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as5680 · 03-04-2021, 05:36 PM

SEASON ROUND-UP: 1867

There was no surprise at the Metropolitan League’s annual meeting when pitcher Mark Howe of The Regent’s Park was given the award for Best Pitcher. His statistics throughout the year were impressive enough, but his back-to-back shutout performances against Angel which won the championship for the Regents left the award in no doubt. Remarkably, Howe also led the league in home runs with two, having hit one in each of the first two games of the year. A noted poor batter, Howe then recorded only three more hits for the rest of the season.

There was a close vote for Best Player, with the award going to the man who led the league in batting average at .388, Charlie Davis of the City of London Club. Slightly controversially, Angel’s Jacob Meaker was awarded the Best Manager distinction, ahead of the Regents’ Jim Brown. It has been suggested that some were not impressed with Brown’s attempts to have the second of the double game against Angel postponed, a decision which proved crucial to the championship battle.

LEADERS:
Batting Average: Charlie Davis (COL) - .388
Home Runs: Mark Howe (RP) - 2
Runs Batted In: Walter Ashton (OW)/Edmund Farrell (OW) - 16
Stolen Bases: Walter Ashton (OW) - 13
Earned Run Average: Mark Howe (RP) - 1.51
Pitching Wins: Mark Howe (RP) - 17
Strikeouts: Richard Tubman (OW) - 197

Other news coming out of the annual meeting concerns the league’s format for next season, when the teams from Greenwich and the Royal Artillery join the competition. The idea of playing every other team four times, rather than six, was accepted but with a modification. The teams who did not want the season shortened from thirty games to twenty-eight won the day in the end. A proposal came from Clapham that each team should play two extra games against a chosen ‘paired’ opponent, in order to keep a thirty game schedule. Some oncerns were expressed about this format giving some teams a tougher schedule than others, depending on the strength of their paired rival, although the idea of keeping the thirty game schedule was popular with a number of teams. When it was put to the vote, the proposal was accepted by five votes to three, with the two new clubs allowed to vote for the first time. That means that the ‘paired’ rivals will meet six times, while all other match-ups will be played four times. The pairings will be confirmed when the schedule of games for next season is confirmed in the new year.

Finally, in a surprise development, it was announced that students at the University of Oxford, inspired by the success of the Metropolitan League, are going to start their own competition next year. Several students who follow the game in London have arranged for eight of the University’s colleges to play against one another, with the format being four games against each opponent, for a twenty-eight game season in all. The identities of all of the eight colleges are not yet known, but should be confirmed early in 1868.

03-04-2021, 05:36 PM	#45
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	SEASON ROUND-UP: 1867 There was no surprise at the Metropolitan League’s annual meeting when pitcher Mark Howe of The Regent’s Park was given the award for Best Pitcher. His statistics throughout the year were impressive enough, but his back-to-back shutout performances against Angel which won the championship for the Regents left the award in no doubt. Remarkably, Howe also led the league in home runs with two, having hit one in each of the first two games of the year. A noted poor batter, Howe then recorded only three more hits for the rest of the season. There was a close vote for Best Player, with the award going to the man who led the league in batting average at .388, Charlie Davis of the City of London Club. Slightly controversially, Angel’s Jacob Meaker was awarded the Best Manager distinction, ahead of the Regents’ Jim Brown. It has been suggested that some were not impressed with Brown’s attempts to have the second of the double game against Angel postponed, a decision which proved crucial to the championship battle. LEADERS: Batting Average: Charlie Davis (COL) - .388 Home Runs: Mark Howe (RP) - 2 Runs Batted In: Walter Ashton (OW)/Edmund Farrell (OW) - 16 Stolen Bases: Walter Ashton (OW) - 13 Earned Run Average: Mark Howe (RP) - 1.51 Pitching Wins: Mark Howe (RP) - 17 Strikeouts: Richard Tubman (OW) - 197 Other news coming out of the annual meeting concerns the league’s format for next season, when the teams from Greenwich and the Royal Artillery join the competition. The idea of playing every other team four times, rather than six, was accepted but with a modification. The teams who did not want the season shortened from thirty games to twenty-eight won the day in the end. A proposal came from Clapham that each team should play two extra games against a chosen ‘paired’ opponent, in order to keep a thirty game schedule. Some oncerns were expressed about this format giving some teams a tougher schedule than others, depending on the strength of their paired rival, although the idea of keeping the thirty game schedule was popular with a number of teams. When it was put to the vote, the proposal was accepted by five votes to three, with the two new clubs allowed to vote for the first time. That means that the ‘paired’ rivals will meet six times, while all other match-ups will be played four times. The pairings will be confirmed when the schedule of games for next season is confirmed in the new year. Finally, in a surprise development, it was announced that students at the University of Oxford, inspired by the success of the Metropolitan League, are going to start their own competition next year. Several students who follow the game in London have arranged for eight of the University’s colleges to play against one another, with the format being four games against each opponent, for a twenty-eight game season in all. The identities of all of the eight colleges are not yet known, but should be confirmed early in 1868. Last edited by as5680; 03-05-2021 at 04:53 PM.