The Big Bang: A Larger Baseball Universe Starting From Nothing in 1857 - Page 49

tm1681 · 11-14-2025, 07:53 AM

TWC XXI: A BATTLE OF DOMINANT TEAMS

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug. 15 to Sep. 2, 1877) – The 21st edition of the Tucker-Wheaton Cup playoffs was going to be another one featuring changes from the previous season, with only two of the six teams present the previous year.

In the New York League, Atlantic repeated as Brooklyn champions in a playoff, but Union was second in N.Y.C. and defending cup champions Minuteman finished third Upstate. In the places of the latter were New York Athletic Club with their peerless pitching, and 1873 champions Utica with their league-best offense.

In the Northeastern League, Susquehanna was back with a lineup that was even better than last year’s record-breaking unit. Joining them were first-time Coastal champs Newark, led by remarkable P John Ratican, and Portland, the 2x cup runners-up. 2x defending Coastal champs & 1876 cup winners Trenton United slipped to third place, and defending New England champs Sons of the Ocean fell to third after N.E.L. Batsman of the Year Jesse Craig tore knee ligaments in early July.

OVERVIEW

BROOKLYN – In a pennant race for the ages, a one-game playoff was needed after Atlantic won 12 of 15 games over the final three weeks but saw Eckford win 15 of 16 to end the season. Atlantic took the playoff at Eckford with a three-run ninth inning, which made them the repeat Brooklyn champions with a win total three better than last season.

ATLANTIC KEY PLAYERS

• MacKenzie Wilson (RF): .345, .847 OPS, 70 R, 113 H, 16 2B, 13 3B, 1 HR, 69 RBI, 11 BB, 3 SB, 3.5 WPA, 2.8 WAR
• Ben Gagliardi (SS): .328, .770 OPS, 75 R, 105 H, 15 2B, 8 3B, 51 RBI, 11 BB, 29 SB, +17.0 ZR, 4.5 WPA, 3.6 WAR
• Olaf Sorensen (P): 26-13, 2.58 ERA, 55 K, 353.0 IP, 28 CG, 1 SHO, 1.3 K/BB, 1.24 WHIP, 6.1 WAR, 7.6 rWAR

NEW YORK CITY – New York Athletic Club had the pennant clinched at the start of August, although losses in each of their last five games saw their lead shrink from eleven games to a final margin of seven. Still, they made the playoffs for the first time thanks to the best pitching in the N.B.B.O. and an offense just good enough to make them consistent winners.

NEW YORK ATHLETIC CLUB KEY PLAYERS

• Manuel Romeiras (CF): .316, .812 OPS, 81 R, 100 H, 13 2B, 16 3B, 0 HR, 54 RBI, 20 BB, 65 SB, 5.3 WPA, 3.6 WAR
• Jack Anastasio (RF): .313, .752 OPS, 84 R, 97 H, 11 2B, 7 3B, 1 HR, 70 RBI, 20 BB, 58 SB, 3.9 WPA, 2.4 WAR
• Charles Rhodes (P): 26-13, 2.30 ERA, 132 K, 332.i IP, 24 CG, 1 SHO, 6.0 K/BB, 1.04 WHIP, 9.3 WAR, 6.8 rWAR

UPSTATE N.Y. – Utica was able to break off from a four-way tie atop the standings with a 17-4 June, and they never looked back. They had a five-game lead to end July and won Upstate by a final margin of four, with the N.Y.L.’s best offense bringing the team to the playoffs for the fourth time in five years.

UTICA KEY PLAYERS

• Fox Ellis (3B): .331, .791 OPS, 80 R, 107 H, 16 2B, 8 3B, 0 HR, 79 RBI, 14 BB, 4 SB, 4.1 WPA, 2.3 WAR
• Will Buschmann (CF): .328, .775 OPS, 106 R, 110 H, 8 2B, 8 3B, 0 HR, 48 RBI, 24 BB, 30 SB, 5.3 WPA, 2.6 WAR
• Edward Davis (SS): .325, .781 OPS, 71 R, 101 H, 19 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR, 70 RBI, 10 BB, 5 SB, 3.5 WPA, 2.2 WAR

COASTAL – Newark had a one-game lead at the end of May and held it the rest of the way, eventually taking their first Coastal Championship by nine games over Pt. Jersey. Their key player was star P John Ratican, and behind him was an offense that, while not elite, finished in the top third of the competition in nearly every category.

NEWARK KEY PLAYERS

• Charles Laczkowski (1B): .332, .784 OPS, 75 R, 105 H, 12 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 62 RBI, 19 BB, 2 SB, 3.7 WPA, 2.4 WAR
• Thomas Fetterman (RF): .317, .800 OPS, 76 R, 100 H, 16 2B, 7 3B, 2 HR, 50 RBI, 25 BB, 7 SB, 3.8 WPA, 2.5 WAR
• John Ratican (P): 29-9, 1.84 ERA, 133 K, 351.1 IP, 29 CG, 1 SV, 5.5 K/BB, 1.02 WHIP, 10.3 WAR, 11.2 rWAR

INLAND – Susquehanna hammered the competition in a wire-to-wire season in first place, taking Inland by FIFTEEN games. Their offense managed to best last year’s record-setting team by scoring 771 Runs (11.0 R/G) while leading the N.B.B.O. in Average, On-Base, Slugging, AND OPS. On top of that, P William Hawk went 33-2 with a 2.40 ERA.

SUSQUEHANNA KEY PLAYERS

• John Schultz (CF): .320, .779 OPS, 106 R, 117 H, 14 2B, 13 3B, 0 HR, 66 RBI, 17 BB, 42 SB, 4.7 WPA, 3.2 WAR
• Lucas Maxwell (2B): .374, .899 OPS, 81 R, 104 H, 19 2B, 9 3B, 0 HR, 74 RBI, 9 BB, 16 SB, 4.7 WPA, 2.8 WAR
• William Hawk (P): 33-2, 2.40 ERA, 93 K, 353.0 IP, 28 CG, 0 SHO, 7.2 K/BB, 1.11 WHIP, 7.5 WAR, 8.4 rWAR

NEW ENGLAND – Portland had the lead for most of the season, eventually winning New England by six games ahead of Cantabrigians thanks to offense & pitching that both ranked 5th out of 48 teams in the N.B.B.O. The revamp of their pitching duo worked brilliantly, and 6/8 regular lineup members hit higher than .295.

PORTLAND KEY PLAYERS

• Edward Donovan (1B): .335, .840 OPS, 88 R, 105 H, 10 2B, 15 3B, 0 HR, 63 RBI, 21 BB, 49 SB, 5.5 WPA, 2.6 WAR
• Robert Dressen (P): 28-10, 2.39 ERA, 55 K, 332.0 IP, 25 CG, 0 SHO, 2.9 K/BB, 1.21 WHIP, 7.2 WAR, 6.5 rWAR
• Francis Molinari (P): 18-7, 3.09 ERA, 76 K, 241.2 IP, 19 CG, 0 SHO, 1.9 K/BB, 1.35 WHIP, 4.0 WAR, 3.8 rWAR

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FORMAT & PREDICTIONS

SEEDING

• N.Y.L. #1: Atlantic at 49-22 (+193 RD) – 4th playoffs (1870-71, 76-77)
• N.Y.L. #2: Utica at 48-22 (+150 RD) – 5th playoffs (1862, 73-75, 77), 1x cup winner (1873)
• N.Y.L. #3: New York Athletic Club at 48-22 (+111 RD) – 1st playoff appearance
• N.E.L. #1: Susquehanna at 54-16 (+326 RD) – 6th playoffs (1868, 71-72, 74, 76), 1x cup winner (1874)
• N.E.L. #2: Newark at 53-17 (+174 RD) – 1st playoff appearance
• N.E.L. #3: Portland at 51-19 (+178 RD) – 5th playoff appearance (1871-74)

FORMAT

• LEAGUE SEMIFINALS: HH-AA-H #2 seed has Home Field Advantage
• LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP: HH-AA-H; #1 seed has Home Field Advantage
• TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FINAL: HH-AA-H; N.Y.L. champion has Home Field Advantage
• One day off after Game Two & Game Four in all series

PREDICTIONS

• N.Y.L. SEMIFINAL: Utica (24-11 Home) over N.Y.A.C. (LLLLL last 5)
• N.E.L. SEMIFINAL: Newark (28-7 Home) over Portland (6-4 Last 10)
• N.Y.L. FINAL: Atlantic (13-3 last 16) over Utica (6-4 last 10)
• N.E.L. FINAL: Newark (16-2 1-Run) over Susquehanna (6-7 1-Run)
• T.W.C. FINAL: Newark beats Atlantic 3-2

The Writers Pool believes that the leagues will be won by the teams that played the best baseball late. Atlantic won 13/16 games to end the season and Newark won their last six, so they are seen as the two favorites. The pool remains skeptical of Susquehanna’s ability to win a second title since they lost more one-run games than they won, and conversely Newark had the best “one-run record” in N.B.B.O. history.

If the cup final ends up being the anticipated matchup of Atlantic vs Newark, the Writers Pool thinks Newark will win even though Atlantic would have three home games. That’s due to Newark’s incredible 16-2 record in close games this year, much of which happened due to the work of John Ratican.

tm1681 · 11-14-2025, 07:57 AM

NEW YORK LEAGUE SEMIFINALS

• GAME 1: NYAC 10-7 UTI – LF Elton Pugh (NYAC) 3/5 (2B, 3B), 2 R, 3 RBI, GIDP
• GAME 2: NYAC 2-7 UTI – CF William Buschmann (UTI) 3/5 (2B), 2 R, 1 RBI, SB
• GAME 3: UTI 8-14 NYAC – 2B Lacy LeGendre (NYAC) 2/5 (GS), 2 R, 5 RBI, 2 SB
• GAME 4: UTI 5-10 NYAC – CF Manuel Romeiras (NYAC) 2/4, 2 R, 1 BB, 3 SB
• SERIES M.V.P.: 3B Nicholas Turnbull (NYAC) – 8/19, 6 RBI, 6 R

Likely P.o.t.Y. Charles Rhodes had some issues with the Utica attack, but N.Y.A.C. took the opener thanks to a six-run rally during T6 in which the key hits came from Pugh & Rhodes. George Cerven had a better time dealing with the Utica offense in Game Two, but the N.Y.A.C. offense fell flat and the series was even going to New York City.

N.Y.A.C. took the series lead in Game Three. Rhodes again struggled to shut down the Utica attack, but with the score 8-7 to the hosts in B6 LeGendre hit a Grand Slam to send the crowd into raptures. N.Y.A.C. won by six, and they now controlled their own destiny. N.Y.A.C. then closed out the series in Game Four with another double-digit offensive outburst in which five batsmen had multiple hits and Romeiras swiped three bases, with the result never in doubt.

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE SEMIFINALS

• GAME 1: PORT 9-2 NEW – P Robert Dressen (PORT) CG, 7 HA, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1/3 (2B) 1 R, 1 RBI
• GAME 2: PORT 14-9 NEW – 2B Carrick Kennedy (PORT) 2/5 (3B), 3 R, 2 RBI, DEF DP
• GAME 3: NEW 6-7 PORT – 1B Edward Donovan (PORT): 2/5 (2B), 1 R, 2 RBI, GW HIT
• SERIES M.V.P.: Louis Beane (PORT) – 6/16, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 4 R, 1 SB

The result that opened the series in Newark wasn’t a stunner, but the fact that John Ratican allowed eight Earned Runs over 6.2 innings certainly was, while Dressen did fine work with ball & bat to give Portland an easy victory. Portland then took a commanding lead in Game Two with a dozen runs over the 2nd, 3rd, & 4th that gave Newark little chance at a comeback.

Portland would complete a stunning sweep in Maine. They started brilliantly, scoring four Runs against Ratican over the first two innings, and they enjoyed a 4-1 lead until Newark scored five times in T5 on a series of Singles and a Thomas Fetterman Double. The score 6-4 in the ninth, Portland made it 6-5 on a Sidney Styles Triple, then tied the game on a Louis Beane Double, then won it on a Single by Edward Donovan, coming from behind to win by one run against a team that was 16-2 in one-run games during the season. This was a sweep that NOBODY saw coming.

NEW YORK LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

• GAME 1: NYAC 12-3 ATL – LF Elton Pugh (NYAC) 4/6 (HR), 1 R, 4 RBI
• GAME 2: NYAC 5-4 ATL – RF Jack Anastasio (NYAC) 3/3 (2B), 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SB
• GAME 3: ATL 0-11 NYAC – P Charles Rhodes (NYAC) CG SHO, 3 HA, 0 BB, 6 K
• SERIES M.V.P.: LF Elton Pugh (NYAC) 8/16, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 1 SB

Charles Rhodes was excellent in the opener (CG, 7 HA, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K), but it was the N.Y.A.C. attack that was really outstanding at the Capitoline Grounds. They scored three times in T1, and while a run in T3 gave them enough for the win it was a six-run rally during T8 in which Pugh hit a three-run inside-the-park homer that put a seal on the victory.

Game Two also went the visitors’ way. Tied 2-2 going into the seventh, Pugh gave N.Y.A.C. the lead with a run-scoring Triple, and then in T8 hits by Lacy LeGendre & Aaron Hilton drove in runs that made the lead 5-2. Atlantic scored two in B9 on a Single by Jackson Wright, but with Wright on first Albert Pickett hit a weak ball to SS, and N.Y.A.C. was up 2-0.

In Game Three, N.Y.A.C. would take out the favorites and punch their first tickets to the Tucker-Wheaton Cup Final with a spectacular shutout of Atlantic. The offense provided everything needed early, with the hosts scoring seven times over the first four innings to put everyone at ease. Rhodes did the rest from there, and N.Y.A.C. was the new N.Y.L. champions.

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

• GAME 1: PORT 1-5 SUS – P William Hawk (SUS) CG, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1/4, 1 R, 1 RBI
• GAME 2: PORT 3-8 SUS – 2B Lucas Maxwell (SUS) 2/4, 2 R, 2 RBI
• GAME 3: SUS 13-4 PORT – SS Stephen Barley (SUS) 3/5, 4 R, 2 RBI, SB
• SERIES M.V.P.: 1B Joseph Jurski (SUS) – 5/12, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBI

It wasn’t a high-scoring affair, but the opener in Wilkes-Barre went Susquehanna’s way thanks to Hawk’s pitching. Portland scored their run in T1, and they had the lead until the hosts’ four-run rally in B5, during which Hawk drove in a run, that shifted the game to Susquehanna’s favor permanently.

Game Two was Portland’s early. One run in T1 via Wild Pitch and another in T2 on a Francis Molinari Single had the visitors up 2-0, and that lead lasted until the sixth inning. In B6, with the score 2-1 Susquehanna scored three times via Single, Error, & Wild Pitch to take a 4-2 lead. They then scored four times in B7 via three Extra-Base Hits and a Single to go ahead 8-2 and put the game away. The N.E.L. #1 was now ahead 2-0.

And the N.E.L.C.S. would also end in a sweep that also saw the victors win in crushing fashion. Behind 2-1, Susquehanna scored three runs in T3 to take a 4-2 lead, and from there they dominated their hosts in Maine, with their offense hitting its double-digit scoring average for the first time in the series. Susquehanna was back in the T.W.C. Final.

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FINAL

It was time for the final of Tucker-Wheaton Cup XXI.

Once again, it was a matchup pitting the team that had the best pitching in the N.B.B.O. – N.Y.A.C. – against an N.E.L. champion that could boast of a record-setting offense attack – Susquehanna. Last year, the pitching won out. This year, it would be Susquehanna’s hope that it was the offense’s turn.

Both teams would have plenty of motivation going into the series. For N.Y.A.C., it was that they’d made it to the cup final after being expected to lose in the N.Y.L. Semifinals because they had negative results in each of the last five games of the season. For Susquehanna, it was that the Writers Pool saw last year’s cup final loss as evidence they would likely lose to the fantastic pitching offered up by Newark or Portland in the N.E.L.C.S. These weren't the expected cup final participants, and both wanted to lift the cup and then rub it in everyone else’s faces.

GAME ONE (N.Y.A.C. Grounds in New York City – ATT 5,807)
SUS 9-5 NYAC – 1B Harold Muske (NYAC): 3/3 (3B), 1 R, 2 RBI

N.Y.A.C. had the best performer but Susquehanna put up the best team effort in the opener.

The hosts had the early lead, with a Wild Pitch in T3 giving N.Y.A.C. a 1-0 before a one-run Triple by Muske and a one-run Single by Lacy LeGendre increased the lead to 3-0. Susquehanna made it 3-2 in T5 on a Single by John Schultz and a Wild Pitch, but it was 5-2 in B6 when a one-run Triple by Nicholas Turnbull was followed by a Single from Muske. Then, Susquehanna took over, with the visitors scoring four times in the 7th to go ahead 6-5 and three more in the 9th to take a 9-5 lead, with N.Y.A.C.’s lineup unable to do anything late against William Hawk. Susquehanna had drawn first blood.

GAME TWO (N.Y.A.C. Grounds in New York City – ATT 5,796)
SUS 1-8 N.Y.A.C. – C Jonathan Parsons (NYAC): 2/4 (2B), 2 R, 2 RBI, 1/1 CS

Game Two belonged to the cup final newcomers.

