British and Irish Baseball - Making Another Attempt

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MONTHLY ROUND-UP: JULY 1868

The Royal Artillery Barracks have been caught at the top of the Metropolitan League standings, as a tight battle looks set to form between them and the City of London Club for this year’s championship. The month began well for the Artillery, who extended their lead when they defeated lowly Kensington and the City Club were beaten by the Old Westminsters, but the following week City pitcher William Rood shut down the Artillery completely to give his team a crucial win. The Artillery followed that by losing twice in a day to struggling Clapham, by identical 6-2 scorelines, allowing the City Club to draw level.

A gap has now emerged behind those leading two teams as Angel struggle for consistency, winning two and losing two in July, while Greenwich were beaten in their last two games of the month and the Old Westminsters dropped their last three. That victory over the City Club seemed set to put them in position to challenge for a third championship, but the rest of the month was poor and may have cost them their chance. Reigning champions The Regent’s Park are in third place, but with the season nearly two-thirds completed can’t afford to drop much further behind. It was a better month for struggling Clapham and Kensington, with Clapham enjoying those two wins over the Artillery and Kensington winning three successive games, having only taken two of the fifteen games prior to that.

The first Oxford University Championship was decided at the beginning of the month, and it did not require a tie breaking game to produce a champion, although one appeared inevitable during the course of the final games. Brasenose earned a 1-0 victory at Worcester College, meaning that New College had to match that with a win of their own over Christ Church. When they led by a score of 3-0, all looked set for an additional game but New College let the lead slip away, eventually losing the game 4-3 and handing the first championship to Brasenose.

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MONTHLY ROUND-UP: AUGUST 1868

August ends as it began with the City of London Club and the Royal Artillery Barracks tied at the top of the Metropolitan League standings, but that doesn’t begin to tell the story of the month. The Artillery, who have led for so long in their first season in the league, lost their first two games in the month to The Regent’s Park and Angel Islington, and with the City Club extending their winning run by beating lowly Kensington and Clapham, City suddenly found themselves with a two game lead. Both teams won their next game, but the City Club then faltered, ending the month by losing to Angel and the Old Westminsters. With the Artillery recording wins against Greenwich and Kensington, the two are level again with six games each to play. The first of those is against one another on the Artillery’s home field next week, meaning that somebody will have a one game lead heading into the final five games.

Angel wasted a chance to make it a close three-way battle, as having beaten both the City Club and the Artillery they lost their next game each time. They sit two games back in third place, fractionally ahead of Greenwich and The Regent’s Park. After starting August with two wins, the Regents looked to be giving themselves a chance of retaining their championship but three successive losses to end the month have probably left them too far behind. Of the other teams, the Old Westminsters are fighting hard to try to earn a winning record but will not be winning the championship this year, while Clapham maintained their advantage over Kensington in the battle to avoid last place as both recorded two wins and three defeats in August.

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MONTHLY ROUND-UP: SEPTEMBER 1868

The Royal Artillery Barracks look set to win the Metropolitan League championship at the first time of asking after winning all three of their games in September, most significantly the 2-0 victory over the City of London Club which began the month. The City Club were also beaten in extra innings by Angel this month, and although they kept their challenge alive with a dramatic late turnaround against Kensington, their hopes are fading. They must hope that the Artillery lose at least two of their remaining three games to have any chance, and with Artillery pitcher Henry Clarke not allowing a single run in September, that seems a faint hope. Indeed, the battle will be over next Saturday should the Artillery defeat Angel and the City Club fall to Clapham.

Angel look set to finish third after winning three successive games to move clear of The Regent’s Park, with the reigning champions losing their hold on the trophy after defeats in their last two games of the month mathematically eliminated them from the race. Greenwich’s hopes of posting a winning record in their first season suffered a setback after three successive defeats, while the Old Westminsters will post a losing record for the first time. With Clapham winning their last two games, the best that Kensington can hope for now is to tie for last place.

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MONTHLY ROUND-UP: OCTOBER 1868

The Royal Artillery Barracks were only narrowly elected to the Metropolitan League last year, but they have justified their place by winning the championship at the first attempt, and doing so in the end by a three game margin. Success was secured with a game to spare as they defeated Angel and the Old Westminsters to extend their winning run to eight games, remarkably seven of those coming without allowing a run. With the City of London Club losing their final game and the Artillery winning a ninth in succession to end the campaign, their success looks comfortable at first glance. It must be remembered though that with eight games to play, the City Club had a two game lead in the standings. They won just three of their last eight though, while the Artillery remained undefeated.

