The Big Bang: A Larger Baseball Universe Starting From Nothing in 1857 - Page 56

tm1681 · 03-16-2026, 09:44 PM

THREE WITH HANDFUL OF HITS IN BINGHAMTON
ROCKFORD, TOSTA, & WHITE ALL HAVE FIVE OR MORE HITS IN WILD AFFAIR AT VESTAL AVENUE

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (July 20, 1879) - Binghamton hosted Frontier at the Vestal Avenue Grounds on Sunday, and the two teams decided to end their series by giving everybody in attendance their dime’s worth and then some:

Binghamton scored thirteen runs, but they were really never competitive in this one past the opening inning. After Frontier drew first blood in T1 on a Single by 3B William Rockford, the hosts responded with two runs in B1 on a Throwing Error and a Single by RF Edward Everage.

With Binghamton ahead 2-1, Frontier came to bat for T2 and hammered out a nine-run rally that featured a multitude of run-scoring base hits and one Binghamton fielding miscue. Now behind 10-2, Binghamton scored once in B2 and then again in B3 on a Home Run by LF Jonathan Tosta to make it a six-run game. Unfortunately for the hosts, Frontier stepped to the plate for T4 and unleashed a second nine-run rally, this one capped with a three-run Double by RF John White, to take a 19-4 lead and end the game as a contest.

Binghamton scored a bunch of runs over the second half of the game, and Frontier added five more. That meant the two teams combined to total 38 Runs, 42 Hits, & 19 Errors over the nine innings when all was said and done.
Three batsmen finished the game with 5+ Hits, and they were the aforementioned Rockford, White, & Tosta.

Frontier 3B William Rockford:

• T1: 1-run Infield Single to SS off C. Frees (SB)
• T2: 1-run Single past SS off C. Frees (R)
• T3: Single to CF off C. Frees
• T4: 2-run Single past SS off W. Lewis (R)
• T5: 1-run Single past SS off R. Glasser
• T7: Line Out to SS (3 out)
• T8: Reached via Base on Balls by R. Glasser
• TOTAL: 5/6 (all 1B), 2 R, 5 RBI, BB, SB, 90 GMSC

Frontier RF John White:

• T2: 1-run Single to RF off C. Frees (SB, R)
• T2: Single to CF off C. Frees (R)
• T4: Reached via Error by 3B (R)
• T4: 3-run Double to LCF off W. Lewis
• T6: Single past SS off R. Glasser
• T8: 1-run Single past 2B off R. Glasser (R)
• T9: Single to RF off R. Glasser
• TOTAL: 6/7 (2B), 4 R, 4 RBI, SB, 7 TB, 100 GMSC

Binghamton LF Jonathan Tosta:

• B1: Ground Out to 1B (2 out)
• B3: SOLO HOME RUN to RF off E. Pelham
• B5: Single to RCF off E. Pelham
• B6: 3-run Triple to RCF off E. Pelham
• B8: 1-run Single past SS off E. Pelham
• B9: 1-run Triple to RCF off E. Graf
• TOTAL: 5/6 (2 3B, HR), 1 R, 6 RBI, 12 TB, 90 GMSC

Rockford’s afternoon gave him a .342 Average (.850 OPS) with 43 RBI, 1.7 WAR, and a decent chance at a second straight All-Star Game nomination. Teammate White’s performance marked the fifth six-hit game in the N.B.B.O. this year, and also the sixth with a 100+ Game Score. His Average is .340 (.765 OPS) with 42 RBI and 1.4 WAR through ten weeks of play.

Tosta set the season’s high mark with a dozen Total Bases in a single game. The N.B.B.O. record for Total Bases in one afternoon is fourteen, set on June 30th of 1860 in the famous American vs Olympic game in which American C Friedrich Becker hit three Inside the Park Home Runs – still the only player ever to hit three Home Runs in a game in any league. Tosta’s batting .330 (.821 OPS) with 28 RBI and 0.8 WAR.

The highly entertaining affair in Binghamton raised Frontier’s record to 29-21. They’re alone in third place in Upstate New York, one game behind second-place Utica and two behind leaders Minuteman. Binghamton is in a tie for sixth place with Eagle at 22-28 (9 GB).

tm1681 · 03-18-2026, 11:10 PM

MERION’S STICKROD HITS FOR THE CYCLE
THIRD-YEAR CF COMPLETES FEAT IN 8TH INNING OF MERION’S HOME WIN OVER SCHUYLKILL

PHILADELPHIA, PENN. (July 24, 1879) - Merion B.C.C. faced off against Schuylkill in a battle of two under-500 teams on Thursday. It was Merion who came out with the victory at their Cheswold Lane Cricket Grounds:

Merion won the game thanks to their work in three innings: the 3rd, 4th, & 5th. Merion scored three times in B3, with the latter two runs scoring on an Inside the Park Home Run by CF Francis Stickrod. Stickford came up big again in B4, when his two-run Triple knocked in both Merion runs of the inning. The home side then scored twice in B5 on a Single by P Charles Sturch to take a 7-0 lead, and they had little to worry about after that.