Susquehanna opened scoring thanks to an Error in T1, but N.Y.A.C soon drew level on a Single by Jack Anastasio, and they blew the game open in B2. Their five-run rally was aided heavily by Susquehanna – four of the five runs scored via Error & Wild Pitch with the other coming via Single by Manuel Romeiras – and it was suddenly 6-1 even though N.Y.A.C. had just three hits to their name. The hosts added single tallies in the 3rd & 5th, and they evened the final with a seven-run win.

GAME THREE (River View Field in Wilkes-Barre, Penn. – ATT 1,851)
NYAC 5-6 SUS (10) – CF John Schultz (SUS): 3/5, 3 R, 2 SB

Game Three produced an extra-inning contest that went Susquehanna’s way.

The hosts started excellently – three runs in B1 on a Ground Out and two Singles made it 3-0 quickly. N.Y.A.C. & Susquehanna traded lone runs over the next four innings to make it a 4-1 game going into the 6th. In T6 N.Y.A.C. scored on a Sac Fly to make it 4-2, and in T7 they tied the game thanks to a two-run Single by PH Lawrence Calhoun. That was the score in the 9th, when both teams traded runs and had to prepare for the 10th inning. In B10 PH Jacob Falk led off with a Double then came around on an Error, winning the game for Susquehanna and giving them a 2-1 series lead.

GAME FOUR (River View Field in Wilkes-Barre, Penn. – ATT 1,841)
NYAC 12-9 SUS – SUB Lawrence Calhoun (NYAC): 2/2 (2 3B), 1 R, 4 RBI

Incredibly, N.Y.A.C. took the series to Game Five thanks to one legendary inning from a substitute.

The score 4-2 to N.Y.A.C., Susquehanna took their bats in B7 and scored four runs on two Errors and a two-run Triple by Joe Jurski to take a 6-4 lead. But then N.Y.A.C. took their bats in T8 and responded with eight runs, a rally that included a pair of Triples by PH Lawrence Calhoun – one with a man on first and one with the bases loaded – to put the visitors up 12-6. Susquehanna was able to score three times in B8 but found no other runs, and the series was headed back to N.Y.C. for a winner-take-all finale.

GAME FIVE (N.Y.A.C. Grounds in New York City – ATT 5,801)
SUS 10-2 NYAC – 1B Joseph Jurski (SUS): 5/6, 3 R, 2 RBI

And this year, the historic offense won out.

There wasn’t much suspense in Game Five. After the teams traded single runs during the opening inning, Susquehanna scored nine times over the 2nd-5th to go ahead 10-1. From there, P William Hawk and the visitors could rest easy against an N.Y.A.C. offense that wasn’t built to break down big leads, with one run in B8 making for the game’s final score.

Susquehanna and its offensive machine had taken the Tucker-Wheaton Cup for the second time in four years by getting the better of the New York City champions in the final, and this victory was all the sweeter since it made up for last year’s bitter disappointment.

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
CF John Schultz (SUS) – 8 G, .325 (13/40), 4 2B, 6 RBI, 11 R, 1 BB, 3 SB, 2x P.o.t.G.

It was only fitting that the man considered likely to win his third Northeastern League M.V.P. in four years would take Tucker-Wheaton Cup M.V.P. as well. He was outstanding in the cup final – 11/25 with four RBI – and took Player of the Game honors in the last game of the N.B.B.O. season. For Schultz, it was a fantastic end to a fantastic season.

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FINAL SUMMARY

tm1681 · 11-14-2025, 08:00 AM

FOUNDERS’ CUP VII: LEGENDARY OFFENSE v LEGENDARY PITCHING

BROOKLYN & PROVIDENCE (Aug. 21-26, 1877) – Last year’s Founders’ Cup saw American take on surprise Colonial Conference champions Niagara. The resulting series was no contest – American beat Niagara in the first Founders’ Cup sweep to take their fourth A.P.B.L. title in five years, and it left people wondering when, or if, they would be toppled.

As it turned out, it only took one year for American to fall off their highest of pedestals, going from 1st to 3rd (10 GB) in the Metropolitan Conference in 1877. The two teams above them, Excelsior & Knickerbocker, took part in an epic pennant race during which the two teams spent nearly three full months never more than two games apart from each other, and the pennant wasn’t taken until the penultimate day when Jim Creighton beat Knickerbocker at the Elysian Fields.

On the other side would be an old, familiar foe: St. John’s, who ended a club-record playoff drought of three years after winning the Joseph Evans sweepstakes and seeing Konrad Jensen’s productivity tick back up thanks to a move from the outfield to First Base. The team had not only made it back to a place where they felt a spot should be reserved for them, but they had returned to their traditional roles of leading the league in Runs, OPS, and Stolen Bases.

On paper, this was a FANTASTIC matchup. It was an offense vs pitching battle. There were legends on both sides: Jensen & Townsend on St. John’s and Creighton on Excelsior. There were outstanding young players on both teams. Both outfits went 57-33, with St. John’s gaining Home Field Advantage only due to Run Differential. It looked to be about as even of a series as a neutral could possibly conjure up.

Speaking of neutrals, the sentimental favorite in the Founders’ Cup would be Excelsior. This was their first postseason trip since 1867, before the league split. This was also the first time Jim Creighton was on one of the last two teams standing in the battle to be crowned champions of baseball, and many would be hoping he’d finally lift a major trophy.

St. John’s was used to such sentiment, however. They were the 14x New England & 5x N.B.B.O. champions before the league split, they won the first Founders’ Cup, made the next two after that, and were generally used to being hated by all they competed against. People cheering for the other team? They couldn’t care less. They were focused on the same things they’d always done under Field Manager Todd Rogers since the inception of the N.B.B.O. in 1857: beating the best of the best with patience at the plate, solid contact with the bat, and dizzying aggression on the basepaths.

ST. JOHN’S KEY PLAYERS

• Joseph Evans (LF): .393, .947 OPS, 104 R, 160 H, 30 2B, 11 3B, 88 RBI, 20 BB, 25 SB, 5.3 WPA, 4.3 WAR
• Konrad Jensen (1B): .362, .871 OPS, 122 R, 145 H, 24 XBH, 1 HR, 77 RBI, 31 BB, 102 SB, 5.8 WPA, 4.9 WAR
• Rudolph Decker (CF): .329, .783 OPS, 89 R, 130 H, 31 XBH, 1 HR, 85 RBI, 11 BB, 59 SB, 3.3 WPA, 3.7 WAR
• Howard Burns (P): 27-13, 3.65 ERA, 88 K, 360.0 IP, 27 CG, 2 SHO, 6.3 K/BB, 1.30 WHIP, 6.7 WAR, 6.2 rWAR
• Thomas Smith (P): 27-16, 3.03 ERA, 65 K, 371.2 IP, 29 CG, 3 SHO, 1.4 K/BB, 1.28 WHIP, 5.0 WAR, 7.6 rWAR

EXCELSIOR KEY PLAYERS

• Troy Oberst (LF): .370, .922 OPS, 114 R, 152 H, 34 2B, 13 3B, 80 RBI, 22 BB, 10 SB, 6.2 WPA, 4.4 WAR
• Elijah Hill (3B): .345, .797 OPS, 88 R, 150 H, 25 2B, 10 3B, 90 RBI, 2 BB, 5 SB, 5.6 WPA, 3.2 WAR
• Boyd Myers (CF): .330, .790 OPS, 92 R, 145 H, 35 XBH, 1 HR, 81 RBI, 10 BB, 3 SB, 4.7 WPA, 3.0 WAR
• Jim Creighton (P): 27-14, 3.38 ERA, 133 K, 359.0 IP, 23 CG, 2 SHO, 4.4 K/BB, 1.33 WHIP, 6.5 WAR, 2.6 rWAR
• Elmer Seabold (P): 23-16, 3.44 ERA, 150 K, 368.2 IP, 30 CG, 1 SV, 2.3 K/BB, 1.39 WHIP, 6.4 WAR, 3.4 rWAR

FOUNDERS’ CUP FORMAT & PREDICTION

SEEDING

• #1: St. John’s (57-33, +180 RD)
• #2: Excelsior (57-33, +119 RD)

FORMAT

• HH-AAA-HH Schedule
• One day off after Game Two & Game Five
• #1 seed (St. John’s) has Home Field Advantage

PREDICTION

• St. John’s (34-11 Home) beats Excelsior 4-3

As far as many in the Writers Pool were concerned, this series was a toss-up. St. John’s had the league’s best record for much of the year, but that was because the other two fifty-win teams were in the other conference, with Excelsior fending off an incredible challenge from Knickerbocker to win the Metropolitan Conference title. As it stood, the only thing separating the two was the fact that St. John’s was the team playing four games at home, should all four be required.

Neutrals wanted Excelsior to win, while the slightest of advantages made St. John’s the slightest of favorites. Would Jim Creighton finally win his first championship, or would St. John’s go back to the top of the baseball world for the first time in six “long” years?

tm1681 · 11-14-2025, 08:01 AM

GAME ONE (Olneyville Field in Providence – ATT 6,496)
EXC 5-7 StJ – RF Christopher Morton (EXC): 4/4 (2B, 3B), 3 R, 1 RBI

Game One was a fine contest at Olneyville Field.

Excelsior opened scoring in T2 on a Single by Jim Creighton, and after St. John’s matched the run in B2 the visitors scored twice in T3 on a Single by 1B Gil Cappelletti and a Triple by Morton to go ahead 3-1. St. John’s scored three times in B4 on a Cletus Cannon Triple, Eamonn Todd Single, & an Error. That gave the hosts a 4-3 lead that they would never relinquish, scoring runs in the 5th & 7th to take a 7-3 before the visitors scored two consolation runs in the ninth.

GAME TWO (Olneyville Field in Providence – ATT 6,520)
EXC 7-10 StJ – LF Joseph Evans (StJ): 2/5 (HR), 1 R, 3 RBI, SB

Game Two was Excelsior’s early, but a huge St. John’s rally placed the contest on a different course.

The score 1-0 going into the third, Excelsior would score twice in T3 (J.B. Chessman 2B, St. John’s E), twice in T4 (Troy Oberst 1B, Elijah Hill 1B), and two more times in B5 (2-run Sam Jackson 1B) to take a commanding 7-0 lead. After the home side scored once in B5, St. John’s REALLY responded during the next inning.

In B6 St. John’s scored nine times via a variety of sources – two-run Eamonn Todd Single, Passed Ball, one-run Frederick Drake Single, one-run Domenico Branca Single, & Sacrifice Fly – with Evans pounding out a three-run Home Run to LF to punctuate a rally that took a 7-1 deficit and turned it into a 10-7 lead. There was no further scoring, and St. John’s had a 2-0 advantage with the series going to Brooklyn.

GAME THREE (Carroll Park in Brooklyn – ATT 4,286)
StJ 10-5 EXC – 1B Konrad Jensen (StJ): 3/5, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB

Unfortunately, Game Three in Brooklyn wasn’t much of a contest.

Try as he might to even the series, Jim Creighton couldn’t tame the St. John’s bats, with the visitors meting out fourteen hits and five Earned Runs against him over six innings. The retooled outfield Hydra of Joseph Evans, Rudolph Decker, & Nelson Townsend all finished with multiple Hits & Runs each, while aging master Jensen was brilliant in all facets of the game.

The result itself was never in doubt, as the visitors scored four times over the opening two innings to take a 4-0 lead, and then five times over the 4th & 5th to take a 9-1 lead that would never be seriously threatened. St. John’s was now one game away from the Founders’ Cup’s second consecutive sweep.

GAME FOUR (Carroll Park in Brooklyn – ATT 4,285)
StJ 4-5 EXC – LF Troy Oberst (EXC): 3/4 (2B), 2 R, 1 RBI

With their season on the line, an Excelsior comeback extended the series.

Needing a win to play another day, Jim Creighton took the ball for the second straight day and the result was a tight contest. Excelsior opened scoring in T3 on a Single by Elijah Hill. St. John’s responded with a pair in T4 on an Error and a Konrad Jensen Single. The visitors would then take a 3-1 lead in T6 on a Single by Rudolph Decker.

The next couple of innings made many think that 3-1 was how the game would end, but Excelsior took the lead in B8. First, Hill came through again with a one-Run Single to make it a 3-2 game. Then, greenhorn J.B. Chessman gave Excelsior the lead with a two-run Single, a line-drive to the outfield that plated Hill & Boyd Myers.

St. John’s came to bat in T9 and tied it, with a Single by Decker making the score 4-4. However, in B9 Excelsior answered the run with one of their own when another Greenhorn, Sam Jackson, hit a Single past 2B that brought in Creighton, won the game, and ensured that Excelsior’s season would continue.

GAME FIVE (Carroll Park in Brooklyn – ATT 4,312)
StJ 7-6 EXC – RF Nelson Townsend (StJ): 2/5 (3B), 2 R, 3 RBI, SB

Unfortunately for Excelsior, all their Game Four victory did was delay the inevitable by a single day.

Excelsior scored first – a J.B. Chessman Single putting the hosts ahead 1-0 at the end of the opening inning. However, St. John’s put up a four-run rally in T2, with the key moment a two-run Single by Townsend, to take a 4-1 lead. There was no further scoring until B6, when Excelsior put up their own four-run rally punctuated by their own two-run Single, this one by Edgar Pridgen, to take a 5-4 lead.

Entering the late innings down a run, St. John’s tied it in T7 on a Triple by Townsend and took the lead in T8 on a Single by Cletus Cannon. After Excelsior wasted a Gil Cappelletti Double in B8, St. John’s added an insurance run in T9 on a Passed Ball to take a 7-5 lead. They needed that run, as a Sacrifice Fly by Chessman brought Excelsior to within one (7-6) before Christopher Morton’s line drive to Center Field with two out and tying run Boyd Myers on second ended the series.

For St. John’s, it was a grand return to form for baseball’s most successful club. Arguably the only St. John’s player who struggled during the series was the 2B Cannon, but he still hit above .200 (4/18, 4 RBI) as did every other member of the famed & feared St. John’s lineup. This was title number seven and their second in the A.P.B.L., all at the highest level of the sport. After three years out of the postseason St. John’s had returned, and they made sure they didn’t exit the Founders’ Cup without having the trophy in their hands to bring home to the fans in Providence.

Of course, the neutrals left the series disappointed. The hope was that if sentimental favorite Creighton and Excelsior couldn’t lift the cup then they could at least make it a seven-game series. However, St. John’s and its league-best offense hummed right along with no concern over the fact that they were taking on the league’s most talented pitching duo. Ultimately, this was their year.

FOUNDERS’ CUP MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
CF Rudolph Decker (StJ) – .591 (13/21), 2 2B, 2 3B, 6 RBI, 6 R, 2 SB, 0.7 WPA, 0.5 WAR

Thanks to the historic purchase of Joseph Evans, St. John’s CF Rudolph Decker had become almost a forgotten member of the squad during 1877. However, he still had a very good season (.329, .783 OPS, 85 RBI, 59 SB, 3.7 WAR), and even if he didn’t earn any Player of the Game honors in the Founders’ Cup he was still outstanding during the series, collecting three more Hits and two more RBI than any other player over the five games. Decker also had the highest Batting Average in the series by a whopping 174 points (Konrad Jensen: .417). There was simply nobody who performed as well as he did during the seventh edition of the Founders’ Cup.

For sentimental favorite Creighton, he was able to take nine Strikeouts off St. John’s batsmen over 24.2 innings but the opposition was in top form throughout the series, collecting 35 Hits off him over that timeframe, a much higher rate of Hits Allowed then he had during the season (12.9 HA/9 vs 11.2). That caused Creighton to finish 1-2 with a 4.38 ERA. He was also 2/8 with the bat, hitting a Triple and driving in one run.

FOUNDERS' CUP SUMMARY

tm1681 · 11-16-2025, 09:55 PM

1877 PHILADELPHIA CITY BASEBALL LEAGUE REVIEW

1877 P.C.B.L. STANDINGS

PER-TEAM STATISTICS

1877: 7.9 R/G, .283, .660 OPS, 795 H, 90 2B, 46 3B, 6 HR, 79 SB, 3.29 ERA, 76 BB, 95 K, 7.7 E/G, .827 FLD%
1876: 7.5 R/G, .277, .645 OPS, 775 H, 87 2B, 44 3B, 5 HR, 66 SB, 2.97 ERA, 75 BB, 121 K, 7.6 E/G, .829 FLD%

LIBERTY BELL CLASSIC:

Philadelphia Baseball & Cricket Club (2nd title) defeats Queen Village 3-2

GAME 1: QV 7-6 PBCC – 1B Graham Haine (QV): 3/4 (all 1B), 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB
GAME 2: QV 3-9 PBCC – P Robert Benson (PBCC): CG, 6 HA, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 2/4, 2 R
GAME 3: PBCC 1-10 QV – SS William Holcomb (QV): 3/5 (2B, 4 TB), 2 R, 1 RBI
GAME 4: PBCC 16-2 QV – LF Walter Kirby (PBCC): 3/5, 2 R, 5 RBI, SAC BUNT
GAME 5: QV 9-10 PBCC – 2B Perry Collier (QV): 5/5 (all 1B), 1 R, 2 RBI, SB
• Harrison Hearst (C) hit game-winning Single in B9

LIBERTY BELL CLASSIC MVP: 2B Frederick Pike (P.B.C.C.) – 8/23, 3 2B, 8 RBI, 7 R, 2 SB

PHILADELPHIA CITY BASEBALL LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR: William Norman (1B, age 27) – Merion B.C.C.; 1x league B.o.t.Y.

