The Big Bang: A Larger Baseball Universe Starting From Nothing in 1857 - Page 13

tm1681 · 07-01-2024, 03:37 PM

CREIGHTON AVENGES TERRIBLE OPENER WITH BRILLIANT 2ND OUTING
HAD WORST OUTING IN YEARS TO OPEN SEASON, THEN WON BIG AGAINST EXCELSIOR

BROOKLYN (May 4, 1866) – Jim Creighton hoped to start the season building off his record-setting end to 1865. Instead, the polar opposite happened in his Opening Day start at Continental, with Creighton allowing a career-high nine Earned Runs on ten hits over 6.1 innings in what ended up being a five-run loss by Excelsior.

Creighton took to the field for start number two on Friday and the results were much, much more favorable:

Creighton helped his squadmates in their battering of Continental pitching, going 1/4 (single) with a run & R.B.I. each while also drawing a base on balls. From the Pitcher’s Area Mr. Creighton was back to his usual standard of dominance:

• CG SHUTOUT, 2 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 97 PITCHES

The home side did themselves no favors here, as eight Continental players combined to commit ten fielding errors and as a result only six of the fifteen Excelsior tallies were Earned Runs.

If Excelsior is to take their third Brooklyn pennant in four years they will need more performances like the one they received from Creighton on this afternoon, and far fewer like the one they saw from him on Opening Day.

tm1681 · 07-01-2024, 03:38 PM

DONOVAN WITH 5 HITS & 5 R.B.I. AGAINST IN-STATE RIVALS
PORT JERSEY STAR CARRIES THE LOAD IN ONE-RUN WIN AGAINST NEWARK

NEWARK, N.J. (May 6, 1866) – The two N.B.B.O. member clubs based in New Jersey are facing off against each other to open the 1866 season. The series ended in exciting fashion, with visiting Port Jersey earning a one-run victory:

Six members of the Port Jersey lineup had multiple hits, but it was star outfielder Edward Donovan who lifted the team over the top with his batsmanship, ending the opening week in fantastic fashion:

• T1: 1-run Single past SS off O. Sherrill (stole 3B, scored)
• T3: 1-run Double to LF off O. Sherrill (scored)
• T4: 1-run Triple to LCF off O. Sherrill (scored)
• T5: 1-run Double past 3B off F. Mitchell
• T7: 1-run Single b/w SS & 3B off F. Mitchell
• T9: Fly Out to 1B off F. Mitchell
• TOTAL: 5/6, 2 2B, 3B, 5 RBI, 1 SB, 9 TB

Donovan’s 1-run single in the top of the 7th inning plated Port Jersey’s thirteenth run, which ended up being the difference in the game, so his production was both proficient and timely. His team did not take the series but they did win two of the games at Newark, a decent start to the new season.

tm1681 · 07-01-2024, 03:40 PM

BARR LEADS THE WAY AS EMPIRE PLATES TWO DOZEN
HOME SIDE’S ATTACK WREAKS HAVOC OVER OPENING INNINGS IN CRUSHING VICTORY

BROOKLYN (May 9, 1866) – Every season, at some point during the first two weeks of play one of the N.B.B.O’s 48 teams uncorks an offensive outburst that puts them in the headlines as the first team to score 20+ runs in a game. The honor for 1866 goes to Empire B.B.C, who rained devastation on Kings County early to pick up their first win of the year:

Empire scored an eye-watering seventeen runs over their first two times to bat, but they received A LOT of help from visiting Kings County, who committed seven fielding errors in the 1st innings and three more in the 2nd. When Clemens Stadisch left the game in frustration after 1+ inning he had allowed eleven runs but just a single Earned Run. The main offender for Kings Co. was SS Leslie Bjork, who committed five errors on the day, while CF Declan Brice committed an unbelievable – for him – three and 2B Hanno Waldmann added two more. Three more Kings Co. players made miscues to bring the team’s total to a Baker’s Dozen for the game, adding embarrassment to both insult & injury.

Eight Empire batsmen, including pitcher William Jones, collected multiple hits. The leader of the pack was CF Callum Barr:

• B1: Leadoff Single to LCF off C. Stadisch (scored)
• B1: 1-run Single to RCF off C. Stadisch (scored)
• B2: 2-run Single to CF off M. Svensson (scored)
• B3: Fly Out to CF off M. Svensson
• B5: 1-run Triple to RF off E. Wise (scored)
• B7: Single to CF off E. Wise
• B8: Fly Out to 3B off E. Wise
• TOTAL: 5/7, 3B, 3 R, 4 RBI, 7 TB

The result added to Kings County’s miserable start. After beating Atlantic 4-1 at home on opening day Kings Co. has lost all five of their games since, and they have allowed 56 runs (11.2 R/G) over that span. It is very early, but it looks like the long-time Brooklyn powerhouse might be in for another difficult season of base ball.

tm1681 · 07-01-2024, 03:41 PM

GOTHAM OUTLASTS HILLTOP IN A N.Y.C. CLASSIC
TEAMS COMBINE FOR 35 RUNS & 43 HITS; GOTHAM’S ARNOLD & BILLON THE STARS

NEW YORK CITY (May 10, 1866) – The season is only in Week Two, but already the National Base Ball Organization has been given what might end up being its game of the year thanks to a Hilltop-Gotham classic in New York City on Thursday:

This game had EVERYTHING: 35 total runs, 43 hits, 17 combined fielding errors, and seven lead changes.

Gotham raced out to a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the 1st, but eight Hilltop runs made it 9-4 in the top of the 2nd. Gotham then made it 9-8 in their half of the 2nd and had an 11-10 lead by the end of the 3rd. Hilltop scored three unanswered runs over the middle innings to take back the lead and enter the late stage ahead 13-11, but Gotham once again roared back. After going up 14-11 in the top half of the 7th, Hilltop allowed Gotham to take a 15-14 lead on a combination of hits & errors in the bottom half. The visitors then took the lead back in the 8th on a 2-run single by P Xanthus Komninos, but in the bottom of the 8th the lead went straight back to Gotham on a 2-run double by Alexander Arnold. Gotham then received an insurance run via wild pitch, and they needed it because after scoring a run in the top of the 9th Hilltop had the tying run on 3rd when Richard Kenton hit a fly out to CF to end the game.

Hilltop was led by All-Star C Morris Jennings, who was 4/6 with a pair of doubles, a pair of runs, and one R.B.I, but the stars of the game wore Gotham’s clothing. Two in particular stood out: SS Alexander Arnold & LF Luc Billon.