That having been said, there was some suspense late. After his Home Run in the third and Triple in the fourth, Stickrod hit a Double with the bases empty in the sixth. That meant he needed just a Single for the Cycle, and he had one more plate appearance in the eighth. With his last chance, Stickrod one-run Single on the third pitch from Harvey Bowman to complete the second Cycle in league history. Stickrod received an ovation from the crowd, and congratulations from his teammates for an excellent afternoon’s work.

A summary of Stickrod’s work against Schuylkill:

• B1: Pop Fly Out to 3B (2 out)
• B3: 2-RUN ItP HOME RUN to RF off J. Austin
• B4: 2-run Triple to RCF off J. Austin
• B6: Double to RF off J. Austin (R)
• B8: 1-run Single past 2B off H. Bowman
• TOTAL: 4/5 (2B, 3B, HR), 2 R, 5 RBI, 10 TB, CYCLE, 82 GMSC (#10)

The only other Cycle in P.C.B.L. history occurred on May 27th, 1876, when Joseph Sizemore of Spartan hit for one against Minerva. Coincidentally, Sizemore was also 4/5 with five Runs Batted In during his Cycle.

The result gave Merion, the 1874 Philadelphia champions, a 22-30 record that has them 7th in West Philadelphia and likely to finish under. 500 for the first time. Their offense has struggled mightily, with the team last in scoring (6.0 R/G) and no regulars batting above .300. Schuylkill is in a tie fir 5th with Germantown at 25-27, seven games behind leaders Mercantile.

tm1681 · 03-19-2026, 09:44 PM

1879 NATIONAL BASE BALL ORGANIZATION ALL-STAR GAME
GAME HELD IN BALTIMORE FOR FIRST TIME; ECKFORD & SUSQUEHANNA LEAD WITH FIVE NOMINEES

BALTIMORE, MLD. (July 28, 1879) – 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.

This year it was the Northeastern League’s turn to host the festivities. Since Washington, D.C. had the chance to host the game in 1874, league executives decided that this year’s honor would go to the city with the next largest venue in the N.E.L.: Baltimore, Maryland, which is home to the 13,735-seat Cecil Calvert Park.

The N.Y.L. roster was led by the N.B.B.O.’s #1 team, Eckford, who sent five players – two started – to Baltimore. No other team had more than three. Once again, the magnificent Charles “The Colossus” Rhodes was the N.Y.L.’s starting Pitcher. One note of interest: half of the starting batsmen for the N.Y.L. were making their first All-Star Game appearance.

The N.E.L. was led, yet again, by Susquehanna’s five nominees, and for the second consecutive year the best team in the N.E.L. by five games would have a quartet of starters: P William Hawk, C Scott Lyons, SS Stephen Barley, & OF Walter Braden. No other team sent more than three players to the game. The N.E.L. also had the only Greenhorn to start: Bunker Hill 3B Oliver Johnson.

There were 28 first-time nominees in this year’s All-Star Game (NYL: 15, NEL: 13), and six of the first-timers were Greenhorns. In addition, Lyons had made the game during his first full season as a regular for Susquehanna after one as a backup. The elder statesmen this year were Eckford 3B Isaac Kelly, Trenton Utd. SS Earl Seals, & Metro CF Francis Smith, who were all making their eighth appearance.

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?

The N.E.L. made it five consecutive All-Star Game triumphs.

The game wasn’t as close as the final score indicates. After a scoreless opening inning, the N.E.L. drew first blood in B2 on a Double by 1B Jesse Craig. The N.Y.L. then went ahead 3-1 in T3 thanks to three run-scoring hits: a Triple by LF Louis Murray, a Double by 3B Lee Thompson, and another Double by CF Robert Wolf. However, the N.E.L. took the lead back (4-3) in B3 on a pair of run-scoring Singles and a one-run Triple by Craig. In B4, it was 6-3 to the hosts after a Single by sub Gilbert Ingels and a Sacrifice Fly. Another run was added in B5 on a Single by SS Stephen Barley to give the N.E.L. a 7-3 lead, and four Runs in B8 on a pair of two-run Singles by subs Dewey Gaulden & Albert Noyes made it an 11-3 game.

The N.Y.L. made a valiant effort at a comeback in T9. They scored six runs, with the big moment a three-run Triple by SUB Adelfried Hauser. However, an eight-run deficit was simply too much to overcome, and the Northeastern League exited the All-Star Game as the winners yet again.

Thanks to a pair of big run-scoring base hits during the early innings, the Most Valuable Player award went to Sons of the Ocean 1B and N.E.L. starter Jesse Craig:

• NEL 1B Jesse Craig: 2/2 (2B, 3B), 1 R, 2 RBI, 5 TB

Nobody from the N.Y.L. had multiple hits on the afternoon, so it was Hauser who ended up as their most impactful player due to his three-run Triple during B9 in what was his only time at bat.

The pitchers of record were Francis Molinari with the Win, John Watson with the Loss, and William Burrow with the Save. This was the second straight year Molinari earned All-Star Game Win.