• .356/.389/.543, .932 OPS, 79 R, 120 H, 26 2B, 17 3B, 1 HR, 75 RBI, 18 BB, 3 SB, 183 TB, 6.4 WPA, 4.3 WAR
• Led league in SLG, OPS, H, 2B, 3B, XBH, TB, & WPA; Top five in AVG, OBP, BB, & WAR
• Frederick Pike (2B, PBCC) 2nd – .3625, .880 OPS, 83 R, 120 H, 19 2B, 13 3B, 65 RBI, 6 BB, 34 SB, 4.4 WPA, 4.2 WAR
• Francis Brown (CF, FRA) 3rd – .3633, .901 OPS, 82 R, 113 H, 21 2B, 13 3B, 1 HR, 55 RBI, 12 SB, 3.5 WPA, 3.1 WAR

PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Robert Benson (age 30) – Philadelphia Baseball & Cricket Club; 2x League P.o.t.Y.

• 30-7, 2.02 ERA, 98 K, 356.1 IP, 30 CG, 1 SHO, 2 SV, 2.3 K/BB, 9.3 HA/9, 1.16 WHIP, 6.7 WAR, 9.3 rWAR
• Won 2nd straight Triple Crown; Led league in W, ERA, K, IP, QS, CG, K/9, HA/9, WAR, & rWAR
• James Kilgore (SPA) 2nd – 25-17, 2.93 ERA, 46 K, 356.1 IP, 27 CG, 2.2 K/BB, 1.25 WHIP, 6.2 WAR, 5.6 rWAR
• Jonathan Atkins (MBCC) 3rd – 20-15, 2.40 ERA, 37 K, 344.1 IP, 25 CG, 1 SV, 1.9 K/BB, 1.15 WHIP, 5.7 WAR, 4.4 rWAR

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: William Norman (1B, age 27) – Merion B.C.C.; 2x league M.V.P.

• Also won P.C.B.L. Batsman of the Year
• Second straight season the same player has won B.o.t.Y. & M.V.P.
• James Harris (LF, FRA) 2nd – .353, .401 OBP, .893 OPS, 101 R, 114 H, 29 XBH, 1 HR, 53 RBI, 16 BB, 5.8 WPA, 4.4 WAR
• Leroy Moore (RF, PBCC) 3rd – .349, .824 OPS, 81 R, 119 H, 25 XBH, 1 HR, 59 RBI, 10 BB, 9 SB, 5.9 WPA, 2.9 WAR

GREENHORN OF THE YEAR: George Oman (RF, age 23) – Schuylkill B.C.

• .347/.369/.500, .869 OPS, 66 R, 109 H, 18 2B, 12 3B, 2 HR, 55 RBI, 9 BB, 17 SB, 157 TB, 3.2 WPA, 3.1 WAR
• Batsman of the Month for May; Top ten in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, H, 2B, HR, XBH, TB, & WAR
• Graham Gross (P, QV) 2nd – 23-14, 3.39 ERA, 43 K, 337.1 IP, 21 CG, 2 SV, 1.3 K/BB, 1.35 WHIP, 5.7 WAR, 5.8 rWAR
• Archie Bell (SS, MIN) 3rd – .289, .739 OPS, 64 R, 92 H, 25 XBH, 2 HR, 62 RBI, 18 SB, +22.3 ZR, 2.2 WPA, 3.5 WAR

P.C.B.L. GOLDEN GLOVES

• P: Frank Buchanan (PENN) – 15 PO, 53 AST, 2 DP, 7 E, 2.02 RNG, +4.1 ZR, 1.010 EFF
• C: Harrison Hearst (PBCC) – 37.5 RTO%, 2.19 C-ERA, 0 PB, 6 E, +2.9 ZR, 1.049 EFF
• 1B: William Norman (MBCC) – 662 PO, 60 AST, 35 DP, 35 E, 10.37 RNG, +10.3 ZR, 1.164 EFF
• 2B: Jonathan Auriemma (MIN) – 253 PO, 234 AST, 26 DP, 78 E, 7.22 RNG, +18.5 ZR, 1.156 EFF
• 3B: Glenn Payne (IND) – 116 PO, 129 AST, 4 DP, 76 E, 3.63 RNG, +11.4 ZR, 1.128 EFF
• SS: Archie Bell (MIN) – 223 PO, 203 AST, 23 DP, 86 E, 6.29 RNG, +22.3 ZR, 1.187 EFF
• LF: Frank Burkett (MERC) – 124 PO, 2 AST, 37 E, 1.87 RNG, +1.3 ARM, +3.8 ZR, 1.082 EFF
• CF: Arthur Morris (SPA) – 171 PO, 6 AST, 81 E, 2.61 RNG, +1.5 ARM, +6.1 ZR, 1.081 EFF
• RF: Joseph Sizemore (SPA) – 119 PO, 4 AST, 58 E, 1.82 RNG, +2.5 ARM, +5.2 ZR, 1.107 EFF

P.C.B.L. TEAM OF THE YEAR

MISCELLANEOUS

P.C.B.L. STATISTICAL LEADERS

• Average: .3633 by Francis Brown (CF, Frankford)
• Frederick Pike (2B, P.B.C.C.) 2nd with .3625
• On-Base: .401 by James Harris (LF, Frankford)
• Slugging: .543 by William Norman (1B, Merion)
• OPS: .932 by William Norman
• Home Runs: 3 by Ben Roberts (3B, Merion)
• Runs Batted In: 85 by Frank Williams (CF, Sons of Ben)
• Runs: 101 by James Harris
• Hits: 120 by William Norman
• Doubles: 26 by William Norman
• Triples: 17 by William Norman
• Extra-Base Hits: 44 by William Norman
• Stolen Bases: 57 by Jonathan Auriemma (2B, Minerva)
• Total Bases: 183 by William Norman
• Bases on Balls: 35 by Wilbur Graff (1B, P.B.C.C.)
• Zone Rating: +22.3 by Archie Bell (SS, Minerva)
• Win Prob. Added: 6.4 by William Norman
• Batsman WAR: 4.5 by James Harris

• Wins: 30 by Robert Benson (P.B.C.C.)
• Losses: 29 by James Pennington (Yorktown)
• ERA (175+ IP): 2.02 by Robert Benson
• Strikeouts: 98 by Robert Benson
• Innings: 356.1 by Robert Benson
• Complete Games: 30 by Robert Benson
• Shutouts: 2 by Jonathan Clegg (Pt. Richmond)
• BB/9 (175+ IP): 0.4 by three different pitchers
• K/9 (175+ IP): 2.5 by Robert Benson
• K/BB (175+ IP): 4.6 by Charlie Greiner (Frankford)
• WHIP (175+ IP): 1.15 by Jonathan Atkins (Merion)
• Pitcher WAR: 6.7 by Robert Benson & Paul Krueger (Sons of Ben)
• Pitcher rWAR: 9.3 by Robert Benson

ACHIEVEMENTS & NOTABLE EVENTS

• May 10: Jeffrey Unger (Keystone) bats 6/8 (2B) vs Yorktown in a ten-inning game.
• June 23: Clifford Martin (Merion) has 7 RBI vs in a 20-2 win vs Independence.
• June 23: Earl Smith (Germantown) hits 3 Triples in a 12-8 loss vs Overbrook.
• June 29: William Norman (Merion) sees his season-long Hitting Streak end at 38 games.
• July 6: Oscar Maxwell (Overbrook) has a season-high 118 Game Score in a 25-4 win vs Penn.
• July 14: Joseph Sizemore (Spartan) bats 6/6 (2 2B) with 6 RBI in a 16-3 win at Pt. Richmond.
• July 15: Thomas Earle (Minerva) scores 6 Runs in a 20-3 win vs Sons of Ben.
• Aug 5: Three different players bat 5/6 during Independence’s 16-12 home win vs Overbrook.
• Aug 13: Robert Benson (P.B.C.C.) earns the Pitching Triple Crown for the second consecutive season.
• Aug 18: Philadelphia B.C.C. (2nd title) wins the Liberty Bell Classic in five games against Queen Village.

PERFORMANCES OF THE SEASON BY GAME SCORE

• #1: 118 by Oscar Maxwell (2B, Overbrook) on July 6 vs Penn (5/6, HR, 5 R, 6 RBI, SB)
• #2: 111 by Joseph Sizemore (RF, Spartan) on July 14 at Pt. Richmond (6/6, 2 2B, 3 R, 6 RBI)
• #3: 101 by Clifford Martin (LF, Merion) on June 23 vs Independence (4/6, 2B, 4 R, 7 RBI)
• #4: 94 by Thomas Earle (LF, Minerva) on July 15 vs Sons of Ben (5/5, 2B, 6 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB)
• #5: 94 by William Detmer (LF, Pt. Richmond) on June 20 vs Keystone (4/6, 2 2B, 4 R, 6 RBI)

tm1681 · 11-16-2025, 10:12 PM

1877 NATIONAL BASE BALL ORGANIZATION REVIEW

1877 N.B.B.O. STANDINGS

PER-TEAM STATISTICS

1877 N.Y.L.: 7.7 R/G, .288, .677 OPS, 794 H, 94 2B, 45 3B, 5 HR, 96 SB, 3.39 ERA, 101 BB, 96 K, 6.8 E/G, .844 FLD%
1877 N.E.L.: 7.8 R/G, .287, .675 OPS, 790 H, 93 2B, 44 3B, 5 HR, 85 SB, 3.43 ERA, 104 BB, 119 K, 6.9 E/G, .842 FLD%

1876 N.Y.L.: 7.5 R/G, .281, .657 OPS, 776 H, 92 2B, 41 3B, 5 HR, 84 SB, 3.17 ERA, 86 BB, 115 K, 6.9 E/G, .843 FLD%
1876 N.E.L.: 7.5 R/G, .284, .667 OPS, 780 H, 92 2B, 43 3B, 5 HR, 90 SB, 3.38 ERA, 97 BB, 124 K, 6.8 E/G, .843 FLD%

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP XX

N.Y.L. SEMIFINAL: #3 New York Athletic Club defeats #2 Utica 3-1
N.E.L. SEMIFINAL: #3 Portland defeats #2 Newark 3-0

N.Y.L. CHAMPIONSHIP: #3 New York Athletic Club defeats #1 Atlantic 3-0
N.E.L. CHAMPIONSHIP: #1 Susquehanna defeats #3 Portland 3-0

T.W.C. FINAL: Susquehanna (2nd title) defeats New York Athletic Club 3-2

GAME 1: SUS 9-5 NYAC – 1B Harold Muske (NYAC): 3/3 (3B), 1 R, 2 RBI
GAME 2: SUS 1-8 NYAC – C Jonathan Parsons (NYAC): 2/4 (2B), 2 R, 2 RBI, 1/1 CS
GAME 3: NYAC 5-6 SUS (10) – CF John Schultz (SUS): 3/5, 3 R, 2 SB
GAME 4: NYAC 12-9 SUS – SUB Lawrence Calhoun (NYAC): 2/2 (2 3B), 1 R, 4 RBI
GAME 5: SUS 10-2 NYAC – 1B Joseph Jurski (SUS): 5/6, 3 R, 2 RBI

T.W.C. MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: CF John Schultz (SUS) – .325 (13/40), 4 2B, 6 RBI, 11 R, 3 SB, 2x P.o.t.G.

NEW YORK LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR: Julius Tierney (LF, age 27) – Star B.B.C.; 1st career B.o.t.Y.

• .403/.425/.532, .957 OPS, 77 R, 118 H, 16 2B, 11 3B, 0 HR, 57 RBI, 9 BB, 7 SB, 156 TB, 2.7 WPA, 3.3 WAR
• Led N.Y.L. in AVG, OBP, SLG, & OPS; Raised AVG by 84 points & OPS by 191 points from 1876
• Chester Alexander (2B, SYR) 2nd – .377, .911 OPS, 98 R, 123 H, 27 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 81 RBI, 20 BB, 3.7 WPA, 2.9 WAR
• Henry Nabors (SS, VIC) 3rd – .374, .870 OPS, 93 R, 122 H, 18 2B, 5 3B, 83 RBI, 20 BB, 16 SB, 5.4 WPA, 3.4 WAR

PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Charles Rhodes (age 28) – New York Athletic Club; 3rd career P.o.t.Y.

• 26-13, 2.30 ERA, 132 K, 332.1 IP, 24 CG, 1 SHO, 6.0 K/BB, 8.7 HA/9, 1.04 WHIP, 9.3 WAR, 6.8 rWAR
• Led N.Y.L. in WAR for 6th time; Also led in ERA, QS, K, K/9, K/BB, & WHIP; 4-3 w/ 2.62 ERA in playoffs
• Olaf Sorensen (ATL) 2nd – 26-13, 2.58 ERA, 55 K, 353.0 IP, 28 CG, 1 SHO, 1.3 K/BB, 1.24 WHIP, 6.1 WAR, 7.6 rWAR
• Jacob Wesolowski (SYR) 3rd – 26-9, 3.28 ERA, 57 K, 331.2 IP, 23 CG, 1 SV, 2.2 K/BB, 1.31 WHIP, 6.9 WAR, 6.2 rWAR

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Francis Smith (CF, age 32) – Metropolitan B.B.C.; 1st career M.V.P.

• .349/.380/.474, .853 OPS, 82 R, 112 H, 20 2B, 10 3B, 0 HR, 56 RBI, 16 BB, 35 SB, 152 TB, 5.5 WPA, 4.1 WAR
• Led N.B.B.O. in Batsman WAR; Top ten in N.Y.L. in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, H, 2B, 3B, XBH, & TB
• Manuel Romeiras (CF, NYAC) 2nd – .316, .812 OPS, 81 R, 100 H, 13 2B, 16 3B, 54 RBI, 20 BB, 65 SB, 5.3 WPA, 3.6 WAR
• Ben Gagliardi (SS, ATL) 3rd – .328, .770 OPS, 75 R, 105 H, 15 2B, 8 3B, 51 RBI, 29 SB, +17.0 ZR, 4.5 WPA, 3.6 WAR

GREENHORN OF THE YEAR: John Watson (P, age 24) – Mercury B.B.C.

• 22-15, 2.96 ERA, 48 K, 331.1 IP, 24 CG, 0 SHO, 0.9 K/BB, 9.5 HA/9, 1.22 WHIP, 5.2 WAR, 6.0 rWAR
• Made All-Star Game; Top five in N.Y.L. in CG, HA/9, & WHIP; Top ten in W, IP, & WAR
• Llewellyn Davis (1B, EAG) 2nd – .339, .766 OPS, 69 R, 103 H, 11 2B, 3 3B, 71 RBI, 17 BB, 1 SB, 4.0 WPA, 1.8 WAR
• Vernon Mickey (2B, UTI) 3rd – .340, .808 OPS, 70 R, 106 H, 15 2B, 9 3B, 65 RBI, 9 BB, 2 SB, 4.4 WPA, 1.6 WAR

N.Y.L. GOLDEN GLOVES

• P: Edward Jenkins (MER/1st) – 13 PO, 31 AST, 2 DP, 5 E, 1.78 RNG, +5.4 ZR, 1.076 EFF
• C: Cale Jones (UNI/1st) – 31.2 CS%, 3.09 C-ERA, 21 PB, 12 E, +3.5 ZR, 1.090 EFF
• 1B: Ezechiele Cornaro (MET/1st) – 667 PO, 68 AST, 34 DP, 37 E, 10.95 RNG, +7.3 ZR, 1.106 EFF
• 2B: Melvin Greenawalt (UNI/1st) – 225 PO, 183 AST, 27 DP, 43 E, 6.40 RNG, +17.7 ZR, 1.171 EFF
• 3B: Edward Schwab (BING/1st) – 98 PO, 146 AST, 12 DP, 59 E, 3.77 RNG, +15.6 ZR, 1.222 EFF
• SS: William Cruise (UNI/3rd) – 176 PO, 239 AST, 24 DP, 59 E, 6.17 RNG, +30.3 ZR, 1.283 EFF
• LF: Herb Verrett (ATL/1st) – 140 PO, 1 AST, 11 E, 2.10 RNG, +4.1 ARM, +4.3 ZR, 1.059 EFF
• CF: Hanrahan Casey (ECK/3rd) – 220 PO, 11 AST, 32 E, 3.37 RNG, +0.9 ARM, +8.6 ZR, 1.084 EFF
• RF: Otto McElhenny (EMP/1st) – 144 PO, 8 AST, 38 E, 2.28 RNG, +3.7 ARM, +5.0 ZR, 1.074 EFF

N.Y.L. TEAM OF THE YEAR

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR: Joe Mitchell (1B, age 33) – Lake Erie B.C.; 1st career B.o.t.Y.

