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

tm1681 · 11-14-2025, 06:53 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, 06:57 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, 07:00 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, 07:01 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, 08:55 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, 09:12 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, 09:26 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, 09:29 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, 09:30 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, 02:02 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, 03:34 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, 03:43 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.

RMc · 12-21-2025, 11:39 AM

When does the "National" BBO start wending its way to places like St. Louis and Chicago?

tm1681 · 12-27-2025, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RMc

When does the "National" BBO start wending its way to places like St. Louis and Chicago?

I have something in mind for 1882.

Didn't mean to take a month off from the thread. The new league was something I initially didn't plan on, but with two terrible teams in the NBBO and emerging cities that didn't have teams I just figured I'd go with it. However, creating the new teams meant I spent quite a bit longer than I'd planned.

In the meantime, I had my work on Football Manager, Christmas, and my father undergoing (successful) cancer treatment.

So now that all is good it's full speed ahead.

tm1681 · 12-27-2025, 07:43 PM

TIGER GOES HUNTING, TAKES PRINCE FROM NEW RIVALS
STAR SS MOVES ACROSS PHILADELPHIA TO JOIN APBL NEWCOMERS IN STUNNING DECISION

PHILADELPHIA (Feb. 4, 1878) - When the American Professional Baseball League officially expanded from twelve to sixteen member organizations at the Autumn Meetings, two things were well-known:

1. The Executive Committee would have much preferred to have invited the N.B.B.O. teams from Baltimore (Maryland B.C.) & Washington (National B.C.) due to market size, but their on-field performance since joining the N.B.B.O. in 1871 was simply too poor to be included in the expansion group.

2. Because of #1, the “big-market” club with the weakest case for a move, Tiger Social Club of Philadelphia, was given the final spot because it was figured that if the New York metropolitan area could have five A.P.B.L. teams then Philadelphia could have three.

Thus, when it was revealed that they were one of the four teams moving up it was assumed that Tiger, who had an over-500 record just once over seven N.B.B.O. seasons, would be little more than cannon fodder for the rest of the A.P.B.L. in the short term.

Since the November announcement, the Tiger front office had done admirable work to make additions that would give them some semblance of an A.P.B.L. team:

• Oct 29: Signed P prospect Otha McIntyre (19 y/o, 3.0-star potential)
• Nov 25: Signed 1B Mario Fusilli (6x All-Star, 40 y/o, 3.5 stars) from Knickerbocker
• Nov 30: Signed LF Franklin Hollingsworth (25 y/o, 2.5 stars) from indy ball
• Dec 6: Signed former Kings Co. regular P Jack Doherty (30 y/o, 2.5 stars)
• Dec 10: Signed Mass. Bay backup 3B Franklin Spaur (31 y/o, 2.5 stars)
• Dec 11: Signed Kings Co. SS Harold McMichael (31 y/o, 2.5 stars, 432 career starts)
• Dec 13: Signed 2B prospect Grifin Gray (22 y/o, 2.5/4.0 stars)
• Dec 13: Signed American C Raynard Steinbach (34 y/o, 2.5 stars, 3x champ)
• Dec 13: Signed CF William Buschmann from Utica in the NBBO (34 y/o, 2.5 stars, 9.5/10 CF rating)

The only notable star among the group was Fusilli, and he had been a backup with Knickerbocker in 1877 as a 1B/LF. However, the above had given Tiger a combination of A.P.B.L. experience and young potential.

Jump forward nearly eight weeks, and Tiger made one additional move that has stunned EVERYBODY: the signing of American SS Martin Prince to an eight-year contract that will double his annual salary and make him one of the highest-paid players in the A.P.B.L.

For Tiger, the signing isn’t just about bringing in the league’s premier Shortstop. It’s also that in taking him from their new Philadelphian rivals, 4x champions American, they’ve made a statement of intent that, just maybe, everybody should take Tiger Social Club seriously going forward.

Not much of an introduction is needed for Prince. In his five A.P.B.L. seasons, his career record:

• 3x Founders’ Cup winner (1873, 75-76)
• 4x All-Star (1873, 75-77)
• 3x Golden Glove at SS (1873, 76-77)
• 1x Team of the Year at SS (1876)
• 1873 Greenhorn of the Year (.332 AVG, .765 OPS, 67 RBI, 32 SB, +27.0 ZR, 4.2 WAR)
• Career Batting Line of .313/.339/.403, .742 OPS (118 OPS+)
• Career WAR of 18.2 over 450 games (6.5/162 G)
• Career WPA of 16.1 over 450 games (5.8/162 G)
• Career Zone Rating of +106.6 over 450 games (+38.4/162 G)

In signing Prince, Tiger S.C. gains a player who will immediately be able to produce in the middle of their lineup and supply Golden Glove defense in the middle of the infield. He might not be the league’s marquee player, but Prince is awfully close to receiving such a designation.

Prince’s new pay packet will make him the second-highest paid player in the A.P.B.L. behind only Jim Creighton, such is the belief by the Tiger front office in how Prince will shape the team’s fortunes going forward in their new league.