Attendance at Cecil Calvert Park was 13,735, and although the stars were bright the weather wasn’t. It was 73 degrees and overcast, and rain showers caused a fifteen-minute delay during the eighth inning. The home fans will have left happy, but New York League afficionados will be left wondering when the N.Y.L. will come out on top again.

tm1681 · 03-19-2026, 09:44 PM

PUCKETT HAS FIVE HITS & CYCLE AT SYRACUSE
3x ALL-STAR HAS MARVELOUS AFTERNOON TO PROPEL BINGHAMTON TO VICTORY

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (July 31, 1879) - Syracuse & Binghamton faced off in the second game of their series at the Salina Street Grounds, and the visitors came out on top thanks to a pair of five-run rallies:

After the teams traded pairs of runs during the opening inning, Binghamton scored twice in T2 via Sacrifice Fly and Single by 1B Bernard Puckett to take a 4-2 lead. The visitors then added five runs in T3, the key hit a two-run Triple by Puckett, to take a commanding 9-2 lead in Syracuse.

The hosts chipped away at the deficit, scoring once in B3, once in B4, twice in B5, and once more in B6 to turn a seven-run gap into a two-run deficit (9-7). However, Binghamton stepped to the plate for T7 and put up a second five-run rally, with Puckett again providing the key hit on a three-run Home Run, to take a 14-7 that Syracuse wasn’t able to threaten.

While Binghamton didn’t score again after the seventh inning, they did do something notable in the ninth because Puckett led off T9 with a Single that earned him the Cycle:

• T1: 1-run Double to RCF off C. Cremins (R)
• T2: 1-run Single past SS off C. Cremins
• T3: 2-run Triple to RCF off C. Cremins
• T5: Ground Out to 2B (3 out)
• T7: 3-RUN HOME RUN to RF off H. Carter
• T9: Leadoff Single past 2B off H. Carter
• TOTAL: 5/6 (2B, 3B, HR), 2 R, 7 RBI, 11 TB; CYCLE, 104 GMSC (#6)

Puckett’s Cycle was the second in the N.B.B.O. in roughly six weeks – Murdock Whitehurst hit one for Minuteman against Eagle on June 19th – and the 21st in competition history. Thursday afternoon’s output raised his Average to .341 (.836 OPS) with 22 Extra-Base Hits (13 2B, 7 3B, 2 HR), 62 Runs Batted In, and 1.9 WAR. He had recently been named to his third All-Star Game over his four seasons in the N.B.B.O.

The win moved Binghamton back into a tie for 6th in Upstate New York with Eagle at 25-32 (10 GB), while the loss dropped Syracuse to 29-28. They are 4th Upstate and six games behind leaders Minuteman with thirteen left to play.

tm1681 · 03-20-2026, 03:00 PM

AMERICAN BASEBALL MONTHLY RECAP: JULY

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (July 31, 1879) – The calendar is now at the end of July. That means it’s time for baseball’s stretch run. The A.P.B.L. is entering the All-Star break with fifteen games left starting next Friday, while the other three competitions have a little over two weeks of play remaining. Here are how matters stand going into August:

AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS

COLONIAL – Alleghany looks like the head of the A.P.B.L. class after an incredible July: 22-5, a +114 Run Differential over 27 games (+4.2 R/G), and a conference lead that has increased from one game to six with two and a half weeks left to play. Their strength remains in the field, as they’re in the league’s top two in all four defensive metrics.

St. John’s played very well in July (17-10, +70 RD), but compared to the leaders they just weren’t great enough. They’re employing their usual offensive shenanigans (R/G: 1st, OBP: 1st, SB: 1st), but Alleghany appears too powerful. Niagara was iffy in July. They remain 3rd in Runs Allowed (6.2 RA/G) due to the pairing of Ed Jenkins & Tomoharu Mukai, but their team Batting Average has fallen to 15th. Shamrock was also mediocre in July, also due to poor offense that spoiled what is in their case league-best pitching (5.9 RA/G, 3.18 ERA).

Mass. Bay was clearly hurt by the loss of Albert Stoffers to Knick. Hugh Harris is batting just .271 – roughly 120 points below Stoffers – and their attack has slipped to 10th/16. Newark is eliminated from playoff contention, but they’re winning fifteen percent more games than in their debut season (.453 vs .300), so the future’s looking up. Flour City is somehow not in last place with an offense that ranks last in Runs, Average, On-Base %, Slugging %, OPS, & Batting WAR. Pt. Jersey remains an extraordinarily snakebitten team (1-Run: 5-20; X-Inn: 2-6) with a Run Differential that suggests a 34-40 would be a more fair representation of their level of play.

METROPOLITAN – Knickerbocker has taken a vise-like grip of the conference. Tied with Quaker St. on June 30, Knick went 19-8 during July while the Philadelphians went 12-15, and the defending champs now have a seven-game lead with fifteen to play. They lead the league in Average & OPS, while their pitching & fielding remain among the league’s best.

Quaker St. slipped during July. It’s hard to point out a specific culprit, but if there was one it would have to be their fielding as they’ve now committed more Errors than all but two teams. Their offense and pitching still look strong. Tiger S.C. remains a nice surprise. Martin Prince isn’t playing at the level he did last year, but his supporting cast has done well and Henry Tallman has been an utter workhorse as their #1. Kings Co. has seven lineup members batting over .300 but their pitching is among the worst in the league, and with nobody batting over .350 they simply can’t score enough. With their lineup continuing to age, American has now fallen to 12th/16 in Runs per Game, a far cry from their frightening peak. They’re still less than ten games out, but American’s playoff chances are minute.