ARNOLD

• B1: Single to LF off R. Frazee (stole 2B, scored)
• B2: 1-run Single to CF off R. Frazee (scored)
• B3: Fly Out to RF off F. Mills
• B5: Single past 2B off F. Mills
• B7: Single b/w 1B & 2B off F. Mills (scored)
• B8: 2-run Double to LF off X. Komninos (scored)
• TOTAL: 5/6, 2B, 4 R, 3 RBI, SB, 6 TB

BILLON

• B1: 2-run Single to RCF off R. Frazee (scored)
• B2: 1-run Single to CF off R. Frazee (scored)
• B3: 2-run Double to LF off F. Mills (scored)
• B5: Fly Out to CF off F. Mills
• B7: 1-run Single to LF off F. Mills (scored)
• B8: Reached via Base on Balls by X. Komninos
• TOTAL: 4/5, 2B, 4 R, 6 RBI, BB, 5 TB

For the two thousand people in attendance, everyone received their money’s worth. For Hilltop, it was an extremely disappointing loss littered with miscues. For Gotham, it was a thrilling victory that continued their run of mostly positive results to start the 1866 season.

tm1681 · 07-02-2024, 03:13 PM

BROWN HOLDS VICTORY TO SINGLE HIT IN TROY
UTICA PITCHER AUTHORS FIRST ONE-HITTER SINCE 1864; UTICA’S RECORD MOVES TO 10-1

TROY, N.Y. (May 16, 1866) – There was not much in the way of action in the contest between Utica & Victory at Rensselaer Park in Upstate New York on Wednesday afternoon, but that did not mean there was nothing of note to write about:

Visiting Utica exited the victors at Victory, with newcomer John Brown holding the hosts to a single hit. In the process, Brown became the first N.B.B.O. player in nearly two years to pitch a one-hitter.

There was no drama regarding the possibility of Brown authoring base ball’s fourth no-hitter and first since 1862, as Victory’s hit came in the bottom of the 1st inning – a single by 2B William Lydon. Victory only had two other baserunners during the game, with both reaching via errors by Utica 3B William Flanders. Brown only sent down one Victory player via strikes – 3B Fred Whatley – but still helped himself tremendously by including seventeen ground ball outs.

There was one batsman who put in a good shift in Troy: Utica CF Jasper Carrell, who was 3/4 with two doubles, a pair of runs, two stolen bases, and an R.B.I. on top for good measure.

The win continued Utica’s red-hot start, with the Upstate New York leaders running their record to 10-1 after eleven games and pitcher John Brown’s record moving to 4-1 with a fine 2.88 Earned Run Average.

tm1681 · 07-02-2024, 03:15 PM

SPORTSMAN’S CRACKS 9 EXTRA-BASE HITS IN WILD WIN
HOSTS FINISH WITH 26 HITS WHILE FOUR SPORTSMAN’S BATTERS COLLECT 4 OR MORE

FALL RIVER, MASS. (May 19, 1866) – The previous contest of note in the N.B.B.O. involved a big lack of offense from one of the teams involved. In contrast, Saturday afternoon’s game between Reading & Sportsman’s was quite the opposite:

The hosts were all action in this one, finishing with 20+ runs, 20+ hits, and 10+ errors – nobody was cheated out of the dimes they left at the turnstiles in Fall River as Sportsman’s both battered Reading and tried to help them stay in the contest. Sportsman’s pounded out no less than nine extra-base hits – eight doubles and a triple – as rallies in the early & late innings secured an eight-run win over a Reading side that could not match Sportsman’s firepower.

Reading managed to come back from an 8-1 deficit after the 2nd inning to draw level by the mid-4th and they took the lead with another rally in the 6th, but Sportsman’s won the game with a dozen unanswered runs over their last three times to bat.

Reading Athletic finished with sixteen hits, but with Sportsman’s collecting 26 during the course of the afternoon it is no surprise that the players of the game all came from the victors. Four Sportsman’s batsmen finished the game with four or more base hits: LF Julius Bailey, 1B Jesse Beaver, 2B Jonathan DeAndrea, & CF Doc Matheson. Five batsmen – the previous four plus RF Paul Kronenberg – had three or more R.B.I. Of the five, it was Beaver’s efforts that led the way:

BEAVER

• B1: 1-run Double to RCF off C. Hartmann[/B]
• B2: 1-run Single to CF off C. Hartmann[/B]
• B4: Infield Single b/w C & P off C. Perkins[/B]
• B6: Ground Out to 1B off C. Perkins[/B]
• B7: 1-run Single past SS off C. Zier (scored)[/B]
• B8: Double to LF off C. Zier (scored)[/B]
• TOTAL: 5/6, 2 2B, 2 R, 3 RBI, 7 TB[/B]

The 21 runs & 26 hits were both season highs for Sportsman’s, and the five-hit outburst raised Jesse Beaver’s average to .490 over thirteen games played. Sportsman’s currently leads the N.E.L. in Batting Average, On-Base, Slugging, & O.P.S thanks to a lineup full of high-contact batsmen who are also plenty capable of finding the gaps in the outfield with batted balls. They are only 6-8, but that kind of attack should bode well for their record over the rest of the season, if it holds up.

tm1681 · 07-02-2024, 03:16 PM

RICHTER’S 5 RUNS & 5 R.B.I. SPOIL GOTHAM’S SUNDAY
HARLEM OF SHOWING NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN; GOTHAM STILL ATOP N.Y.C. AT 11-4

NEW YORK CITY (May 20, 1866) – Gotham entered the end of Week Three with one of the best records in the N.B.B.O, but that did not matter in their game at Mount Morris Square as hosts Harlem were dominant in victory:

In Gotham’s nine-run win, nine of their sixteen hits came from two members of the lineup: C Clive Nicholas & OF Chatham Richter, with the 41-year-old Richter playing like a man ten to fifteen years his junior:

RICHTER

• B1: Leadoff 2B to LCF off D. Flynn (R)
• B3: Leadoff 1B to CF off D. Flynn (SB, R)
• B5: 1-Run 1B to LCF off D. Flynn (SB, R)
• B7: Leadoff 1B to CF off D. Flynn (SB, R)
• B8: 1-run 1B past 2B off J. Gant (R)
• TOTAL: 5/5, 2B, 5 R, 2 RBI, 3 SB

The 5/5 performance took Chatham Richter’s average up to .308 after fifteen games. He has stolen nine bases without being caught and has been a solid positive in a corner outfield position, so thus far in 1866 Richter has not at all played like a man clearly on the wrong side of forty years old.

The win moved his Harlem team to a respectable 7-8 with a +7 Run Differential after three weeks of play.

