Sunday, June 24, 2018

"The Most Practical Thrower in America"

Amidst overcast, but fortunately not weeping skies, the Neshanock made their annual trip to Greenway Meadows in Princeton for an event hosted by the Historical Society of Princeton.  The opponent this year was the Monmouth Furnace Club from the Jersey shore, a still relatively new team and an important addition to the state's vintage base ball community.  As noted on numerous prior occasions, one of the ways vintage base ball consistently recreates the original is in the importance of who shows up on a given day.  Saturday, unfortunately, the Monmouth club was shorthanded and although some muffins filled in valiantly, the Neshanock won both games by large margins. In the first of two seven inning contests, the Neshanock prevailed 18-0, setting some records and team firsts in the process.  On the defensive side catcher Chris "Side Show" Nunn set a Neshanock record by recording ten put outs, eclipsing the previous record held by Mark "Gaslight" Granieri.  Recording 10 of Monmouth's 21 outs on foul balls was a big assist to Scott "Snuffy" Hengst's in his first appearance in the pitcher's box, a hard to top performance allowing just two hits and no runs.  Offensively, Gregg "Burner" Wiseburn and Joe "Mick" Murray contributed three hits apiece, but the big offensive feat was a clear score by Dan "Lefty"Gallagher, featuring not one, but two home runs along with two singles.


"Mick's" three hit performance was also noteworthy since he twice made his base striking from the left hand side of the plate, falling only one at bat short of a clear score.  Also coming close to a clear score was Ken "Tumbles" Mandel who took a different route, even for  him, reaching base three times on walks also believed to be a Neshanock record.  Several Neshanock had to leave after the first contest, but the remnant managed another victory this time by a 19-3 count although the game was not as one sided as the score indicates.  The Monmouth Furnace defense improved considerably in the second game and it took a seven run second inning for the Neshanock to build a lead and then put the game out of reach with a eight run seventh inning.  Apparently not satisfied with his two home run performance in the first contest, "Lefty" added another in the second game along with a double and a triple, giving him the cycle for the day.  Joining "Lefty" in the home run column was Tom "Thumbs" Hoephner while "Snuffy" added four hits to the Flemington attack.  All of that pales in comparison (or so he claims) to Brad "Brooklyn" Shaw who earned a clear score reaching base five times without making an out.  Defensively what had to be one of the ugliest shut out innings in base ball history was offset by a fine second to short to first double play in another. With the two wins, the Neshanock have an 8-5 record heading into a visit next Sunday to the Talbot Fair Plays, a game that I will unfortunately miss.


Surprising as it may seem the headline for this post doesn't refer to a crafty pitcher who uses guile and trick pitches to outwit dangerous hitters.  In fact, as we shall see, the quote bears no relationship whatsoever to base ball.  In discussing early New Brunswick base ball last week, I mentioned that the game had taken hold even earlier in Trenton, in 1856, only the second year New Jersey teams were in the field.  Base ball's popularity in the state capital proved to be no flash in the pan and Trenton became one of the first New Jersey cities to host a minor league team.  As with most things about base ball history, there is debate about the first true minor league, but one of the earliest circuits was the 1883 Interstate Association which boasted not one, but two New Jersey teams, Trenton and Camden.  Unfortunately neither team had much staying power.  The Camden club, although it had the best record in the league, folded at the end of July and its best players were quickly scooped up by the Brooklyn franchise, the team ultimately known to history as the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Trenton didn't do a whole lot better lasting only until mid way through the 1885 season.


Trenton Evening Times - October 13, 1883

New Jersey's struggles to support 19th century minor league base ball is a story for another day, but the problem was obviously a lack of paying customers.  That doesn't mean, however, that the Trenton team was totally bereft of enthusiastic followers.  Although we usually don't know much about 19th century New Jersey base ball fans, in October of 1883, the Trenton Evening Times gave a vivid description of one "Cap" Brindley who didn't lack for passion both inside and outside the ball park.  Brindley was apparently so well known to the paper's readers it wasn't necessary to give his first name which was little help in trying to identify him and learn more about this base ball aficionado.  It's the same problem posed by a lack of player first names in game accounts which makes identifying players difficult and, at first, it appeared it would be the same story with "Cap."  Fortunately, however, our Mr. Brindley was such a household name in Trenton that newspaper searches with "Cap" as the first name produced enough hits not only to identify him (including a picture), but to fill in a life story more than a little out of the ordinary


