move to third.  Ray Schalk was the next batter and with the pitcher's spot up next, Sallee walked the White Sox catcher bringing up Byrd Lynn as a pitch hitter.  Now the White Sox had first and third and two out in an era that favored the double steal with multiple defensive strategies against it.  Not surprisingly Schalk broke for second and Bill Rariden, the Giant catcher whipped the ball not to second, but back to Sallee who seeing that Gandil wasn't going, decided to try to nip Schalk at second, but ball got away from Buck Herzog and Gandil scored with tying run.  Clearly on this occasion, Sallee would have been better advised to hold the ball.


Chicago Sunday Tribune , October 14, 1917

Although the score was only tied, momentum had clearly switched to Chicago as witnessed by Red Faber setting the Giants down in order in the top of the eighth.  Chicago then scored three times aided once again by Giant throwing miscues to take an 8-5 lead which Faber preserved with another 1-2-3 inning in the ninth.  Afterwards the two teams boarded separate trains for New York which one writer said was fortunate since if they had shared the same train, "there would have only been a few shreds of clothing between them."  Before making the trip east themselves, sports writers tried to find adequate adjectives for a game that featured 26 hits, 13 runs, 9 errors and 21 runners left on base.  William Hanna of the New York Herald claimed that "two teams of the caliber of these never before exuded so much poor baseball, but it was exciting as it was mottled."  Sanborn of the Daily Tribune agreed writing "it was the rottenest, most uproariously exciting, rowdiest, and gamest fight ever seen in more than a decade of word's combats."



Chicago Sunday Tribune, October 14, 1917

But what of Buck Weaver, what did he do this day that made it so memorable?   In terms of his own role, Weaver's devotes more attention to the pre-game than the game itself.  Earlier in the day while the White Sox were taking batting practice, the Giants were loosening up by throwing down the right field line.  When his turn came, Weaver directed the pitcher to throw on the outside of the plate so he could hit ball after ball into the unsuspecting Giants without a word of warning from any of the White Sox.  After the third time, the New Yorkers had enough and sat down until Weaver stepped out.  Exactly what that had to do with the game is hard to see, but according to Weaver that "started the ball rolling."  Perhaps not surprisingly after losing game five the way they did, the Giants were done and lost the sixth game and the series by a score of 4-2.  In ending the story, Weaver mentions one more thing "I'll never forget," which probably explains his choice of greatest days.  Supposedly when the sixth game ended, John McGraw himself ran across the field to Weaver, not to lay hands on him, but to say, "I wanta shake your hand, kid.  You're the best, and I wanta take my hat off to you."  Most likely the compliment from the legendary John McGraw and the memory of the dramatic fifth game turn around were conflated into one story to become the ill-fated Weaver's greatest day in baseball.


Monday, October 13, 2014

Season's End


One of the major reasons I became interested in the Deadball Era back in the 1950's was the baseball of that time seemed so dramatic, full of close, competitive games and seasons.  Many years later, I was surprised to learn that during that period, the National League only had two close pennant races.  First and foremost, of course, is the mythical 1908 season featuring a three team race, the famous (or infamous) Merkle game and a winner take all, final game won by the Clubs en route to their last World Series championship.  The other close race was the far less well known 1916 season which became the subject of The Major League Pennant Races of 1916, written by Paul Zinn and myself.



While 1916 wasn't as dramatic as 1908 or more recent races decided on the last day or in playoffs, that National League season saw four clubs fighting for a pennant that wasn't won until the last week of the season.  Three of the four clubs, Brooklyn (the ultimate winner), Boston and Philadelphia were in contention throughout, but not so the much more famous New York Giants of John McGraw.  In fact, as September began the Giants were not only 15 games out of first, but were actually two games under .500.  At that point, however, McGraw's club embarked on a hard to believe 26 game winning streak (still the major league record) closing to within five games of first before running out of gas finishing fourth, the same place they began the streak.



All of this came to mind as I reflected on the Flemington Neshanock's 2014 season which ended this past Saturday with a 22-8 triumph over the Hoboken Nine in Allentown.  The start of the game was delayed by rain so I wasn't able to attend, but my sources tell me that Tom "Thumbs" Hoepfner had  clear score in what sounds like a convincing win.  Back on August 9th, the Neshanock suffered an 18-2 thrashing at the hands of the Brooklyn Eckfords, our 5th straight loss which put the season's record at 9-22.  However in the spirit of the 1916 Giants, Flemington came on to win nine straight games to finish the season at 18-22, not much off of the 2013 record.  Numerous explanations for this turnaround are possible, but base ball fans and players are nothing if not superstitious so the fact that the streak began when the team reversed the shields on their uniforms to have the "F" up is probably the most illogical explanation.