In spite of the loss, Gotham remains two games clear atop the New York City standings with an 11-4 record.

tm1681 · 07-07-2024, 04:05 PM

SUSQUEHANNA RUNS RIOT AT MERRIMACK MILLS
RECORDS BROKEN BY BOTH TEAMS IN 21-RUN VICTORY SATURDAY AFTERNOON

LOWELL, MASS. (May 26, 1866) – The Inland Championship tilt between Susquehanna & Merrimack Mills on Saturday afternoon featured a pair of 9-9 teams, so a close contest was expected. Well, that absolutely did not occur here…

It took a couple of innings before it started to happen, but Susquehanna dismantled Merrimack Mills’ pitching with much help from Merrimack’s own defense: a group of fielders who committed a team record fifteen errors during the course of the game. Every one of the Merrimack starters save pitcher Bengt Laudrup made miscues in the field, with SS Felix Foster & CF Lars Kelson making three each. To make matters worse, C Bruce Botchko tacked on a trio of Passed Balls.

On top of the terrible fielding, the Merrimack pitching crew decided to add in their own terrible performances, with Laudrup & Gianfranco Fontanesi combining to allow fourteen hits over the first 3.1 innings before Tom Dean came in to pitch the rest of the game.

The result? A team-record 21-run margin of victory for Susquehanna. Four of their batsmen had 4+ hits: 2B Ashley Boyce, LF Jonathan German, 3B Logan Hickey, & CF Jonathan Richards. German took Player of the Game honors thanks to a pair of doubles, three runs, and five R.B.I. to go with his hits. Boyce had three runs & four R.B.I, Hickey added four runs & three R.B.I, and Richards tallied a pair of runs & three R.B.I.

It was Susquehanna’s day, the kind of day that can cause an entire season to take an upward turn.

tm1681 · 07-07-2024, 04:05 PM

MERRIMACK’S MATTHEWS MAKES YEAR’S 1ST CYCLE
M.M. OUTFIELDER BECOMES 1ST BATSMAN TO COMPLETE ACHIEVEMENT IN TWO YEARS

LOWELL, MASS. (May 27, 1866) – Yesterday the base ball in Lowell was entirely lop-sided, with Susquehanna crushing Merrimack Mills by the score of 25-4. This afternoon the spectacle on display was much more competitive, with Susquehanna again winning but by the score of 10-7.

While the visitors won again, it was the hosts who took the headlines thanks to the performance of starting LF Elton Matthews. The English newcomer, in just his fourth week in the N.B.B.O, became the first batsman to hit for The Cycle since Alleghany’s Dennis Pruitt on May 22nd of 1864, and the tenth to complete one in N.B.B.O. history.

Matthews’ memorable afternoon:

• B1: 1-run Triple to RCF off J. Cunningham (scored)
• B3: Double to CF off J. Cunningham (scored)
• B5: Ground Out to 3B off J. Cunningham
• B7: 2-run Home Run to LCF off J. Cunningham (Inside the Park)
• B9: Single to LF off F. Nicholas
• TOTAL: 4/5, CYCLE, 3 R, 3 RBI, 10 TB

Ironically, it was the single that came last for Matthews, who left it until he came to bat with two outs in the bottom of the 9th inning. He then hit a line drive to left field to complete his cycle and take everyone’s congratulations even though it was in a losing effort. Matthews had four of Merrimack Mills’ nine hits, three of their seven runs, and three of their seven R.B.I.

Unfortunately for Matthews, Merrimack was undone by eleven fielding miscues which were timed poorly enough that the Merrimack pitchers allowed zero Earned Runs even though the team allowed ten runs to Susquehanna during the course of the game. The result was most certainly a case of the losing side beating themselves.

The loss dropped Merrimack to 9-11, while the win improved Susquehanna to 11-9 at the end of Week Four.

tm1681 · 07-07-2024, 04:09 PM

WHAT IS THE SECRET TO CORMACK’S SUCCESS?
KINGS COUNTY STAR ON HIS WAY TO 3RD BATTING TITLE IN THREE YEARS OF ORGANIZED BASE BALL

BROOKLYN (May 28, 1866) – The 1866 base ball season is nearing the end of its first month, and already a familiar theme is emerging: the most technically gifted batsman in the New York League, and the N.Y.L. leader in Batting Average so far, has been 26-year-old Kings County first baseman Cormack Alexander, the two-time defending N.Y.L. Batting Champion.

Alexander’s first two-plus seasons in organized base ball have been a case study in technical excellence. He set National Base Ball Organization records for Batting Average (.430) and Hits (138) in his first season. He followed that up with an 1865 season that was not as spectacular, but one in which he led the New York League in average and hits once again. After Week Four of the 1866 N.B.B.O. season, Alexander is – surprise, surprise – at the top of the N.Y.L. in average & hits.

Alexander’s batting statistics so far in 1866:

• 20 G, .450 AVG (36/80), 1.153 OPS (219 OPS+), 16 R, 11 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 22 RBI, 1.7 WPA, 1.3 WAR

How did Alexander become such a seamless fit into the Kings County lineup, and how did he immediately become such a dominant batsman? First, a look at how he came to Kings County in the first place.

Cormack Alexander is an Irish immigrant from Skerries who came to New York City with his family during the Great Famine that started in Ireland roughly twenty years ago and ended in 1852. As a teenager he picked up the nascent game of base ball and began playing it with informal clubs around New York & Brooklyn, quickly gaining a reputation as technician with the bat. By the summer of 1863 he was known to every club in the Brooklyn & New York City championships, and it became a matter of which metropolitan area club would gain his services.

Just three days into 1864, Kings County rang in the new year by landing the coveted services of Alexander. The club seemed well-suited to Cormack’s technical batting skills since their home of Washington Park was known to be very friendly to left-handed batsmen like him, and their team had long been an offensive powerhouse. Alexander went straight into the Kings Co. lineup at first base to start the season, and the rest was N.B.B.O. history.

What makes Cormack Alexander such a highly technical batsman? For starters, his ability to make contact with the ball:

Alexander’s career in contact, with the first four weeks of the 1866 season included:

• 160 G, 769 PA, 710 AB, .408 AVG, .401 BABIP, 290 H, 29 BB, 8 K

Alexander simply does not miss. When he gets a pitch that he wants to swing at he makes contact, and it is consistently solid contact. Even as the Kings Co. team has, unfortunately, weakened around him Alexander’s batting approach has remained the same as it was when he debuted for the 1864 K.C. team that broke the N.B.B.O. record for runs in a season.

Cormack Alexander is more than just a naturally gifted batsman. He is known to work tirelessly on his technique, to adapt quickly to the circumstances at hand, and to be an excellent squad member to be around. His personality complements his talents, and the talents that are in the possession of Cormack Alexander have made him one of the most feared & respected batsmen in the sport.

