A Tale of Two "All-Star" Games

Although they weren't called all-star games, matches between "picked" or "select" nines became popular relatively quickly in the early days of organized base ball.  Especially noteworthy were the so-called Fashion Course games.  Matches played in 1858 at the racetrack of the same name located not far from today's Citi Field where a team made up of players from New York clubs defeated their Brooklyn counterparts in a best of three series.  The games were so popular that a group of Jersey City fans took ferries, horse cars and probably the railroad to witness the third and decisive game.   Needless to say, New Jersey players quickly took up the idea which seems to have reached its peak with two games played three years apart, the first in Philadelphia in May of 1864 and the second in November of 1867 at the Waverly fair grounds between Newark and Elizabeth.  In each case, the New Jersey lineup reflects both the early history of organized base ball in the state and how the game was changing in the Civil War period.

1858 Fashion Course Games

The 1864 game was played as part of the Great Central Fair in Philadelphia between picked teams from New Jersey and Pennsylvania and has been the subject of prior blog posts.  In anticipating the game, the New York Sunday Mercury observed that the contest was "not a real trial of [base ball] strength" between the two states - if it was, the New Jersey team would have been drawn entirely from Newark clubs.  Instead the organizers, who weren't named, opted to choose a broader representation consisting of players from five different teams including two from Newark.  Even so, there was no lack of talent and the New Jersey team prevailed 18-10 in no small part to the pitching of Fred Henry from the Nassau Club of Princeton.   As talented as they doubtless were, however, what also stands out is how the team represented different aspects of the almost ten year old story of organized base ball in New Jersey beginning with the representatives of the two teams from the state's largest city, the Newark and Eureka Clubs.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle - May 26, 1864

While the Newark Club may not have been New Jersey's first base ball team they were without question the first with any real staying power evidenced by the fact that 1864 was their tenth season, no small accomplishment at a time some clubs lasted only a single season.  If the Newark team represented the earliest days of New Jersey base ball, the Eureka Club symbolized the top amateur clubs, combining proficient play with gentlemanly behavior.  No one symbolized this better than left-handed shortstop Charles Thomas whose play was compared to some of the best in the game while at the same time being "ever gentlemanly in word and action."  The aforementioned Henry and another member of the Nassau Club of Princeton University came from one of not just New Jersey's, but also the country's earliest college base ball teams, The collegians were on the scene so early that it wasn't until later that same year that they could find college teams to compete against.

While the Camden Club was probably selected to some degree to help attract local fans, their representatives took a back seat to no one especially Weston Fisler who would go on to star for the Athletic Club of Philadelphia and play in the first National League game in 1876.  More importantly, in this context, however, the Camden Club is part of the story of New Jersey base ball because they are the only known team in the state to have played another bat and ball game, Philadelphia town ball, before converting to the New York game right around the time of the Great Central Fair.  Finally, the Bridgeton Club is historically significant because other than the Camden Club, they are the earliest known base ball club south of Trenton and represent the game's spread throughout the rest of the state in the second half of the 1860's.  Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, there were no African-Americans or women on the team, but otherwise most of the story of early New Jersey base ball can be found in the team's lineup although that was surely not part of the selection criteria.

Charles Thomas - Frank Leslie's Weekly Newspaper - November 3, 1866

Although I'm very familiar with the May 1864 game, that was not the case with the November 6, 1867 game between teams selected from teams from New York City (excluding Brooklyn) and New Jersey.  I had heard of the game, but it was old friend Eric Miklich who pointed out that it was not just any game between "picked" nines because there was filthy lucre involved some $500, no small amount at the time.  The various game accounts differ as to whether it was a winner take all contest or each team received $250.  Either way the very idea of playing for money found plenty of disfavor with the Sunday Mercury which wanted "to see this playing for greenbacks repudiated by clubs belonging to the Association."  By this point, approval by the National Association of Base Ball Players of playing for pay was only about a year away, but old ideas die hard.  Here again, however, the makeup of the New Jersey lineup which came primarily from two teams the Irvington Club and the aforementioned mentioned Eureka is interesting in its own right.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle - November 7, 1867 - the box score erroneously omits the New Jersey team's nine run second inning

The Eureka were the only New Jersey club represented in both games, but there is no comparison between the types of players involved, especially Patsy Dockney of the Eureka.  While professionalism was illegal in 1867, players were clearly being paid and the Eureka in spite of their gentlemanly background dabbed their collective feet in those waters that season.  Dockney had a well deserved reputation for playing baseball all day and then drinking and fighting all night which couldn't have been a worse fit with the Eureka and it's no surprise he lasted only one season with the Newark team.  Also representing the Eureka was Everett Mills who although he was no Dockney was playing his final season with the Newark team before moving on to the Irvington Club as a brief step on his climb up the base ball ladder that would end in the National League when he played for Hartford in the league's inaugural season.

Everett Mills

Back in 1864, the Irvington Club was one of New Jersey's many mid-level teams, but in 1866 and 1867 they wreaked havoc in the base ball world with a line up that was highly proficient, but far from gentlemanly.  Two of the participants in the 1867 game, Charles Sweasy and Andy Jackson Leonard, were playing their last game representing the Irvington team as they were on their way west where in 1869 they would become part of the legendary Cincinnati Red Stockings historic 57-0 season.  Joining them on that team would be a member of the New York "picked" team, Fred Waterman then a member of the Mutual Club of New York.  And yes, the Ebbets on the Manhattan team was a relative of Charles Ebbets. The financial incentives offered for the November game were apparently provided by the managers of the fair grounds in attempt to attract paying customers.  While a "cold, raw wind," did them no favors, the New York Clipper claimed a crowd of 3-4,000 took in the game which in spite of the unfavorable conditions was "by no means tedious."

After the New York team took a 2-0 lead, the Jersey boys tallied nine times in the second, largely due to some shoddy New York defense, but the visitors then regained the lead by scoring eight times in their half of the inning.  The game went back and forth, but three consecutive three run innings by the team from Manhattan were too much to overcome although the New Jersey team never quit finally dropping a 24-23 decision.  This time whoever organized the New Jersey team drew more heavily on the state's best teams - the Eureka and Irvington teams, but with very different kinds of players.  Players much more interested in getting paid for their labors, a far from unreasonable request.  And those who enjoyed some real success in doing so, like Sweasy and Leonard would have to move beyond their home state to do so.  Like almost everything else in base ball, the shift from amateur play to professionalism evolved gradually, but the makeup of the 1867 team especially compared to the 1864 version shows very clearly where the game was headed both in New Jersey and nationwide.