Forty games over six and a half months is a lot of base ball, but there is still some sense of sadness about the end of the season, as I suspect there is at every season's end.  Although vintage base ball allows the participants to stay involved in the game we love well beyond the possibilities in almost  any other form of organized base ball, the reality is that it will end someday and the end of the season reminds us of that reality.  As a result, it's especially important to remember those who make it possible.  Thanks, first of all, to Brad "Brooklyn" Shaw who does so much heavy lifting to get things organized and to make it happen.  Thanks to all the members of the Neshanock, no matter how many games you played, as it isn't easy to get nine players together over 20 times a year.   It's also important to express gratitude to our opponents as sometimes we lose sight of the fact that without the other team there won't be a game.  Also thanks to Sam Bernstein and all those who take on the thankless job of umpiring.  Finally a word of thanks to all the spouses, girl friends, significant others and other family members who support the Neshanock in so many ways, especially watching countless matches in less than ideal conditions.



As the 1916 National League race neared its conclusion, Fred Lieb, one of the great sportswriters of the Deadball Era and beyond, wrote that while he still didn't know who would win the National League pennant,  he had a pretty good idea about the 1917 champions.  He meant, not surprisingly, the New York Giants and they proceeded to do just that.  How the end of the 2014 season will effect the 2015 Neshanock is another question, but with the continued participation and support of all those mentioned above, no matter the record, it will be another successful season.



Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Base Ball at the "Brook"



When the first New Jersey base ball clubs were formed in the late 1850's, playing base ball was important to the organizers, but it certainly wasn't their entire life.  In addition to work and family, a number of them were active in other organizations especially volunteer fire departments.  As the population of places like Jersey City, Newark and Paterson grew in the antebellum period, protection from fire in predominately wooden buildings was an important civic responsibility for young men including ball players.  In Jersey City, for example, the Pioneer Club, formed in 1855, had 11 members who were also part of Empire Hook and Ladder, No 1, a company made up of "men who would not associate with the rough element."  There also may be a base ball - fire company connection with the Liberty Club of New Brunswick, an early Central New Jersey club which defeated the mighty Atlantic Club of Brooklyn in 1861.  While it hasn't been definitely documented, it appears the New Brunswick club took it's name from a local fire company.


Harry "Cappy" Roberts
Picture by Mark Granieri

It was fitting, therefore, both historically and geographically for the Neshanock to participate in an event sponsored by the South Bound Brook Fire Company at Memorial Park not far from New Brunswick.  The day of vintage base ball was organized by long time Neshanock member, Harry "Cappy" Roberts who out did himself both in terms of base ball history and the overall arrangements.  Among the guests were Linda Ruth-Tosetti (Babe Ruth's granddaughter), Betsy Alverson (daughter of Noella "Pinky" Le Duc of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League), and James Robert Scott of the New York Black Yankees of the Negro Leagues.  A leading off the field contributor to Negro League history was also present in the person of Dr. Lawrence Hogan who has done so much pioneering work to be sure that black players before Jackie Robinson are not forgotten.  Free food was also provided for all the players, each of whom also went away with a commemorative mug so that the "Huzzahs" offered to "Cappy" for his day's work were lusty and made the welkin ring. 

Originally the Neshanock were to play two matches against Eric Miklich's Brooklyn Eckfords, but the rest of the Eckfords were unable to attend so Eric headed up a select squad which consisted of two members of the fire department, Paul Salomone and some of his Elizabeth Resolutes and Russ McIver and another member of the Bog Iron Boys.  Thanks to all of these gentlemen for literally stepping up to the plate to make the event a success.  In honor of the occasion Eric wore his old base ball pants which will no doubt be the first exhibit should there ever be a vintage base ball hall of fame.  As usual Eric combined skilled ball playing, sound historical knowledge along with his unique sense of humor to add to everyone's enjoyment.