Cormack Alexander is not the most talented player in the sport of base ball - names like Edward Huntley, Willie Davis, and Konrad Jensen come to mind - but when it comes to the most important skill of all – hitting the ball – there are but a few who can measure up to his level of brilliance.

tm1681 · 07-07-2024, 04:14 PM

ST. JOHN’S SETS NEW RECORD: 18 STRAIGHT WINS
PERENNIAL NEW ENGLAND FAVES 23-4 AFTER 5-4 START; SCORING 3.5 R/G MORE THAN OPPONENTS

PROVIDENCE, R.I. & NEW HAVEN, CONN. (June 8, 1866) – After they set a new standard for short-term dominance by starting the 1865 season 17-0, many figured that Knickerbocker’s seventeen-game winning streak would stand for years, if not decades. As it turns out, the record lasted slightly less than thirteen months. The team to take the record to eighteen? Of course, it was St. John’s Baseball Club of Providence, Rhode Island.

St. John’s did have to work hard to break the record, however. Their last two wins have both needed extra innings, with this afternoon’s record-breaking 7-6 victory at Quinnipiac in New Haven, Connecticut going to ten, in which a pair of St. John’s runs in the top of the 10th were answered by a Quinnipiac run in the bottom half before the tying run was stranded on third base. As they frequently do, Konrad Jensen & Nelson Townsend led the way with 2/5 days with the bat, and both players scored runs and stole bases.

St. John’s started the season with middling results: five wins and four losses over their first nine games. Then, to end Week Two they scored a 15-14 walk-off victory over Portland that started what has since become an epic winning run that has continued on through to the end of the first full week of June.

St. Johns’ results during their eighteen-game streak:

• May 13: PORT 14-15 STJ – RF Konrad Jensen 4/5, 2B, 4 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 5 SB, 1 OF AST
• May 16: STJ 16-11 OCE – RF Konrad Jensen 3/6, 2 2B, 4 R, 1 RBI, 4 SB
• May 17: STJ 7-2 OCE – P Harold Perry CG, 7 H, 2 R/ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• May 18: STJ 8-4 OCE – LF Nelson Townsend 2/4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 SB, 1 BB
• May 19: STJ 16-4 OCE – CF William Johnson 4/6, 2 2B, 3 R, 4 RBI
• May 20: STJ x-x OCE – game rained out, rescheduled for July 4th
• May 23: GRA 2-5 STJ – P William Tighe CG 7 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• May 24: GRA 3-9 STJ – C Dag Nielsen 3/5, 2 R, 2 RBI
• May 25: GRA 2-13 STJ – RF Konrad Jensen 3/4, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB
• May 26: GRA 4-5 STJ – 3B Leopold Pfeiffer 2/5, 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, GW HIT IN 9TH
• May 27: GRA 3-14 STJ – LF Nelson Townsend 3/5, 3 R, 3 RBI, 1 SB
• May 30: CAN 5-12 STJ – RF Konrad Jensen 4/5, 4 2B, 3 R, 4 RBI, 1 SB
• May 31: CAN 6-10 STJ – RF Konrad Jensen 3/4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SB
• June 1: CAN 4-12 STJ – SS Everton Butters 4/5, 2B, 2 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB
• June 2: CAN 9-10 STJ – CF William Johnson 3/5, 3 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 OF AST
• June 3: CAN 8-9 STJ – CF William Johnson 4/5, 2B, 3 R, 2 SB
• June 6: STJ 2-1 QUI – P William Tighe CG, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
• June 7: STJ 9-7 QUI (11 Inn.) – RF Konrad Jensen 4/5, 2B, 3B, 2 R, 5 RBI, 1 SB
• June 8: STJ 7-6 QUI (10 Inn.) – 2B Thomas DiMola 2/5, 2 R, 2 RBI, GW HIT IN 10TH

During the streak, St. Johns’ dominance has been staggering. Over the eighteen games they have scored 179 runs (9.9 R/G) while allowing 95 (5.3 R/G). That makes for a Run Differential of +84, and that means St. John’s has been outscoring their opponents by 4.6 runs per game during their historic run of form.

St. John’s is now 23-4 after five and a half weeks of play, and their current Run Differential of +96 has them on a pace to equal, or even slightly better, the 1859 St. John’s team that set the N.B.B.O. Run Differential of +245 (+3.5 R/G).

Everybody – fans, players, coaches, executives, and the Writers Pool – knew that St. John’s would regroup after their disastrous second half of the 1865 season, but nobody imagined them playing like this. St. John’s is back, and how!

tm1681 · 07-07-2024, 04:30 PM

UTICA’S SANDS COMPLETES SECOND CYCLE OF ‘66
PREVIOUS CYCLE HIT THIRTEEN DAYS AGO; SECOND CYCLE IN UTICA HISTORY

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (Juny 9, 1866) – Going into the season, the N.B.B.O. had not seen any of its batsmen hit for The Cycle since late in May of 1864. Merrimack Mills OF Elton Matthews changed that with a cycle against Susquehanna on May 27th. Now, just thirteen days later, Utica 1B Johnnie Sands completed the second cycle of the N.B.B.O. season as part of Utica’s 18-8 thrashing of Binghamton at the Vestal Avenue Base Ball Grounds in Upstate New York:

As in the Matthews’ cycle, Sands did the job in just four hits and he completed his cycle in the 9th inning:

• T1: Fly Out to 1B off W. Schulman
• T3: Leadoff Single past SS off W. Schulman
• T3: 2-run Home Run to LF off W. Schulman
• T5: Fly Out to 2B off R. Schoettler
• T6: 1-run Triple to LCF off R. Schoettler
• T9: Leadoff Double to RF off E. Kirkman
• TOTAL: 4/6, CYCLE, 1 R, 3 RBI, 10 TB

Sands was not the only star for Utica, as 2B Columbus Anderson had three runs & three R.B.I, and RF Jesse McClure had three hits.

The victory moved Utica to 21-8, much better than most of the Upstate N.Y. competition but still only half a game better than the rugged Syracuse club, a team that is not excelling in any specific area but is nonetheless getting the better of their opponents.

Sands’ day raised his average to .330 with an O.P.S. of .870, and he has 22 R.B.I. in 26 games played.

tm1681 · 07-08-2024, 03:18 PM

ST. JOHN’S WINNING STREAK ENDS AT 20
S.O.T.O. FIRST TEAM TO BEAT ST. JOHN’S SINCE MAY 12

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (June 13, 1866) – The record-setting winning run that St. John’s B.C. has been on for the past month has come to an end at twenty games, thanks to the Sons of the Ocean:

It was an even contest for the first five innings, but what undid the historically hot hosts was the 6th & 7th. St. John’s had a 3-2 lead after five thanks to singles from Collin Henderson & Konrad Jensen in the bottom of the 5th, but five Sons of the Ocean runs in the top of the 6th and four more in the top of the 7th – all thanks to singles & errors – turned the 3-2 lead into an 11-3 deficit. St. John’s set forth on a mighty rally in the bottom of the 9th, but after five runs a Thomas DiMola ground out to second base ended both the game and the streak.

