As noted in the last post, vintage baseball teams, unlike the original 1860s clubs, plan their entire season in advance and then publicize the schedule to attract fans to their home games. Marching to their own drum, the Neshanock, while setting the season's schedule in advance, don't have a home field, thanks to a wise decision by club founder Brad "Brooklyn" Shaw. Recognizing the challenges in attracting fans, "Brooklyn" decided it would be better to take the game to the fans instead of hoping they would come to us. As a result, in lieu of home games, Flemington plays events, most of which are at venues that have no special connection to baseball history. There are, however, a few games each season where the venue has a baseball history of its own. Prominent examples are Cameron Field in South Orange and Babe Ruth Field in Delanco, fields, where as the latter name suggests, the Bambino hit a home run. That's obviously noteworthy, but other New Jersey fields also a long and distinguished baseball history, such as Gebhardt Field in Clinton, the site of yesterday's game against the Hoboken Nine.
Hoboken arrived with only seven players, but two members of the Neshanock, Ken "Tumbles" Mandel and Jeff "Duke" Schneider gracefully agreed to play for the Hudson County club. Thanks to them for acting in the true spirit of vintage baseball. Flemington won the coin toss, but in the first inning it looked like the toss might be the only thing the Neshanock would win. Hoboken tallied five times in the top of the inning and played solid defense, holding Flemington to only two runs in the Neshanock's first four times at the striker's line. Fortunately, the Neshanock defense also tightened up and kept Hoboken off the scoreboard for the next four innings. Down by three in the bottom of the fifth, the Neshanock combined five hits and a walk, to score five times and take a 7-5 lead. In the top of the sixth, however, Flemington lost its way on defense and Hoboken tallied twice without the benefit of a hit. Fortunately the bottom of the Flemington order added two more runs in the Neshanock's turn at the striker's line, but once again Hoboken tallied twice to tie the game.
The Neshanock weren't done, however, scoring five times in the bottom of the seventh for a 14-9 lead. At that point the Flemington defense rallied behind the pitching of Bobby "Melky" Ritter, retiring the next six Hoboken strikers in order to finish off the win. It was Hoboken's opening match and they played a solid game in the field with some timely hitting. The Neshanock offense was led by Danny "Lefty" Gallagher, Renee "Mango" Marrero and Dave "Illinois" Harris with three hits apiece, each in their first game of 2022. Right behind them were Dan "Sledge" Hammer, Joe "Mick" Murray, Gregg "Burner" Wiseburn and Kyle Refalvy with two each. In the process Kyle earned his official Neshanock nickname - "Run Down," based on his skill in getting out of the same. While it can't be captured in the box score, "Sledge" managed one of the most creative runs in recent Neshanock history. It began with a tap in front of the plate that was measured in inches, not feet, followed by a "Tumbles" like spill on the way to first. Undeterred "Sledge" recovered and used his characteristic aggressive style of play to circle the bases.
While the Neshanock have played at Gebhardt Field before, I wasn't fully aware of the field's historic significance until I began reading Covered Wooden Grandstands, a collection of articles about semipro baseball. The stories about the Clinton ball field and similar venues illustrate their important role in baseball during the pre-television era. Before major league baseball teams began regularly televising their home games, fans had only two ways to experience the top teams and players live - listen to the game on the radio or make a trip to the ballpark. Listening at least allowed one to follow the game while it was being played, but waiting for someone else to describe what happened was no substitute for watching the action. Going to game was a possibility for people living in Clinton since Philadelphia (60 miles) had two teams and New York (53 miles) had three, but the roads, cars and transportation systems of the day must have made the trip far more arduous than the mileage might suggest.
Fortunately, there was another option, thanks to those, who like the Neshanock, brought the game to the fans. Baseball diamonds throughout New Jersey like Gebhardt Field, hosted traveling teams who gave local fans a close up view of players who had been, or should have been, in the major leagues. In 1948, for example, Clinton fans got to see Hall of Famer Jimmy Foxx, who had only retired a few years earlier, play in person. Foxx starred for Connie Mack's great Philadelphia Athletic teams and must have been well known to local fans. Even more interesting, that same year, there was the opportunity to see some of the black stars now slowly making their way to the major leagues. In September of 1948, Gebhardt Field hosted a game between the Homestead Grays and the local Clinton team. While Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby and a few other black players had reached the majors, there were still great players on the Grays including future Hall of Famer Buck Leonard and Luke Easter. Later that season the two helped the Grays win the last Negro League World Series. The game reportedly drew well over a 1,000 fans, quite a turnout in a small rural community.
But watching wasn't the only way young men of that era experienced baseball at Gebhardt Field. When Wesley Lance founded the Tri-County semipro league in 1936, Clinton was a charter member. According to Covered Wooden Grandstands, the local team won the championship at least four times including 1948 the same year they took on the Grays. The local team more than held their own in that contest, dropping a close 9-7 decision to the championship Negro League team. And while only the best Clinton players may have played in the Tri-County league, local youth at all levels likely also had opportunities to play on their home town field. It's no wonder Gebhardt Field became a special place for many people - a baseball field with no shortage of fond memories. When local sportswriter Lowell Snare wrote that "Gebhardt Field is hallowed ground for me," he was speaking for countless others who watched and/or played baseball there. The Flemington Neshanock and Hoboken Nine are proud to have played on such historic ground.
No comments:
Post a Comment