For American, the loss could well prove to be a crushing blow. Prince was the only one of their star batsmen below the age of 34-35, and his unexpected departure could introduce two new problems to the lineup for 1878. First, 3B William Carrigan will have to move from a position in which he excels at fielding to a new one, Shortstop, in which he is only average compared to others in the A.P.B.L. Second, American may have to start 1878 with a two-star player at 3B: Lorik van Unen. Gotham tried that last season with Enos Pfannenstiel, and the results were disastrous: -1.5 WAR over 78 games, and van Unen has since moved all the way down to the Philadelphia City League to play for Merion.

It was widely assumed that Quaker State would be the better of Philadelphia’s two new entrants into the A.P.B.L., both in 1878 and in the short term, thanks to Ross Gill and their excellent outfield. However, with a signing that has come seemingly out of nowhere Tiger Social Club has quite possibly gained the upper hand, and at the same time almost certainly put an end to the American B.C. dynasty.

tm1681 · 12-27-2025, 10:45 PM

BASES ON BALLS TO HAVE A MISFIRE LIMIT
STARTING IN 1878, BATTERS WILL RECEIVE A FREE PASS TO FIRST BASE AFTER NINE CALLED BALLS

NEW YORK CITY (Mar. 14-18, 1878) - There wasn’t much business at this year’s Spring Executive Committee Meetings, but one notable topic was discussed and eventually agreed upon: that a Base on Balls shouldn’t come down to a subjective ruling by the Home Plate umpire.

Since the introduction of called balls & strikes in 1862, the issue of whether or not to award a Base on Balls to the batter came down to whether or not the Home Plate umpire felt that the pitcher was intentionally making unfair, unhittable deliveries to the “striker”. This meant that tolerance for the amount balls seen outside the Strike Zone before awarding a Base on Balls could vary from umpire to umpire, and thus from game to game. For old-fashioned umpires who want to let the game play itself out, that could mean twelve balls to a walk. For stricter umpires who want the pitcher to “get on with it", that might mean six balls to a walk.

During the Spring Meetings the Executive Committee tasked itself with working out a way to remove the subjectivity involved in Bases on Balls, similar to how three strikes became a Strikeout in the early 1860s to quicken the pace of the game. After some back and forth, in an discussion whose finer details are unknown it was decided that NINE BALLS should be called by the Home Plate umpire before a Base on Balls is awarded.

Will the first official standard for what constitutes a Base on Balls lead to a noticeable change in the number of free passes awarded? It’s hard to say. Given the way the game is currently played a batsman who stands around and waits for the perfect pitch to hit is almost considered a coward, even though St. John’s has won seven titles employing such an approach, so a batsman letting nine off-kilter deliveries go past time without hitting one into the field play seems like something that will still be extremely rare.

Nonetheless, for the 1878 season and on Bases on Balls and Strikeouts will have official standards:

• BASES ON BALLS: to be awarded after the ninth called Ball by the Home Plate Umpire

• STRIKEOUTS: called after the third Strike to the batsman, with one “Warning Strike” given if the first Strike is a Called Strike in which the batsman doesn’t swing at the ball.

While baseball fans shouldn’t expect a wholly different game to be played on the field in the upcoming season, at least two of the most basic elements of play will now have objective standards to follow.

tm1681 · 12-30-2025, 05:37 PM

THE 1878 COASTAL BASEBALL CONFERENCE PREVIEW

BOSTON (May 8, 1878) – The inaugural season of the Coastal Baseball Conference is ready to start.

The founders of the competition, Sportsman’s Baseball Club, will be proud to see the new league begin play. As it goes into its first day of games, the C.C. will make no pretense of being equal to the N.B.B.O. in quality of play. Instead, it will be a place for organizations in cities large enough for the N.B.B.O. but without a place in the competition due to its 48-team limit. For Sportsman’s and the other ex-N.B.B.O. member, Olympic, the C.C. will be a place for them to compete against a more even playing field, which will hopefully see the club ledgers move toward black numbers instead of red.

COASTAL CONFERENCE PROJECTED FINISH

FAVORITES: Olympic at 46-24 (+150 RD)

• Sportsman’s 3 GB
• Essex Co. 6 GB
• Highlander 10 GB
• C. & A. 13 GB
• Lynn 15 GB
• Capitol City 19 GB
• Bridgeport 20 GB

Olympic doesn’t have the most talented lineup of the eight teams but they have the best pitching duo thanks to the very surprising signing of Carl Bancroft, and that should see them finish ahead of Sportsman’s and their talented young group of batsmen. Of the six clubs new to the fully organized game, Essex County is expected to be the best of the bunch due to their defense in the middle of the field (2B, SS, & CF) and the hitting of 1B James Baker.