The Player of the Game was a surprising one: Sons of the Ocean’s Albert Goddard, who is in his first year as a regular at catcher. The .300 hitter was 2-5 with two runs & four R.B.I. on the afternoon to bring his season total to date up to 23. LF Silvestro Masci was 3/5 with a pair of runs & an R.B.I, and All-Star 2B Albert Gore was 2/4 with two runs & R.B.I. each.

The loss left St. Johns’ record at 25-5 after the first day of play in Week Seven, while an excellent run of form by Sons of the Ocean (8-2 Last 10) has seen their record improve to 20-11 thanks to Wednesday afternoon’s big win. St. John’s still has a large New England lead, but thanks to S.o.t.O’s recent form they are not miles ahead of everybody.

tm1681 · 07-08-2024, 03:19 PM

GAYNOR W/ 6 RUNS, BANKS W/ 6 R.B.I. AT CANTABRIGIANS
BANKS ALSO HAD FIVE HITS & three X.B.H; CANTABRIGIANS DEFENSIVE WOES CONTINUE

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (June 15, 1866) – Oceanic B.C. outfielder Walter Banks has been one of the better batsmen in the Northeastern League so far in 1866, and on Friday afternoon he and teammate John Gaynor decided to heap more misery on an already miserable Cantabrigians team in a dominant Oceanic victory:

Cantabrigians actually had the score tied at 5-5 after four innings but after that it was all Oceanic, who outscored their Massachusetts-based hosts 12-3 over the rest of the contest thanks to a bevy of Cantabrigians mistakes. The stars of the day for Oceanic were their corner outfielders: LF John Gaynor & RF Walter Banks:

GAYNOR

• T1: Reached via Error by P H. Whiteside (scored)
• T3: 1-run Single to CF off H. Whiteside (scored)
• T5: Reached via Error by 1B M. Thyne (stole 2B, scored)
• T6: 1-run Single to CF off H. Whiteside (scored)
• T7: 1-run Single to RF off R. Hahn (scored)
• T9: Reached via Error by SS L. Craig (scored)
• TOTAL: 3/6, 6 R, 3 RBI, SB, 3 TB

BANKS

• T1: Single b/w 1B & 2B off H. Whiteside
• T3: 1-run Triple to LCF off H. Whiteside (scored)
• T5: 1-run Sac Fly to LF off H. Whiteside
• T6: 2-run Triple to RCF off H. Whiteside
• T7: 2-run Double to RCF off R. Hahn
• T9: Infield Single off R. Hahn
• TOTAL: 5/6, 2B, 2 3B, 1 R, 6 RBI, 10 TB

Gaynor & Banks worked brilliantly in tandem in Cambridge. Four of the six times Gaynor reached base Banks was the batsman who drove him in. Banks’ day placed him among the N.B.B.O. leaders in R.B.I. at 35, and it has put him at a pace for 4.0 W.A.R. or better over the entire season. Gaynor has had more of a struggle so far in 1866, but his performance raised his average to .289 with 38 runs scored after 32 games.

Gaynor reached three times via Cantabrigians errors, and indeed it was the Cantabrigians defense that was their undoing here. As a team they committed thirteen fielding mistakes – SS Lawrence Craig leading the way with three, five other fielders with two each, and 3B Hoyt Woodford with one.

That level of “defense” has been a theme for the 7-26 Cantabrigians, a team that has never been a solid contender for the New England Championship but has never been this miserable. They are currently on a pace to finish the season with the worst defense in N.B.B.O. history in each the four main defensive metrics: Errors, Fielding %, Efficiency, and Zone Rating. In particular, their current zone rating of -45.4 after 32 games is nearly THREE TIMES WORSE than any of the other 47 other teams in the N.B.B.O. (Oceanic: -15.4). They have two fielders who grade as high as a 60/80 at their positions: SS Lawrence Craig & C Richard Norlander. Everyone else is average or worse. CF Henry Goodale is a 40/80 and has easily been the worst as his position in the N.E.L. 2B Theodore Albrecht has a Zone Rating of -15.4 in just 32 games, and their outfield collectively has a Zone Rating of roughly -11.0.

Such putrid defense has left Cantabrigians’ two main pitchers, Hugh Whiteside & Lemuel Zimmerman, with no chance to succeed, and that in turn has left the team with the worst record in the entire N.B.B.O. even though their pitchers currently sit at ninth out of 24 teams in the N.E.L. in Pitching W.A.R (4.6).

On one hand, it was a day to remember for Oceanic and two of their players in particular. On the other hand, it was another day to forget in what is almost certain to be a season everyone at Cantabrigians will want to forget .

tm1681 · 07-08-2024, 03:20 PM

1866: THE HALFWAY POINT
ST. JOHN’S HAS BEST RECORD; SYRACUSE LEADS N.Y.L; UNION IS SURPRISING N.Y.C. LEADER

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (June 18, 1866) – Week Seven of the N.B.B.O. season ended with St. Johns’ 15-11 home win over Sons of the Ocean on Sunday afternoon, and with that half of the season has been completed. Not surprisingly, St. John’s has hit the halfway mark with the N.B.B.O’s best record at 28-6 (one rainout) thanks to their twenty-game winning streak, and as hard as the Sons of the Ocean are trying to keep up it looks as if the New England Championship may have already been decided. The other regional championships are closer, with leaders ahead by margins ranging from 1-4 games.

Here are the leaders of the six regional championships:

• Brooklyn: Excelsior at 24-11 (+68 R.D. - Bedford 1 G.B.)
• N.Y.C: Union at 22-13 (+26 R.D. - GOT, KNI, HILL, MET, & ORA 1-5 G.B.)
• Upstate: Syracuse at 24-10 (+20 R.D. - Niagara & Utica 2.5-4.5 G.B.)
• Coastal: Shamrock at 25-10 (+83 R.D. - Mass. Bay & Quaker St. 4 G.B.)
• Inland: Alleghany at 23-12 (+43 R.D. - Lake Erie & Susquehanna 3-5 G.B.)
• N. England: St. John’s at 28-6 (+119 R.D. - Sons of the Ocean 7.5 G.B.)

The only one of the Writers Pool’s six preseason favorites not currently leading their regional championship is Knickerbocker in New York City, but they are only one game behind Union of Morrisania.