Excelsior followed up their excellent June with a July that was a full 180, and they’ll have look to right the ship over the winter. Gotham has been almost as bizarrely unlucky as Pt. Jersey in one-run games (6-18), and it’s undone the work of the league’s third-best attack. Orange remains the worst team in the league, but there is hope. Their offense jumped up from 16th to 11th during June, and 23-year-old RF Jonathan Cobb was just named an All-Star for the first time.

A.P.B.L. MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
John Meier (LF, ALL) – .379, 1.009 OPS, 37 R, 50 H, 10 2B, 11 3B, 30 RBI, 1 BB, 18 SB, 1.7 WPA, 1.8 WAR

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Robert Goodman (KNI) – 10-2, 2.80 ERA, 21 K, 125.1 IP, 11 CG, 2.6 K/BB, 1.06 WHIP, 1.7 WAR, 3.8 rWAR

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
John Miles (P, ALL) – 8-2, 3.06 ERA, 9 K, 101.0 IP, 7 CG, 1.5 K/BB, 1.44 WHIP, 1.6 WAR, 1.3 rWAR

Niagara 1B William Norman was tops in Average (.415) and RBI’s (33), but the Writers Pool couldn’t overlook Meier’s whopping 21 Extra-Base Hits while having 30+ Runs & RBI each. He also led the league in Batsman WAR during the month. Niagara CF Charles Barrett (.388, 1.008 OPS, 27 RBI, 1.6 WAR), St. John’s LF Joseph Evans (.397, .979 OPS, 26 RBI, 1.6 WAR), and Knick 3B Albert Stoffers (.398, .956 OPS, 27 RBI, 1.6 WAR) also had credible cases for B.o.t.M.

Goodman was one of two ten-win Pitchers during July. The other was Alleghany’s Tom Ricks (10-3, 2.74 ERA, 19 K, 1.6 WAR), with Goodman taking the monthly honor because his other statistical markers were slightly better overall. If there was ever a time for a tie, this would have been a perfect one. Howard Burns of St. John’s was 9-1, but with an ERA of 3.86 his July record was more due to his team’s offense than his pitching.

The only Greenhorn batsman to start over a dozen games and hit over .300 was Flour City 3B Jesse Noss, but his OPS was under .800 (.775). That meant G.o.t.M. would go to a Pitcher, and with an 8-2 month for the league’s best team Miles was the obvious choice. Niagara’s Edward Jenkins had better secondary numbers, but a worse record (6-9) and higher ERA (4.21).

A.P.B.L. STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .410 by William Norman (1B, Niagara)
OPS: .970 by William Norman
Home Runs: 3 by Rudolph Decker (CF, St. John’s) & Nelson Townsend (RF, St. John’s)
Runs Batted In: 94 by William Norman
Runs: 97 by Charles Barrett (CF, Niagara) & Nelson Townsend
Stolen Bases: 59 by Konrad Jensen (1B, St. John’s)
Batsman WPA: 7.0 by William Norman
Batsman WAR: 3.9 by Konrad Jensen

Wins: 24 by Howard Burns (St. John’s)
ERA (150+ IP): 2.63 by Ray Christianson (Quaker St.)
Strikeouts: 83 by George Burroughs (Shamrock)
Complete Games: 30 by George Burroughs
WHIP (150+ IP): 1.16 by Donal Hagan (Shamrock)
Pitcher WAR: 6.3 by Howard Burns
Pitcher rWAR: 7.4 by Henry Tallman (Tiger S.C.)

NATIONAL BASE BALL ORGANIZATION REGIONAL LEADERS

BROOKLYN: Eckford at 43-14 (Cont’l 11 GB; Atlantic & Empire 13 GB)
NEW YORK CITY: N.Y.A.C. at 39-18 (Mercury 6 GB; Union 7 GB; Metro 12 GB)
UPSTATE N.Y.: Minuteman at 35-22 (Utica 1 GB; Frontier 2 GB; Syracuse 6 GB; Victory 9 GB)
COASTAL: Trenton Utd. at 34-23 (Bunk. Hill & P.B.C.C. 2 GB; Maryland 4 GB; Nat'l 6 GB; Lord Balt. 7 GB; Diamond St. 8 GB)
INLAND: Susquehanna at 40-17 (Lancastra 4 GB; Reading A.C. 7 GB; Pioneer 9 GB)
NEW ENGLAND: Green Mtn. at 34-23 (Quinnipiac 2 GB; Portland 3 GB; Oceanic & S.o.t.O. 5 GB; C’brigians & Salem 8 GB)

BROOKLYN – There are three teams still mathematically alive, but Eckford has a Magic Number of three with thirteen games yet to play and they’ll almost certainly go to the playoffs as the favorites to lift the Tucker-Wheaton Cup.

NEW YORK CITY – N.Y.A.C. followed their 15-6 June with a 16-6 July, and June 30th co-leaders Union going 9-13 meant they were left in N.Y.A.C.’s dust. Mercury’s 12-10 July also caused them to fall back, and with N.Y.A.C. playing last-place Harlem (22-35; 17 GB) next week it’s likely just a matter of when they grab their third straight pennant.