Last year’s champions The Regent’s Park have to share third place with Angel Islington after both lost their final games, while Greenwich end their first season with a losing record having fallen to both Clapham and Kensington in October. That win moved Clapham level with the Old Westminsters in the standings, after the two-time champions lost six of their last seven games. Indeed, they were only one game ahead of last-placed Kensington in the final standings after Kensington won their last two. All the plaudits belong the Royal Artillery Barracks team this year though, who gave up by far the fewest runs as pitcher Henry Clarke performed magnificently, while their late season run of victories meant that they actually also scored more than anyone else. They will be tough to dethrone next year, but the City Club will be determined to go one better after a strong season.

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SEASON ROUND-UP: 1868

There was no surprise at the Metropolitan League’s annual meeting when Henry Clarke of the Royal Artillery Barracks was named as the league’s Best Pitcher. As much as the Artillery’s hitters contributed to the team winning the championship at the first attempt, their success was really founded on Clarke’s performances. He recorded eleven complete game shutouts having started all but one of the Artillery’s thirty games, and was at times impossible to score against, with five of those shutouts coming in successive games during the winning run which took the Artillery to the championship.

Best Player this year was Adam Tustain of The Regent’s Park, a newcomer to the now deposed champions who led the league in batting average at .372. No Artillery players featured in the top three in the voting, perhaps indicating the team achievement among the hitters. The Royal Artillery Barracks’ Mark Johnson was named as Best Manager, again little surprise having led his team to the championship in their first year.

LEADERS:
Batting Average: Adam Tustain (RP) - .372
Home Runs: Joseph Bennett (KEN)/Timothy Noble (RP)/Wilfred Shaw (RA) - 2
Runs Batted In: Sydney Wallace (COL) - 19
Stolen Bases: Howard Taylor (ANG) - 13
Earned Run Average: Henry Clarke (RA) - 1.04
Pitching Wins: Henry Clarke (RA) - 18
Strikeouts: Henry Clarke (RA) – 192

In other news around English baseball, the new championship at the University of Oxford was so widely seen as a great success that students at the rival University of Cambridge have decided to set up their own competition for the 1869 season. Few details have emerged as yet, but it is quite likely to follow a very similar if not identical format to that used in Oxford.

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1869 SEASON

There will be another new competition in baseball this year, as the success of the Oxford University Championship has encouraged players at Cambridge to start a similar league.

There are no changes to the format of the Metropolitan League or Oxford University Championship this year, although the Metropolitan League has changed the schedule format slightly so that each team starts and ends the season with the two additional games against its 'paired' rival. The County Championship has again decided to switch the match-ups of the semi-finals. Last year Essex and Middlesex reached the final, so both are guaranteed a home game in the semi-finals. Indeed, for Essex it will be the first home game they have played, as they were beaten in the semi-final away from home two years ago and then won two away games to take the title last year.

As Essex played Kent last year, while Middlesex played Surrey, this time Essex will face Surrey and Middlesex will play Kent. That means that the tournament will see the same match-ups as the inaugural edition two years ago, albeit with home advantage being reversed.

NEW LEAGUE: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY CHAMPIONSHIP

The format of the Cambridge University Championship is to be the same as at Oxford with eight colleges taking part initially, namely Clare, Emmanuel, Gonville and Caius (pronouced KEYS), Jesus, Queens’, St Catharine’s, St John’s and Trinity. As in Oxford, the teams will face each other four times for a twenty-eight game schedule and the plan is for the two league seasons to cover the same dates.

It is believed that may be to enable the best players from each University to join together to play games against each other to mark the end of the academic year in late June, although such a contest is yet to be confirmed.