General observations from the first half of the season, via the Writers Pool:

• Excelsior & Bedford are the two clear leaders in Brooklyn. P Jim Creighton is having another fantastic season for Excelsior at 14-3, but RF Uwe Schneider (.327, 29 RBI) is playing like he may repeat as an All-Star while 2B Benjamin Lovette (.338, 1.4 WAR) & CF Archie Mask (.359, 25 RBI, 1.6 WAR) look like locks to make their All-Star Game debuts. Bedford has not been led by one particular player – their best batsman has been newcomer 2B Pontius Hedman at .323 – but they are 5th in the N.Y.L. in runs, Rainer van der Hout has given them good pitching after a year with Shamrock, and #2 pitcher Harvey Cataldo is 12-2 with a 2.98 E.R.A.

• Union is the VERY surprising #1 in N.Y.C. thanks to a comeback year from John Carlton (.324, 25 RBI), who should make his 4th All-Star Game in five years. They are also getting .350 batting at 1B from former longtime Shamrock star Daragh Adams. They do not have a star pitcher but are still 2nd in the N.Y.L. in runs allowed. They are going to have to fight to the death to stay atop the standings, as there are no less than five teams within five games of Union and four of the five have made the postseason in years past.

• Syracuse’s attack was iffy to start the season but has come to life recently. Thanks to that and a 15-5 home record they are atop Upstate like they were projected to be. 1B Mario Fusilli is batting .360, OF Zarek Polakowski (.318, 21 SB, 1.4 WAR) is again playing like an All-Star after coming over from Nassau Co, and newcomer Henry Neal (.331, 1.5 WAR) is having a splendid season at SS. Main competitor Utica has received a brilliant 12-5 start from newcomer P John Brown, while 2nd-year 1B Johnnie Sands is batting over .340. Niagara’s former Gotham stars – 2B Hamish Barclay & CF Taliesin Buckley – started slow but have played much better over the past month, and that makes the Buffalo men a threat for the second half of the season.

• No surprise – Shamrock leads the Coastal Championship by four games thanks to the best defense & pitching in the N.E.L. Their new pitchers, Tom Ricks (11-4, 2.60 ERA), & Thomas Smith (11-5, 3.01 ERA) have been great, and SS Anthony Mascherino (.344, 27 RBI, 24 SB, 2.0 WAR) has been every bit the superstar they hoped he would be. Mass. Bay is getting .382 batting from ever-steady 1B William Robbins and a .344 average from All-Star C Ruby Watson. Quaker St. is getting another fine season from CF Gregersen Rorhmann (.322, 1.2 WAR), but 1B John Bateman (.342, 22 RBI) has looked very good after two years on the Shamrock bench and 22-year-old RF Ned Morganti (15 G, .370, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 0.8 WAR) has been a revelation over the 15 games he’s started. Speaking of revelations, Jonathan Jenkins (9-7, 2.15 ERA, 3.8 WAR) is nearly matching Jim Creighton’s strikeout totals.

• Once again Alleghany is leading the Inland Championship thanks to its offense. Perennial stars Waltrip & Kessler are only batting around .300, but LF Royal Altman (.420, 44 RBI) is crushing the ball while 1B Willie Smith & RF Kieran Bullock are both batting around .360. They are also getting another great season from P Fred Richards (12-6, 2.94 ERA). Susquehanna is keeping pace thanks to two stars: SS Theodore Kolberg (.377, 26 RBI, 21 SB, 1.8 WAR) and P Elmer Seabold (11-6, 2.12 ERA, 59 K, 3.5 WAR). Lake Erie is holding on at five games back, but they are 18-17 and only CF Franklin Petty (.310, 35 RBI, 1.7 WAR) is playing like a star.

• St. John’s is in total control of New England. CF William Johnson (.265, 16 RBI) is having his first truly down season, but to make up for it RF Konrad Jensen (.444, 34 RBI, 42 SB, 3.1 WAR) is putting together what could be the best ever season by an outfielder. Their offense is back on top of the N.E.L. in runs, on-base, & stolen baes, while pitchers William Tighe (14-3, 2.68 ERA, 2.4 WAR) & Harold Perry (10-2, 2.62 ERA, 2.4 WAR) have been amazing.

• Teams are back up to an even 7.0 runs per game in both leagues this season. St. John’s is averaging 9.3 R/G, nearly a full run per game more than any other team. They are also on pace to become the first team to draw 200 bases on balls in a season. It does not look like they will come close to the record of 4.5 Knickerbocker set last season, but Shamrock leads the N.B.B.O. in allowing 5.1 R/G.

• Knickerbocker has followed up its record-breaking championship season with a decent first half of 21-14. Again their defense & pitching are the best in the N.Y.L, but they are only 13th in runs scored even though their batsmen are 7th in average because their baserunning has been a major issue.

• Kings County, the six-time Brooklyn champions and two-time cup winners, fell to 12-23 over the seven weeks of the 1866 season, their worst mark for the first half of a season. They have never finished under .500, but look certain to do so. Their normally feared offense is 18th in the N.Y.L. in runs, as beside Cormack Alexander & Declan Brice they have had little to no positive value from other positions in the lineup. They are also last in the N.Y.L. in runs allowed.

• Cantabrigians is currently the worst out of all 48 teams in four main defensive metrics after 35 games: Errors (233, 6.7 E/G), Fielding Percentage (.848), Defensive Efficiency (.566), and Zone Rating (-49.9). They are on pace to be the worst team in N.B.B.O. history at all four.

• Edward Huntley is on pace to have his greatest season. The Knickerbocker SS has led the N.Y.L. in Batter W.A.R. seven times in its nine seasons, but in 1866 he is on a pace to cross the 5.0 W.A.R. barrier for the first time. After 35 games he is batting .385 (.973 OPS) with 20 extra-base hits, 28 R.B.I, 22 steals, and a +6.6 Zone Rating.

• While Huntley is aiming for his best season, St. Johns’ OF Konrad Huntley is currently on pace for the greatest individual season in N.B.B.O. history. He currently leads the entire N.B.B.O. in Batting Average (.444), On-Base (.515), Slugging (.632), O.P.S. (1.147), O.P.S. Plus (225), Runs (55), Stolen Bases (42), Bases on Balls (23), Win Probability Added (3.5), & Batter W.A.R. (3.1). As things stand, he is on pace to set new records in all of the listed categories except Bases on Balls, and he could become the 1st batsman to cross 6.0 W.A.R. in a season.

• Jim Creighton’s E.R.A. is unusually high at 3.00, but he is still 14-3 with 74 strikeouts in 150 innings. The Writers Pool thought he could become the first pitcher to cross the 150-K barrier this year, and while he is on pace to come up just short at 148 he could just as easily do it.