UPSTATE N.Y. – This pennant race will go down to the final week. Each of the top four teams plays another member of the top four in one of their last two series, and with six teams ten games back or less of Minuteman it means none of the other series will be easy. Minuteman leads for now, but will they still be in front after the final game?

COASTAL – None from the Writers Pool would have projected the Coastal to be this close ahead of the season. The only team more than eight games back of Trenton Utd. is last-place Brighton, and with seven of eight teams going 4-6, 5-5, or 6-4 over their last ten July games it could be an absolutely wild final two and a half weeks in this pennant chase. Nobody has any easy games from here on out

INLAND – Susquehanna is holding Lancastra at arm’s length again, but they slipped to 13-9 last month. Lancastra has a potential path to catch the leaders: they play the N.B.B.O.’s worst team, Lake Erie (16-41, -158 RD) at home next week, so if they can manage a sweep then the Inland pennant race could very well conclude on the final day.

NEW ENGLAND – 12-10 was good enough to move Green Mtn. into top spot as, like in the Coastal, the eight teams have been beating up on each other. Six of the eight are 4-6, 5-5, or 6-4 over their last ten games, with the other two, The Cantabrigians & Oceanic, going 7-3. That makes this race simply too close to call, even at this late stage.

N.B.B.O. MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMEN OF THE MONTH
NYL: Julius Tierney (LF, STAR) – .408, 1.049 OPS, 30 R, 40 H, 5 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 9 BB, 2.0 WPA, 1.5 WAR
NEL: Walter Braden (LF, SUS)* – .446, 1.005 OPS, 27 R, 45 H, 8 2B, 1 HR, 28 RBI, 1 BB, 5 SB, 1.7 WPA, 1.3 WAR
* Second consecutive Susquehanna player to win B.o.t.M.

PITCHERS OF THE MONTH
NYL: Charles Rhodes (NYAC)* – 8-4, 2.33 ERA, 40 K, 112.0 IP, 9 CG, 13.3 K/BB, 1.10 WHIP, 3.2 WAR, 3.4 rWAR
NEL: William Hawk (SUS)* – 8-5, 2.78 ERA, 36 K, 107.0 IP, 8 CG, 5.1 K/BB, 1.35 WHIP, 2.5 WAR, 2.3 rWAR
* Both also won P.o.t.M. for their leagues in June

GREENHORNS OF THE MONTH
NYL: Michael Akhverdov (RF, CON)* – .330, .862 OPS, 22 R, 31 H, 5 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 5 BB, 0.3 WPA, 0.9 WAR
NEL: Roy Simmons (RF, BRI) – .351, .943 OPS, 23 R, 33 H, 10 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 6 BB, 1.2 WPA, 1.0 WAR
* Also won G.o.t.M. for May

N.B.B.O. STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .403 by Scott Lyons (C, Susquehanna)
OPS: 1.007 by Scott Lyons
Home Runs: 5 by Michael Akhverdov (RF, Continental)
Runs Batted In: 71 by Fred Harbour (RF, Maryland) & Murdock Whitehurst (RF, Minuteman)
Runs: 85 by Louis Murray (LF, Eckford)
Stolen Bases: 62 by Louis Murray
Batsman WPA: 5.8 by Louis Murray
Batsman WAR: 3.6 by Frank Thomas (2B, Pioneer)

Wins: 24 by William Barnhill (Eckford)
ERA (150+ IP): 2.01 by Charles Rhodes (New York A.C.)
Strikeouts: 102 by Charles Rhodes
Complete Games: 22 by four different Pitchers
WHIP (150+ IP): 1.03 by Charles Rhodes
Pitcher WAR: 8.0 by Charles Rhodes
Pitcher rWAR: 9.4 by Charles Rhodes

COASTAL BASEBALL CONFERENCE LEADER

Bridgeport at 37-20 (Sportsman’s 4 GB; Cap. City, Essex Co., & Lynn 8 GB)

Bridgeport, led by reliable offense and steady work from #1 Edward Koch, had roughly the same July as their June – 14-8 vs 14-7. That has kept them 3-4 games in front of a Sportsman’s team that has the league’s best Pitcher in Walt Haper and its finest young Middle Infielders in 2B Johnny Holcombe (23) & SS Butler Stout (22).

The trio of Capitol City, Essex County, & Lynn are lurking at a game over .500 (29-28) each, but all three have notable flaws that make a charge up the standings highly unlikely.

