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Haystacks · 01-15-2023, 05:48 PM

July and September

Throughout July Liverpool Dockers continued their winning record with 8 wins in 14. The Dockers were showing what a team all pulling together can achieve, their hurlers were not the best in the league, neither their batters, as their average and runs scored being 4th best in the league. What sets the Dockers apart from the rest is their defensive effectiveness in the field, neat fielding that a professional cricketer or American National League player would be proud of.

Cavendish matched the pace set by the Dockers through July and as the month came to it’s close the two sides faced one another. Cavendish took the mid-week game with a 7-2 win, they won the first of the Saturday double header 8-2 and lost the final game 4-6.

With 3 games to go Liverpool Dockers faced Newton Heath and Cavendish, 2 behind, face last year’s champions Edge Hill. Cavendish collapsed against Edge Hill losing all their games, the Dockers, perhaps feeling the pressure took extra innings to beat Newton Heath in the mid-week game and the first game of the Saturday double header. Having secured the league championship, they won their final game against Newton Heath 6-4 with the Manchester crowd showing the new champions much appreciation.

Final Standings

Crane Ditches Longsight

Catcher Jimmy Crane caused a stir amongst the players and teams of the league. Jimmy Crane was a locomotive fireman that worked for the London & North Western Railway, from the Longsight depot and one of the work team’s best players. After 38 games of a frustrating year for the team and a terrible year at the bat for Crane he told the club he was done with the game. His average at the bat at this point was .184 with only 2 runs batted in, significantly worse than his first two seasons with the club (1877 .275/14RBI 1878 .225/6RBI). His team and work mates were disappointed and frustrated by his decision, they considered his actions unsporting and selfish. A patron of the game that also worked at the depot would spectate both ball clubs as both were a short walk from his home, when the news spread the Longsight players were devastated by the betrayal. Likewise the club sent a note to the league secretary to object to this behaviour and demand Crane be banned from the league.

Hughes was unwilling to ban a player from this fledgling league. No rule had been broken, and although few clubs did cover the loss of earnings some players may endure to play the mid-week games the players were amateur and should be allowed agency to choose which club they wanted to be a part of in Hughes eyes. This caused somewhat of a panic for the Manchester clubs in the league, some accused Belle Vue of poaching, of offering secret payments, but none of this could be proven. Mostly the clubs feared players could become disloyal to their teammates and clubs could be torn apart if players could switch allegiance freely with no penalty. They endeavoured to propose a rule change at the AGM to address this.

In the fall-out that Crane would endure at his workplace following his betrayal he would soon leave the railway and start a new job as a gardener at Belle Vue Zoological Gardens.

Statistics

Despite Edge Hill Red Stockings struggling through the season and unable to finish with a positive winning record, Hughes still dominated at bat, with the best average and 67 hits, ten more than his nearest rival Luke Williams of Cavendish.

Likewise hurler Ross Mackie, of Edge Hill, posted the best ERA with 1.07, significantly better than the previous best record for a season 1.23, recorded by William Butcher of Moss Lane in 1878. Connor Barclay of Newton Heath posted the most strikeouts with 50, closely followed by Cowie of Belle Vue with 48.

At the end of season meeting it was announced that Hughes had once again won Base Ball Player of the Year, with his record of .414 average, 67 hits, 2 doubles, 4 triples, 13 RBIs and scoring 28 times himself. It was however not unanimous this year, Flynn O’Flynn of Moss Lane came second with 3 of the 8 votes. O’Flynn had an average of .329, 55 hits, 9 doubles, 9 triples (most in the league), 29 RBIs and scoring 33 runs himself.

01-15-2023, 05:48 PM	#15
Haystacks Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jan 2022 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 170	Season's End 1879 July and September Throughout July Liverpool Dockers continued their winning record with 8 wins in 14. The Dockers were showing what a team all pulling together can achieve, their hurlers were not the best in the league, neither their batters, as their average and runs scored being 4th best in the league. What sets the Dockers apart from the rest is their defensive effectiveness in the field, neat fielding that a professional cricketer or American National League player would be proud of. Cavendish matched the pace set by the Dockers through July and as the month came to it’s close the two sides faced one another. Cavendish took the mid-week game with a 7-2 win, they won the first of the Saturday double header 8-2 and lost the final game 4-6. With 3 games to go Liverpool Dockers faced Newton Heath and Cavendish, 2 behind, face last year’s champions Edge Hill. Cavendish collapsed against Edge Hill losing all their games, the Dockers, perhaps feeling the pressure took extra innings to beat Newton Heath in the mid-week game and the first game of the Saturday double header. Having secured the league championship, they won their final game against Newton Heath 6-4 with the Manchester crowd showing the new champions much appreciation. Final Standings Crane Ditches Longsight Catcher Jimmy Crane caused a stir amongst the players and teams of the league. Jimmy Crane was a locomotive fireman that worked for the London & North Western Railway, from the Longsight depot and one of the work team’s best players. After 38 games of a frustrating year for the team and a terrible year at the bat for Crane he told the club he was done with the game. His average at the bat at this point was .184 with only 2 runs batted in, significantly worse than his first two seasons with the club (1877 .275/14RBI 1878 .225/6RBI). His team and work mates were disappointed and frustrated by his decision, they considered his actions unsporting and selfish. A patron of the game that also worked at the depot would spectate both ball clubs as both were a short walk from his home, when the news spread the Longsight players were devastated by the betrayal. Likewise the club sent a note to the league secretary to object to this behaviour and demand Crane be banned from the league. Hughes was unwilling to ban a player from this fledgling league. No rule had been broken, and although few clubs did cover the loss of earnings some players may endure to play the mid-week games the players were amateur and should be allowed agency to choose which club they wanted to be a part of in Hughes eyes. This caused somewhat of a panic for the Manchester clubs in the league, some accused Belle Vue of poaching, of offering secret payments, but none of this could be proven. Mostly the clubs feared players could become disloyal to their teammates and clubs could be torn apart if players could switch allegiance freely with no penalty. They endeavoured to propose a rule change at the AGM to address this. In the fall-out that Crane would endure at his workplace following his betrayal he would soon leave the railway and start a new job as a gardener at Belle Vue Zoological Gardens. Statistics Despite Edge Hill Red Stockings struggling through the season and unable to finish with a positive winning record, Hughes still dominated at bat, with the best average and 67 hits, ten more than his nearest rival Luke Williams of Cavendish. Likewise hurler Ross Mackie, of Edge Hill, posted the best ERA with 1.07, significantly better than the previous best record for a season 1.23, recorded by William Butcher of Moss Lane in 1878. Connor Barclay of Newton Heath posted the most strikeouts with 50, closely followed by Cowie of Belle Vue with 48. At the end of season meeting it was announced that Hughes had once again won Base Ball Player of the Year, with his record of .414 average, 67 hits, 2 doubles, 4 triples, 13 RBIs and scoring 28 times himself. It was however not unanimous this year, Flynn O’Flynn of Moss Lane came second with 3 of the 8 votes. O’Flynn had an average of .329, 55 hits, 9 doubles, 9 triples (most in the league), 29 RBIs and scoring 33 runs himself.