• Cormack Alexander currently leads the N.Y.L. by 23 points with a .414 Batting Average, placing him in prime position to win his third consecutive N.Y.L. Batting Championship.

• Charles Darnell is the surprising Northeastern League E.R.A. leader. After 145.1 innings the Quinnipiac pitcher has a 12-4 record with a 1.98 E.R.A. The team’s #2 pitcher, William Crane, is 6-12 with a 3.09 E.R.A, so Darnell's performance so far this season has been just as much due to his ability as it has been due to the defense that has surrounded him.

tm1681 · 07-12-2024, 06:47 PM

BANNER DAYS FOR BATSMEN TO OPEN 2ND HALF
SEVEN PLAYERS WITH 5-HIT & 6-HIT GAMES ON THURS. & FRI; GERMAN TIES R.B.I. RECORD

NORTHEASTERN U.S.A. (June 21-22, 1866) – in a standard N.B.B.O. season, once the teams have crossed the halfway point and the Dog Days of Summer begin their approach the batsmen of the sport begin to cool down a bit, perhaps weighed down by the heat and humidity. No so at the start of this season’s second half, as on Thursday & Friday of Week Eight no less than seven batsmen have put in performances in which they have collected five or six hits.

The first stop on the attacking tour is Brooklyn, where three of the marquee performances took place. The first star swinger was Empire OF Samuel Pezzi (.336, 27 RBI), who on Thursday hit 5/6 (all singles) with a run and three R.B.I. in Empire’s 15-7 victory at Eckford in Manor House. The next day, Empire teammate William Strausbaugh (.356, 28 RBI) repeated the trick, going 5/6 (all singles) with three runs and two R.B.I. in a 20-9 Empire win. With such scores, a passive observer would not know that it is Eckford who is several games higher in the standings than Empire, who have decided to start the second half of the season with a bang.

The other five-hit performance from a Brooklyn-based player came via the sport’s most popular star: Excelsior P Jim Creighton. In an 18-3 home win over Continental, Creighton pitched the full game while allowing five hits and striking out six, and with the bat he was 5/5 (all singles) with four runs scored and one driven in.

Over the municipal border in New York City, two more players cranked out five hits to start the week. In a 16-12 loss at Red House against Gotham on Thursday part-time Mutual 3B George Stoker was 5/6 with a pair of runs and three R.B.I. Then, on Friday OF Hamilton Harwood (.291, 22 RBI, 15 SB) was Hilltop’s lone bright spot during a 17-5 thrashing in the Elysian Fields against Knickerbocker, as he was 5/5 with a double and two runs.

In Jersey City on Thursday, another in-state rivalry contest saw visiting Newark beat Port Jersey 5-4 thanks in no small part to the efforts of outfielder Dermott McGinty (.333, 18 RBI), who was 5/5 (all singles) with a run & R.B.I. each as his team scored in the top of the ninth inning to win.

The last of the marquee performances was certainly not the least, and in fact was the individual performance of the season in the N.B.B.O. as Susquehanna OF Jonathan German went crazy in an extraordinary win at Reading:

The game was effectively over after the top of the first inning, but that did not matter as Susquehanna kept scoring…and scoring…AND SCORING, with German ending the annihilation of Reading with six hits and a record-tying eight R.B.I.

German’s afternoon in Eastern Pennsylvania:

• T1: 1-run Single to LF off C. Hartmann (stole 2B, scored)
• T2: Ground out to P off C. Hartmann
• T3: 1-run Single to CF off C. Perkins
• T4: Strike Out against C. Perkins
• T6: 1-run Single past 2B off C. Perkins (scored)
• T7: 1-run Double to RCF off C. Zier
• T8: 2-run Single to CF off C. Zier (scored)
• T9: 2-run Single past SS off B. Burmeister
• TOTAL: 6/8, 2B, 3 R, 8 RBI, SB, 7 TB, 117 GMSC

German’s outburst made him the fourth player in N.B.B.O. history to drive in eight runs in a single game, with the previous player to accomplish the feat being Green Mountain’s Oscar Davidson on June 15th of last year.

As a team, Susquehanna tied the N.B.B.O. record with ten extra-base hits in a single game – nine doubles & a triple – and their 25-run margin of victory equaled the N.B.B.O. record as well.

It was quite the couple of days for offensive outbursts, and if that is an indication of how the season’s second half will go then the pitchers of the National Base Ball Organization better prepare for tough times.

tm1681 · 07-12-2024, 06:48 PM

BINGHAMTON 1-2-3 BATSMEN GO 13/15 IN HOME WIN
TOP OF BINGHAMTON ORDER TOTALS 13 HITS, 8 RUNS, & 6 R.B.I. IN FIVE-RUN VICTORY

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (June 24, 1866) – Binghamton entered Sunday’s home game against Eagle at the Vestal Ave. Base Ball Grounds looking for a five-game series sweep against their visitors, and they did just that thanks to the top of their order:

Binghamton pulled away from Eagle over the second half of the contest, during which the top third of the Binghamton batting order battered Eagle pitching while eventually finishing with thirteen of the team’s sixteen base hits. Their #1-2 batsmen – CF Wagner Morris & 2B Lonnie Lester – were the key players:

MORRIS

• B1: Bunt Single off L. Porcatello (caught stealing)
• B3: Single past 2B off L. Porcatello (scored)
• B5: Single to LF off W. Rose (scored)
• B7: Single to CF off W. Rose (scored)
• B8: Single b/w SS & 3B off A. Ratcliffe (scored)
• TOTAL: 5/5 (all singles), 4 R, 5 TB

LESTER

• B1: Single past 2B off L. Porcatello
• B3: 1-run Double past 1B off L. Porcatello
• B5: Bunt Single off W. Rose
• B7: 1-run Double to LF off W. Rose (scored)
• B8: Single off A. Ratcliffe (scored)
• TOTAL: 5/5, 2 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI, 7 TB

In addition, Binghamton #3 batsman Angus O’Connor (RF) was 3/5 with a double and four R.B.I. from the plate. That performance brought the Binghamton #1-2-3 batsmen’s performance on the day to the following:

• #1-2-3 BATSMEN: 13/15, 3 2B, 8 R, 6 RBI, 1 CS – #4-9: 5/24 (all singles), 3 R, 5 RBI, 3 SB/1 CS

Three players beat nine at Vestal Avenue, and thanks to that Binghamton had themselves a five-win week that took them from one game over .500 to six. They are currently tied with Utica for second in Upstate N.Y, 6.5 games behind Syracuse.

tm1681 · 07-12-2024, 06:49 PM

CLYDESDALE HOLDS BEDFORD TO ONE HIT IN VICTORY
EXCELSIOR VET STRUGGLING IN ’66, BUT WAS BRILLIANT VS BEDFORD

BROOKLYN (June 28, 1866) – Excelsior is starting to pull away from second-place Beford in the Brooklyn Championship, and a nearly historic performance from veteran P Clydesdale Jackson helped them pull away further:

Bedford was held to a single hit on the afternoon, not by Jim Creighton but by Excelsior’s #2 pitcher, the veteran former Harlem pitcher Clydesdale Jackson, who now has 141 career wins after Thursday’s gem of an outing. It was a much-welcomed performance for Jackson, who entered the game with an 8-7 record with a 4.06 E.R.A, both marks standing as uncharacteristically poor for the well-liked former Harlem #1.