C.B.C. MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
William Fair (LF, LYNN) – .444, 1.045 OPS, 30 R, 40 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 25 RBI, 5 BB, 1 SB, 2.0 WPA, 1.3 WAR

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Edward Koch (BRI)* – 8-2, 3.26 ERA, 18 K, 102.0 IP, 8 CG, 1.5 K/BB, 1.30 WHIP, 1.4 WAR, 1.9 rWAR
* Also won P.o.t.M. for May

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
Mark Russo (CF, SPO)* – .371, .917 OPS, 20 R, 33 H, 8 2B, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 5 BB, 4 SB, 2.2 WPA, 0.8 WAR
* Also won G.o.t.M. for June

C.B.C. STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .373 by William Fair (LF, Lynn)
OPS: .904 by William Fair
Home Runs: 4 by Jerald Coleman (CF, C. & A.) & Lucian Diller (RF, Cap. City)
Runs Batted In: 72 by William Fair
Runs: 80 by Jacob Overfield (3B, Bridgeport)
Stolen Bases: 41 by Everton Pauline (LF, Olympic)
Batsman WPA: 5.8 by Johnny Holcombe (2B, Sportsman’s)
Batsman WAR: 2.5 by Johnny Holcombe

Wins: 22 by Walt Harper (Sportsman’s)
ERA (150+ IP): 2.42 by William Stewart (Lynn)
Strikeouts: 75 by Jonathan Reitz (C. & A.)
Complete Games: 19 by Walt Harper
WHIP (150+ IP): 1.30 by Walt Harper
Pitcher WAR: 5.9 by Walt Harper
Pitcher rWAR: 8.0 by Walt Harper

PHILADELPHIA CITY BASEBALL LEAGUE LEADERS

EAST: Spartan at 25-10 (Minerva 6 GB; Frankford 8 GB; Sons of Ben 11 GB)
WEST: Mercantile at 35-22 (Penn 3 GB, Bartram Vill. & Germantown 5 GB, Overbrook 7 GB)

EAST – Spartan remains the best team in the league, not only in record but also in Run Differential (+117) and their ability to win close games (1-run: 9-2, X-Inn: 4-1). Their attack has been the best in the league just about all season, and with their final series being against last-place Queen Village (18-39) nobody’s going to catch them.

Speaking of Queen Village…what a fall it’s been for the 2x defending East Philadelphia champions. In 1878 they took the Liberty Bell Classic to five games for the second straight year. So far in 1879 they have the league’s worst record, worst Run Differential (-114), are allowing the most Runs (9.8 RA/G), and are five games worse than a Yorktown team that was projected to go 15-55 by the Writers Pool ahead of the season.

WEST – Mercantile was 14-8 during July, while Penn was an even 11-11. That allowed the inaugural champions to open up a three-game lead thanks to the league’s best pitching (6.3 RA/G) and defense (1st in E/G, FLD%, ZR, & EFF). Penn is plenty capable of closing the gap since they have the league’s second-best offensive attack and the possible P.o.t.Y. in Thomas Bath (22-5, 2.30 ERA, 100 K, 7.7 WAR).

Bartram Village & Germantown are still in it, and at the very least both will have a say in who takes the pennant. The former ends the season against Mercantile, while the latter plays Penn next week. Defending champs Overbrook are still alive, but with an offense ranked 12th/16 it’s hard to see how they can catch Mercantile.

P.C.B.L. MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
Jeffrey Unger (CF, KEY) – .388, 1.012 OPS, 25 R, 40 H, 8 2B, 8 3B, 31 RBI, 1 BB, 3 SB, 0.8 WPA, 1.1 WAR

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Oliver Greene (FRA) – 10-3, 2.14 ERA, 65 K, 113.2 IP, 10 CG, 7.0 K/BB, 0.97 WHIP, 3.6 WAR, 2.4 rWAR

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
William Fish (1B, FRA) – .400, .985 OPS, 18 R, 30 H, 8 2B, 2 3B, 17 RBI, 3 BB, 1 SB, 1.4 WPA, 1.1 WAR

P.C.B.L. STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .388 by Henry Yoder (CF, Sons of Ben)
OPS: .976 by Henry Yoder
Home Runs: 2 by three different batsmen
Runs Batted In: 73 by Richard Norris (SS, Spartan) & Henry Yoder
Runs: 73 by Charles Taylor (RF, Penn)
Stolen Bases: 48 by Jonathan Auriemma (2B, Minerva)
Batsman WPA: 5.5 by Henry Yoder
Batsman WAR: 3.7 by Richard Norris

Wins: 23 by Thomas Bath (Penn) & John Riley (Spartan)
ERA (150+ IP): 2.19 by Bud Forster (Minerva)
Strikeouts: 130 by Oliver Greene (Frankford)
Complete Games: 24 by John Riley
WHIP (150+ IP): 1.05 by Thomas Bath
Pitcher WAR: 7.2 by Biagio Casagrande (Pt. Richmond)
Pitcher rWAR: 7.5 by Thomas Bath

tm1681 · 03-20-2026, 05:23 PM

DUNNE CRACKS FIVE HITS, HOME RUN VS BALTIC
LIGHT-HITTING HILLTOP CF HAS DAY TO REMEMBER IN MULTIPLE-RUN HOME VICTORY

NEW YORK CITY (Aug. 3, 1879) - Hilltop & Baltic ended their N.B.B.O. Week Twelve series as two teams with no playoff aspirations, but Hilltop still appeared to have plenty of fight in them during a home win at Nodine Hill:

The hosts jumped out to a 2-0 lead in B2 on a two-run Single by P Jack Jacobs, and they took a 3-0 lead in B4 on an Inside the Park Home Run by CF Flanagan Dunne that was hit through the Right-Center Field gap. However, Baltic took the lead in T5 with a four-run rally punctuated with a two-run Single by 3B Osborne Brilliant.