• .375/.430/.449, .879 OPS, 84 R, 122 H, 19 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 61 RBI, 25 BB, 0 SB, 146 TB, 4.3 WPA, 3.5 WAR
• Led N.E.L. in AVG, OBP, & Hits; 2nd in Batsman WAR; 1st Lake Erie B.o.t.Y. since Franklin Petty in 1869
• Lucas Maxwell (2B, SUS) 2nd – .374, .507 SLG, .899 OPS, 81 R, 104 H, 19 2B, 9 3B, 74 RBI, 16 SB, 4.7 WPA, 2.4 WAR
• William Wimple (RF, QS) 3rd – .367, .900 OPS, 65 R, 113 H, 27 XBH, 1 HR, 65 RBI, 10 BB, 20 SB, 4.7 WPA, 3.0 WAR

PITCHER OF THE YEAR: John Ratican (age 25) – Newark B.C.; 1st career P.o.t.Y.

• 29-9, 1.84 ERA, 133 K, 351.1 IP, 29 CG, 1 SV, 5.5 K/BB, 8.6 HA/9, 1.02 WHIP, 10.3 WAR, 11.2 rWAR
• Led N.E.L. ERA, QS, HA/9, WHIP, WAR, & rWAR; Top five in W, IP, CG, K, K/9, & K/BB
• William Hawk (SUS) 2nd – 33-2, 2.40 ERA, 93 K, 353.0 IP, 28 CG, 0.3 BB/9, 7.2 K/BB, 1.11 WHIP, 7.5 WAR, 8,4 rWAR
• Robert Dressen (PORT) 3rd – 28-10, 2.39 ERA, 55 K, 332.0 IP, 25 CG, 0 SHO, 2.9 K/BB, 1.21 WHIP, 7.2 WAR, 6.5 rWAR

Ratican over Hawk was the most controversial decision in Writers Pool history. Hawk tied the N.B.B.O. record for Wins and became the first pitcher to have a Win/Loss margin better than +30 in a single season, but a large faction of the W.P. felt that a merely above average #1 pitcher could have broken 30 Wins if supported by the Susquehanna offense that scored eleven times per game. Those voters broke for Ratican, who “only” had 29 Wins but also had one of the most sterling sets of secondary statistics in N.B.B.O. history, as evidenced by the fact that he passed double digits in both WAR & rWAR.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: John Schultz (CF, age 30) – Susquehanna B.C.; 3rd career M.V.P.

• .320/.531/.429, .779 OPS, 106 R, 117 H, 14 2B, 13 3B, 0 HR, 66 RBI, 17 BB, 42 SB, 157 TB, 4.7 WPA, 3.1 WAR
• Won 3rd Northeastern League M.V.P. in four years; Also won Tucker-Wheaton Cup M.V.P.
• Frank Thomas (2B, PIO) 2nd – .355, .844 OPS, 82 R, 117 H, 22 2B, 5 3B, 70 RBI, 24 BB, 14 SB, 3.3 WPA, 3.8 WAR
• Edward Donovan (1B, PORT) 3rd – .335, .840 OPS, 88 R, 105 H, 10 2B, 15 3B, 63 RBI, 21 BB, 49 SB, 5.5 WPA, 2.6 WAR

GREENHORN OF THE YEAR: Albert Franklin (P, age 24) – Salem B.C.

• 20-14, 3.76 ERA, 39 K, 325.2 IP, 23 CG, 1 SV, 0.8 K/BB, 11.5 HA/9, 1.43 WHIP, 3.9 WAR, 5.8 rWAR
• Only N.E.L. Greenhorn with 20+ Wins; Also led N.E.L. Greenhorns in IP & CG
• Leland Welker (3B, TIG) 2nd – .347, .774 OPS, 60 R, 111 H, 15 XBH, 1 HR, 61 RBI, 7 BB, 2 SB, 4.1 WPA, 1.6 WAR
• John Ruppel (RF, PORT) 3rd – .299, .764 OPS, 75 R, 86 H, 20 XBH, 2 HR, 66 RBI, 20 BB, 15 SB, 3.7 WPA, 2.3 WAR

N.E.L. GOLDEN GLOVES

• P: John Brown (CAN/2nd) – 20 PO, 49 AST, 0 DP, 5 E, 2.15 RNG, +7.7 ZR, 1.114 EFF
• C: William Zimmerman (LB/1st) – 35.4 CS%, 3.20 C-ERA, 24 PB, 5 E, +6.1 ZR, 1.093 EFF
• 1B: Charles Laczkowski (NEW/2nd) – 668 PO, 46 AST, 30 DP, 34 E, 10.55 RNG, +5.4 ZR, 1.073 EFF
• 2B: John Baddley (PJ/3rd) – 231 PO, 196 AST, 27 DP, 49 E, 6.26 RNG, +20.2 ZR, 1.196 EFF
• 3B: Roland Brown (QS/1st) – 81 PO, 166 AST, 4 DP, 59 E, 3.64 RNG, +14.4 ZR, 1.205 EFF
• SS: Peter Jones (SotO/7th) – 169 PO, 266 AST, 32 DP, 87 E, 6.47 RNG, +26.4 ZR, 1.206 EFF
• LF: James Hunsberger (TU/1st) – 135 PO, 3 AST, 12 E, 2.02 RNG, +5.7 ARM, +5.4 ZR, 1.051 EFF
• CF: Fred Lydon (TU/3rd) – 230 PO, 8 AST, 31 E, 3.45 RNG, +0.9 ARM, +9.7 ZR, 1.090 EFF
• RF: Charles Williams (SPO/1st) – 188 PO, 5 AST, 74 E, 3.14 RNG, +1.7 ARM, +7.4 ZR, 1.069 EFF

N.E.L. TEAM OF THE YEAR

MISCELLANEOUS

SEASON RECORDS

• Susquehanna set a new record for most Runs Scored with 771 (11.0 R/G).
• Susquehanna set a new record for best Run Differential with +326 (+4.7 R/G).
• Sportsman’s set a new record for Losses with 58 (12-58; .171 WIN%).
• Sportsman’s set a new record for most Runs Allowed with 797 (11.4 RA/G).
• Sportsman’s set a new record for worst Run Differential with -412 (-5.9 R/G).
• Utica set a new team record for Saves with 13.
• John Schultz (Susquehanna) set a new record for At Bats with 366.
• William Hawk (Susquehanna) tied the record for Wins with 33.
• James Lees (Eagle) set a new record for Games Started (P) with 47.
• James Lees (Eagle) set a new record for Bases on Balls (P) with 128.

NEW YORK LEAGUE LEADERS

• Average: .403 by Julius Tierney (LF, Star)
• On-Base: .425 by Julius Tierney
• Slugging: .532 by Julius Tierney
• OPS: .957 by Julius Tierney
• Home Runs: 3 by three different batsmen
• Runs Batted In: 83 by Henry Nabors (SS, Victory)
• Runs: 106 by William Buschmann (CF, Utica)
• Hits: 123 by Chester Alexander (2B, Syracuse) & Charles Ramer (3B, Star)
• Doubles: 27 by Chester Alexander
• Triples: 17 by Sidney Simon (LF, Eagle)
• Extra-Base Hits: 35 by Sidney Simon
• Stolen Bases: 70 by Steffen Strandlund (CF, Syracuse)
• Total Bases: 164 by Louis Murray (LF, Eckford) & Charles Ramer
• Bases on Balls: 29 by William Rockford (3B, Frontier)
• Zone Rating: +30.3 by William Cruise (SS, Union)
• Win Prob. Added: 6.1 by Sidney Simon
• Batsman WAR: 4.1 by Francis Smith (CF, Metropolitan)

• Wins: 27 by William Barnhill (Eckford)
• Losses: 26 by Charles Sturch (Marathon)
• ERA (175+ IP): 2.30 by Charles Rhodes (N.Y.A.C.)
• Strikeouts: 132 by Charles Rhodes
• Innings: 353.0 by Olaf Sorensen (Atlantic)
• Complete Games: 28 by three different pitchers
• Shutouts: 2 Howard Shepherd (Cont’l)
• BB/9 (175+ IP): 0.5 by Howard Shepherd & William McMahon (Bedford)
• K/9 (175+ IP): 3.6 by Charles Rhodes
• K/BB (175+ IP): 6.0 by Charles Rhodes
• WHIP (175+ IP): 1.04 by Charles Rhodes
• Pitcher WAR: 9.3 by Charles Rhodes
• Pitcher rWAR: 9.1 by Edward Koch (Union)

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE LEADERS

• Average: .375 by Joe Mitchell (1B, Lake Erie)
• On-Base: .430 by Joe Mitchell
• Slugging: .507 by Lucas Maxwell (2B, Susquehanna)
• OPS: .900 by William Wimple (RF, Quaker St.)
• Home Runs: 3 by three different batsmen
• Runs Batted In: 81 by Frank Carter (3B, Susquehanna)
• Runs: 106 by John Schultz (CF, Susquehanna)
• Hits: 122 by Joe Mitchell
• Doubles: 22 by Peter Huff (LF, S.o.t.O.) & Frank Thomas (2B, Pioneer)
• Triples: 15 by Robert Basalyga (LF, Lancastra) & Edward Donovan (1B, Portland)
• Extra-Base Hits: 34 by Ned Morganti (CF, Quaker St.)
• Stolen Bases: 61 by Thomas Myers (CF, Salem)
• Total Bases: 164 by Robert Basalyga
• Bases on Balls: 36 by Oliver Lysiak (C, Susquehanna)
• Zone Rating: +26.9 by Thomas Ashley (SS, Pt. Jersey)
• Win Prob. Added: 5.5 by Edward Donovan
• Batsman WAR: 3.8 by Frank Thomas

• Wins: 33 by William Hawk (Susquehanna)
• Losses: 32 by Walt Harper (Sportsman’s)
• ERA (175+ IP): 1.84 by John Ratican (Newark)
• Strikeouts: 146 by Earl Quinn (Maryland)
• Innings: 353.0 by William Hawk
• Complete Games: 31 by John Faulkner (Lancastra)
• Shutouts: 2 by Bubba Mack (C’brigians) & Alfred Parker (Tiger)
• BB/9 (175+ IP): 0.3 by William Hawk (Susquehanna)
• K/9 (175+ IP): 3.9 by Earl Quinn
• K/BB (175+ IP): 7.2 by William Hawk
• WHIP (175+ IP): 1.02 by John Ratican
• Pitcher WAR: 10.3 by John Ratican
• Pitcher rWAR: 11.2 by John Ratican

ACHIEVEMENTS & NOTABLE EVENTS

• May 9: Louis Murray (Eckford) hits 3 Triples in a 13-11 win at Bedford.
• May 10: Philip McNally (Lake Erie) bats 6/7 (2 3B) in a 23-3 win at Sportsman’s.
• May 18: Five Pioneer batsmen finish with 3+ Hits in a 24-6 win at Lake Erie.
• May 20: Union scores 16 Runs in the 4th inning of their 31-3 win vs Metropolitan.
• May 20: Melvin Greenawalt (Union) bats 6/7 (2B) and scores 6 Runs in a 31-3 win vs Metropolitan.
• May 20: William Hawk (Susquehanna) has 7 RBI while pitching a CG in a 21-5 win at Sportsman’s.
• May 23: Agustus McGhee (Harlem) bats 6/6 (2B) in a ten-inning game vs Union.
• June 1: Four Minuteman batsmen finish with 4+ hits in a 19-10 win vs Columbia.
• June 6: Reading A.C. scores 18 Runs over the 8th & 9th in a 24-10 win at Lake Erie.
• June 7: Louis Murray (Eckford) has 7 RBI in a ten-inning game vs Star.
• June 8: Charles Fletcher (Baltic) bats 6/6 and hits for the Cycle with 5 XBH in an 18-6 win vs Baltic.
• June 14: Lage Barlund & Ciaran Johnston (Nassau Co.) finish with 5 Hits in a 23-19 loss vs Atlantic.
• June 16: N.Y.A.C. shuts out Hilltop for the second consecutive day by identical scores of 10-0.
• June 16: Earl Quinn (Maryland) sets a single-game record with 13 K in a 12-8 win vs Olympic.
• June 21: Louis Beane & Francis Molinari (Portland) both score 6 Runs in a 31-7 win at Quinnipiac.
• June 22: Ben Gagliardi (Atlantic) sees his season-long Hitting Streak end at 38 games.
• June 22: Herman Kramer (Lake Erie) hits 3 Triples in an 11-7 win at Susquehanna.
• June 29: Six Newark batsmen finish with 3+ Hits in a 31-4 win vs National.
• June 29: John Ratican (Newark) bats 5/6 (2 2B) while pitching a CG in a 31-4 win vs National.
• June 29: Charles Laczkowski (Newark) bats 6/8 with 7 RBI and a 124 Game Score in a 31-4 win vs National.
• July 1: Three batsmen each finish 5/5 in separate games.
• July 5: Mick O’Doherty (Merrimack) has 7 RBI in an 18-13 win at Lancastra.
• July 8: Three Mutual batsmen finish with 5 Hits in a 17-14 loss vs Harlem.
• July 11: John Schultz (Susquehanna) hits 3 Triples in a 23-11 win at Reading.
• July 21: Ned Morganti (Quaker St.) has 7 RBI in a 17-6 win vs National.
• July 23: The N.E.L. wins the All-Star Game 6-2. M.V.P.: William McCrory (LF, CAN). HOST: Minuteman.
• July 25: George Layman (Metro) bats 5/5 while pitching a CG in a 16-5 win vs Harlem.
• July 26: Leon Freeman (Scranton) hits 2 Home Runs in a 5-3 win at Sportsman’s.
• July 28: Cantabrigians defeats Quinnipiac 1-0. Bubba Mack earns the Shutout Win.
• Aug 2: S.o.t.O. & Granite combine to score 30 Runs over the final three innings; game ends S.o.t.O. 21-17 GRA.
• Aug 12: Eckford wins 15 of their last 16 games to force a playoff for the Brooklyn Championship.
• Aug 13: Atlantic wins the one-game Brooklyn Championship playoff (ATL 10-7 ECK).
• Sep 2: Susquehanna (2nd title) wins the Tucker-Wheaton Cup final against N.Y.A.C. in five games.

PERFORMANCES OF THE SEASON BY GAME SCORE

• #1: 124 by Charles Laczkowski (1B, Newark) vs National on June 29th (6/8, 5 R, 7 RBI)
• #2: 116 by Charles Fletcher (2B, Baltic) vs Hilltop on Juny 8th (6/6, 2 2B, 3 3B, HR, 4 R, 5 RBI)
• #3: 116 by Louis Beane (SS, Portland) at Quinnipiac on June 21st (5/6, 2B, 6 R, 6 RBI)
• #4: 111 by Dermott Taylor (SS, Reading A.C.) at Lake Erie on June 6th (5/6, 2 2B, 4 R, 6 RBI, BB, SB)
• #5: 110 by Louis Murray (LF, Eckford) at Bedford on May 12th (5/5, 2B, 3B, 4 R, 6 RBI, 2 SB)
• #6: 107 by Melvin Greenawalt (2B, Union) vs Metro on May 20th (6/7, 2B, 6 R, 3 RBI)
• #7: 106 by Parker Wagoner (1B, Scranton) at Pioneer on June 17th (4/6, GS, 5 R, 6 RBI, SAC FLY)
• #8: 104 by Louis Murray (LF, Eckford) vs Star on June 7th (5/6, HR, 2 R, 7 RBI)
• #9: 100 by Phillip McNally (RF, Lake Erie) at Sportsman’s on May 10th (6/7, 2 3B, 3 R, 5 RBI, SB)
• #10: 100 by Lage Barlund (CF, Nassau Co.) vs Atlantic on June 14th (5/7, 3B, HR, 5 R, 4 RBI)

tm1681 · 11-16-2025, 10:26 PM

1877 AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE REVIEW

WRITERS POOL OBSERVATIONS

ALLEGHANY: Their 45-45 finish was right around where projections had them. Their fielding was unquestionably the best in the league (E/G: #1/12, ZR: #1, EFF: #1), but their lineup was right in the middle of the pack in terms of production and their pitching was just okay. It might be time to move on from Raynard Cordell, and they may need an upgrade at C.

AMERICAN: The 4x champs had a ten-game slide from last season to this. Injuries to Peter Boyce & George Kassabian didn’t help, but the big issue was that mainstays like William Busby, Franklin Petty, & Raynard Steinbach started to show their age. That spoiled yet another historic season from James Burke, so there may be some retooling needed.

EXCELSIOR: This year, they came out on top of an epic pennant race instead of finishing runner-up like in 1875. They didn’t put a foot wrong this season – every regular hit above .275, they were top-three in Runs (8.3 R/G), and both pitchers won 20+ games while leading the league in Strikeouts. They were simply up against a superior team in the Founders’ Cup.

FLOUR CITY: They were 18-7 June but 23-42 the rest of the season. 3x All-Star Ernest Dugas’ average fell from .329 (.801 OPS) to .256 (.634 OPS), and James Goodman finally started to appear his age, as even though he led the league in WAR (7.4) his Strikeouts fell from 90 to 52. It’s hard to pick an area that needs upgrading, as they were mediocre in everything.

GOTHAM: The loss of Clive Strachan to Knick REALLY hurt. Royal Altman didn’t have the range for LF (-8.8 ZR) and he hit under .300 for the first time (.299, .689 OPS). Having a 2.0* player at 3B – Enos Pfannenstiel – was also a major problem, and signing James Dressman from the N.B.B.O. to lead the pitching duo didn’t pan out. They need a winter rethink.