John Brindley - Trenton Evening Times - July 15, 1888

Born in Tunstall, Staffordshire, England in 1835, Brindley, who described himself as a "potter by birth," arrived in Trenton in 1876 less than a decade before minor league base ball came to the state capital.  Since some of my ancestors made a similar move from the same part of Staffordshire to Trenton only a few years later, Brindley's choice of desination's was no surprise.  At the time, both cities were major pottery centers, but high protective tariffs in the United States enabled Trenton pottery workers to earn twice as much as their English counterparts explaining why Trenton's population tripled between 1860 and 1890.  Brindley quickly made the transition from cricket to base ball and his "sturdy figure," "bushy head of whitening hair" and "mellifluous comments" became a regular feature in the grandstand right behind the catcher.  While there is no record of him playing base ball,  he was considered "the most practical thrower" in the country.  "Throwing" in this context means shaping the clay while it is on the potter's wheel and Brindley was so skilled he could reportedly "throw anything from a thimble to a ten gallon piece [of pottery]."


Trenton Evening Times - July 5, 1895

Although more skilled than his peers, the English immigrant still identified with his fellow workers becoming an "indomitable champion of worker's rights" especially when pottery owners tried to cut the workers' pay.  In 1885, Brindley and some other men started their own company, but Brindley died very suddenly in July of 1893 and, according to his obituary, left "a wife and four children."  The account had the correct number of children, but was one short on wives since Brindley, unbeknownst to most people (including presumably his American wife), also had a wife in the England, the mother of his eldest son James.   The sordid details might not have leaked out, but there was money involved, specifically Brindley's ownership interest in the pottery which Fannie Lawton previously known as Fannie Brindley claimed had been given to her.  James sued claiming the gift was "null and void" because it was "against public policy and good morals" and an "inducement" for Fannie to live with Brindley in "a state of adultery."  Somewhat surprisingly,  considering this was the Victorian era, the court decided in Fannie's favor, ruling that the gift once given, couldn't be undone.  Brindley's passion for base ball wasn't sufficiently widespread to save minor league base ball in Trenton, but he certainly was a colorful person in his own right.

Sunday, June 17, 2018

"On the Banks of the Old Raritan"

Home to Rutgers University for over 250 years, New Brunswick, New Jersey doesn't always get the recognition it deserves in its own right. First settled in 1681, New Brunswick was a stop on the King's Highway between New York and Philadelphia during colonial times and an important river port for most of its early history.  The city's favorable location led to its inclusion on the railroad which, as we shall see, was a contributing factor to the development of antebellum base ball in what would become the county seat of Middlesex County.  New Brunswick's first team was the Liberty Club possibly named after a local fire company and a wise choice when Lawrence Major, then a member of the Elizabeth Resolutes, decided to start a new team.  Over the past five years or so there have been more false starts than successes with new vintage teams in New Jersey so credit to Lawrence for taking the time to put a solid club on the field which is off to an excellent start.  On Saturday, the Neshanock traveled to East Jersey Olde Towne Village in Piscataway to take on the Liberty who, while only in their first year, are by no definition muffins.


The first match was played under 1858 rules, the primary difference being that there are no called balls with strikes being called only sparingly.  This is only the second time I've been part of an 1858 game and in the hot sun, it's not hard to understand why called balls were added for the 1864 season.  After six innings the Liberty led 6-4, but the top of the seventh hurt Flemington badly.  Four straight hits set the stage for a big inning and some untimely Neshanock muffs (there probably isn't a timely muff) contributed to five tallies and a 11-4 Liberty lead.  The Neshanock rallied for three in their half of the inning, but even though Flemington shut the Liberty out the rest of the way, the Neshanock could muster only one more run and lost the first contest 11-8.  Special note should be made not only of the Liberty's timely hitting, but also consistent play in the field, making only two muffs over the course of the game.  Brian "Spoons" LoPinto led the Neshanock attack with a four hit clear score while Rene "Mango" Marrero added three hits and Adam "Beast" Leffler and Ken "Tumbles" Mandel had two apiece.  "Tumbles" was especially impressive at the striker's line with a perfectly executed fair foul and a long double.


After a brief respite, the second contest got underway this time with the Neshanock striking first in a game under 1864 rules.  Four straight Flemington strikers made their base leading to three tallies, but the Liberty matched that in their half of the inning.  Although the first two Neshanock strikers went out in the top of the second, Flemington still managed two tallies keyed by a ringing triple by Chris "Sideshow" Nunn who, as usual, had a fine game behind the plate.  After limiting the Liberty to one tally in the bottom of the inning, Flemington tallied twice more this time thanks to back-to-back doubles by Jeff "Duke"Schneider and "Tumbles."  Flemington had a 7-4 lead at that point, but the Liberty chipped away while shutting out the Neshanock over the next three innings and the New Brunswick team led 8-7 going to the top of the seventh.  Flemington wasn't done, however, scoring three times in their turn at the striker's line largely due to another double by "Tumbles" that sent two Neshanock runners across the plate.  Once again, however, the Liberty had plenty of answers combining well struck hits and some more untimely Neshanock muffs to take a two run lead.