After that, it was all Hilltop. They scored twice in B6 on another two-run Single by Jacobs to take the lead back (5-4), then plated three in B7 on a two-run Single by Dunne and a one-run Single by C Harry Holland, and finally finished Baltic off with a three-run B8 – a Sacrifice Fly, one-run Triple by sub 1B Joseph Davenport, and a one-run Double by Dunne providing the scoring – that gave them an 11-4 lead. Baltic then scored a consolation run in T9.

Hilltop #1 Jacobs had a fine day…

• HILL P Jack Jacobs: CG W (17-21, 4.04), 7 HA, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K – 2/4, 1 R, 4 RBI

…but he wasn’t the star of the afternoon. That distinction went to Dunne:

• B2: Infield Single to SS off G. Layman (R)
• B4: SOLO ItP HOME RUN to RCF off G. Layman
• B6: Infield Single to SS off G. Layman (R)
• B7: 2-run Single past 3B off G. Layman
• B8: 1-run Double to RF off R. Marinello
• TOTAL: 5/5 (2B, HR), 3 R, 4 RBI, 9 TB, 94 GMSC (13th)

It was quite the surprising performance from the Hilltop CF. Dunne entered the game batting .254 which would still have been his highest Average in three years if it stayed put for the rest of the season (1877: .226, 1878: .242). Sunday’s effort raised his Average to .271 (.704 OPS) with four Home Runs – his last one before this season was hit in 1875 – and 33 Runs Batted In. Should his current batting line hold, Dunne will have had hit best season with the bat since his Greenhorn year with Empire in 1872.

With ten games to play, Hilltop is 27-33 (13 GB) and Baltic is 26-34 (14 GB). The teams are out of playoff contention and take up 6th & 7th place in New York City.

tm1681 · 03-21-2026, 09:11 PM

1879 AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE ALL-STAR GAME
GAME HOSTED BY CHAMPS; ST. JOHN’S LEADS AGAIN WITH FIVE PLAYERS; ROSTER SURPRISES

NEW YORK CITY (Aug. 4, 1879) – There are fifteen games left to play in the season, and that means it’s time for the annual American Professional Baseball League All-Star Game!

Rosters for the A.P.B.L.’s Midsummer Classic aren’t the same as those in its N.B.B.O. counterpart:

• Twenty players per conference
• Roster places 1-4 go to pitchers – two for each rotation place
• Roster places 5-20 go to batsmen – two for each position

It was the Metropolitan’s turn to host this time around and, just as happened last year, the honor of hosting was given to the defending champions: Knickerbocker B.B.C. and their glorious Elysian Fields with a capacity of more than 15,000.

The rosters for this year’s game saw 14/16 teams represented, down from 15/16 last year. Thanks to their top-ranked attack, St. John’s led with five nominees, including both of their Greenhorns, for the second year in a row. Five teams sent four players each: league-best Alleghany, Metro leaders Knickerbocker, Niagara, Quaker St., Shamrock.

The biggest surprise in this year’s rosters was the omission of Konrad Jensen, who would be missing an All-Star Game for the first time since way back in 1862, when was 22 years old. Unfortunately for him, he shares a conference (Colonial) and position (1B) with Samuel Eastman & William Norman, who are batting .381 (.929 OPS) and .410 (.970 OPS) respectively.

The other big surprise this year was Alleghany’s Tom Ricks. Signed to be their third pitching option after having similar roles with American & Knick the previous two seasons, the 40-year-old established himself as Alleghany’s #1, pitched better than he had in years, and made his first All-Star Game since the A.P.B.L.’s inaugural season in 1871.

History was also made, as Knickerbocker 2B Anthony Mascherino became the first player to be selected for TWENTY All-Star Games, with or without using the pre-1871 N.B.B.O. to separate out top-level All-Star Games. He also started.

With the Metropolitan Conference looking to build on last year’s ten-inning win, these were the All-Star Game rosters, with total All-Star appearances between the pre-1871 N.B.B.O. & A.P.B.L. noted:

Here are the number of nominees who represented each team:

• ALLEGHANY: 4 (Doherty, Meier, Ricks, & Strong)
• AMERICAN: 2 (Burke & Everhart)
• EXCELSIOR: 2 (Hill & Oberst)
• FLOUR CITY: none
• GOTHAM: 2 (Altman & Johnson)
• KINGS CO.: 2 (Anderson & Bartholomew)
• KNICK: 4 (Alexander, Goodman, Mascherino, & Stoffers)
• MASS. BAY: none
• NEWARK: 2 (Richards & Valentine)
• NIAGARA: 4 (Barrett, Hudspeth, Mukai, & Norman)
• ORANGE: 2 (Cobb & Schreiber)
• PT. JERSEY: 1 (Eastman)
• QUAKER ST.: 4 (Aplin, Gill, Morganti, & Williams)
• SHAMROCK: 4 (Burroughs, Groves, Jost, & Simon)
• ST. JOHN’S: 5 (Burns, Evans, Higgins, Nalley, & Townsend)
• TIGER S.C.: 2 (Prince & Tallman)

St. John’s, once again, led all teams in nominees while being in second place. That’s because they again have the league’s #1 attack, and perhaps more impressively both of their Greenhorns have legitimately played at an All-Star level.