COASTAL CONFERENCE AWARD FAVORITES

Batsman of the Year: Sidney Adams (LF, Highlander)
Pitcher of the Year: Carl Bancroft (P, Olympic)
Most Valuable Player: Johnny Holcombe (2B, Sportsman’s)

COASTAL CONFERENCE TEAM OF THE YEAR FAVORITES

P: Carl Bancroft (Olympic), C: Jonathan Brumback (C. & A.), 1B: Euan Graham (Bridgeport), 2B: Johnny Holcombe (Sportsman’s), 3B: John Schoessow (Lynn), SS: Donald Innis (Sportsman’s), OF: Sidney Adams (Highlander), OF: Roy Wentz (C. & A.), OF: Charles Neville (Sportsman’s)

tm1681 · 12-30-2025, 05:47 PM

THE 1878 PHILADELPHIA CITY BASEBALL LEAGUE PREVIEW

PHILADELPHIA (May 8, 1878) – The sixth season of the Philadelphia City League begins on Wednesday afternoon.

1877 was, again, Philadelphia B.C.C.’s year, as they went 53-17, were the best team in the regular season by no less than a dozen games, and won the Liberty Bell Classic in an incredible five-game series against Queen Village.

This year the competition won’t have to worry about P.B.C.C. lapping the field, for they’ve moved over to the N.B.B.O. after three years of absolute dominance within the city of Philadelphia. In the wake of that decision the upcoming P.C.B.L. season is expected to be as wide open as it’s ever been, especially in West Philadelphia now that P.B.C.C. isn’t there to tower over the competition and make the other seven teams look like fools. Instead, the league will be welcoming Bartram Village into the P.C.B.L. fold.

The above also means that there will be a new projected #1 team this year: Minerva B.C., who is expected to finish first in the eastern half of the competition due to the best batting lineup in the league. On the western side, nobody is sure who will finish atop the standings, with equal halves of the Writers Pool of the belief that Overbrook and Schuylkill will finish 1st. That might come as a surprise to people who would presume that Merion is the natural favorite after the exit of P.B.C.C., but the team didn’t find equal replacements for departed #1 P Jonathan Atkins and star 1B William Norman.

The 1878 season should be a very interesting one in Philadelphia.

PHILADELPHIA CITY BASEBALL LEAGUE PROJECTED FINISH

EAST PHILADELPHIA

• Favorites: Minerva B.C. at 50-20 (+195 RD)
• Frankford 8 GB; Sons of Ben 12 GB; Keystone & Queen Village 15 GB

WEST PHILADELPHIA

• Favorites: Overbrook (+100 RD) & Schuylkill (+105 RD) at 43-27
• Germantown 4 GB; Penn 7 GB; Mercantile 8 GB

LIBERTY BELL CLASSIC

• Favorites: Minerva Baseball Club

EAST PHILDELPHIA – Minerva is projected for 50 Wins because they have the league’s most talented lineup, with batsmen ranked in the top three at C (Sanders), 1B, 2B, & SS. They do have major weaknesses in the outfield corners, where LF & RF rank in the bottom quartile. Frankford’s lineup is just about as good, but fielding ability will likely spell their doom. Sons of Ben is very top-heavy, with little to offer past their best three or four players. Keystone has one star – RF Peter Hildebrand – and an okay lineup alongside him. Defending East champs Queen Village should come back to the pack after their surprise run to last year’s L.B.C.

WEST PHILADELPHIA – Overbrook has the league’s best P – Robert Nygren – and with a quality defense behind him that makes them the co-favorites in the western half. Schuylkill has a fine lineup anchored by 1877 G.o.t.Y. George Oman, one that makes them the other co-favorites. Germantown has the league’s most talented C, 1B, & CF, but weaknesses at other positions should see them come up short at the end of the season. Penn has a team full of decent players but no standouts. Mercantile has an outstanding lineup that ranks top-three at 1B, 2B, 3B, & LF, but with possibly the league’s worst pitching duo there’s likely no way they can score enough to find their way to the top of the standings.

P.C.B.L. AWARD FAVORITES

Batsman of the Year: Peter Hildebrand (RF, Keystone)
Pitcher of the Year: Robert Nygren (Overbrook)
Most Valuable Player: Jonathan Auriemma (2B, Minerva)
Greenhorn of the Year: Henry Yoder (LF, Sons of Ben)

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

P: Bud Forster (Minerva), C: Thomas Kirkpatrick (Germantown), 1B: Benjamin Warnock (Mercantile), 2B: Jonathan Toppin (Frankford), 3B: Douglas Izzard (Mercantile), SS: Archie Bell (Minerva), OF: Peter Hildebrand (Keystone), OF: George Oman (Schuylkill), OF: James Howard (Frankford)

tm1681 · 12-30-2025, 06:04 PM

THE 1878 NATIONAL BASE BALL ORGANIZATION PREVIEW

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (May 8, 1878) – Season number twenty-one of the N.B.B.O. will begin play this afternoon, with Union of Morrisania facing the first pitch at Metropolitan just after 1:00 P.M. Eastern Time.