Photo by Mark Granieri

The Neshanock were fortunate to have both a strong offensive and defensive club on hand which augured well for the day's success.  Dan "Sledge" Hammer pitched the first match and along with strong Neshanock defense limited the select nine to only two runs.  Spurred by six hits from Rene "Mango" Marerro and four apiece from "Sledge" and Tom "Thumbs" Hoepfner, the Neshanock tallied 14 times for a 14-2 victory.  Included in "Sledge's" hits was another home run, giving him not only the Neshanock season record, but more than the entire club hit in the prior four years.  With six hits in as many at bats, "Mango" could have had a clear score, but he was forced out by Mark "Gaslight" Granieri in Flemington's last at bat and the quirks of Henry Chadwick's scoring philosophy charge the out to the base runner.  Today was the first time I've witnessed "Gaslight" play a position other than catcher and he distinguished himself in right field by a fly catch and throw (so to speak) that doubled a runner off of first.


Pre-game linguistic discussion on the Neshanock bench
Photo by Mark Granieri

 After a break for rest, food and pictures, the second game began with a number of spectators joining the action which again resulted in a 14-2 Neshanock triumph.  Although he had only half as many hits in this match, "Mango" did earn a clear score while "Sledge" added three more hits as did Dave "Illinois" Harris matching his feat of the first game.   One of the select club's runs was a titanic home run to right field by Darryl Clyburn of the Resolutes.  While neither match was close it was a good exhibition of vintage base ball that was well received by the crowd.  Conversation on the Neshanock bench is usually pretty elevated, but it hit a new high prior to the first match when the day's proceedings were announced as the "first annual."  After much discussion it was agreed that while the term was technically appropriate, the preferred usage is "inaugural."  Whatever it's called, we hope do it again next year.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

The Summer of Old-Fashioned Base Ball

While the truth about 19th century base ball is often hard to pin down, it is pretty much universally acknowledged that the New York game enjoyed major growth immediately after the Civil War.  That was certainly the case throughout New Jersey where in 1860 base ball was pretty much limited to only a third of the state's 21 counties, but by 1870 every county had at least one base ball club.  A similar pattern played out in the city of Paterson, but with a major difference that came at the height of the post war expansion.  Initially, given the city's population and location, base ball got off to a slow start in Paterson as the first documented match (between a social and a militia organization) wasn't played until late 1857 and the first base ball clubs weren't mentioned in the media until 1860, far behind the experience of comparable municipalities.


Paterson Daily Press - July 31, 1867

The 1860 charter clubs apparently faded out after their first year and it wasn't until 1863 that the first clubs with any real staying power were organized in Alexander Hamilton's model industrial city.  All told, four clubs took the field for the first time that year, followed by another four in 1864, the most important of which was the Olympic Club which became the city's most competitive team of the pioneer period.  Although the Olympics died out towards the end of the decade, they were re-incarnated in the 1870's and produced four future major leaguers, most notably Hall of Famer, Mike "King" Kelly.  The biggest year of post war growth in Paterson was 1867 when the city was home to 26 different clubs in what one contemporary newspaper called the "base ball craze."

Yet what's of special interest in Paterson in 1867 is not this burst of enthusiasm for the New York game, but an equally strong surge of  energy and enthusiasm for what at the time was called old-fashioned base ball.  The first inkling that something different was up came in an article in the Paterson Daily Press of July 31, 1867 about an upcoming "great match" which promised to be "a rich affair" between the Unknown and Neversweat Clubs.  The match took place the following day before a crowd estimated at more than a thousand, all watching a group of men who claimed they "never played the modern game," re-create the game of their youth.


Paterson Daily Press - August 2, 1867


Unfortunately the account of the match doesn't provide many details about the rules of the game, but does confirm 11 on a side, no foul territory and "plugging" as a means of recording outs in a game of six innings with three out per side.  Some information was provided, however, about the field, which was described as having a first base, a rod (16.5 feet) to the right and a little in front of the batter, second base "about" 20 rods (330 feet) in front of the batter and a home plate 10 feet to the left of the batter.  No mention is made of third base and the description of at least one play suggests runners came directly home from second.  The distance between the batter and second base is far greater than the New York game, raising questions for me about the accuracy of either the account or the memory of the participants.  In this particular match, the Neversweats trailed 28-20 going to their last at bat in the bottom of the sixth where they tallied 24 runs, to win 44-28 in one of the most deceiving final scores in the history of almost any kind of base ball.


