"A New Era"

Saturday was the Neshanock's annual game in Princeton hosted by our longtime partner the Historical Society of Princeton.  It was also the 15th anniversary of what we call the "Tumbles" game.  On that long ago day, Ken Mandel, came out of the crowd, Frank Merriwell like, to help out a shorthanded Flemington squad.  And not long after that, Ken became a regular member of the team.  I'm confident that every member of the Neshanock would agree that the club hasn't been the same since.  It took a few tries to find an appropriate nickname, but I would also venture to say that we all agree that "Tumbles" fits perfectly.  Unfortunately, "Tumbles" couldn't play this year because of an injury, but we hope he's back soon.

Picture of the October 31, 1868, game between the Athletic Club of Philadelphia and the Nassau Club of Princeton

Tumbles did, however, play an important role in Saturday's game as the aged scorekeeper couldn't be there.  Keeping track of the Neshanock tallies, however, wasn't that difficult since only six Flemington strikers crossed home plate as the Newtown Strakes prevailed 15-6. Leadoff batter Chris "Sideshow" Nunn scored three times thanks to his two singles and a double.  Rene "Mango" Marerro and Paul "O'Neill" Cincotta went him one better, with four hits apiece.  Also contributing to the Neshanock offense were Jeff "Duke" Schneider and Chris "Lowball" Lowry who each had two hits. We are very grateful to the Newtown Club for joining us for the second straight year.

 

Jeff "Duke" Schneider poised for one of his classic fair/foul hits - all game photos by Rene "Mango" Marrero

The two teams in the 1868 game pictured at the beginning of this post were very different.  The Athletic Club, which had a number of paid players, had just won the unofficial national championship while the Nassau Club was an amateur team of Princeton students.  Surprisingly, the collegians prevailed 25-17 probably partially because the Athletics were missing three of their regular players.  The Philadelphia club did, however, have one memorable accomplishment, pulling off a triple play.

Field Captain Chris "Lowball" Lowry at the striker's line under the watchful eye of Sam Bernstein

Paul "O'Neill" Cincotta about to make one of his four hits.

What was important about the game, however, was neither the Nassau Club's upset win nor the triple play.  Rather, the significance was the presence of one of the men standing against the fence.  Just four days earlier James McCosh had been inaugurated as the 11th president of Princeton.  According to the book Athletics at Princeton, McCosh's attendance "astonished the whole college" and "lent dignity to the sport."  It meant that baseball was "no longer a mere pastime, but an acknowledged factor in college life."  Nor was it "an accident" or a "whim" on the new president's part.  It was just one piece of McCosh's plan to better "the physical condition of the students." It marked the author said, "a new era" for baseball at Princeton. 

A cropped version of the above picture.  Based on the position of the cupola of Nassau Hall in the background, the field was located near where the Nassau Inn is today

All of this sounds like, and may be, hyperbole, but in the late 1860s, athletics had by no means been accepted as part of college life.  Charles Eliot, who became president of Harvard a year later, supposedly said that teaching students deceptive pitches like the curve ball was not something that should be encouraged at Harvard.  While it appears Eliot never made such a statement, it does symbolize the challenges faced by those first advocates for college athletics.  The proper place for sports in college has been debated ever since and, it's fair to say the future has never been more clouded.  But there's also no question that athletics can be a positive part of college of life.  It was good as part of this annual game in Princeton to remember an early believer in the possibilities.