KINGS CO: A .500 season for the first time in the A.P.B.L. As far as they’re concerned, that’s mission accomplished. Fred Bartholomew played like a genuine star, Herman Stanley showed why he was the P.C.B.L.’s other star player, Carl Nevers had a fine debut season, and Nicholas Banfield made his first All-Star Game. This is a team to watch next year.

KNICKERBOCKER: Another excellent season, but they couldn’t quite beat Excelsior in the best pennant race in baseball history. Clive Strachan was brilliant in his first Knick season, Robert Goodman & Henry Jost made their first All-Star Game appearances, and Alexaner/Harris/Mascherino all had 4+ WAR. They will be very dangerous next year.

MASS. BAY: A disappointing 1877 – nine fewer wins than last year. The main problem: their 11th-ranked group of fielders. Also, CF Charles Foster hit well below .250 for the second straight season and Albert Stoffers hit a career-low .310. On the plus side, Gerhardt Berg hit about .370 and Harold Durand improved in his second A.P.B.L. season. Changes are needed.

NIAGARA: From worst to first to second. They had good pitching and the league’s #2 group of fielders, but their #9 offense left them unable to keep up with St. John’s. Clyde Hudspeth saw his average fall 80+ points (.316 to .231) so it could just be a matter of seeing him return to form next year. Still, Sweeney Martin isn’t an A.P.B.L. 1B, so they should upgrade there.

ORANGE: Everything that could go wrong did. New #1 P Andrew Miller: 7-31 with a 4.64 ERA. 5x All-Star Walter Dudley: .266 with 38 RBI and -0.2 WAR. 3x All-Star Earl Crosby: .223 with a 66 OPS+. All-Star SS John Harmon: .222 with a .539 OPS. 4x All-Star Will Chaffin: a career-low .246 average. They either need mass upgrades or a big return to All-Star form.

SHAMROCK: Seven wins better than last year but still tied for last in the Colonial. The obvious issue was their 11th-ranked offense that saw just three regulars – Frank Bulger, Robert Jessup, & Charles Washer – hit above .300. They’ll be banking on returns to All-Star play by William Dickerson & Harold Groves, as well as an upgrade at CF.

ST. JOHN’S: The champions have nothing to complain about. They won the Joseph Evans sweepstakes, and the man was somehow better than advertised. Konrad Jensen’s average went up 20-25 points. Rudolph Decker hit around .330. Both Howard Burns & Thomas Smith had 27 Wins. Their main goal is to get Nelson Townsend back on track in 1878.

tm1681 · 11-16-2025, 10:29 PM

1877 A.P.B.L STANDINGS

PER-TEAM STATISTICS

1877: 7.4 R/G, .290, .681 OPS, 1,020 H, 132 2B, 62 3B, 7 HR, 154 SB, 3.55 ERA, 91 BB, 134 K, 6.3 E/G, .854 FLD%
1876: 7.1 R/G, .285, .658 OPS, 1,002 H, 113 2B, 54 3B, 6 HR, 161 SB, 3.32 ERA, 88 BB, 141 K, 6.3 E/G, .854 FLD%

FOUNDERS' CUP VII

St. John’s (7th title, 2nd in A.P.B.L.) defeats Excelsior 4-1.

GAME 1: EXC 5-7 StJ – RF Christopher Morton (EXC): 4/4 (2B, 3B), 3 R, 1 RBI
GAME 2: EXC 7-10 StJ – LF Joseph Evans (StJ): 2/5 (HR), 1 R, 3 RBI, SB
GAME 3: StJ 10-5 EXC – 1B Konrad Jensen (StJ): 3/5, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, SB
GAME 4: StJ 4-5 EXC – LF Troy Oberst (EXC): 3/4 (2B), 2 R, 1 RBI
GAME 5: StJ 7-6 EXC – RF Nelson Townsend (StJ): 2/5 (3B), 2 R, 3 RBI, SB

FOUNDERS’ CUP M.V.P.: Rudolph Decker (CF, StJ) – 13/21, 2 2B, 2 3B, 6 RBI, 6 R, 2 SB

AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS
Career award totals are carried over from the NBBO

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR: James Burke (CF, age 34) – American B.C.; 4th career B.o.t.Y.

• .403/.437/.506, .943 OPS, 112 R, 165 H, 22 2B, 10 3B, 0 HR, 87 RBI, 22 BB, 88 SB, 207 TB, 6.3 WPA, 6.0 WAR
• 4th B.o.t.Y. in five years; Hit .400 for the 2nd time in three years; Led league in AVG, OBP, H, RC, & WAR
• Joseph Evans (LF, StJ) 2nd – American Professional Baseball League Greenhorn of the Year
• Fred Bartholomew (LF, KC) 3rd – .370, .530 SLG, .911 OPS, 104 R, 152 H, 21 2B, 21 3B, 74 RBI, 34 SB, 6.6 WPA, 3.3 WAR

Burke took his fourth B.o.t.Y. in five years after batting .400 for the second time, and at this point just about everyone acknowledges that he’s had the highest peak of any batsman in the history of the sport. Evans was somehow better than his billing, spending every day after the first week of June batting over .385 for the champions. If Kings Co. had cracked the top three in the Metropolitan then Bartholomew might have nabbed M.V.P., such was the quality of his work.

PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Jim Creighton (age 36) – Excelsior B.B.C.; 4th career P.o.t.Y.

• 27-14, 3.38 ERA, 133 K, 359.0 IP, 23 CG, 2 SHO, 2 SV, 4.4 K/BB, 11.2 HA/9, 1.33 WHIP, 6.5 WAR, 2.6 rWAR
• Led league in Wins for 3rd time in four years; 14-3 record over last two months of season
• Robert Goodman (KNI) 2nd – 27-13, 2.99 ERA, 90 K, 364.1 IP, 30 CG, 3.5 K/BB, 9.8 HA/9, 1.16 WHIP, 6.3 WAR, 6.1 rWAR
• Thomas Smith (StJ) 3rd – 27-16, 3.03 ERA, 65 K, 371.2 IP, 29 CG, 3 SHO, 1.4 K/BB, 1.28 WHIP, 5.0 WAR, 7.6 rWAR

With four tied for the league lead in Wins, the P.o.t.Y. debate was the lengthiest one to date. Still, even though the three other candidates led the league in some secondary numbers, Creighton’s popularity & reputation are such that if he was among the lead leaders in Wins then he was going to take home the award. That’s not to say Creighton didn’t have an argument in his favor, as he went 14-3 over the last two months of the season. Goodman, Smith, & Howard Burns (27-13, 3.65 ERA, 88 K, 6.7 WAR) will feel aggrieved, but such is life when playing in the shadow of a living legend.

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Konrad Jensen (1B, age 38) – St. John’s B.C.; 3rd career M.V.P.

• .362/.415/.456, .871 OPS, 122 R, 145 H, 11 2B, 12 3B, 1 HR, 77 RBI, 31 BB, 102 SB, 183 TB, 5.8 WPA, 4.9 WAR
• Led league in Runs & SB; Top six in AVG, OBP, OPS, BB, RC, WPA, & WAR; 5th major individual award
• Troy Oberst (LF, EXC) 2nd – .370, .922 OPS, 114 R, 152 H, 48 XBH, 1 HR, 80 RBI, 22 BB, 10 SB, 6.2 WPA, 4.3 WAR
• Hugh Harris (3B, KNI) 3rd – .309, .833 OPS, 95 R, 113 H, 12 2B, 2 3B, 79 RBI, 38 BB, 53 SB, 4.6 WPA, 4.6 WAR

While Joseph Evans was the new dynamo in the St. John’s attack Jensen remained the dependable workhorse, and as a result he took his fifth major individual award (2x B.o.t.Y., 3x M.V.P.) as he led the league in Runs and became the second to break 100 Stolen Bases. Oberst hit his peak at age 30, bettering his previous A.P.B.L. high average by 40 points while leading the league in Extra-Base Hits. Harris was a major surprise, having his best A.P.B.L. season by some margin at the age of 37.

GREENHORN OF THE YEAR: Joseph Evans (LF, age 25) – St. John’s B.C.

• .393/.426/.521, .947 OPS, 104 R, 160 H, 30 2B, 11 3B, 0 HR, 88 RBI, 20 BB, 25 SB, 212 TB, 5.3 WPA, 4.2 WAR
• Made All-Star Game; Led league in OPS; Top five in H, AVG, OBP, SLG, R, 2B, XBH, RBI, TB, & RC
• Herman Stanley (2B, KC) 2nd – .347, .826 OPS, 86 R, 140 H, 17 2B, 15 3B, 70 RBI, 12 BB, 13 SB, 3.1 WPA, 2.7 WAR
• Boyd Myers (CF, EXC) 3rd – .330, .790 OPS, 92 R, 145 H, 20 2B, 14 3B, 1 HR, 81 RBI, 10 BB, 4.7 WPA, 2.9 WAR

No surprise – Evans took the award in a unanimous vote. He had the best Greenhorn season in A.P.B.L. history BY FAR, keeping up with the incredible James Burke for much of the season. Given all the fanfare he entered the league with, Evans lived up to expectations and then some. Neither Stanley nor Myers did anything wrong – both putting up numbers that bettered those of last year’s G.o.t.Y. winner, Alfred Williams. They were just stuck in the same Greenhorn class as Evans.

A.P.B.L. GOLDEN GLOVES

• P: James Goodman (FC/7th) – 24 PO, 50 AST, 3 DP, 6 E, 1.88 RNG, +9.5 ZR, 1.256 EFF
• C: Frederick Drake (StJ/1st) – 32.9 RTO%, 3.34 C-ERA, 25 PB, 17 E, +6.5 ZR, 1.200 EFF
• 1B: Frank Bulger (SHA/6th) – 689 PO, 53 AST, 26 DP, 24 E, 10.48 RNG, +9.3 ZR, 1.131 EFF
• 2B: Clyde Hudspeth (NIA/5th) – 317 PO, 309 AST, 30 DP, 67 E, 7.43 RNG, +22.4 ZR, 1.118 EFF
• 3B: Frank Doherty (ALL/4th) – 142 PO, 158 AST, 5 DP, 70 E, 3.67 RNG, +14.0 ZR, 1.136 EFF
• SS: Martin Prince (AME/3rd) – 255 PO, 290 AST, 28 DP, 102 E, 6.16 RNG, +19.2 ZR, 1.136 EFF
• LF: Charles Barrett (NIA/1st) – 163 PO, 3 AST, 39 E, 1.91 RNG, +1.0 ARM, +6.7 ZR, 1.069 EFF
• CF: James Baird (NIA/1st) – 230 PO, 10 AST, 72 E, 2.72 RNG, +2.7 ARM, +10.3 ZR, 1.100 EFF
• RF: Henry Jost (KNI/1st) – 147 PO, 13 AST, 46 E, 1.95 RNG, +2.9 ARM, +7.2 ZR, 1.147 EFF

A.P.B.L. TEAM OF THE YEAR

MISCELLANEOUS

SEASON RECORDS

• Excelsior set a new team record for Doubles with 168.
• Troy Oberst (Excelsior) set a new record for Doubles with 34.
• James Goodman (Flour City) set a new record for BB/9 ratio with 0.30.

A.P.B.L. STATISTICAL LEADERS

• Average: .403 by James Burke (CF, American)
• On-Base: .437 by James Burke
• Slugging: .530 by Fred Bartholomew (LF, Kings Co.)
• OPS: .947 by Joseph Evans (LF, St. John’s)
• Runs: 122 by Konrad Jensen (1B, St. John’s)
• Hits: 165 by James Burke
• Doubles: 34 by Troy Oberst (LF, Excelsior)
• Triples: 21 by Fred Bartholomew (LF, Kings Co.)
• Extra-Base Hits: 48 by Troy Oberst
• Home Runs: 3 by four different batsmen
• Runs Batted In: 90 by Elijah Hill (3B, Excelsior) & Eamonn Todd (3B, St. John’s)
• Stolen Bases: 102 by Konrad Jensen
• Total Bases: 218 by Fred Bartholomew
• Bases on Balls: 41 by William Busby (1B, American)
• Zone Rating: +22.1 by Clyde Hudspeth (2B, Niagara)
• Batsman WPA: 6.6 by Fred Bartholomew
• Batsman WAR: 6.0 by James Burke

• Wins: 27 by four different pitchers
• Losses: 31 by Andrew Miller (Orange)
• ERA (200+ IP): 2.44 by William Haney (Alleghany)
• Strikeouts: 150 by Elmer Seabold (Excelsior)
• Innings: 371.2 by Thomas Smith (St. John’s)
• Complete Games: 30 by Robert Goodman (Knick) & Elmer Seabold
• Shutouts: 3 by Thomas Smith
• BB/9 (200+ IP): 0.3 by James Goodman (Flour City)
• K/9 (200+ IP): 3.7 by Elmer Seabold
• K/BB (200+ IP): 6.3 by Howard Burns (St. John’s)
• WHIP (200+ IP): 1.16 by Robert Goodman
• Pitcher WAR: 7.4 by James Goodman
• Pitcher rWAR: 7.6 by Thomas Smith

ACHIEVEMENTS & NOTABLE EVENTS

• May 1: American & Gotham combine to score 31 Runs in their game on Opening Day (AME 15-16 GOT).
• May 3: Konrad Jensen (St. John’s) has 4 Stolen Bases in a 10-9 loss at Niagara.
• May 3: Roy Wentz (Flour City) has 7 RBI in a 27-1 win at Mass. Bay.
• May 6: Elmer Seabold (Excelsior) ties the single-game record with 11 Strikeouts in a 3-2 win vs Orange.
• May 12: Raynard Cordell (Alleghany) & Jim Creighton (Excelsior) record Shutouts on the same day.
• May 18: Sweeney Martin (Niagara) has 4 Stolen Bases in a 13-9 win at St. John’s.
• May 26: Hugh Harris (Knick) has a Grand Slam & 6 RBI in a 17-12 win at Gotham.
• May 26: The first five batsmen of the Knick lineup finish with 3+ hits in a 17-12 win at Gotham.
• May 31: William Trowbridge (Alleghany) has 5 Hits & 6 RBI in a 14-9 win at Flour City.
• June 6: Knickerbocker & Orange combine to score 13 Runs in the 9th inning (KNI 16-17 ORA).
• June 10: Konrad Jensen (St. John’s) has 4 Stolen Bases in a 7-6 loss at Shamrock.
• June 11: A.P.B.L. executives announce that the league will add four teams for the 1878 season.
• June 28: Nicholas Banfield (Kings Co.) has a Grand Slam & 6 RBI in a 24-9 win vs Gotham.
• July 4: Konrad Jensen (St. John’s) scores 6 Runs in an 18-10 win at Mass. Bay.
• July 18: Cormack Alexander (Knick) sets a single-game record with 4 Doubles in an 11-6 win vs Gotham.
• July 19: James Burke (American) becomes the first with 1,000 Hits in the A.P.B.L.
• July 22: Charles Barrett (Niagara) has a season-high 101 Game Score & 7 RBI in a 19-8 win vs Shamrock.
• July 25: Fred Bartholomew (Kings Co.) sees his season-long Hitting Streak end at 33 games.
• July 30: The C.C. won the All-Star Game 7-6. M.V.P.: Reginald Roper (RF, NIA). HOST: Niagara.
• Aug 9: Clive Strachan (Knick) has 4 Stolen Bases in a 10-8 win vs American.
• Aug 10: Shamrock has five batsmen finish with 3+ Hits in a 25-9 win at Flour City.
• Aug 17: Konrad Jensen (St. John’s) collects his 100th Stolen Base of the season.
• Aug 20: James Burke (American) becomes the first to finish an A.P.B.L. season with a .400+ Average twice.
• Aug 26: St. John’s (2nd title) wins the Founders’ Cup against Excelsior in five games.

PERFORMANCES OF THE SEASON BY GAME SCORE

• #1: 101 by Charles Barrett (LF, Niagara) vs Shamrock on July 22nd (4/6, 2 3B, 4 R, 7 RBI)
• #2: 96 by William Schumacher (SS, Niagara) at Mass. Bay on July 18th (5/5, 2B, 3 R, 5 RBI, SB)
• #3: 96 by Edgar Pridgen (C, Excelsior) at Kings Co. on July 12th (4/5, 4 R, 5 RBI, 1 BB)
• #4: 92 by Franklin Skaggs (RF. Flour City) at Mass. Bay on June 5th (5/6, 2 3B, 3 R, 5 RBI)
• #5: 92 by Hugh Harris (3B, Knick) at Gotham on May 26th (4/6, GS, 3 R, 6 RBI, HBP, 2 SB)
• #6: 89 by Fred Bartholomew (LF, Kings Co.) vs Orange on July 18th (4/5, 2B, 4 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB, SB)
• #7: 88 by Nicholas Banfield (P, Kings Co.) vs Gotham on June 28th (3/4, GS, 3 R, 6 RBI, SAC BUNT)
• #8: 85 by William Trowbridge (1B, Alleghany) at Flour City on May 31st (5/6, 3 2B, 1 R, 6 RBI)
• #9: 85 by Thomas Smith (P, St. John’s) vs Flour City on Aug. 17th (CG SHO, 2 HA, 0 BB, 2 K)
• #10: 83 by Jim Creighton (P, Excelsior) at Orange Aug. 9th (CG, 4 HA, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K)

tm1681 · 11-16-2025, 10:30 PM

And that concludes the 1877 season.