LOGOS AND UNIFORMS:
Top Row (L-R): Clare College, Emmanuel College, Gonville and Caius College, Jesus College
Bottom Row (L-R): Queens' College, St Catharine's College, St John's College, Trinity College


MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS:

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TOURNAMENT REVIEW: 1869 COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

This year's County Championship turned out to be almost an exact copy of last year, as Essex successfully defended their title by beating Middlesex in the final. Middlesex eased through to a second successive final, led by Royal Artillery Barracks' championship winning pitcher Henry Clarke. He shut down Kent until the sixth inning, by which time his team already had a five run lead after scoring one in the first and four more in the third. One run in the sixth was all Kent could get, giving Middlesex the win by a score of 5-1.

The other semi-final between Essex and Surrey looked to be just as comfortable when Essex scored in the first inning, added three more in the fifth and took that 4-0 lead to the eighth. Surrey fought back though, scoring one in the eighth and two more in the ninth and having a runner at second base waiting to score the tying run, before Greenwich pitcher James Hicks completed the win.




There was some controversy about the location of the final, as Essex felt that they should have home advantage, being the reigning champions and having played at Middlesex last year. There was no provision for this in the rules however, which only said that a coin should be tossed. Essex, as reigning champions, were allowed to call the toss but called incorrectly, meaning another meeting on Middlesex's home field.

The final was a close fought battle, with both teams scoring in the second inning and Middlesex then taking a 2-1 lead in the fourth, only for Essex to tie the game in the sixth. Heading into the ninth, the score was still 2-2 and extra innings seemed certain, until Essex's George Reeves came to bat with two men on base and two out. It was Reeves' first appearance in any official game, having joined Greenwich this winter, and his hit allowed both runners to score and put Essex ahead 4-2. Middlesex got one runner to third base in their half of the ninth inning, but could not score and Essex had their second championship.



Again, just like last year, Essex pitcher Hicks was named as Best Pitcher, while the champions also had the Best Player in their ranks. That award went to infielder Willie Wade of The Regent's Park, who hit well in both games. Attention now turns to the league season, with the Metropolitan League's fifth campaign beginning on 20 March, along with the university championships at both Oxford and Cambridge.

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1869 SEASON PREVIEW

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE
The Metropolitan League is about to begin its fifth season, and after the Royal Artillery Barracks won the championship at the first attempt last year, many people are predicting that they will come close to a successful defence. The team to stop them may be the one which joined the league alongside them last year, Greenwich Meridian. Greenwich finished with a losing record a year ago but boast several new players among their ranks this time, notably new pitcher Jesse Pennyfather, and could be the team to beat.

Last year Clapham Common were well backed and proved to be very disappointing when the season began, so those who are tipping them to do well this time will be hoping that their performances live up to expectations a little more. Everyone else is thought to be quite evenly matched, with the City of London Club falling back into the middle of the pack after a season when they arguably should have been champions, having held a two game lead with eight to play. Angel Islington look as though they might struggle this year, as their pitching is much weaker, while Kensington appear significantly stronger.

THE UNIVERSITIES
Last year, Brasenose College took the first Oxford University Championship and they shouldn't be far away this time either, but if anyone is to take away the title it may be Christ Church. Magdalen College led for most of last season before falling away, but their pitching looks poor this year and so they may struggle this time around.

In the first season of the Cambridge University Championship, teams look to be quite evenly matched but the consensus is that St Catharine's College look to be possibly the strongest team. That will most likely be on account of their hitting, while good pitching could take Clare College and Gonville & Caius close to the championship. Trinity may be the worst team, but not by a significant margin.

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MONTHLY ROUND-UP: MARCH 1869

Two-time champions the Old Westminsters have made a fine start to the new season in the Metropolitan League, albeit not without making life hard for themselves. With two of the second week’s games postponed after a week of heavy rain in London left the fields unplayable, the Westminsters are the only team with two wins to their name, but they have had to play no fewer than twenty-nine innings to get them. A thirteen-inning win over Clapham was followed by success in sixteen innings against Greenwich, and had it not been for ninth-inning recoveries each time the Westminsters could have found themselves with two defeats on the board instead.

Reigning champions the Royal Artillery Barracks were victorious in their only game so far, as were Kensington and the City of London Club. Greenwich were well fancied this year but started out with defeat to the Artillery and then the Westminsters, leaving them in a share of last place alongside former champions The Regent’s Park. Angel are the other team without a victory, but from just one game.