Flemington loaded the bases in the top of the eighth with only one out, but managed only one tally to close within one run.  In the bottom of the inning, the Liberty loaded the bases with none out, but were kept off the scoreboard largely due to a double play off a foul ball.  After the first Neshanock striker went out in the top of the ninth, Flemington had first and third again with just one out, but the Liberty returned the favor, retiring the side on another foul ball driven double play for a 12-11 Liberty victory.  "Sideshow" had an outstanding game at the plate, recording a five hit clear score.  "Duke" contributed four hits while "Tumbles," Joe "Mick" Murray and Steve "Muffin" Colon (playing for the first time) had three apiece.  Also of note was a two hit game by Joe "Irish" Colduvell.  Although the second contest was much closer, the Liberty once again prevailed due a combination of timely hitting and exceptional defense again making just two muffs.  Lawrence Major has done a fine job getting the Liberty Club off to a good start, one that all of us hope is sustained over the long term. With the two losses, Flemington is now 6-5 on the season heading into next Saturday's matches in Princeton with the Monmouth Furnace Club



Unlike most vintage teams, I'm very familiar with the original incarnation of the Liberty club since I wrote an essay about the team for the book - Baseball Founders, my initial foray in writing about 19th century base ball, even before A Manly Pastime.  Founded in 1857, the Liberty Club of New Brunswick has the distinction of being the first New Jersey base ball club to join the National Association of Base Ball Players, the loose confederation of clubs whose primary role was to set rules.  New Jersey's first base ball clubs got on to the field in 1855 so it's interesting to see that the game had spread that far into the state in such a short period of time.  In fact, the New York game had reached even further into New Jersey a year earlier with the formation of the Trenton Club, an indication of the importance of the railroad to the game's expansion throughout the northern half of the state.


New Brunswick Fredonian 

Before base ball received extensive newspaper coverage, exposure to the New York game was largely limited to playing it, watching it or hearing about it from someone who had played or watched it.  Access to New York City (and Hoboken) increased those opportunities considerably and New Jersey's relatively sophisticated railroad network facilitated just those kind of opportunities.  The difference between railroad development in the northern and southern parts of the state makes the point very effectively.  New Brunswick residents who lived some 36 miles from Manhattan, could reach the city in two hours with a choice of eight different trains throughout the course of the day, making a one day round trip more than feasible.  A south Jersey resident of Bridgeton, however, wishing to make the relatively similar 42 mile trip to Philadelphia had to rise at the ungodly hour of 4:00 a.m. for a combined 6 1/2 hour stage coach and ferry ride to the City of Brotherly Love - needless to say limiting the number of those exposed to Philadelphia town ball.


Brooklyn Daily Eagle - October 30, 1861

Like most early New Jersey clubs, the Liberty began playing local teams, but the New Brunswick team took a quantum leap in class when they started playing the Atlantic Club of Brooklyn  Not surprisingly it didn't go well at first, including an 1858 61-14 rout where they trailed 26-1 after just two innings, but the Liberty was in no way intimidated. In an 1860 game, the Liberty led the Atlantics 16-11 going to the bottom of the ninth before the Brooklyn team tied it, although they were unable score the winning tally.  Understandably the Liberty  felt "like victors, because they "were not beaten'' by a team that "seldom fails of success." Doubtless the Liberty Club felt good about their prospects for 1861, but like many teams, the coming of the Civil War kept them off of the field for most of the season.  Late in October, however, they did manage a match in Newark against their friends from Brooklyn and this time thrashed the Atlantics by a resounding 30-12 count.  Although bemoaning the loss to a "country club," the Brooklyn Daily Eagle acknowledged the "total defeat" of the Atlantics.   It was the first time the Brooklyn team had lost to a team from outside of New York something that wouldn't happen again until their 1866 loss to the Irvington club.  Clearly the Liberty Club has a proud historical record, one being duly honored by the modern re-creators.  