Paterson Daily Press - August 8, 1867

By itself this match would have been interesting, but hardly unique since it's not a lot different than the annual matches played by the Antiquarian Knickerbocker Club of Newark from 1857 through the early 1870's.  Although these Knickerbocker matches were also reportedly well attended, they were an annual event more or less limited to one group of participants.  In Paterson's case, however, the game account in the Daily Press included a notice of numerous challenges for further old-fashioned matches and less than a week later a select eleven from Paterson traveled to nearby Little Falls where they lost, 63-57, to a select eleven from that community.  Over the next two months four different departments at the Grant Locomotive works formed teams for inter-company matches while a team from the Erie Machine Shop took on another new club, the Michael Erle's.  All told, ten different teams were organized in 1867 so that over 100 men played in at least one match of old-fashioned base ball.  However this spurt of interest in the old game was short lived as no record has been found of additional matches in 1868 or thereafter, although periodic reports into the 1870's suggested that at least one club still existed and talked about getting back on to the field.  


John Walden was captain of the Unknown old-fashioned club and his saloon hosted numerous post match gatherings in 1867

The most intriguing question of this summer of old-fashioned base ball is what prompted over 100 men to organize themselves to play the "old" game at just the time the "new" game reached its peak in this thriving industrial city.  Since none of them left any explanation about their motives, all answers are speculative, but looking at the makeup of the first two clubs - the Unknowns and Neversweats offers at least some material for that speculation.   John Garrabrant, the captain of the Neversweats and a number of the Unknown Club members were hotel or saloon operators including John Walden, who, not only operated an oyster saloon but, had just opened the Paterson Opera House, the city's first theater.  This, and some comments in the game accounts, suggests something of a social or festive atmosphere which bears some similarity to the Knickerbocker experience in Newark indicating that perhaps entertainment was as important as competition.



Paterson Daily Press - August 26, 1867

Even more interesting is the age of the members of the initial clubs, an average of 35 in 1867 so that they were in their early 20's during the antebellum period when the New York game first spread into New Jersey.  By the post war period of base ball expansion, when these "old-fashioned" players were in their 30's, the organized base ball clubs in Paterson consisted almost exclusively of youngsters in their teens or the older more proficient members of the Olympic Club.  Faced with forming their own clubs to play a "new" game against players who were much younger, more proficient or both, they chose instead to return to a game of their youth.  Unlike the Knickerbockers of Newark who formed one club to play amongst themselves, the Patersonians opted for two club providing some level of competition, probably not even thinking about anything beyond that.  That first match was clearly appealing enough that others, some in their age group and some younger, decided to try their hand resulting an a two month flurry of old-fashioned base ball played at the same time 26 other clubs were playing the New York game.


Paterson Daily Press - August 28, 1867

It's not surprising this attempt at putting old wine in new wine skins didn't have any staying power as the combination of age and personal responsibilities for a group in their 30's, would have made it difficult to sustain the level of activity.  While it's tempting to think of this as the first vintage base ball league or association, it's very different from vintage base ball where all the participants try to learn "new" rules while forgetting some of the "old" rules and practices they grew up with.  The Paterson players resumed playing, as men, a game they played or knew, probably informally as boys, and hadn't played in years.  Born too early to be part of the introduction of the New York game, they were part of the last generation of American youth to grow up without the opportunity to play organized base ball.  Possibly part of their motivation was to show the younger generation that they had their own game, one that also required skill and talent. 

Monday, September 22, 2014

Cameron Field Centennial



Among the most enjoyable matches the Neshanock play each season are those held to commemorate some aspect of base ball history.  A case in point was this past Saturday when Flemington was fortunate enough to participate in an event at a venue, new to the Neshanock, but hardly to base ball, Cameron Field in South Orange, New Jersey.  When I arrived, I realized that Paul Zinn had played base ball there about 20 years ago, but at the time, I had no idea of its history or the great base ball players who had performed there such as Babe Ruth and Lou Gerhig.  Saturday's event honored the 100th anniversary of the field with special recognition for Hall of Famers Larry Doby and Monte Irvin, both of whom played there during their long careers.  Doby's daughter and granddaughter were present as was Lee Leonard, a South Orange resident, who had a long career covering sports on radio and television including being literally the first person to speak on ESPN on September 7, 1979.  For me, being in South Orange, was also an opportunity to see long time friends, Jude Seelbach and Donna Smith.  Donna is running for the South Orange Board of Education and is an excellent choice for anyone with a vote in that election.