At the universities, the pre-season predictions are proving remarkably accurate so far, as Christ Church lead the way in Oxford after winning all four of their games. Champions Brasenose share second place with Merton, one game back, while Magdalen are struggling as expected and are the only team without a victory. At Cambridge, St Catharine’s lead the way having won three out of four, followed by St John’s and Clare who had their meeting postponed and each have two wins from three. Trinity have been beaten in all four of their games and sit in last place.

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MONTHLY ROUND-UP: APRIL 1869

The Old Westminsters ended April by falling to their first defeat in the Metropolitan League this year, 2-0 at the hands of Angel. They had, however, won their two previous games in the month, including victory over champions the Royal Artillery Barracks. That was enough to keep them at the top of the standings, albeit only a fraction ahead of a Greenwich team who have got over the loss of their first two games of the year by winning all four they played in April. Also enjoying a strong April were Angel Islington, who won three of four and sit a game behind the Westminsters in third.

The Royal Artillery Barracks have an even record after losing to both the Westminsters and Kensington, while the City of London Club lost all three of their games in April and have sunk down towards the foot of the standings. In last place at the moment sit The Regent’s Park, who opened the month with victory over Angel but have suffered two defeats since.



At Oxford University, champions Brasenose sit fractionally behind the leaders after successive defeats against Worcester College and Magdalen in the middle of the month. Christ Church and Merton lead the way, currently sitting on runs of respectively four and five successive victories. New College sit last having lost their last five. At Cambridge, early leaders St Catharine’s have plunged towards the bottom of the standings after losing seven of their eight games in April. Only Trinity are below them, while at the top, five teams are separated by only one game. Jesus College lead the way, alongside Gonville & Caius who have won their last five.

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MONTHLY ROUND-UP: MAY 1869

The Old Westminsters lost two of their five games in May, including one to reigning champions the Royal Artillery Barracks, but still lead the way by the smallest of margins. The Artillery are close behind them in second place, having won four out of five themselves. Greenwich are still very much in contention as well, having responded to their defeat to the Artillery with victory over the Westminsters a week later.

Angel and Clapham also have winning records, the latter having won their last three games to move into contention, but there is a gap opening up between them and the final three teams. Kensington and The Regent’s Park both lost four of their five games in the month, with the Regents sitting last of all with just two wins from ten games, a real fall from a team who won the championship two years ago.



Brasenose look to be in a good position to defend their championship at Oxford University, as rivals Merton and Christ Church have begun to fall away. Merton have actually lost their last five games and now trail by four, while Christ Church are two off the pace having fallen to a narrow defeat at the hands of Brasenose late in the month. New College seem sure to finish last after a very poor year.

At Cambridge, Gonville and Caius lost three times in May and seem to be falling out of the running, leaving a battle between Queens’ and Jesus College. The latter lead by a single game having won seven of eight in May, although their one defeat was against Queens’. With just three wins from eighteen games, Trinity College are a long way back at the bottom of the standings.



Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the best players from the two universities will meet in a best-of-three game series following the conclusion of both championships, to be known as the Varsity Series. That series is planned to begin on the first Saturday in July, with a Wednesday game to follow and if necessary, a deciding match-up on the following Saturday. Any postponements or a tie-breaking game in either league could force a delay, however, so both universities are keen to ensure the league games are finished in June.

There was some disagreement about which team should host which game, with Oxford of the opinion that as the more established league they should have home advantage first, for the Saturday game, with Cambridge playing at home on Wednesday. Cambridge would only agree to that if they could have a guarantee of home advantage for the possible deciding game the following Saturday, which was not acceptable to Oxford, who wanted a coin toss in such a situation. A compromise was reached whereby for this year only, Oxford would call a coin toss for home advantage in the first game, while there would be another coin toss should a third game be needed, with Cambridge calling. In future years, home advantage for games one and two would alternate, with a coin toss only for a third game.

In the event, Oxford called incorrectly so the first game will be at Cambridge, with Oxford at home for the second game. As a consequence, we already know that next year, game one will be at Oxford, and game two at Cambridge.

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MONTHLY ROUND-UP: JUNE 1869

The Old Westminsters played just three games in June, winning two and losing one, but still hold on to their small lead in the Metropolitan League. Greenwich had exactly the same record, so still sit just a fraction behind in the standings, with a small gap behind them to the rest of the contenders. The Royal Artillery Barracks’ hopes of another title suffered a real setback this month with three defeats out of four games dropping them back into the middle of the standings, while Clapham’s win over the Artillery seemed to move them into contention only for defeat to the Westminsters a week later to drop them back again.