Last season belonged to that mightiest of small clubs from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania: Susquehanna B.C. The 1874 cup champions set N.B.B.O. records for Runs (11.0 R/G) and Run Differential (+326) in the regular season before sweeping Portland in the N.E.L. Championship Series and defeating New York Athletic Club 3-2 in the Tucker-Wheaton Cup final.

This season, things will look a lot different, at least in the Northeastern League, after four teams left for the A.P.B.L. and a further two left to form a new independent competition outside of the N.B.B.O. As a result, five new clubs entered the Coastal Championship and one joined the Inland Championship. While having one new Inland team likely will do nothing more than give Susquehanna someone else to beat up on, with more than half the Coastal roster taking part for the first time it could be anybody’s guess as to who takes the pennant there.

Aside from the Coastal Championship upheaval and the anticipation that Susquehanna will continue to dominate the Inland Championship, elsewhere in the Northeastern League the top half of the standings in New England is expected to be tight, with Portland, Salem, and Sons of the Ocean expected to finish within a handful of games of one another and Portland favored to take yet another New England pennant.

Back in the New York League, matters are expected to unfold in much the same way they did last season, with Atlantic, N.Y.A.C., and Utica tipped to take the three regional championships. However, all three pennant races are expected to be extremely close, and with a bit of good fortune to the non-favored contenders all three could easily end in a tie.

The new teams are in place, everyone is ready for another season, and it’s time to play ball!

NATIONAL BASE BALL ORGANIZATION PROJECTED FINISH

BROOKLYN CHAMPIONSHIP

• Favorites: Atlantic at 45-25 (+180 RD)
• Eckford 1 GB; Empire 8 GB; Nassau Co. 10 GB

NEW YORK CITY CHAMPIONSHIP

• Favorites: New York Athletic Club at 43-27 (+105 RD)
• Union 1 GB; Metropolitan 2 GB; Mercury 3 GB; Hilltop 7 GB; Baltic 8 GB

UPSTATE NEW YORK CHAMPIONSHIP

• Favorites: Utica at 46-24 (+160 RD)
• Syracuse 2 GB; Minuteman 7 GB; Frontier 11 GB

COASTAL CHAMPIONSHIP

• Favorites: National at 46-24 (+170 RD)
• Trenton Utd. 5 GB; Maryland 8 GB; Philadelphia B.C.C. 10 GB

INLAND CHAMPIONSHIP

• Favorites: Susquehanna at 47-23 (+210 RD)
• Lancastra, Merrimack, & Pioneer 9 GB

NEW ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIP

• Favorites: Portland at 43-27 (+180 RD)
• Salem 3 GB; S.o.t.O. 4 GB, Cantabrigians 8 GB, Quinnipiac 9 GB

PLAYOFFS

• New York League champion: Atlantic B.B.C.
• Northeastern League champion: Susquehanna B.C.
• Tucker-Wheaton Cup champion: Atlantic B.B.C.

BROOKLYN – Atlantic returns every regular from last year’s 49-22 pennant winners – all eight batsmen and their pitching duo. That should make them just a bit better than an Eckford team that has the N.Y.L.’s best C & 3B but lost long-time CF Hanrahan Casey. Empire’s excellent outfield defense should see them finish third. Nassau Co. has a decent lineup that will place them in the top half of the standings. In spite of a five-star pitching duo, Continental is expected to end up in the bottom half of the standings due to an anemic attack.

NEW YORK CITY – N.Y.A.C. should be carried to another pennant thanks to the N.B.B.O.’s best pitching duo and an outstanding outfield, but it’s going to be incredibly tight in N.Y.C. Union’s wonderful defense at 2B & SS, combined with some quality batsmen, could just as easily earn them a spot in the playoffs. Metro has a lineup without weakness, and as always will feature star CF Francis Smith. Mercury is also a threat to take the pennant thanks to fantastic young P Edward Jenkins and a fine group of batsmen. Hilltop & Baltic both have a few quality players but should fall short.

UPSTATE – Utica lost 11-year CF William Buschmann to the A.P.B.L. but admirably replaced him with Hanrahan Casey, and that makes them Upstate favorites even though their new #1 P is a Greenhorn. Syracuse has a number of talented P’s, but unless they invent a four-man pitching rotation a couple of weaknesses in the lineup will see them fall just short of Utica. Minuteman returns every regular, and that likely means another third-place finish. Frontier has some stars in their lineup but they also rank in the 40’s at 2B, LF, & RF, and that should prevent them from cracking the top three.

COASTAL – The exit of five Coastal teams over the winter throws the region wide open for 1878. With top-three players at 2B, 3B, & RF and decent pitching, it looks as if this will be National’s year. Trenton Utd. has excellent defense at the right places (2B, SS, CF) but iffy pitching, and that likely means they won’t match National. Maryland has a quality outfield and strikeout king Earl Quinn at P, but weak defense at 2B & SS will hurt. P.B.C.C. will be the best of the newcomers – the W.P. loves their lineup but thinks that they’ll struggle a bit after signing two new P’s for life in the N.B.B.O. The other four newcomers are expected to finish 5th-8th.