Sunday, June 10, 2018

From Hops to Hay

After spending last weekend amidst beer hops and weeping skies in Cooperstown, the Neshanock spent Saturday in the heat, hay and humidity of the Howell Living History Farm in Lambertville, New Jersey.  The purpose of this year's visit to an historic site well worth visiting was to play a match with the Elizabeth Resolutes, New Jersey's senior vintage club.  Under the leadership of founder and captain Paul Salomone, the Resolutes roster has been almost completely rebuilt and based on Saturday's performance there is a lot of reason for optimism about their future.  Perhaps it was due to the absence of Danny "Lunch Time" Shaw the master of the bat toss, but the Neshanock lost the choice of at bats and went to the striker's line to start the game.  Play was called at 12:08 with Brian "Spoons" LoPinto at the line and the Neshanock lead off hitter quickly made his base and then came around to make his run on a hit by Scott "Snuffy" Hengst.  After putting out the Resolutes in order in the bottom of the inning, Flemington tallied again in the top of the second after Meshack "Shack" Dusane made his base, stole second and third and then made his run on a Resolute muff.


The Resolutes went out in order again in the second although it took a fine relay throw from Dan "Lefty" Gallahger to "Snuffy" to Ken "Tumbles" Mandel to retire the final Resolute striker.  Neither team scored in the third inning, but Flemington combined hits from "Snuffy," Adam "Beast" Leffler and "Shack" to tally a third run in the top of the fourth.  The Neshanock might have done further damage in that inning, but a fine fielding play by the Resolutes pitcher stranded runners at second and third.  Doubtless inspired by the defensive gem, the Elizabeth club followed some untimely Neshanock muffs with a combination of well struck and well placed balls to tally three times in the bottom of the inning to tie the match at 3-3 after four innings.  Flemington quickly regained the lead in the top of the fifth, however, and retired Elizabeth without a tally in the bottom of the inning, but still held only a one run lead.


The Neshanock got off to a quick start in the top of the sixth when Lee "Muffin" Middleburg, playing in his first vintage game, made his base starting a parade of Flemington base runners.  Five of the next six strikers made their base and when the dust (and hay) had cleared, four Neshanock had made their runs for an 8-3 lead.  Elizabeth went out in order in their half of the sixth and when the first two Neshanock went out in the seventh (one on a fine fly catch by the Resolute shortstop) it looked like the score would remain the same.  "Tumbles," however, got things started with a base hit, moved around the bases and scored on a well timed walk by Joe "Irish" Colduvell.  The Resolutes were not done yet, however, adding a tally and putting two on with just one out before the Neshanock managed to shut the door.  Flemington added another tally in the eighth, but Elizabeth refused to go quietly, scoring twice to close within 10-6 after eight innings


Flemington wasn't able to score in the ninth, but fortunately retired the first two Resolutes in the bottom of the inning before the next two Elizabeth strikers made their base creating some unease on the Neshanock bench.  Fortunately Chris "Sideshow" Nunn recorded the last out on a foul fly just one example of his solid play behind the plate aided by another strong pitching performance by Bobby "Melky" Ritter.  In spite of losing the match, 10-6, the Resolutes played well especially considering that a number of their players were playing their first match and others are also still new to the game.  As noted earlier they appear to have a good future ahead of them.  Flemington's offense was led by "Spoons," "Snuffy" and "Shack" (how's that for alliteration).  "Spoons" and "Shack" each had three hits while "Snuffy" recorded a clear score in four times at the striker's line.  Also of note was somewhat more balanced scoring with three Neshanock tallies coming from the lower part of the batting order.  Now 6-3 on the season, Flemington heads to East Jersey Old Town Village in Piscataway next Saturday to take on the newly formed Liberty Club of New Brunswick an important New Jersey team that began play in 1857.

Monday, June 4, 2018

Baseball at the Brewery

Our first trip to Cooperstown was some 32 years ago and I've long since lost track of how many times we've visited the pristine village on the shores of Otsego Lake.  Hard as it may seem to believe, back in 1986 there wasn't a single baseball memorabilia store on Main Street although there were a few baseball card stores on some of the side streets.  That first visit also predates the past 20 years or more of extensive and intensive research into the game's early days so one of the first things encountered in the Hall of Fame was an exhibit case with an old baseball purportedly proof Cooperstown was the game's birthplace given added emphasis by a sign proclaiming "Only a cynic would need further proof" or words to that effect.  Now, of course, no such claims are made and with the benefit of hindsight it seems hard to believe that creation story had such a long shelf life - perhaps it's because Cooperstown is the kind of place where we would like to think baseball was born.  Someone may have already done so, but I think it would be interesting to research the history of organized baseball in Cooperstown itself, beginning with when the village had it's first competitive team  My best guess would be late 1860's or early 1870's, but I've never seen any such research and it's one project I have no intention of undertaking.