Angel are third, a game behind Greenwich after winning the meeting of those teams. Of the other teams, Kensington ended the month with two wins to move clear of the bottom of the standings, while the City of London Club wasted a good win over the Artillery by losing their remaining three games. The Regent’s Park remain in last place after losing three of their four games. Such are the Regents’ struggles this year, their championship winning manager of two years ago Jim Brown has decided to leave the club, with his replacement being Albert Woolland, who took New College very close to the Oxford University Championship last year.



After some difficulty, both university championships were successfully concluded in June, but only after appearing for some time that they would require tie-breaking games. At Oxford, Brasenose College lost their hold on the championship thanks in part to a four-game losing run early in June, which allowed Christ Church to move from two behind to one ahead. The two were set to meet on the final day of the season and Christ Church had only to win that game to be champions, but were beaten by a score of 4-0. That result meant that Brasenose could force a tiebreaker by defeating Merton in their final game, but they fell 2-1 in ten innings to hand the championship to Christ Church.

At Cambridge, the first title had seemed set to go to Jesus College but they were beaten in four of their final five games, to drop out of the running. That left Queens’ to do battle against Gonville & Caius, who had looked out of the race at the start of the month but finished in superb form. They won eight games out of nine in June, including victories over Jesus College and Queens’ in the same week. The postponement of Queens’ final day game against St John’s caused a problem, as St John’s were already due to play a rescheduled game against Trinity on the following Wednesday, the only remaining allocated date in June. It was agreed that Queens’ would play them on the same day, but meet first so that they would not be playing against a team who had already had one fixture that day. Gonville & Caius were also playing their final game that day, and Queens’ had to win to keep the race alive. If they did, Caius would need a win themselves to avoid a tiebreaker, but in the event Queens’ were beaten by St John’s, giving Caius the title.



It has been suggested that to give more time for rescheduled games, the championships should start a week earlier next year, but that is yet to be agreed. To the relief of all though, the first Varsity Series can begin as planned on the first Saturday in July, with a game at Cambridge.

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TOURNAMENT REVIEW: 1869 VARSITY SERIES

The first Varsity Series produced two exciting game with a lot of runs scored, but in the end it was Oxford who took the honours as they won both to take the series two games to none. The first game at Cambridge was scoreless until the seventh inning, when Oxford found five runs to take control, but somehow Cambridge responded with five of their own at the last opportunity in the ninth inning. The game went on until the twelfth, when a careless pitch from Enoch Wilkerson of Queens’ College allowed Merton’s Andrew Hayter to score for Oxford. Cambridge could not respond, giving Oxford a one-game lead in the series.



Cambridge had to win the second game, played on Oxford’s home field, and started well with two runs in the first inning, only to give up three in Oxford’s half of the inning. That proved to be crucial, as Oxford added single runs in the third, fifth and seventh to move 6-2 ahead. Cambridge again tried to fight back in the ninth, scoring two, but Magdalen pitcher Adam Butcher was able to record the final two outs to end the fightback. Oxford won the game 6-4 to claim the series, for which Balliol’s Jim Hall, who started both games for Oxford, was named Best Pitcher. Best Player was another Oxford man, Oswald Simkin of Magdalen, who recorded four hits in nine attempts and scored three of Oxford’s runs in the series.

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MONTHLY ROUND-UP: JULY 1869

Two-time champions the Old Westminsters are looking increasingly likely to take a third crown in five years after extending their lead in the Metropolitan League standings to two games. They won five games out of six in July, including a vital victory over Angel in the middle of the month after the teams had entered that game tied for first place. Angel lost their next game against Kensington as well to fall two behind, while Greenwich are also two back after they had a poor start to the month, losing the first two before winning the next three.

