The Chronicle
May 1872
Edition 2.6
Red Sox Face Early Crisis
Injury To Young Arms Bring Worst Fears
The Boston Red Stockings won their first three games of 1872 and looked the part to rebound and meet the high expectations of their fanatics. Along with all the hype was the emergence of 16 year old hurler Jim Britt who in his first career start allowed only one run for a complete game victory.
That would be the last we would see the youngster for the next seven weeks however and no one is really sure what happened. Rumors are flying all over the place as to why the young man had to leave the team for 'undisclosed reasons' including a possible arrest, but it being a minor, news about his situation was not accessible.
Britt did rejoin the team at the end of the month, however in the mean time the Red Stockings lost six games in a row as their only starter, Al Spalding was overworked. The extra burden showed as Spaldings ERA soared to 4.23. Things got so bad that manager Harry Wright himself took the mound for six starts losing four of them with a 5.44 ERA. Boston in the meantime has fallen behind the race in the division currently 5.5 games back of the leading Olympics.
"We had some bad luck early in the season," Said the Boston manager, 'but it is early enough where I expect us to get right back on track when we have our full roster."
Higham Hit Streak Gets Notice
Thirty Six Game Hitting Streak Finally Ends
Being ready to play everyday is one thing, but to do so at such a high level is quite another. The league and the media hardly had taken notice but when discovered, Philadelphia right fielder Dick Higham had quite the streak going.
Taking things back to last season, the English ball player had hit safely in over 30 games and he kept the streak going this past month without a hitch in his step. The streak gained more notice as he kept coming through and eventually reached 36 games.
Finally in a game against Troy, the star went 0 for 3 and had his streak snapped. Higham promptly started a new one the next day and is hitting .405 for the year, keep in mind he won the batting championship last season.
Whatever the case the hitting streak was the first of its kind and surely will be a mark that will be tough to beat for anyone who has the consistency to get there.