INLAND – Susquehanna proved that their all-offense approach was no fluke and took the cup for the second time in four years last September. They return every regular, and that means Inland could be a one-team race. Lancastra, Merrimack, & Pioneer all have the same issue: lineups that have great players at some positions, but serious weaknesses at others. Newcomers Squirrel Hill are expected to finish tied for last while playing competitive baseball.

NEW ENGLAND – With five-star P’s Dressen & Molinari returning Portland should make it six pennants in eight years, but their outfield defense is concerning. That means if Salem can pull off some witchcraft in The Crucible then the pennant could be theirs. Jesse Craig is back from his knee injury and that makes S.o.t.O.’s lineup a serious danger once again, although their pitching leaves much to be desired. Cantabrigians lost 24-7 All-Star Bubba Mack to a late-career payday in the A.P.B.L., and that will be too big of a departure to overcome. Quinnipiac has a decent roster but no notable stars that would appear to be able to lift the team to the top of the New England standings.

N.B.B.O. AWARD FAVORITES

NYL Batsman of the Year: Henry Nabors (SS, Victory)
NEL Batsman of the Year: Frank Thomas (2B, Pioneer)
NYL Pitcher of the Year: Charles Rhodes (N.Y.A.C.)
NEL Pitcher of the Year: William Hawk (Susquehanna)
NYL Most Valuable Player: Herb Verrett (LF, Atlantic)
NEL Most Valuable Player: John Schultz (CF, Susquehanna)
NYL Greenhorn of the Year: Seymoure Donahue (P, age 24, Utica)
NEL Greenhorn of the Year: George McCool (P, age 27, Squirrel Hill)

N.B.B.O. TEAM OF THE YEAR FAVORITES

NEW YORK LEAGUE – P: Charles Rhodes (N.Y.A.C.), C: Robert Borut (Eckford), 1B: Chester Alexander (Syracuse), 2B: Vernon Mickey (Utica), 3B: Isaac Kelly (Eckford), SS: Henry Nabors (Victory), OF: Manuel Romeiras (N.Y.A.C.), OF: Francis Smith (Metro), OF: Herb Verrett (Atlantic)

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE – P: William Hawk (Susquehanna), C:bertrand Bosley (Green Mtn.), 1B: Jesse Craig (S.o.t.O.), 2B: Frank Thomas (Pioneer), 3B: James Kinney (National), SS: Earl Seals (Trenton Utd.), OF: Walter Little (National), OF: John Schultz (Susquehanna), OF: Leroy Moore (P.B.C.C.)

MOST TALENTED GREENHORNS (by position)

P1: Seymour Donahue (Utica, age 24, 4.5/4.5*), P2: William Cody (Merrimack, age 26, 4.0/4.0*) C: Clarence Jamison (N.Y.A.C., age 27, 3.0/3.0*), 1B: Frank Miller (Maryland, age 25, 3.0/3.0*), 2B: Arthur Fjelstad (Lord Baltimore, age 26, 2.5/2.5*), 3B: Frank Reed (Bunker Hill, age 26, 2.5/2.5*), SS: Charles Russell (Lord Baltimore, age 27, 2.0/2.0*), OF: Arthur Capone (Maryland, age 24, 3.0/4.0*), OF: Scott Conway (Reading A.C., age 23, 2.5/3.5*), OF: John Smith (Trenton Utd., age 24, 2.5/3.0*)

MOST TALENTED RESERVE PROSPECTS (by position)

P1: William Burrow (P.B.C.C., age 23, 2.5/5.0*), P2: Harold Sutton (Utica, age 21, 1.5/5.0*), C: John Bachant (Nassau Co., age 20, 2.0/3.0*), 1B: James Colquitt (Lord Baltimore, age 22, 2.5/4.5*), 2B: Julius Smith (Salem, age 20, 2.0/3.0*), 3B: Columbus Young (Quinnipiac, age 20, 1.5/4.0*), SS: James Lamb (Scranton, age 20, 1.5/3.5*), OF: Francis Edwards (Quinnipiac, age 20, 2.5/5.0*), OF: Ed Barnett (Eckford, age 21, 2.0/4.5*), OF: John Robbins (Green Mtn., age 20, 1.5/4.0*)

tm1681 · 12-30-2025, 06:29 PM

THE 1878 AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE PREVIEW

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (May 7, 1878) – Season #8 of the A.P.B.L. begins on Tuesday afternoon, and with the new season of play comes four new teams to the competition. Theoretically that should give the twelve original members of the league an easier time of things this year, but such results are far from guaranteed. St. John’s enters the season as favorites to repeat as Founders’ Cup champions, while Knickerbocker & Excelsior are expected to take part in another epic pennant chase, with Kings County perhaps ready to match them.