Now that Football Manager is through to the planned weekly-ish update process (remember, I just do research for that game and have nothing to do with coding) I should have a little more time to update this thread.

tm1681 · 11-23-2025, 03:02 PM

APBL EXPANSION FINALIZED; LEAGUE NOW HAS 16 TEAMS
FOUR TEAMS ADDED FROM THE NBBO, INCLUDING ONE UNLIKELY NEWCOMER

NEW YORK CITY (Nov. 10-13, 1877) - The second week of November means it’s time for baseball’s annual Autumn Meetings at the St. Nicholas Hotel in New York City, and the main point of discussion for the week’s business was what, exactly, the three competitions would look like in 1878 given the A.P.B.L. had announced intentions to expand at the beginning of the summer.

Of course, the first order of business was going to be the American Professional Baseball League’s expansion announcement. League executives had already sent out a plan to add four teams in their June announcement, and at the Autumn Meetings it was that four-team amount that the A.P.B.L. revealed it would be adding for 1878.

The original twelve members of the A.P.B.L. were a mix of teams from the different regions of the N.B.B.O…

• Two from Brooklyn (Excelsior & Kings Co.)
• Three from N.Y.C. (Gotham, Knickerbocker, & Orange)
• Two from Upstate N.Y. (Flour City & Niagara)
• Three from Coastal (American, Mass. Bay, & Shamrock)
• One from Inland (Alleghany)
• One from New England (St. John’s)

…but the expansion announcement amounted to a “coastal” raid, with all four teams coming from the Coastal Championship. There were candidates from four of the N.B.B.O.’s six regions that had the potential to make the move up to baseball highest-tier competition, but in the end it was a combination of baseball and market concerns that led to four Coastal teams being added to the A.P.B.L.

The four teams chosen to make the move, and others involved in the process:

QUAKER STATE B.C. – The one obvious choice when it came to A.P.B.L. expansion, Quaker St. was the last club left out at the creation of the league in 1870, and they responded by having the best season in N.B.B.O. history in 1871: a 58-12 campaign with a +290 Run Differential and a Round Robin triumph in the Tucker-Wheaton Cup. That proved to be their only cup win, but the team’s body of work after the league split was still extremely impressive:

• 1871: 58-12 (N.B.B.O. record), won Tucker-Wheaton Cup
• 1872: 43-27, lost to Portland in N.E.L. Championship Series
• 1873: 41-29, lost to Portland in N.E.L. Semifinals
• 1874: 48-22, lost to Portland in N.E.L. Semifinals
• 1875: 44-26, 2nd in Coastal Championship (4 GB)
• 1876: 39-31, 3rd in Coastal Championship (7 GB)
• 1877: 37-33 4th in Coastal Championship (16 GB)
• TOTAL: 310-180 (.632), 1x cup winners, 4x Coastal champs

Quaker St. took the Coastal title in each of the first four seasons after the league split, and had it not been for the boogeymen of Portland B.C. there would likely be multiple cups in the club’s trophy display instead of just the one. Also, while the 1877 season appeared to be a big fall-off on paper, in reality they were 35-20 with three weeks left to play before injuries caused the team to crash to a 2-13 finish. They were very good whilst healthy and had an A.P.B.L.-quality outfield.

Quaker St.’s addition to the A.P.B.L., in addition to being a deserved one on baseball standards, would give 4x champs American a Philadelphia rival to play against after the two had competed against each other 140 times over fourteen seasons in the N.B.B.O. Adding Quaker St. made all the sense in the world.

NEWARK BASE BALL CLUB – New Jersey’s biggest club would have been seen as a stunning addition had expansion taken place just a year or two ago, but after completing a 53-17 season that featured the best pitcher outside the A.P.B.L. Newark was given the invitation. It was easy to see why, as aside from star P John Ratican they had at least three batsmen who rated at average or near it when compared to A.P.B.L. counterparts, and all three were in their primes. With a full winter to improve elsewhere this could easily be a competitive team. Furthermore, Newark was the U.S.A.’s fifteenth-largest city (NOTE: 136,508 at the 1880 Census) and had a venue, Ironbound Park, with a capacity of just a bit over 7,000 spectators that could easily be expanded.

PORT JERSEY B.B.C. – While the club’s best seasons came during their back-to-back Coastal championships in 1863 & ’64, Pt. Jersey had quietly rebuilt itself into a quality baseball outfit during the 1870s. For each of the past five seasons they had finished in the top half of the Coastal Championship, in four of those seasons they had at least sixty percent of their games, and in three of those seasons were the Coastal runners-up. Pt. Jersey was also based in a rapidly growing city: Jersey City, which had blossomed from roughly 25,000 people at the foundation of the N.B.B.O. in 1857 to over 100,000 (NOTE: 120,722 at the 1880 Census) in the second half of the 1870s. It was a city that was now of proper size to support a professional baseball team, in addition to one that already had a quality outfit in it. The main worry: their 53-17 team was defense-heavy and would likely need a major overhaul to be competitive in the A.P.B.L.

TIGER SOCIAL CLUB – This was a very controversial choice, for reasons discussed below. There were other teams more deserving of the expansion invite in either a sporting or market sense, but in the end the Executive Committee decided that if the New York metropolitan area could have five teams in the A.P.B.L. then Philadelphia was big enough, and now liked baseball enough, to have three. Tiger S.C. only had a .443 Win% (217-273) in the N.B.B.O., but the Broad Street Diamond already held over 11,000 people and thus was pro-sized. The potential was there for Philadelphia to have three competitive professional teams, but did Tiger have the organizational capability to make it so?

With the above in mind, why was Tiger S.C. the fourth club picked to make the move up to the A.P.B.L.? There were a number of other clubs considered, but different factors kept them from receiving an invitation.

A SIXTH N.Y. METRO TEAM – There were three clubs from Brooklyn & New York City heavily considered for an approach: Atlantic, Eckford of Greenpoint, & New York Athletic Club. Atlantic & Eckford had combined to split the last eight Brooklyn pennants, and both had fine facilities with acceptable and upgradable capacity. New York Athletic Club only joined the N.B.B.O. in 1871, but the facilities they were able use thanks to their namesake organization were second to none in the N.B.B.O., and after early struggles they had enjoyed an 88-52 (.629) record over the past two seasons while making the Tucker-Wheaton Cup final in 1877.

All three were worthy, but there was one major problem: could the first professional sporting league truly call itself “American” if 6/16 teams were based in one metropolitan area while only one other – Philadelphia – had as many as two? It made the Executive Committee hesitant to add any of the three, and they ultimately decided on other options.

A THIRD UPSTATE TEAM – If six N.Y. metro teams were too many, then perhaps a third from Upstate New York would do. There were three with the baseball pedigree: Minuteman, Syracuse, & Utica. The main issue there: the only one of the three was based in a city with more than 50,000 people and thus had a venue of suitable size was Minuteman (Albany), but after winning the cup in 1876 they lost three regulars and fell down the standings, which spoke ill of either their organization’s ability or ambition. The most successful Upstate team of the 70’s, Utica, had a venue that only held 2,250, which wouldn’t work. Syracuse had a similar problem, a venue that held 2,800, so the possibility of a third Upstate team in the pro ranks was passed up.

LITTLE MARKETS, BIG SUCCESS – Two teams based in smaller cities had managed to become dominant when larger clubs left for the A.P.B.L. in 1871: Portland B.C. (Portland, ME) & Susquehanna B.C. (Wilkes-Barre, PA). After mighty St. John’s left for the A.P.B.L. Portland went straight to the top of the New England standings and stayed there for four years, going to the cup final twice. They then took another pennant in 1877 and in total had two 50-Win seasons after the split. Susquehanna was even more successful: five Inland pennants, three 50-Win seasons in four years, two cup wins (1874, ’77), and a stunning 1877 in which they went 54-16 and won the cup while setting N.B.B.O. records for Runs Per Game (11.0) and Run Differential (+326, +4.7 R/G).

However, Portland’s venue, William King Field, held 2,600 and Susquehna’s home, River View Field, could fit just 1,775 or so. Both clubs were based in cities of 30,000 or fewer, so adding five thousand seats to make for a proper pro baseball house in either case would be questionable. In a league where teams average as much as four thousand in attendance per home game, such small parks would mean teams like the above would be at a major financial disadvantage even if they were to sell out every home date. So, the Executive Committee just couldn’t pick either of the two.

BIG MARKETS, LITTLE SUCCESS – Maryland & National had the two biggest markets available, with Maryland the only N.B.B.O. team in a city of over 300,000 (NOTE: Baltimore had 332,313 people at the 1880 Census) and National the only representative of the nation’s capital (NOTE: D.C. had 147,293 at the 1880 Census). However, both teams had very poor results on the field. Maryland had a .484 Win% since joining the N.B.B.O. in 1871, and their last three finishes in the Coastal Championship were 6th, 6th, & 5th out of eight. National had fared worse: a .384 Win% with records of 22-48 in 1875 and 24-46 in 1877, second-worst in the N.E.L.

If either of those two clubs had been above or even just near .500 then the Executive Committed would’ve gladly added the pair, likely at the expense of Pt. Jersey & Tiger. As it stood, their struggles in semi-pro baseball would make them cannon fodder in the A.P.B.L., and thus less desirable candidates, ESPECIALLY Tiger, were chosen.

Along with the A.P.B.L. expanding to sixteen teams, the Executive Committee announced the other major change that was hinted at in the June announcement: that the schedule would be rebalanced starting next season.

• Schedule remains 90 games in length
• Series remain three games in length
• Each team plays the other fifteen teams six times (three home, three away)

The competition would no longer be split entirely in half, with the idea being that having the teams face a larger variety of opponents would lead to more competitive baseball and giving the fans a larger variety of teams to see would be good for box office receipts.

In addition, it was decreed that A.P.B.L. members needed to have their home venues built up to a capacity of 10,000, or as close to it as possible, by the start of play in 1878. Some venues, most obviously The Elysian Fields (Knickerbocker) & Recreation Park (Alleghany), easily passed that prerequisite, but it meant others would be adding to the stands:

• Excelsior: Carroll Park from 6,626 to 11,626 (+5,000)
• Flour City: Riverside Park from 6,237 to 8,737 (+2,500)
• Gotham: St. George Cricket Grounds from 7,885 to 12,885 (+5,000)
• Mass. Bay: Oceanside Park from 9,485 to 14,485 (+5,000)
• Newark: Ironbound Park from 7,194 to 12,194 (+5,000)
• Niagara: Greater N.Y. Grounds from 8,113 to 10,613 (+2,500)
• Orange: Upper Manhattan Grounds from 7,412 to 12,412 (+5,000)
• Pt. Jersey: Hoboken & Oakland Park from 2,926 to 12,926 (+10,000)
• Shamrock: South End Grounds from 9,513 to 14,513 (+5,000)
• St. John’s: Olneyville Field from 8,469 to 10,969 (+2,500)

Finally, the four newest members of the A.P.B.L. were each given low-interest loans of $5,000 by the Bank of the Metropolis to be paid back over ten years, with the idea that the up-front cash would give each a winter war chest that more closely resembled those of the twelve original members, given that the N.B.B.O. season was shorter and tickets were cheaper.

With A.P.B.L. expansion officially in the books, it was time to see how the N.B.B.O. responded.

tm1681 · 11-23-2025, 04:34 PM

SURPRISING CHANGES MADE TO THE NBBO
SIX TEAMS ADDED AFTER TWO DROP OUT TO FORM NEW LEAGUE; PCBL CHAMPS MOVE UP

NEW YORK CITY (Nov. 10-13, 1877) - The National Base Ball Organization knew ahead of the Autumn Meetings that there would be at least four open spots in the competition to fill, and the plan to fill those spots began as soon as the A.P.B.L.’s June announcement went out. However, in the end the N.B.B.O. brought six new teams to its ranks instead.

The six new entries into the N.B.B.O. were five clubs new to high-level organized baseball and one that had more than proven its worth at city level. Two clubs gave Boston a return to the competition, one gave Pittsburgh its first team since 1870, one made sure that Philadelphia still had a club present, one gave Baltimore a second team, and one became the first to represent the state of Delaware.

The six new clubs:

BRIGHTON BASEBALL CLUB (Boston) – A club named after a neighborhood in Boston that itself was named after a city on the southern coast of England, which was where it took the inspiration for its insignia from. Founded in 1858, Brighton gives Northwest Boston its first formal club and the city’s first N.B.B.O. entry since Massachusetts Bay & Shamrock left for the A.P.B.L. in 1870.

BUNKER HILL BASEBALL CLUB (Boston) – Formed in 1861, Bunker Hill B.C. is based in the Charlestown section of Boston and takes its name from the monument that memorialized the famous Revolutionary War battle that took place in the area. Located near the Charles River, Bunker Hill gives North Boston another organized baseball entry and the city itself another baseball rivalry.

DIAMOND STATE BASEBALL CLUB (Wilmington, Del.) – Delaware’s first entry into the N.B.B.O. was founded in 1865 in the state’s capital city. As for the club’s name, while Delaware is known as the “First State” since it was first to ratify the U.S. Constitution, and it’s also known as the “Blue Hen State” due to a famous regiment of Revolutionary War soldiers, in addition it’s known as the “Diamond State” because of a quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson in which he described Delaware as a “jewel among the states” due to its strategic location along the Atlantic Coast.

LORD BALTIMORE BASEBALL CLUB (Baltimore) – While Maryland B.C. plays in a venue named after him, this entry decided to name their whole club after the royal title of Cecil Calvert, the 2nd Baron Baltimore and namesake of the city. Because that wasn’t enough, the club’s colors and insignia are taken straight from Lord Baltimore’s banner, which flew from the early 1600’s until the Revolutionary War. The N.B.B.O., and by extension the A.P.B.L., hopes that Lord Baltimore will provide not just a new rival for Maryland B.C. but fierce competition that will cause Maryland to improve.

PHILADELPHIA BASEBALL & CRICKET CLUB – P.B.C.C. is the only one of the six new teams taken from an existing competition, and it’s easy to see why. Although the most highly-regarded club of the new Philadelphia City Baseball League only finished slightly above .500 during its first two seasons, they figured everything out and crushed the competition in West Philadelphia from 1875 to ’77:

• 1875: 46-24 (.657), 1st in West Phi. by 5 games, won Liberty Bell Classic
• 1876: 55-15 (.786), 1st in West Phi. by 15 games, lost Liberty Bell Classic
• 1877: 53-17 (.757), 1st in West Phi. by 13 games, won Liberty Bell Classic
• TOTAL: 154-56 (.733), 3x pennant winner, 2x Liberty Bell Classic winner

That P.B.C.C. did this in what was supposed to be the more established, more challenging half of the competition made their three-year run even more frightening. Their lineup was so talented, in fact, that five of their batsmen would have ranked in the top ten at their positions in the N.B.B.O. in 1877. They had simply become too good for the league, while Frankford Arsenal tailed off in their first season after the departure of Joseph Evans. If there’s a team that can become the first to win a pennant immediately after joining the N.B.B.O., it’s Philadelphia B.C.C.

SQUIRREL HILL B.C. (Pittsburgh) – The last new organization gives Pittsburgh its first N.B.B.O. club since Alleghany left in 1870. The club is named after its local neighborhood in Pittsburgh, which itself was named for the black squirrels that lived, and still live, in the area and were observed by Native Americans in the 1700s around the time the first settlers built houses in the area. Surprisingly, their venue is not called some variation of “The Nut House”.

tm1681 · 11-23-2025, 04:43 PM

All the above raises one obvious question: if the A.P.B.L. added four teams from the N.B.B.O., why did the N.B.B.O. add six teams? The answer is complicated.

Sportsman’s Baseball Club has traditionally been a competitive team in the Inland Championship. Their best teams employed high-powered offenses that kept them close to first place, and as a result they finished in the upper half of the standings nine times with three runner-up seasons.

Unfortunately, recent years have been incredibly unkind to the team from Fall River. After a .500 record and 4th place in 1873, Sportsman’s has done this over the past four seasons:

• 1874: 33-37 (-76 RD); 6th place (20 GB)
• 1875: 30-40 (-86 RD); last place (14 GB)
• 1876: 20-50 (-188 RD); last place (32 GB)
• 1877: 12-58 (-412 RD); last place (42 GB)

Sportsmans’ 1877 season was the worst in N.B.B.O. history. Their offense was the weakest in the competition at 5.5 R/G, they set a record with 11.4 RA/G, their -412 RD (-5.9 R/G) set another record, and their fielding was the worst ever as well. It was an unmitigated disaster that left the team short of funds, and it looked like there was no hope going forward.

Enter an idea. Thanks in no small part to the state’s dominant role in the textile industry, Massachusetts had no fewer than fourteen of the hundred largest cities in the United States by the late 1870’s. The state already had competitive clubs in Boston, Cambridge, Lowell, New Bedford, Salem, & Springfield, but there were still many others that were now large enough to have formal clubs playing in competitive leagues. The Massachusetts-based N.B.B.O. teams thought that someday there would be enough in-state teams to form their own competition, and after going through the worst season in organized baseball history Sportsman’s decided it was time to breathe life into the idea.

