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

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1878 NATIONAL BASE BALL ORGANIZATION ALL-STAR GAME
TWENTIETH EDITION PLAYED AT THE NYAC GROUNDS; SUSQUEHANNA HAS RECORD FOUR STARTERS

NEW YORK CITY (July 22, 1878) – With three weeks left to play in the season, it’s time for the twentieth edition of the annual N.B.B.O. All-Star Game! Rules were the same as always:

• Places 1-6 in each team’s roster will go to the best pitchers in each league.
• The remaining 24 roster spots will consist of three players for every other position.

The game was given another new home this year. While New York City was hosting the All-Star festivities for far from the first time ever, defending New York League Champion New York Athletic Club was, with the game being played at the excellent N.Y.A.C. Grounds and its capacity of over 6,400.

The N.Y.L. roster was led by hosts N.Y.A.C. with five nominees, including both halves of their tremendous pitching duo: George Cerven & Charles “The Colossus” Rhodes. No other team sent more than three men to the game – another testament to the parity of talent among the league’s teams. The big omission: Victory SS Henry Nabors, who was missing the All-Star Game for just the second time in his thirteen N.B.B.O. seasons.

The N.E.L. was led by – no surprise – Susquehanna’s five nominees, including an All-Star Game record four starters: P William Hawk, 1B Joseph Jurski, SS Stephen Barley, & CF John Schultz. New England leaders Portland sent four to New York City, as did impressive Coastal newcomers Philadelphia Baseball & Cricket Club.

There were 25 first-time nominees in this year’s All-Star Game – thirteen from the New York League and a dozen from the Northeastern League. There were five Greenhorn All-Stars, although none of the handful started. Aside from P.B.C.C.’s four all-stars, the N.B.B.O. newcomers were also represented by one each from Lord Baltimore (CF Francis Beckham) & Squirrel Hill (3B Jerald Kinney).

Rosters for the 1878 NBBO All-Star Game were as follows, with starters marked in red:

So, how did this year's All-Star Game turn out?

For the third year in a row the Northeastern League reigned supreme thanks to their work during the early innings.

For the fourth year in a row the N.E.L. reigned supreme, and for the second straight year they came out on top thanks to excellent offensive work during the first half of the game.

It was the N.Y.L. who opened the scoring when Cruise hit a Triple with the bases full in B1. The N.E.L. responded quickly, scoring via Error in T2 before plating six runs in T3, thanks in no small part to two-run Triples by both McCrory & Haley, to take a 7-3 lead.

Faced with a four-run deficit, the N.Y.L. began to mount a comeback by scoring twice in B4 on run-scoring hits by van Zutphen (Double) & Calhoun (Single). However, the N.E.L. responded immediately with five runs during T5 – the key hit a two-run Single by Kirby – to take their lead to 12-5. That was the last of the scoring, and the N.E.L. had bested their New York rivals once again.

Since it was his big hit that primed the N.E.L. rally in the third inning and sent them on the way to victory, Cantabrigians LF William McCrory was named the All-Star Game’s Most Valuable Player:

• NEL LF William McCrory: 2/3 (3B), 1 R, 2 RBI, SB

The New York League player who had the most impact was Union SS William Cruise, thanks to his three-run Triple during the bottom of the opening inning:

• NYL SS William Cruise: 2/2 (3B), 1 R, 3 RBI

The pitchers of record were Francis Molinari with the Win, Elbert Kidd with the Loss, and Earl Quinn with the Save.

Attendance at the N.Y.A.C. Grounds was 6,429 and the weather was a perfect 78 degrees with clear skies. Fans couldn’t have asked for anything more, although the New Yorkers in attendance would like to see the New York League win the All-Star Game before too long lest the Northeasterners become unrepentant braggarts.