Every time Clapham look like moving into contention their form falters, as they lost to the Westminsters at the start of July and then after two wins, were beaten in their final two games of the month. They still have a winning record of ten victories and nine defeats, but sit four games off the pace, alongside the Royal Artillery Barracks. The reigning champions were beaten by Clapham and then lost twice in a day to the City of London Club this month, and may be falling out of contention. Kensington are one game further behind, while that was as good as the month got for the City Club as they remain one place off the bottom of the standings. The change of manager at The Regent’s Park did not help their fortunes at all, as they lost all five of their games and now have sixteen defeats from nineteen games. The champions of two seasons ago look increasingly likely to post the worst season record yet seen in the league.

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MONTHLY ROUND-UP: AUGUST 1869

The Metropolitan League season is building up to an exciting finish as the Old Westminsters’ lead has been significantly reduced over the last month. The long time leaders defeated Greenwich this month, which appeared to be an important win, but were beaten in each of their other three games. That run has coincided with a three-game winning run for Angel Islington, who are now just a fraction behind the Westminsters in the standings. Heading into September, Angel have eight games to play and the Westminsters have seven, a run-in which starts with two games between the two teams on the first Saturday in September.

It isn’t just about those two however, as there are three more clubs only two games off the pace with seven to play. Greenwich have been in second place for much of the year but a poor month has dropped them into that pack, having lost their last three. Reigning champions the Royal Artillery Barracks are there as well after winning three of four in August, while Kensington are the third team in that tie. Last year’s worst team won all four of their games in the month, including an impressive win over the Westminsters to end August, and have already set a club record with thirteen wins in a season despite having seven games remaining.

Clapham’s hopes are over after three defeats from four dropped them to a losing record for the year, while the City of London Club and The Regent’s Park will contest last place after the City Club lost all their games in August, while the Regents won three of four to double their season win total, including victory over City to end the month.

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MONTHLY ROUND-UP: SEPTEMBER 1869

Heading into October, it is still unclear who will be this year’s champions in the Metropolitan League as three teams sit so close together in the standings. The Old Westminsters lost three games out of five and have been caught at the top, with Greenwich the team to draw level. They began the month with defeat against The Regent’s Park but won their remaining four games and are tied with the Westminsters with two games to play, starting with a meeting of the two at Westminster in their next game. A fraction behind with three to play are reigning champions the Royal Artillery Barracks, who looked to be out of the race when they opened the month with defeat to Kensington but won their next three, culminating in a 1-0 win over the Westminsters which keeps them very much in contention.

Kensington and Angel are not out of the race yet but it will be tough for them to take the crown. Kensington seemed to have played their way into contention with a six game winning run but a narrow loss to Greenwich followed by another defeat against Clapham has harmed their hopes. Angel started September by winning the first of two games in a day against the Westminsters, but that was as good as the month would get for them as they lost the second game, and then dropped the next three as well. Clapham ended their poor run with two wins to end September but the best they can do is an even record if they win their last two. At the bottom of the standings, The Regent’s Park have overtaken the City of London Club and it now looks as though it will be the City Club, who came close to the title a year ago, who could record the worst record yet seen in the league. They must win at least three of their remaining four games to avoid being the first team to end with a single-digit total of victories.

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UPDATE: 16 OCTOBER 1869

This year’s Metropolitan League season has ended in a three-way tie between reigning champions the Royal Artillery Barracks, two-time winners the Old Westminsters and a team hoping for their first title, Greenwich Meridian. The Westminsters had closed in on the championship by beating Greenwich to open October, a result which combined with the Artillery’s win over Angel had dropped Greenwich to third. Heading into the final scheduled day, the Westminsters knew that they would be champions if they beat Clapham and the Artillery fell at Greenwich, a game which Greenwich had to win if they were to have any chance.

Greenwich did indeed win, by a score of 3-0, meaning that the Westminster had only to hold on to their 3-2 lead in the ninth inning at Clapham to take their third title. They could not do so however and the game went deep into extra-innings, with the teams still playing as darkness began to fall. By this time, the Westminsters had received news of the Artillery’s defeat and knew that victory would bring them the championship, but in the twenty-first inning it was Clapham who found the vital run for a 4-3 victory.

Those results left the Westminsters and Greenwich tied on eighteen wins and twelve defeats, with the Artillery on seventeen wins and twelve defeats with one rescheduled game to play. They knew that if they beat Angel Islington a week later, three teams would be tied at the top. Having fallen behind 2-0 early on, the Artillery soon tied the game and took a 3-2 lead in the sixth, before adding five more in the ninth to seal the win. That left the league’s officials having to decide on a method to break a three-way tie, and the final decision was that the two teams with the worst records in meetings between the three would face one another first, with the winner then playing against the team with the best record in those games.