On the second day of the Autumn Meetings, Sportsman’s was given the blessing of the Executive Committee to create a new competition: the Coastal Baseball Conference. The competition would field eight teams in 1878, and while they wouldn’t all be from Massachusetts four of the eight entrants would be from there, putting the state closer to having a league’s worth of independently run clubs.

The eight teams:

BRIDGEPORT (CT) BASEBALL CLUB – A club based in its namesake, a quickly-growing ironworking and shipbuilding city in Connecticut, Bridgeport B.C. was founded in 1865 while the city was doubling in size during the decade. Bridgeport now had over 25,000 people, and many enjoyed the sport.

CAMDEN (NJ) & AMBOY B.C. – Based in Camden, New Jersey, a city of around 35,000, “C&A” was created in 1857 by workers of the now-defunct Camden and Amboy Railroad Company. Even though the company went out of business in 1872 the baseball organization continued on, and now the club was going to be in a fully-fledged league.

CAPITOL CITY B.C. (Harrisburg, Penn.) – The outfit representing the capital city of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, began life in 1862 as an informal club created by men who worked at or near the state capitol building. In the fifteen years since Harrisburg had at least doubled in size, and that meant it was now large enough to support a league club.

ESSEX COUNTY B.C. (Lawrence, Mass.) – Part of the mighty Massachusetts textile industry, Lawrence, Mass. had grown from a little over 8,000 people at its incorporation in 1853 to more than 35,000 by 1877, making it large enough for a league team. The club, founded in 1867, takes its insignia from its home county’s seal, and its main color from Essex’s namesake county in England.

HIGHLANDER BASEBALL CLUB (Worcester, Mass.) – “Woostuh” was another growing Massachusetts textile city. With only around 20,000 people at the creation of the N.B.B.O. in 1857, Worcester was now closer to 55,000 and easily big enough for a league club. Enter Highlander, established in 1857 and named for the city’s moniker of “The City of the Seven Hills”.

LYNN (MA) BASEBALL CLUB – Another club situated in Massachusetts, but instead of being based in a textile city Lynn B.C. was part of a city famous for two S’s: shoemaking and shorelines. The club had been around for nearly two decades, and during that time Lynn had doubled in size to more than 35,000 residents.

OLYMPIC BASEBALL CLUB (Paterson, N.J.) – When Olympic heard of Sportsman’s plans, they informed the C.B.C. founders that they wanted in. It was elementary to see why: over 21 years of play in the N.B.B.O. Olympic’s record was a pitiful 530-940 (.361) and they had finished last in the Coastal Championship FOURTEEN times, including seven in a row from 1859 to ’65. Olympic was simply never competitive in a region featuring larger clubs with larger budgets in much larger cities, and this new league presented a perfect opportunity to play against teams more on their logistical level.

SPORTSMAN’S BASEBALL CLUB (Fall River, Mass.) – The C.B.C. founders would have loved to establish a Massachusetts-based league under better circumstances, but after what happened in 1877 the time was as good as any, and it left the club with a positive outlook going forward.

As far as the logistics of the new competition, they were simple. Roster rules would be the same as those in the N.B.B.O. and the schedule would be the same as an eight-team region in the N.B.B.O.: teams would play each other ten times per year over a pair of five-game series, making for a season that is seventy games in length. The main difference would be in team budgets since there wouldn’t be any large cities in the competition.

There was one issue left to resolve: with Philadelphia B.C.C. joining the National Base Ball Organization, that meant there was a place open in the Philadelphia City Baseball League. That place was filled by a neighborhood club.

BARTRAM VILLAGE B.C. – Bartram Village is a neighborhood located in Southwest Philadelphia, the centerpiece of which is the 150-year-old Bartram’s Garden, a famous botanical garden and horticultural nursery built by its namesake: John Bartram.

In 1859, workers at Bartram’s estate and gardens created an informal baseball team, and over the years since then had played other amateur teams all over Philadelphia in one-off contests.

Bartram Village’s entry into the P.C.B.L. was more than welcomed by the other fifteen teams, if for no other reason than it meant that Philadelphia B.C.C. was officially out of the competition. It left the other clubs in West Philadelphia feeling that there will be plenty of competition for the pennant in 1878.

After all was said and done, the competitive baseball ecosystem ended up undergoing far more changes than were originally anticipated during the Autumn Meetings. However, nearly all were in agreement that the changes to the A.P.B.L. were the best for the short-term health of the league, while the changes to the N.B.B.O. & P.C.B.L. and the creation of a new competition would be excellent for the long-term health for the semi-professional game.

If nothing else, 1878 was going to be a fascinating season on account of how different each competition would look.

11-14-2025, 07:53 AM	#961
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,428	TWC XXI: A BATTLE OF DOMINANT TEAMS NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug. 15 to Sep. 2, 1877) – The 21st edition of the Tucker-Wheaton Cup playoffs was going to be another one featuring changes from the previous season, with only two of the six teams present the previous year. In the New York League, Atlantic repeated as Brooklyn champions in a playoff, but Union was second in N.Y.C. and defending cup champions Minuteman finished third Upstate. In the places of the latter were New York Athletic Club with their peerless pitching, and 1873 champions Utica with their league-best offense. In the Northeastern League, Susquehanna was back with a lineup that was even better than last year’s record-breaking unit. Joining them were first-time Coastal champs Newark, led by remarkable P John Ratican, and Portland, the 2x cup runners-up. 2x defending Coastal champs & 1876 cup winners Trenton United slipped to third place, and defending New England champs Sons of the Ocean fell to third after N.E.L. Batsman of the Year Jesse Craig tore knee ligaments in early July. OVERVIEW BROOKLYN – In a pennant race for the ages, a one-game playoff was needed after Atlantic won 12 of 15 games over the final three weeks but saw Eckford win 15 of 16 to end the season. Atlantic took the playoff at Eckford with a three-run ninth inning, which made them the repeat Brooklyn champions with a win total three better than last season. ATLANTIC KEY PLAYERS • MacKenzie Wilson (RF): .345, .847 OPS, 70 R, 113 H, 16 2B, 13 3B, 1 HR, 69 RBI, 11 BB, 3 SB, 3.5 WPA, 2.8 WAR • Ben Gagliardi (SS): .328, .770 OPS, 75 R, 105 H, 15 2B, 8 3B, 51 RBI, 11 BB, 29 SB, +17.0 ZR, 4.5 WPA, 3.6 WAR • Olaf Sorensen (P): 26-13, 2.58 ERA, 55 K, 353.0 IP, 28 CG, 1 SHO, 1.3 K/BB, 1.24 WHIP, 6.1 WAR, 7.6 rWAR NEW YORK CITY – New York Athletic Club had the pennant clinched at the start of August, although losses in each of their last five games saw their lead shrink from eleven games to a final margin of seven. Still, they made the playoffs for the first time thanks to the best pitching in the N.B.B.O. and an offense just good enough to make them consistent winners. NEW YORK ATHLETIC CLUB KEY PLAYERS • Manuel Romeiras (CF): .316, .812 OPS, 81 R, 100 H, 13 2B, 16 3B, 0 HR, 54 RBI, 20 BB, 65 SB, 5.3 WPA, 3.6 WAR • Jack Anastasio (RF): .313, .752 OPS, 84 R, 97 H, 11 2B, 7 3B, 1 HR, 70 RBI, 20 BB, 58 SB, 3.9 WPA, 2.4 WAR • Charles Rhodes (P): 26-13, 2.30 ERA, 132 K, 332.i IP, 24 CG, 1 SHO, 6.0 K/BB, 1.04 WHIP, 9.3 WAR, 6.8 rWAR UPSTATE N.Y. – Utica was able to break off from a four-way tie atop the standings with a 17-4 June, and they never looked back. They had a five-game lead to end July and won Upstate by a final margin of four, with the N.Y.L.’s best offense bringing the team to the playoffs for the fourth time in five years. UTICA KEY PLAYERS • Fox Ellis (3B): .331, .791 OPS, 80 R, 107 H, 16 2B, 8 3B, 0 HR, 79 RBI, 14 BB, 4 SB, 4.1 WPA, 2.3 WAR • Will Buschmann (CF): .328, .775 OPS, 106 R, 110 H, 8 2B, 8 3B, 0 HR, 48 RBI, 24 BB, 30 SB, 5.3 WPA, 2.6 WAR • Edward Davis (SS): .325, .781 OPS, 71 R, 101 H, 19 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR, 70 RBI, 10 BB, 5 SB, 3.5 WPA, 2.2 WAR COASTAL – Newark had a one-game lead at the end of May and held it the rest of the way, eventually taking their first Coastal Championship by nine games over Pt. Jersey. Their key player was star P John Ratican, and behind him was an offense that, while not elite, finished in the top third of the competition in nearly every category. NEWARK KEY PLAYERS • Charles Laczkowski (1B): .332, .784 OPS, 75 R, 105 H, 12 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 62 RBI, 19 BB, 2 SB, 3.7 WPA, 2.4 WAR • Thomas Fetterman (RF): .317, .800 OPS, 76 R, 100 H, 16 2B, 7 3B, 2 HR, 50 RBI, 25 BB, 7 SB, 3.8 WPA, 2.5 WAR • John Ratican (P): 29-9, 1.84 ERA, 133 K, 351.1 IP, 29 CG, 1 SV, 5.5 K/BB, 1.02 WHIP, 10.3 WAR, 11.2 rWAR INLAND – Susquehanna hammered the competition in a wire-to-wire season in first place, taking Inland by FIFTEEN games. Their offense managed to best last year’s record-setting team by scoring 771 Runs (11.0 R/G) while leading the N.B.B.O. in Average, On-Base, Slugging, AND OPS. On top of that, P William Hawk went 33-2 with a 2.40 ERA. SUSQUEHANNA KEY PLAYERS • John Schultz (CF): .320, .779 OPS, 106 R, 117 H, 14 2B, 13 3B, 0 HR, 66 RBI, 17 BB, 42 SB, 4.7 WPA, 3.2 WAR • Lucas Maxwell (2B): .374, .899 OPS, 81 R, 104 H, 19 2B, 9 3B, 0 HR, 74 RBI, 9 BB, 16 SB, 4.7 WPA, 2.8 WAR • William Hawk (P): 33-2, 2.40 ERA, 93 K, 353.0 IP, 28 CG, 0 SHO, 7.2 K/BB, 1.11 WHIP, 7.5 WAR, 8.4 rWAR NEW ENGLAND – Portland had the lead for most of the season, eventually winning New England by six games ahead of Cantabrigians thanks to offense & pitching that both ranked 5th out of 48 teams in the N.B.B.O. The revamp of their pitching duo worked brilliantly, and 6/8 regular lineup members hit higher than .295. PORTLAND KEY PLAYERS • Edward Donovan (1B): .335, .840 OPS, 88 R, 105 H, 10 2B, 15 3B, 0 HR, 63 RBI, 21 BB, 49 SB, 5.5 WPA, 2.6 WAR • Robert Dressen (P): 28-10, 2.39 ERA, 55 K, 332.0 IP, 25 CG, 0 SHO, 2.9 K/BB, 1.21 WHIP, 7.2 WAR, 6.5 rWAR • Francis Molinari (P): 18-7, 3.09 ERA, 76 K, 241.2 IP, 19 CG, 0 SHO, 1.9 K/BB, 1.35 WHIP, 4.0 WAR, 3.8 rWAR TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FORMAT & PREDICTIONS SEEDING • N.Y.L. #1: Atlantic at 49-22 (+193 RD) – 4th playoffs (1870-71, 76-77) • N.Y.L. #2: Utica at 48-22 (+150 RD) – 5th playoffs (1862, 73-75, 77), 1x cup winner (1873) • N.Y.L. #3: New York Athletic Club at 48-22 (+111 RD) – 1st playoff appearance • N.E.L. #1: Susquehanna at 54-16 (+326 RD) – 6th playoffs (1868, 71-72, 74, 76), 1x cup winner (1874) • N.E.L. #2: Newark at 53-17 (+174 RD) – 1st playoff appearance • N.E.L. #3: Portland at 51-19 (+178 RD) – 5th playoff appearance (1871-74) FORMAT • LEAGUE SEMIFINALS: HH-AA-H #2 seed has Home Field Advantage • LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP: HH-AA-H; #1 seed has Home Field Advantage • TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FINAL: HH-AA-H; N.Y.L. champion has Home Field Advantage • One day off after Game Two & Game Four in all series PREDICTIONS • N.Y.L. SEMIFINAL: Utica (24-11 Home) over N.Y.A.C. (LLLLL last 5) • N.E.L. SEMIFINAL: Newark (28-7 Home) over Portland (6-4 Last 10) • N.Y.L. FINAL: Atlantic (13-3 last 16) over Utica (6-4 last 10) • N.E.L. FINAL: Newark (16-2 1-Run) over Susquehanna (6-7 1-Run) • T.W.C. FINAL: Newark beats Atlantic 3-2 The Writers Pool believes that the leagues will be won by the teams that played the best baseball late. Atlantic won 13/16 games to end the season and Newark won their last six, so they are seen as the two favorites. The pool remains skeptical of Susquehanna’s ability to win a second title since they lost more one-run games than they won, and conversely Newark had the best “one-run record” in N.B.B.O. history. If the cup final ends up being the anticipated matchup of Atlantic vs Newark, the Writers Pool thinks Newark will win even though Atlantic would have three home games. That’s due to Newark’s incredible 16-2 record in close games this year, much of which happened due to the work of John Ratican. __________________ Logo & uniform work here Thread about my fictional universe that begins in 1857 here Last edited by tm1681; 11-14-2025 at 08:06 AM.

11-14-2025, 08:00 AM	#963
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,428	FOUNDERS’ CUP VII: LEGENDARY OFFENSE v LEGENDARY PITCHING BROOKLYN & PROVIDENCE (Aug. 21-26, 1877) – Last year’s Founders’ Cup saw American take on surprise Colonial Conference champions Niagara. The resulting series was no contest – American beat Niagara in the first Founders’ Cup sweep to take their fourth A.P.B.L. title in five years, and it left people wondering when, or if, they would be toppled. As it turned out, it only took one year for American to fall off their highest of pedestals, going from 1st to 3rd (10 GB) in the Metropolitan Conference in 1877. The two teams above them, Excelsior & Knickerbocker, took part in an epic pennant race during which the two teams spent nearly three full months never more than two games apart from each other, and the pennant wasn’t taken until the penultimate day when Jim Creighton beat Knickerbocker at the Elysian Fields. On the other side would be an old, familiar foe: St. John’s, who ended a club-record playoff drought of three years after winning the Joseph Evans sweepstakes and seeing Konrad Jensen’s productivity tick back up thanks to a move from the outfield to First Base. The team had not only made it back to a place where they felt a spot should be reserved for them, but they had returned to their traditional roles of leading the league in Runs, OPS, and Stolen Bases. On paper, this was a FANTASTIC matchup. It was an offense vs pitching battle. There were legends on both sides: Jensen & Townsend on St. John’s and Creighton on Excelsior. There were outstanding young players on both teams. Both outfits went 57-33, with St. John’s gaining Home Field Advantage only due to Run Differential. It looked to be about as even of a series as a neutral could possibly conjure up. Speaking of neutrals, the sentimental favorite in the Founders’ Cup would be Excelsior. This was their first postseason trip since 1867, before the league split. This was also the first time Jim Creighton was on one of the last two teams standing in the battle to be crowned champions of baseball, and many would be hoping he’d finally lift a major trophy. St. John’s was used to such sentiment, however. They were the 14x New England & 5x N.B.B.O. champions before the league split, they won the first Founders’ Cup, made the next two after that, and were generally used to being hated by all they competed against. People cheering for the other team? They couldn’t care less. They were focused on the same things they’d always done under Field Manager Todd Rogers since the inception of the N.B.B.O. in 1857: beating the best of the best with patience at the plate, solid contact with the bat, and dizzying aggression on the basepaths. ST. JOHN’S KEY PLAYERS • Joseph Evans (LF): .393, .947 OPS, 104 R, 160 H, 30 2B, 11 3B, 88 RBI, 20 BB, 25 SB, 5.3 WPA, 4.3 WAR • Konrad Jensen (1B): .362, .871 OPS, 122 R, 145 H, 24 XBH, 1 HR, 77 RBI, 31 BB, 102 SB, 5.8 WPA, 4.9 WAR • Rudolph Decker (CF): .329, .783 OPS, 89 R, 130 H, 31 XBH, 1 HR, 85 RBI, 11 BB, 59 SB, 3.3 WPA, 3.7 WAR • Howard Burns (P): 27-13, 3.65 ERA, 88 K, 360.0 IP, 27 CG, 2 SHO, 6.3 K/BB, 1.30 WHIP, 6.7 WAR, 6.2 rWAR • Thomas Smith (P): 27-16, 3.03 ERA, 65 K, 371.2 IP, 29 CG, 3 SHO, 1.4 K/BB, 1.28 WHIP, 5.0 WAR, 7.6 rWAR EXCELSIOR KEY PLAYERS • Troy Oberst (LF): .370, .922 OPS, 114 R, 152 H, 34 2B, 13 3B, 80 RBI, 22 BB, 10 SB, 6.2 WPA, 4.4 WAR • Elijah Hill (3B): .345, .797 OPS, 88 R, 150 H, 25 2B, 10 3B, 90 RBI, 2 BB, 5 SB, 5.6 WPA, 3.2 WAR • Boyd Myers (CF): .330, .790 OPS, 92 R, 145 H, 35 XBH, 1 HR, 81 RBI, 10 BB, 3 SB, 4.7 WPA, 3.0 WAR • Jim Creighton (P): 27-14, 3.38 ERA, 133 K, 359.0 IP, 23 CG, 2 SHO, 4.4 K/BB, 1.33 WHIP, 6.5 WAR, 2.6 rWAR • Elmer Seabold (P): 23-16, 3.44 ERA, 150 K, 368.2 IP, 30 CG, 1 SV, 2.3 K/BB, 1.39 WHIP, 6.4 WAR, 3.4 rWAR FOUNDERS’ CUP FORMAT & PREDICTION SEEDING • #1: St. John’s (57-33, +180 RD) • #2: Excelsior (57-33, +119 RD) FORMAT • HH-AAA-HH Schedule • One day off after Game Two & Game Five • #1 seed (St. John’s) has Home Field Advantage PREDICTION • St. John’s (34-11 Home) beats Excelsior 4-3 As far as many in the Writers Pool were concerned, this series was a toss-up. St. John’s had the league’s best record for much of the year, but that was because the other two fifty-win teams were in the other conference, with Excelsior fending off an incredible challenge from Knickerbocker to win the Metropolitan Conference title. As it stood, the only thing separating the two was the fact that St. John’s was the team playing four games at home, should all four be required. Neutrals wanted Excelsior to win, while the slightest of advantages made St. John’s the slightest of favorites. Would Jim Creighton finally win his first championship, or would St. John’s go back to the top of the baseball world for the first time in six “long” years? __________________ Logo & uniform work here Thread about my fictional universe that begins in 1857 here Last edited by tm1681; 11-14-2025 at 08:14 AM.