 After 100 years of base ball, Cameron Field, South Orange is certainly among the venerable sporting venues in New Jersey, but the game has an even longer history in the Essex County community.  The village itself split off from South Orange Township (now Maplewood) in 1869 after the township itself was created out of portions of Clinton Township and the city of Orange in 1861.  Both of the latter two municipalities had base ball clubs before the Civil War with the Washington Club of Orange possibly being New Jersey's first organized base ball club.  It's not clear if what is now South Orange had a team during the antebellum period, but the first club calling the village home was the Alert Club of Seton Hall which was mentioned in the Newark Daily Journal as early 1864.  New Jersey's first college base ball team was clearly the Nassau Club of Princeton, but it appears the Alerts have a legitimate claim on the second position.  A year later the college boys were joined by a second South Orange team, the Orient Club which had a not so auspicious debut, losing to the second nine of the Irvington Club by a count of 50-13.


Newark Daily Advertiser - June 10, 1865

For today's match, South Orange organized its own club, the South Orange Villagers, to take on the Neshanock.  It's an excellent approach for such an event and Flemington always enjoys playing this kind of local team which sometimes leads to the formation of new clubs, like the Hoboken Nine, or the beginning of an annual event like the Memorial Day match in Newtown, Pennsylvania.  The home club operates at an obvious competitive disadvantage as they are playing a new form of base ball for the first time against a team of veteran vintage players who play 40-45 matches per year.  However, the Villagers played very well in the field, making a number of fine plays while committing only one muff over the course of the game.  Flemington also had a strong defensive effort including a particularly noteworthy play in the bottom of the third that combined "strategy" and execution.  The South Orange striker crushed a pitch to center field where wily Ken "Tumbles" Mandel lulled the batter into a false sense of security by first running in on a ball that was well over his head and then strolling after it while the crowd urged the batter to go for a home run.  "Tumbles" leisurely peregrination allowed Tom "Thumbs" Hoepfner to get close enough to take "Tumbles" relay, and fire a long throw towards home which was cut off by Dan "Sledge" Hammer and whipped to Rene "Mango" Marerro just in time to nip the unsuspecting batter.   



Not surprisingly the Neshanock had a good day at the striker's line with "Sledge" contributing a single, triple and a home run, joining "Thumbs," Scott "Snuffy" Hengst, Jack "Doc" Kitson and Julio"Grandpa" Carigga, (a first time Neshanock player) with three hits apiece.  Going one better was "Mango" with four hits on the day.  In the end it was a 20-2 Neshanock triumph, but it was a fun day for all, the Villagers did their best, it was a large, enthusiastic crowd and all of us on the Flemington side hope this becomes a regular event.  Base ball is ultimately a team game and so credit for the Neshanock triumph is also due to Phyllis Shaw, Doreen Harris and Carol Zinn who watched Carter "Little Tumbles" Mandel during game so that his dad could "patrol" center field for Flemington.  The Neshanock have three dates left in the 2014 season, next Saturday in Monroe Township, the following Sunday in Bridgewater and Saturday, October 11th in Allentown, New Jersey.  

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Reconstructing early New Jersey base ball


Newark Daily Advertiser - November 6, 1857

Witnessing part of a Philadelphia town ball match renewed my interest in the game or games played in New Jersey before 1855, especially what it would have been like to play in such a game.  Town ball was the name for the Philadelphia game and other non-New York games, but there's no evidence the name was used in New Jersey.  Many years later, "old style," "old fashioned," and even "antiquarian" were the popular descriptive adjectives for bat and ball games the participants claimed were different from "modern" base ball.  Since, however there are no contemporary sources of information about those games, there is no way to know for certain whether they were called town ball , base ball or something else.  More importantly, the lack of contemporary accounts forces any attempt at reconstruction to rely on newspaper descriptions, years later, of re-creations of early games, not unlike trying to understand the New York game solely by watching vintage base ball.