Best record in games between the three belongs to the Artillery, with seven wins and three defeats from ten games. The Westminsters had four wins and four defeats from eight games against the other two, while Greenwich fared worst with three wins and seven defeats. Under the new rules, that means that Greenwich will face the Westminsters next week, with the Westminsters at home due to having the better of the four games with Greenwich. The winners of that game will then travel to face the Artillery a week later, the reigning champions having the right to play at home as they had the better of the season meetings with both of their rivals.

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MONTHLY ROUND-UP: OCTOBER 1869

The Royal Artillery Barracks have matched the Old Westminsters as two-time winners of the Metropolitan League after a remarkable end to the season gave them the crown in circumstances it seemed that they did not even understand themselves. The Old Westminsters, who had been one inning away from the title themselves in their final scheduled game, took a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning of the first tiebreaking game against Greenwich, only to give up two in the sixth and fall behind. They were not able to respond, and their hopes of a third championship ended in disappointment.

That left Greenwich and the Artillery, the two teams who entered the league just last season, to decide whether the Artillery would have a second title or whether the teams would have one each to show for their two seasons of play. Again the game was close and hard fought, with Greenwich this time taking a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning. They maintained that advantage through to the ninth inning, where pitcher James Hicks recorded the first two outs to leave his team needing just one more to be champions for the first time. The Artillery’s Anthony Miller was able to reach first base with a hit to keep the game alive however, before a three-base hit from Abel Sharp tied the game. The Artillery saw their chance to win the championship there and then, and catcher Walter Halding found their third successive hit to allow Sharp to score the winning run.

Both the Old Westminsters and Greenwich were so close to taking the championship, but incredibly the Artillery completed a successful defence having at one stage been four games off the pace. Elsewhere, Kensington’s improvement from last place a year ago left them just one game behind the top three from the thirty scheduled games, as they ended with victory over the City of London Club to take fourth place. Angel Islington were a game further back, while Clapham’s promising season ended with the disappointment of a losing record. The Regent’s Park won two of their last three to end with eleven wins, several more than had seemed likely earlier in the year, while the City of London Club lost their last three and record the worst season seen to date with just eight victories. All that now remains is the league’s annual meeting where this year’s awards will be given out.

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SEASON REVIEW: 1869

With the Royal Artillery Barracks winning a second successive championship in the Metropolitan League, pitcher Henry Clarke was also rewarded with a second Best Pitcher award, while manager Mark Johnson also took the Best Manager accolade for the second time. Clarke was not quite as dominant this year as he had been last year, but still produced fine performances throughout the campaign, not least keeping the Artillery in the game when they trailed Greenwich 1-0 in the final tiebreaker.

At the league’s annual meeting, both accepted their awards alongside Clapham’s George Berry, who led the league in batting and was named Best Player. Berry’s average of .321 seems low for a player leading the league, indicating that hitters everywhere had struggled somewhat this year. In addition to the awards, the league confirmed that there were to be no changes to the format for the 1870 season, but with the success of the two new teams which joined the league in 1868, applications are to be invited from clubs wishing to join for the 1871 campaign. A vote will be taken in July and two clubs are again expected to be admitted.

Elsewhere, there seems set to be a club competition outside of London for the first time. Next spring will see the start of the Manchester and District League, to consist of eight teams in and around that city. It is believed that there may be three teams from Manchester itself joining as well as one from neighbouring Salford, with the others coming from surrounding towns including Bolton and Rochdale. The exact format of the event remains to be seen, it may be that the clubs choose a thirty game schedule like that of the Metropolitan League, or possibly twenty-eight games as seen at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

1869 ROLL OF HONOUR
Metropolitan League: Royal Artillery Barracks (2nd title)
Oxford University Championship: Christ Church (1st title)
Cambridge University Championship: Gonville and Caius College (1st title)
County Championship: Essex (2nd title)
Varsity Series: University of Oxford (1st title)

[Lafayette53]

This is an awesome dynasty. You are really showing off the capabilities of the various features in OOTP!