11-16-2025, 10:26 PM	#967
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,428	1877 AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE REVIEW WRITERS POOL OBSERVATIONS ALLEGHANY: Their 45-45 finish was right around where projections had them. Their fielding was unquestionably the best in the league (E/G: #1/12, ZR: #1, EFF: #1), but their lineup was right in the middle of the pack in terms of production and their pitching was just okay. It might be time to move on from Raynard Cordell, and they may need an upgrade at C. AMERICAN: The 4x champs had a ten-game slide from last season to this. Injuries to Peter Boyce & George Kassabian didn’t help, but the big issue was that mainstays like William Busby, Franklin Petty, & Raynard Steinbach started to show their age. That spoiled yet another historic season from James Burke, so there may be some retooling needed. EXCELSIOR: This year, they came out on top of an epic pennant race instead of finishing runner-up like in 1875. They didn’t put a foot wrong this season – every regular hit above .275, they were top-three in Runs (8.3 R/G), and both pitchers won 20+ games while leading the league in Strikeouts. They were simply up against a superior team in the Founders’ Cup. FLOUR CITY: They were 18-7 June but 23-42 the rest of the season. 3x All-Star Ernest Dugas’ average fell from .329 (.801 OPS) to .256 (.634 OPS), and James Goodman finally started to appear his age, as even though he led the league in WAR (7.4) his Strikeouts fell from 90 to 52. It’s hard to pick an area that needs upgrading, as they were mediocre in everything. GOTHAM: The loss of Clive Strachan to Knick REALLY hurt. Royal Altman didn’t have the range for LF (-8.8 ZR) and he hit under .300 for the first time (.299, .689 OPS). Having a 2.0* player at 3B – Enos Pfannenstiel – was also a major problem, and signing James Dressman from the N.B.B.O. to lead the pitching duo didn’t pan out. They need a winter rethink. KINGS CO: A .500 season for the first time in the A.P.B.L. As far as they’re concerned, that’s mission accomplished. Fred Bartholomew played like a genuine star, Herman Stanley showed why he was the P.C.B.L.’s other star player, Carl Nevers had a fine debut season, and Nicholas Banfield made his first All-Star Game. This is a team to watch next year. KNICKERBOCKER: Another excellent season, but they couldn’t quite beat Excelsior in the best pennant race in baseball history. Clive Strachan was brilliant in his first Knick season, Robert Goodman & Henry Jost made their first All-Star Game appearances, and Alexaner/Harris/Mascherino all had 4+ WAR. They will be very dangerous next year. MASS. BAY: A disappointing 1877 – nine fewer wins than last year. The main problem: their 11th-ranked group of fielders. Also, CF Charles Foster hit well below .250 for the second straight season and Albert Stoffers hit a career-low .310. On the plus side, Gerhardt Berg hit about .370 and Harold Durand improved in his second A.P.B.L. season. Changes are needed. NIAGARA: From worst to first to second. They had good pitching and the league’s #2 group of fielders, but their #9 offense left them unable to keep up with St. John’s. Clyde Hudspeth saw his average fall 80+ points (.316 to .231) so it could just be a matter of seeing him return to form next year. Still, Sweeney Martin isn’t an A.P.B.L. 1B, so they should upgrade there. ORANGE: Everything that could go wrong did. New #1 P Andrew Miller: 7-31 with a 4.64 ERA. 5x All-Star Walter Dudley: .266 with 38 RBI and -0.2 WAR. 3x All-Star Earl Crosby: .223 with a 66 OPS+. All-Star SS John Harmon: .222 with a .539 OPS. 4x All-Star Will Chaffin: a career-low .246 average. They either need mass upgrades or a big return to All-Star form. SHAMROCK: Seven wins better than last year but still tied for last in the Colonial. The obvious issue was their 11th-ranked offense that saw just three regulars – Frank Bulger, Robert Jessup, & Charles Washer – hit above .300. They’ll be banking on returns to All-Star play by William Dickerson & Harold Groves, as well as an upgrade at CF. ST. JOHN’S: The champions have nothing to complain about. They won the Joseph Evans sweepstakes, and the man was somehow better than advertised. Konrad Jensen’s average went up 20-25 points. Rudolph Decker hit around .330. Both Howard Burns & Thomas Smith had 27 Wins. Their main goal is to get Nelson Townsend back on track in 1878. __________________ Logo & uniform work here Thread about my fictional universe that begins in 1857 here Last edited by tm1681; 11-16-2025 at 10:39 PM.

11-16-2025, 10:30 PM	#969
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,428	And that concludes the 1877 season. Now that Football Manager is through to the planned weekly-ish update process (remember, I just do research for that game and have nothing to do with coding) I should have a little more time to update this thread. __________________ Logo & uniform work here Thread about my fictional universe that begins in 1857 here Last edited by tm1681; 11-17-2025 at 12:56 AM.

11-23-2025, 04:34 PM	#971
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,428	SURPRISING CHANGES MADE TO THE NBBO SIX TEAMS ADDED AFTER TWO DROP OUT TO FORM NEW LEAGUE; PCBL CHAMPS MOVE UP NEW YORK CITY (Nov. 10-13, 1877) - The National Base Ball Organization knew ahead of the Autumn Meetings that there would be at least four open spots in the competition to fill, and the plan to fill those spots began as soon as the A.P.B.L.’s June announcement went out. However, in the end the N.B.B.O. brought six new teams to its ranks instead. The six new entries into the N.B.B.O. were five clubs new to high-level organized baseball and one that had more than proven its worth at city level. Two clubs gave Boston a return to the competition, one gave Pittsburgh its first team since 1870, one made sure that Philadelphia still had a club present, one gave Baltimore a second team, and one became the first to represent the state of Delaware. The six new clubs: BRIGHTON BASEBALL CLUB (Boston) – A club named after a neighborhood in Boston that itself was named after a city on the southern coast of England, which was where it took the inspiration for its insignia from. Founded in 1858, Brighton gives Northwest Boston its first formal club and the city’s first N.B.B.O. entry since Massachusetts Bay & Shamrock left for the A.P.B.L. in 1870. BUNKER HILL BASEBALL CLUB (Boston) – Formed in 1861, Bunker Hill B.C. is based in the Charlestown section of Boston and takes its name from the monument that memorialized the famous Revolutionary War battle that took place in the area. Located near the Charles River, Bunker Hill gives North Boston another organized baseball entry and the city itself another baseball rivalry. DIAMOND STATE BASEBALL CLUB (Wilmington, Del.) – Delaware’s first entry into the N.B.B.O. was founded in 1865 in the state’s capital city. As for the club’s name, while Delaware is known as the “First State” since it was first to ratify the U.S. Constitution, and it’s also known as the “Blue Hen State” due to a famous regiment of Revolutionary War soldiers, in addition it’s known as the “Diamond State” because of a quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson in which he described Delaware as a “jewel among the states” due to its strategic location along the Atlantic Coast. LORD BALTIMORE BASEBALL CLUB (Baltimore) – While Maryland B.C. plays in a venue named after him, this entry decided to name their whole club after the royal title of Cecil Calvert, the 2nd Baron Baltimore and namesake of the city. Because that wasn’t enough, the club’s colors and insignia are taken straight from Lord Baltimore’s banner, which flew from the early 1600’s until the Revolutionary War. The N.B.B.O., and by extension the A.P.B.L., hopes that Lord Baltimore will provide not just a new rival for Maryland B.C. but fierce competition that will cause Maryland to improve. PHILADELPHIA BASEBALL & CRICKET CLUB – P.B.C.C. is the only one of the six new teams taken from an existing competition, and it’s easy to see why. Although the most highly-regarded club of the new Philadelphia City Baseball League only finished slightly above .500 during its first two seasons, they figured everything out and crushed the competition in West Philadelphia from 1875 to ’77: • 1875: 46-24 (.657), 1st in West Phi. by 5 games, won Liberty Bell Classic • 1876: 55-15 (.786), 1st in West Phi. by 15 games, lost Liberty Bell Classic • 1877: 53-17 (.757), 1st in West Phi. by 13 games, won Liberty Bell Classic • TOTAL: 154-56 (.733), 3x pennant winner, 2x Liberty Bell Classic winner That P.B.C.C. did this in what was supposed to be the more established, more challenging half of the competition made their three-year run even more frightening. Their lineup was so talented, in fact, that five of their batsmen would have ranked in the top ten at their positions in the N.B.B.O. in 1877. They had simply become too good for the league, while Frankford Arsenal tailed off in their first season after the departure of Joseph Evans. If there’s a team that can become the first to win a pennant immediately after joining the N.B.B.O., it’s Philadelphia B.C.C. SQUIRREL HILL B.C. (Pittsburgh) – The last new organization gives Pittsburgh its first N.B.B.O. club since Alleghany left in 1870. The club is named after its local neighborhood in Pittsburgh, which itself was named for the black squirrels that lived, and still live, in the area and were observed by Native Americans in the 1700s around the time the first settlers built houses in the area. Surprisingly, their venue is not called some variation of “The Nut House”. __________________ Logo & uniform work here Thread about my fictional universe that begins in 1857 here Last edited by tm1681; 11-23-2025 at 05:03 PM.

11-23-2025, 04:43 PM	#972
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,428	All the above raises one obvious question: if the A.P.B.L. added four teams from the N.B.B.O., why did the N.B.B.O. add six teams? The answer is complicated. Sportsman’s Baseball Club has traditionally been a competitive team in the Inland Championship. Their best teams employed high-powered offenses that kept them close to first place, and as a result they finished in the upper half of the standings nine times with three runner-up seasons. Unfortunately, recent years have been incredibly unkind to the team from Fall River. After a .500 record and 4th place in 1873, Sportsman’s has done this over the past four seasons: • 1874: 33-37 (-76 RD); 6th place (20 GB) • 1875: 30-40 (-86 RD); last place (14 GB) • 1876: 20-50 (-188 RD); last place (32 GB) • 1877: 12-58 (-412 RD); last place (42 GB) Sportsmans’ 1877 season was the worst in N.B.B.O. history. Their offense was the weakest in the competition at 5.5 R/G, they set a record with 11.4 RA/G, their -412 RD (-5.9 R/G) set another record, and their fielding was the worst ever as well. It was an unmitigated disaster that left the team short of funds, and it looked like there was no hope going forward. Enter an idea. Thanks in no small part to the state’s dominant role in the textile industry, Massachusetts had no fewer than fourteen of the hundred largest cities in the United States by the late 1870’s. The state already had competitive clubs in Boston, Cambridge, Lowell, New Bedford, Salem, & Springfield, but there were still many others that were now large enough to have formal clubs playing in competitive leagues. The Massachusetts-based N.B.B.O. teams thought that someday there would be enough in-state teams to form their own competition, and after going through the worst season in organized baseball history Sportsman’s decided it was time to breathe life into the idea. On the second day of the Autumn Meetings, Sportsman’s was given the blessing of the Executive Committee to create a new competition: the Coastal Baseball Conference. The competition would field eight teams in 1878, and while they wouldn’t all be from Massachusetts four of the eight entrants would be from there, putting the state closer to having a league’s worth of independently run clubs. The eight teams: BRIDGEPORT (CT) BASEBALL CLUB – A club based in its namesake, a quickly-growing ironworking and shipbuilding city in Connecticut, Bridgeport B.C. was founded in 1865 while the city was doubling in size during the decade. Bridgeport now had over 25,000 people, and many enjoyed the sport. CAMDEN (NJ) & AMBOY B.C. – Based in Camden, New Jersey, a city of around 35,000, “C&A” was created in 1857 by workers of the now-defunct Camden and Amboy Railroad Company. Even though the company went out of business in 1872 the baseball organization continued on, and now the club was going to be in a fully-fledged league. CAPITOL CITY B.C. (Harrisburg, Penn.) – The outfit representing the capital city of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, began life in 1862 as an informal club created by men who worked at or near the state capitol building. In the fifteen years since Harrisburg had at least doubled in size, and that meant it was now large enough to support a league club. ESSEX COUNTY B.C. (Lawrence, Mass.) – Part of the mighty Massachusetts textile industry, Lawrence, Mass. had grown from a little over 8,000 people at its incorporation in 1853 to more than 35,000 by 1877, making it large enough for a league team. The club, founded in 1867, takes its insignia from its home county’s seal, and its main color from Essex’s namesake county in England. HIGHLANDER BASEBALL CLUB (Worcester, Mass.) – “Woostuh” was another growing Massachusetts textile city. With only around 20,000 people at the creation of the N.B.B.O. in 1857, Worcester was now closer to 55,000 and easily big enough for a league club. Enter Highlander, established in 1857 and named for the city’s moniker of “The City of the Seven Hills”. LYNN (MA) BASEBALL CLUB – Another club situated in Massachusetts, but instead of being based in a textile city Lynn B.C. was part of a city famous for two S’s: shoemaking and shorelines. The club had been around for nearly two decades, and during that time Lynn had doubled in size to more than 35,000 residents. OLYMPIC BASEBALL CLUB (Paterson, N.J.) – When Olympic heard of Sportsman’s plans, they informed the C.B.C. founders that they wanted in. It was elementary to see why: over 21 years of play in the N.B.B.O. Olympic’s record was a pitiful 530-940 (.361) and they had finished last in the Coastal Championship FOURTEEN times, including seven in a row from 1859 to ’65. Olympic was simply never competitive in a region featuring larger clubs with larger budgets in much larger cities, and this new league presented a perfect opportunity to play against teams more on their logistical level. SPORTSMAN’S BASEBALL CLUB (Fall River, Mass.) – The C.B.C. founders would have loved to establish a Massachusetts-based league under better circumstances, but after what happened in 1877 the time was as good as any, and it left the club with a positive outlook going forward. As far as the logistics of the new competition, they were simple. Roster rules would be the same as those in the N.B.B.O. and the schedule would be the same as an eight-team region in the N.B.B.O.: teams would play each other ten times per year over a pair of five-game series, making for a season that is seventy games in length. The main difference would be in team budgets since there wouldn’t be any large cities in the competition. There was one issue left to resolve: with Philadelphia B.C.C. joining the National Base Ball Organization, that meant there was a place open in the Philadelphia City Baseball League. That place was filled by a neighborhood club. BARTRAM VILLAGE B.C. – Bartram Village is a neighborhood located in Southwest Philadelphia, the centerpiece of which is the 150-year-old Bartram’s Garden, a famous botanical garden and horticultural nursery built by its namesake: John Bartram. In 1859, workers at Bartram’s estate and gardens created an informal baseball team, and over the years since then had played other amateur teams all over Philadelphia in one-off contests. Bartram Village’s entry into the P.C.B.L. was more than welcomed by the other fifteen teams, if for no other reason than it meant that Philadelphia B.C.C. was officially out of the competition. It left the other clubs in West Philadelphia feeling that there will be plenty of competition for the pennant in 1878. After all was said and done, the competitive baseball ecosystem ended up undergoing far more changes than were originally anticipated during the Autumn Meetings. However, nearly all were in agreement that the changes to the A.P.B.L. were the best for the short-term health of the league, while the changes to the N.B.B.O. & P.C.B.L. and the creation of a new competition would be excellent for the long-term health for the semi-professional game. If nothing else, 1878 was going to be a fascinating season on account of how different each competition would look. __________________ Logo & uniform work here Thread about my fictional universe that begins in 1857 here Last edited by tm1681; 11-23-2025 at 05:09 PM.