Brewery Ommegang

The cause of these rambling reflections was the Neshanock's visit to Cooperstown or more specifically Brewery Ommegang for a vintage base ball festival organized and hosted by the Atlantic Base Ball Club of Brooklyn.  Other participants included the Rising Sun Club from Maryland, the Brandywine Base Ball Club from Pennsylvania, the New York Mutuals and the Bouckville Summits, a relatively new team.  Flemington's first match on Saturday afternoon was with Rising Sun which got off to a promising start when the Neshanock limited the Marylanders to a single tally, closing the door with a runner on third and just one out.  Things looked even more promising in the bottom of the first when Danny "Lunch Time"Shaw and Tom "Thumbs" Hoepfner each made their base and then used aggressive base running to make their runs and give Flemington a 2-1 lead after one inning.  Rising Sun more than returned the favor, however, in their next two opportunities at the striker's line, combining strategic hitting and their own aggressive base running to score five times and take a 6-2 lead heading to the bottom of the third.  Fortunately the Neshanock rebounded quickly thanks to Joe "Irish" Colduvell and "Lunch Time" who each made their base and then their runs on a highly productive out from "Thumbs" who drove in two runs on a bound out to right.


Note the extra fielder who had extremely limited range

Although the Neshanock didn't score in the next two innings, they kept the deficit at 6-4 thanks in part to a fine running catch of a foul fly by Dave "Illinois" Harris at first.  While the top of the Rising Sun lineup was held at bay in the fifth, the lower half came through in the sixth, earning two tallies and giving the Maryland team an 8-4 lead.  Flemington again held the top of the Rising Sun order in check in the seventh, aided this time by a fine bound catch at third by Joe "Mick" Murray.  The Neshanock finally broke through with two runs in the eighth, but the Maryland team added three in their half of the ninth and quickly retired the Neshanock for a well earned 12-6 victory. It was, to put it mildly, a weak offensive showing for Flemington which managed only five hits. With one game in the books, the Neshanock moved to another field to take on the Summits, a relatively new club located only about 50-60 miles from Cooperstown.  After the Summits went out in order in the top of the first, Flemington finally got its offense untracked in the bottom of the inning scoring ten times to put the match out of reach early in a 17-3 victory.  "Lefty," "Thumbs," "Illinois" and Chris "Low Ball" Lowry each contributed four hits for Flemington, but the standout offensive performance belonged to "Illinois" who managed a clear score in five times at the striker's line - no small feat.


The Bouckville Summit Club

A cloudy, somewhat misty Sunday morning turned into a cloudy, misty Sunday afternoon while the Neshanock waited for an 11 inning game between the Mutuals and Rising Sun teams to end before playing a match with the host Atlantic Club of Brooklyn.  While there are many fine vintage clubs throughout the United States, of all the teams I've had the chance to watch in person, the Atlantics are, in my opinion, consistently the best.  It was remarkable therefore that the Neshanock entered the match not having lost to the Atlantics in well over a year, the fact that the teams had only played once in that period being merely a technicality.  Having lost the bat toss for the only time all weekend, the Neshanock went to the striker's line first and got off to a fast start when six Flemington strikers made their base and Dan "Lefty" Gallagher and "Thumbs" made their runs.  Although the Neshanock left the bases loaded, they quickly retired the top of the Atlantics order (no small accomplishment) without a run and then added three more tallies in the second for a 5-0 lead.  No one with any experience with the Atlantics thought that lead would last and the Brooklyn club tallied five times in the bottom of the second and then, to make matters worse, pounded out nine hits in the bottom of the third, scoring six times for an 11-5 lead.


Flemington was not done, however, adding three in the fourth and two more in the fifth to close within one after five innings.  "Thumbs" contributed his third and fourth hits during these two rallies while "Lefty" added his third with "Lunch Time" and "Mick" contributing two well placed hits.  The Neshanock could not, however, get any closer and the Atlantics broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth by scoring five runs and then retiring the top of the Neshanock order 1-2-3 in the seventh.  Although the Atlantics added two more in the bottom of the seventh, the rally was cut short by a fine relay from Jeff "Duke" Schneider to "Mick" to "Thumbs" to put out an Atlantic runner at the plate.  Although the game was closer than the final 18-10 score indicated, it was a well earned victory for the Atlantics who once again lived up to their reputation.  Just one statistic tells the tale, while nine of Flemington's ten runs were scored by the Neshanock's first three strikers, the Atlantics got six from their first three, six from the next three and six from the bottom four - talk about balance!  "Thumbs" led the Neshanock with four hits while "Lunch Time," "Lefty" and "Duke" added three apiece.  Now 5-3 on the season, Flemington will spend the rest of June in New Jersey beginning with two games on Saturday June 9th against the Elizabeth Resolutes at the Howell Living History Farm near Lambertville.