Bedford had four baserunners on the afternoon – two who reached by error, one who was hit by a Jackson pitch, and the lone hit, which was a double by 2B Pontius Hedman to lead off the top of the second inning.

Jackson's one-hitter was the second one pitched in the N.B.B.O. so far in 1866, after none were completed in 1865.

While the hosts’ two runs in the first were enough for the win it was still slow going. Three batsmen – C Sam Blade, LF Poske Uhlgren & SS John Withers – grabbed six of the team’s eight hits, and their batsmen only had two R.B.I.

Excelsior is now 30-12, four games ahead of Bedford, and they are in a form that suggests they could fly away from the rest of the Brooklyn flock to take their third pennant in four years.

tm1681 · 07-12-2024, 06:49 PM

PATENAUDE BELTS GRAND SLAM AT CONTINENTAL
2ND-YEAR 1B’S OUTBURST HELPS BRING ECKFORD TO .500 IN A WILD VICTORY

BROOKLYN (June 28, 1866) – At Wheat Hill in Brooklyn both teams’ bats were in full song during a truly thrilling affair that finished with 33 runs, 34 hits, 22 errors, and a late barrage that made the result closer than it should have been:

Eckford started well, exiting the first half of the game ahead 7-2 thanks to eight hits over the 3rd & 4th innings. However, starting in the bottom of the 6th Continental’s bats roared to life and they cut the deficit to two. Eckford then scored seven times in the top of the 7th to take a nine-run lead, but Continental matched those seven runs during the 7th & 8th to bring the score to 14-12 going into the 9th. Eckford scored four more runs in the 9th thanks to a pair of singles, and it turned out they needed all four runs as Continental scored three times in the bottom half and had men on base at the final out.

Nine players had multiple hits and seven drove in multiple runs, but one player clearly stood taller than the rest, and that was Eckford’s second-year 1B Albert Patenaude:

• T1: Ground Out to SS off A. Bonham
• T3: 1-run Single past SS off A. Bonham (scored)
• T4: 1-run Single b/w SS & 3B off A. Bonham
• T6: Fly Out to CF off A. Bonham
• T7: GRAND SLAM to RF off F. Ledford
• T9: Single past 3B off H. Kerr
• TOTAL: 4/6, GS, 3 R, 6 RBI, 7 TB

Patenaude’s rarest of hits, the Grand Slam, was far and away the highlight of the afternoon. Eckford’s hard-fought victory brought their record back to the .500 mark at 21-21, with the team in third place at nine games behind in-form leaders Excelsior. Continental is faring worse than last year – 19-23 and eleven games back.

tm1681 · 07-16-2024, 04:40 PM

TRIO OF FIVE-HIT BATSMEN PART OF RECORD QUINNIPIAC DAY
QUINNIPIAC BECOMES 1ST TEAM EVER WITH 30+ HITS IN A GAME IN 13-RUN WIN

CAMBRIDGE, MASS. (July 7, 1866) – On Saturday afternoon, Quinnipiac entered their contest against the worst team in the N.B.B.O. – Cantabrigians – and proceeded to do something no team had ever done in the history of the sport:

The men from New Haven became the first team in the history of organized base ball to record thirty base hits in a single game, amassing a final total of 31 that would be unbelievable if 1,400 had not been at St. Peter’s Field to see it happen.

That was not the only history Quinnipiac made, as they become only the second team ever to have three batsmen record five or more hits in the same game. The trio: leadoff man Graeme Peel, #2 batter Ernest Lewis, and #8 batter Ray Ackley.

PEEL

• T1: Fly Out to CF off H. Whiteside
• T2: 1-run Double to RF off H. Whiteside (stole 3B, scored)
• T3: 1-run Single to LF off H. Whiteside (scored)
• T5: Leadoff Single past SS off J. Corkum (stole 2B & 3B, scored)
• T6: 1-run Single to RCF off J. Corkum (stole 2B)
• T7: Hit by Pitch from J. Corkum
• T9: 1-run Double to CF off R. Hahn (scored)
• TOTAL: 5/6, 2 2B, 4 R, 4 RBI, 4 SB, HBP, 7 TB

LEWIS

• T1: Single b/w 1B & 2B off H. Whiteside (scored)
• T2: 1-run Single to LF off H. Whiteside
• T3: 1-run Single to LF off H. Whiteside
• T5: 1-run Single b/w SS & 3B off J. Corkum (scored)
• T6: Reached via Error by SS L. Craig
• T7: 2-run Single to RF off J. Corkum
• T9: Single to LCF off R. Hahn
• TOTAL: 6/7, (all singles), 2 R, 5 RBI, 6 TB

ACKLEY

• T2: Leadoff Single past 2B off H. Whiteside (scored)
• T3: 1-run Single b/w 1B & 2B off H. Whiteside (scored)
• T4: Single b/w SS & 3B off J. Corkum
• T6: Single b/w 1B & 2B off J. Corkum (scored)
• T7: Reached via Base on Balls by J. Corkum
• T9: 1-run Single to CF off R. Hahn (scored)
• TOTAL: 5/5 (all singles), 4 R, 2 RBI, BB, 5 TB

The opposition was utterly helpless on this day. Quinnipiac only had three extra-base hits – Peel’s two doubles and a third double from LF Jesse Johnson – making their 28 singles a single-game record. Cantabrigians committed nine errors while their pitchers walked a batter and hit two others, and adding those baserunners to the 31 hits meant Quinnipiac had no less than 43 men reach base on the afternoon, which was another N.B.B.O. record.

The irony of today’s performance was Quinnipiac did all of the above in support of Charles Darnell, a man who entered the game with a 16-6 record an Earned Run Average of 2.00. The offensive eruption to buttress of one 1866’s best pitchers was not needed, but there is little doubt he much appreciated the easy afternoon the rest of the lineup allowed him to have.

When it comes to Cantabrigians, there is little more that can be said. They allowed 31 hits because their fielders just do not have the range or ability that would be considered even minimally acceptable for the average N.B.B.O, aside from a position or two, and they remain on pace to finish the season with easily the worst defense in the history of the game of base ball.