Projected standings and offseason summaries for each team:

COLONIAL CONFERENCE

1. St. John’s at 58-32 (+180 RD)
2. Niagara at 52-38 (6 GB; +55 RD)
3. Shamrock at 47-43 (11 GB; -5 RD)
4. Alleghany at 46-44 (12 GB; +45 RD)
5. Port Jersey at 40-50 (18 GB; -105 RD)
6. Mass. Bay at 38-52 (20 GB; -35 RD)
7. Newark at 38-52 (20 GB; -120 RD)
8. Flour City at 35-55 (23 GB; -150 RD)

METROPOLITAN CONFERENCE

1. Knickerbocker at 55-35 (+140 RD)
2. Excelsior at 54-36 (1 GB; +140 RD)
3. Kings Co. at 53-37 (2 GB; +135 RD)
4. Gotham at 50-40 (5 GB; +45 RD)
5. American at 46-44 (9 GB; -10 RD)
6. Quaker St. at 45-45 (10 GB; -40 RD)
7. Tiger S.C. at 40-50 (15 GB; -60 RD)
8. Orange at 28-62 (27 GB; -225 RD)

FOUNDERS' CUP

• Favorites: St. John’s B.C.[/B]

ALLEGHANY returns 7/8 lineup members, with 2x All-Star C Harry Thompson replaced by Harvey O’Donnell (Flour City). They also let 38-year-old P Raynard Cordell leave after a 22-21 record in 1877. They were in the middle of the standings last year, and they should be there again this year.

AMERICAN was rocked by the surprise exit of Martin Prince. Assuming he would be back for 1878, they had no plan for if he left. As a result, William Carrigan has moved to SS (3B: 9/10, SS: 8/10) and 2.0* Lorik van Unen was made the new 3B at a downgrade of -2.5* from Prince. The other regulars are back, but they have an enormous hole in their infield. The dynasty is OVER.

EXCELSIOR decided to stick with the group that took the Metropolitan Conference pennant last year, with the only change being that Joseph Romano (Knick) has come in to be their new C. Expect them to finish at or near #1 again.

FLOUR CITY has issues. Legendary #1 James Goodman is 39, his new pitching partner is a career backup, legendary 1B Samuel Kessler just turned 42, and the lineup ranks in the bottom quarter of the league at C, LF, & RF. They have one star in his prime – CF Ernest Dugas – and little else.

GOTHAM underwent an overhaul after a 34-56 season. They have two new P’s, although neither rates highly. Their trio of outfield greenhorns are all 3.0* talents, and they also have a 3.0* greenhorn at 3B. Royal Altman has finally moved to 1B full-time. If…IF…the newcomers adapt quickly to pro ball then this could be a fine, over-500 season for baseball’s oldest club.

KINGS COUNTY let OF Charles Hormel go but made a 2.0* to 3.0* upgrade by replacing him with Sig Siemens from the P.C.B.L. They also lost five-year SS Harold McMichael but had an adequate backup waiting to take over. Every other regular has returned. If Banfield & Gray have another good season as the pitching duo, this should be a dangerous team.

KNICKERBOCKER brings every regular back except C Joseph Romano, who was replaced with 3.0* Cale Jones from the N.B.B.O. They rank top-three at 1B, 2B, 3B, LF, & P, and that makes them the favorites to top the Metropolitan.

MASSACHUSETTS BAY, surprisingly, didn’t do much retooling after a 39-51 season. The only change to their group of regulars is that #2 P Dress Hobbelink has been replaced by #2 overall prospect Everett Arrington. That should peg them at roughly the same record they had last season.

NEWARK geared up for their first A.P.B.L. season by signing 4x All-Star RF William Valentine (Orange), St. John’s backup 2B Domenico Branca (2.5*), Excelsior backup SS Marcel Bresciani (2.0*), 3.0* 3B Charles Ramer from the N.B.B.O, and two decent N.B.B.O. C’s. Their strength remains their outfielders, but aside from star John Ratican they have little talent at P.

NIAGARA made two changes. They signed P.C.B.L. Batsman of the Year William Norman (3.5*) so Sweeney Martin can take a backup role at OF. They also let George Sturgis leave and replaced him with former #1 P Monroe Munson (1867-72), who was in the N.B.B.O. The upgrade at 1B is larger than the downgrade at P, so look for them to challenge St. John’s again.

ORANGE is in big trouble. They lost All-Star RF William Valentine and replaced him with a 21-year-old prospect, Jonathan Cobb, from the N.B.B.O. They are sticking with the same #1, Andy Miller, who went 7-31 last season. They are starting a SS who had a .560 OPS over 70 games the N.B.B.O. last season. Unless there are big returns to All-Star levels of play by 3B Will Chaffin & LF Earl Crosby, this looks like the worst team in the league.

PORT JERSEY took the smartest approach to roster building of any of the new teams. They figured that if this was going to be a transition year then they might as well bring in a bunch of talented Greenhorns. With 3B Vincent Dixon, INF Samuel Eastman, RF Arthur Kanellopoulos, and LF Jake Romkes they have four of the top five young batsman prospects in the league, and at least three will play regularly in 1878. They also signed former All-Stars Bernard Lambert (LF) & Harry Thompson (C). The team won’t finish .500, but their future looks great.

