TOURNAMENT REVIEW: 1875 SCOTTISH COUNTIES CHAMPIONSHIP
The first edition of the Scottish Counties Championship saw Edinburghshire travel to Fife and Lanarkshire host Renfrewshire in the semi-finals, ensuring an east versus west matchup in the final. In the eastern game, Eric Speechley of The Grange gave Edinburghshire the perfect start with a two-base hit to lead off the first inning, and two batters later Leith’s David McGachan brought him home to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. After Edinburghshire missed a wonderful chance to extend that advantage in the third, Fife hit back. An error from catcher Kenneth Whatman allowed Fife pitcher Francis Kemp to reach base, before his Dunfermline teammate Hugh Riley found a two-base hit to tie the score at 1-1. There was no more scoring until the seventh, when Kirkcaldy’s Archibald Diment led off with a hit for Edinburghshire, before Dunfermline man Matthew Hill brought him in to restore the visitors’ lead. In the ninth, Fife found two hits but were unable to take advantage and Edinburghshire held on to record a 2-1 victory and advance to the final.
In the other semi-final game, the pitchers were dominant early on as in the first three innings, Bruce Fraser of Glasgow and District League newcomers Airdrie allowed Renfrewshire only one hit. His Lanarkshire teammates fared even worse against White Cart’s John Byrne, who allowed none at all, but in the fourth it was Byrne who faltered first. Roderick Dalziel of Govan found a home run with one out in that inning to give Lanarkshire the lead. Fraser survived a scare in the fifth when Renfrewshire had two runners on with two out, but from there he turned in a magnificent performance, allowing only one more baserunner and no more hits by the time the game reached the eighth inning. In the eighth, Lanarkshire put three men on base with only one out to increase the pressure on Renfrewshire pitcher Byrne, and although he got the second out with no damage he could not complete the inning unscathed. Partick’s Harry Craig found a hit which brought in two runs to increase the lead to 3-0, and with Fraser in such form there was no way back for Renfrewshire. A routine ninth inning gave Lanarkshire the win and a place in the final, which they were to host after winning the coin toss for home advantage.
Lanarkshire made a wonderful start in the final, as Partick’s Louis Dickinson and Govan man Roderick Dalziel both recorded hits to start the first inning, and both came around to score and earn a 2-0 lead. With the form shown by Airdrie pitcher Bruce Fraser for Lanarkshire in their semi-final, Edinburghshire may have feared having no opportunity to get back into the game but the chance came in the third, when they had two runners on with two out, but they could not take advantage. In the fourth, the visitors found themselves in exactly the same position again, but once more could not find the vital hit with two out to get back into the running. The chances continued to come, as Edinburghshire left a runner at third in the fifth inning, and failed to bring a run home in the seventh having had two on with only one out.
They paid for their missed chances in the seventh, when Partick’s Harry Craig led off with a hit, followed by a base on balls issued to David Boyd of Lanark-Renfrew. A throwing error from Haymarket catcher Kenneth Whatman brough Craig in to score before another hit from Dickinson drove in Boyd. Lanarkshire now led 4-0, and any faint hopes that Edinburghshire had of catching up vanished in the eighth. John Cunningham of Tollcross led off with a two-base hit and scored on an error from Grange infielder Eric Speechley, With a 5-0 lead, pitcher Fraser eased through the ninth to record his second successive shutout and earn Lanarkshire the inaugural title. Unsurprisingly named as Best Pitcher in the competition, Fraser may give newcomers Airdrie a chance of challenging for the Glasgow and District title in their first season. Govan’s Roderick Dalziel, who had important hits in both semi-final and final, was named Best Player.