Newark Morning Register - May 25, 1869

While these accounts are helpful, depending on such sources carries risks, not the least of which is that the reporter writing the story was probably trying to describe a game he had never seen before based on the imperfect memories of multiple participants.  How, for example, when outlining these early games, did the reporter reconcile inconsistencies or gaps in what he heard and saw?  Furthermore, as with the very name of the game, how did the reporter know that what he experienced wasn't at least partially the incorrect inclusion of "modern" rules and practices instead of what actually happened.  Newspaper accounts of the old-fashioned base ball craze which swept through Paterson in 1867 included box scores depicting a game with three outs per side per inning.  Since variations of the pre-New York game frequently featured one out or all out, was this how the game was actually played in Paterson or is it an historically inaccurate application of "modern rules?" It's impossible to know for sure, so drawing conclusions from these accounts is not unlike building a house on quicksand.

 Yet these accounts are all the information we have so keeping the risks in plain view, let's look at  the Newark and Paterson "styles" by means of a chart laying out some the features described in the retrospective accounts. 

Category                                   Newark                             Paterson

Number of Players                      Varies                              11
                                                 


Bats                                          Many sizes and                Not stated
                                                 shapes including
                                                 flat

Inning ends                                All out                              Three out

Outs made by                            Fly catch                          Fly catch
                                                Bound catch                      Bound catch
                                                Three strikes                      Not stated
                                                Hit with thrown ball             Hit with thrown ball

Foul territory                              None                                 None

Game ends                               Not stated                          Six innings.

At bat outcomes                        Base hits/outs                    Base hits/outs

One area of clear agreement is the absence of foul territory, a feature shared with Philadelphia town ball.  Both Newark and Paterson accounts emphasize this point and it's so different from the New York game, it's unlikely anyone who played or saw the earlier versions would have forgotten it.  Close to a complete match are the means for making outs with the Paterson game missing only strikeouts, but the issue isn't covered in the Paterson accounts which are fewer in number and far briefer so it is probably not unreasonable to believe strikeouts were also part of the Paterson game.  Perhaps more important is the shared rule that outs could be recorded by "plugging" or "soaking" with the ball, again a common feature with Philadelphia town ball.  As noted earlier, there is major divergence on the all out/three out rule.


Newark Daily Journal - October 14, 1865

There also appears to be a difference in the number of players with the Paterson version clearly fixed at 11, but with much variation in the Newark matches.  However, eleven on a side seems to be a fairly common feature of these early games and the far larger numbers playing in the Newark games in the 1870's suggests accommodating everyone who turned out.  Further support for 11 on a side as the norm in New Jersey is seen in the experience of the state's first base ball clubs as in 1855 Jersey City's charter teams played 11 on a side before changing to 9 over the course of the season.  Although equipment was at a minimum there also appears to be a difference in the type of bats used in these contests.  The Newark newspapers give detailed descriptions of bats of varying sizes and shapes including some flat rather than round, the articles even seem to suggest the bats were originals brought out of "storage."  The Paterson accounts, on the other hand, are silent on the bats most likely indicating they were round as anything different most likely would have attracted attention.


Newark Daily Journal - May 30, 1873

Not surprisingly a major difference between both New Jersey games and Philadelphia town ball is the absence of the all or nothing, home run or out aspect of the latter game as both the Newark and Paterson accounts refer to runners stopping at bases.  It appears to me that to some degree, the all or nothing aspect of the Philadelphia game was driven by the very short distance between the bases.  The only mention of the field in the Newark accounts is of stakes rather than bases, but the Paterson paper describes a field measured by the distance from the batter to second base, much like the Knickerbocker rules, although the description is of a far larger field.  The dimensions may very well be in error, but seem clearly to describe a field that permitted multiple outcomes of at bats.



Paterson Daily Press - August 2, 1867

Based on this information, what could a young man in Newark before 1855 expect to experience on the ball field?  Since, as far as we know, there were no organized clubs, our ball player headed not for his or the other team's home grounds, but to a nearby vacant lot.  Bases had to be laid out, but without foul territory not a lot of field preparation was required.  The informality probably extended to the choosing of sides, batting order and positions in the field, although then, as now, some players were singled out for their hitting and fielding.  If our imaginary player wasn't a great hitter, success in his first at bat was important or he would spend a lot of time on the bench (assuming the existence of the same).  On the other hand, if he did get on base, he was vulnerable to being hit with a thrown ball especially if he turned his back to the ball while running.  While our player may have been bored waiting for his teammates to make out, it was preferable to standing in the field on a hot, humid August day waiting for all 11 players on the opposite team to be retired.  It's no wonder then that when someone suggested playing by a new set of rules with regular structured at bats, shorter periods in the field and no risk of being hit by a thrown ball, there was no shortage of volunteers.