QUAKER STATE is expected to be the only newcomer to finish .500, and it’s easy to see why. They have the league’s #2 C (Matthew Williams), #2 CF (Ned Morganti), a top-ten P (Ross Gill), quality at the corners of the outfield, and former All-Star 1B William Theirault (Gotham) to support the lineup. Age may be a concern, but at least they look decent now.

SHAMROCK brought back every regular from last year’s 39-51 team, which is a surprise since John Bosarge ranks just 2.0* as a CF, where he played last season, and 3.0* as a LF. Still, they’ve been picked to finish above .500 based on the presumption that the All-Star infield duo of William Dickerson & Harold Groves will bounce back from poor seasons.

ST. JOHN’S didn’t change a thing, and with Joseph Evans having a year of A.P.B.L. play behind him that means last year’s champions could be even better in 1878, especially if Nelson Townsend can recover from the worst season of his career.

TIGER S.C. shocked everybody and won the offseason’s grand prize when they signed superstar American SS Martin Prince. They’ve built a lineup around him that has a fair amount of veteran A.P.B.L. talent led by 6x All-Star Mario Fusilli, who can still produce even if he is 40 y/o. Pitching is the major issue, as new #1 Jack Doherty has a career 46-104 record in the A.P.B.L., and that dearth of pitching talent will keep them from sniffing .500 in year one.

A.P.B.L. AWARD FAVORITES

Batsman of the Year: James Burke (CF, American)
Pitcher of the Year: Jim Creighton (P, Excelsior)
Most Valuable Player: Konrad Jensen (1B, St. John’s)
Greenhorn of the Year: William Norman (1B, Niagara)

As long as Burke, Creighton, & Jensen are at or near their primes they'll remain favorites to win major awards every season. Norman is the only 3.5* Greenhorn, based on current ability and not potential.

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

P: Jim Creighton (Excelsior), C: Everett Schreiber (Orange), 1B: Konrad Jensen (St. John’s), 2B: Babe Johnson (Gotham), 3B: William Dickerson (Shamrock), SS: Martin Prince (Tiger S.C.), OF: James Burke (American), OF: Joseph Evans (St. John’s), OF: Charles Barrett (Niagara)

MOST TALENTED GREENHORNS (by position)

P1: Everett Arrington (MB, age 22, 2.5/3.5*), P2: Ray Christianson (QS, age 28, 2.5/2.5*), C: Hillard Patrick (NEW, age 28, 2.5/2.5*), 1B: William Norman (NIA, age 27, 3.5/3.5*), 2B: Griffin Gray (TIG, age 22, 2.5/4.0*), 3B: Charles Ramer (NEW, age 28, 3.0/3.0*), SS: George Ellison (QS, age 24, 2.5/2.5*), OF: William Tillman (GOT, age 27, 3.0/3.0*), OF: Charles Aplin (QS, age 27, 3.0/3.0*), OF: Alexander Hammond (GOT, age 27, 3.0/3.0*)

TOP RESERVE TEAM PROSPECTS (by position)

P1: Charles Heath (MB, age 20, 1.5/3.5*), P2: Elmer Walters (GOT, age 24, 2.5/3.5*), C: Joseph Nalley (StJ, age 21, 2/4.5*), 1B: Clyde McFarland (TIG, age 20, 1.5/2.5*), 2B: Harry DeFilippo (QS, age 22, 2.0/2.5*), 3B: Jesse Noss (FC, age 22, 2.0/3.0*), SS: Jerald Long (EXC, age 25, 2.0/2.0*), OF: Jake Romkes (PtJ, age 22, 2.5/3.0*), OF: Callum Murray (KNI, age 24, 2.5/2.5*), OF: Walter McGovern (GOT, age 23, 2.0/2.5*)

OFFSEASON LINEUP SIGNINGS

P: Jonathan Atkins (age 36, 2.5/2.5*) from Merion (PCBL) to Pt. Jersey on Nov. 29.
P: Allan Bird (backup, age 35, 2.5/2.5*) from Excelsior to Flour City on Nov. 25.
P: Ray Christianson (Greenhorn, age 28, 2.5/2.5*) to Quaker St. on Dec. 1.
P: Jack Doherty (backup, age 30, 2.5/2.5*) from Knick to Tiger S.C. on Dec. 6.
P: Paul Krueger (age 28, 3.0/3.0*) from Sons of Ben (PCBL) to Gotham on Dec. 1.
P: John Molnar (Greenhorn, age 27, 2.5/2.5*) to Gotham on Oct. 24.
P: Monroe Munson (age 35, 2.5/2.5*) from Pt. Jersey (then in NBBO) to Niagara on Nov. 12.
P: Tynan Stewart (age 34, 2.5/2.5*) from Olympic (CC) to Newark on Dec. 14.
P: George Sturgis (age 28, 17-13, 3.18, 37 K, 3.6 WAR) from Niagara to Excelsior on Dec. 6.

C: Cale Jones (age 30, 3.0/3.0*) from Union (NBBO) to Knick for $1,300 on Dec. 18.
C: Havey O’Donnell (age 35, .245, 32 RBI, 0.0 WAR) from Flour City to Alleghany on Dec. 11.
C: Hillard Patrick (age 28, 2.5/2.5*) from Pioneer (NBBO) to Newark for $1,000 on Feb. 20.
C: Joseph Romano (age 30, .245, 49 RBI, 1.2 WAR) from Knick to Excelsior on Nov. 30.
C: Reynard Steinbach (age 35, .251, 35 RBI, 0.1 WAR) from American to Tiger S.C. on Dec. 13.
C: Harry Thompson (age 31, .259, 45 RBI, 0.5 WAR) from Alleghany to Pt. Jersey on Nov. 19.

1B: Samuel Eastman (Greenhorn, age 22, 3.0/5.0*) to Pt. Jersey on Nov. 9.
1B: Mario Fusilli (backup, age 40, 3.5/3.5*) from Knick to Tiger S.C. on Nov. 25.
1B: William Norman (age 27, 3.5/3.5*) from Merion (PCBL) to Niagara for $2,000 on Feb. 3.
1B: William Thierault (age 31, .332, 86 RBI, 1.7 WAR) from Gotham to Quaker St. on Dec. 11.
2B: Domenico Branca (backup, age 31, 2.5/2.5*) from St. John’s to Newark on Nov. 30.
2B: Griffin Gray (Greenhorn, age 22, 2.5/4.0*) to Tiger S.C. on Dec. 13.
3B: Benjamin Crisp (Greenhorn, age 25, 3.0/3.0*) to Gotham on Nov. 25.
3B: Vincent Dixon (Greenhorn, age 22, 2.5/4.0*) to Pt. Jersey on Dec. 14.
3B: Harold McMichael (age 31, .258, 58 RBI, 0.7 WAR) from Kings Co. to Tiger S.C. on Dec. 11.
3B: Charles Ramer (age 28, 3.0/3.0*) from Star (NBBO) to Newark for $1,300 on Nov. 12.
3B: Jerry Rockford (age 23, 2.5/3.0*) from Trenton Utd. (NBBO) to Quaker St. for $1,300 on Feb. 23.
SS: Marcel Bresciani (backup, age 37, 2.0/2.0*) from Excelsior to Newark on Mar. 6.
SS: Martin Prince (age 29, .300, 51 RBI, +19.2 ZR, 3.5 WAR) from American to Tiger S.C. on Feb. 2.
SS: Joseph Reed (age 33, 2.0/2.0*) from Quinnipiac (NBBO) to Orange on Mar. 30.

LF: Franklin Baum (age 26, 2.0/2.0*) from Scranton (NBBO) to Flour City on Oct. 25.
LF: Franklin Hollingsworth (Greenhorn, age 25, 2.5/2.5*) to Tiger S.C. on Nov. 30.
LF: Bernard Lambert (age 31, 2.5/2.5*) from Bedford (NBBO) to Pt. Jersey on Dec. 26.
LF: William Tillman (Greenhorn, age 27, 3.0/3.0*) to Gotham on Nov. 30.
CF: William Buschmann (age 34, 2.5/2.5*) from Utica (NBBO) to Tiger S.C. on Dec. 13.
CF: Alexander Hammond (Greenhorn, age 27, 3.0/3.0*) to Gotham on Nov. 26.
RF: Charles Aplin (Greenhorn, age 27, 3.0/3.0*) to Quaker St. on Nov. 10.
RF: Howard Boley (age 24, 2.5/2.5*) from Reading A.C. (NBBO) to Tiger S.C. for $1,000 on Feb. 26.
RF: Jonathan Cobb (age 21, 2.0/3.5*) from Granite (NBBO) to Orange for $1,650 on Nov. 9.
RF: Harold Corso (Greenhorn, age 22, 2.0/3.0*) to Gotham on Oct. 23.
RF: Arthur Kanellopoulos (age 23, 2.5/3.0*) from Maryland (NBBO) to Pt. Jersey for $1,300 on Feb. 12.
RF: Sigmund Siemens (age 26, 3.0/3.0*) from Germantown (PCBL) to Kings Co. for $1,300 on Nov. 11.
RF: William Valentine (age 35, .308, 58 RBI, 1.5 WAR) from Orange to Newark on Jan. 1.

11-14-2025, 06:53 AM	#961
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,599	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 07:06 AM.

11-14-2025, 07:00 AM	#963
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,599	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 07:14 AM.

11-16-2025, 09:26 PM	#967
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,599	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 09:39 PM.

11-16-2025, 09:30 PM	#969
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,599	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; 11-16-2025 at 11:56 PM.

11-23-2025, 03:34 PM	#971
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,599	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 04:03 PM.

11-23-2025, 03:43 PM	#972
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,599	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 04:09 PM.

12-21-2025, 11:39 AM	#973
RMc All Star Starter Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,715	When does the "National" BBO start wending its way to places like St. Louis and Chicago? __________________ "We're all behind our baseball team..."