There was a decent case to be made for a fifth Alleghany All-Star, as Jonathan Nabors is batting .321 (.782 OPS) with 56 RBI. However, his run production, power numbers, WPA, & WAR were just a bit short of those of William Valentine.

The closest thing Flour City had to an All-Star was venerable #1 James Goodman at 19-19 with a 3.22 ERA and 5.9 WAR, but considering the pitching competition in the Colonial a .500 record wasn’t going to earn him a nomination. Mass. Bay had LF Harold Durand batting .352 (.829 OPS) but with roughly half the WAR of John Meier (1.5 vs 3.2), and while SS Jonathan Quarles is having a fine season (.299, 44 RBI, +18.0 ZR, 2.4 WAR) it just wasn’t quite as good as those of Richards or Strong. If he was still in the Metro with Gotham, he probably would have made it in over Martin Prince.

There were nine first-timers at the game (COL: 6, MET: 3) including the two St. John’s Greenhorns. Orange Jonathan Cobb was the youngest All-Star starter at 23 years, 84 days.

As for the game itself, this was how it turned out:

The Metropolitan repeated as All-Star Game victors, and they had an easier time of it than in last year’s extra-inning game in Providence.

The home team wasted little time in taking the lead, as they scored on the fourth batsman of B1 – a Sacrifice Fly by Oberst – before a two-run Double by Cobb and a run-scoring Single by Anderson made it 4-0 by the end of the first. After the Colonial stranded Townsend on second in T2, the Metropolitan men put up another four-run rally, with a two-run Double by Oberst and a pair of run-scoring Singles driving in the runs, to put the hosts ahead 8-0. Another run in B3 came through on a Single by Mascherino to make it 9-0, then one in B5 on a Wild Pitch to make it 10-0, and two more in B6 on a Single by Stoffers made it 12-0.

The Colonial mounted a valiant comeback attempt late. After scoring twice in T7 via Sacrifice & Error they used a five-run rally in T8 – the key hit a three-run Triple by Norman – to cut the deficit to 12-7. They then scored twice in T9, but that was the best they could do and the Metropolitan Conference had a three-run victory.

There were two players who finished with three base hits at the Elysian Fields, and it was the three-hit man on the winning side who took home Most Valuable Player honors: Orange’s Jonathan Cobb.

• MET RF Jonathan Cobb: 3/3 (2 2B), 1 R, 3 RBI, 5 TB

The honor marked the continuation of a rapid rise for the youngest All-Star Game starter, who hit .259 (.625 OPS) for Orange as a Greenhorn last year before improving significantly this season, with July being his best month yet.

The other player with three Hits was St. John’s OF Joseph Evans, who played the entire game and hit 3/5 (2B, R, RBI).

The pitchers of record were Henry Tallman with the Win, Harold Burns with the Loss, and Ross Gill with the Save.

There were 15,292 in attendance at the Elysian Fields, and they got to experience an All-Star Game played in 75-degree weather with a stiff wind blowing across the field from left to right. Not the most pleasant night, but a fun one nonetheless.

tm1681 · 03-21-2026, 09:12 PM

FRANKFORD’S GREENE PILES MISERY ON QUEEN VILLAGE
ARSENAL #1 HAS MORE HITS BY HIMSELF THAN HIS LEAGUE-WORST OPPOSITION

PHILADELPHIA, PENN. (Aug. 7, 1879) - If the 1879 season of 2x defending East Philadelphia champions Queen Village wasn’t miserable enough, 4x East champs Frankford Arsenal decided to pour a jar of salt in their wounds on Thursday:

This was a game in which Frankford Arsenal beat Queen Village up one side and down the other after the opening four innings went by somewhat quietly.

Ahead 2-0 going into the fifth inning, Frankford scored twice in T5 on a Wild Pitch and a run-scoring Single by C Magnus Demant, four times in T6 with the key hit a three-run Double by Demandt, and five more times in T7, with Demandt driving in two more runs with another Double. Ahead 13-0, the visitors plated two runs over the 8th & 9th to exit with a massive 16-0 victory over the team that pushed them down to the East Philadelphia runner-up spot the previous two seasons.

Demandt had an excellent afternoon:

• FRA C Magnus Demandt: 3/4 (2 2B), 1 R, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 5 TB

However, the performance of Frankford #1 Oliver Greene indirectly offered up a perfect summary of Queen Village’s season:

• FRA P Oliver Greene: 4/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 K, SAC BUNT
• FRA P Oliver Greene: CG SHO (22-14, 2.53), 3 HA, 0 BB, 5 K

Indeed, not only was Queen Village kept off the scoreboard at home but their entire team was outhit by the opposing Pitcher, a man who came into the game batting .165(.387 OPS) over 134 Plate Appearances so far in 1879 and is now batting .209 (.487 OPS) over his nearly three-year career.

The rousing victory moved Frankford to four games back of East leaders Spartan with eight games left to play. They play at home vs Pt. Richmond (30-32) to end the season, while lucky Spartan plays at Queen Village for their final series.

For Queen Village, this is definitely the low point of a season that has seen the team go from having the best record in the league in 1878 (50-20, +218 RD) to its worst in 1879 (20-42, -140 RD) with almost the same set of regulars. There has been such whiplash between last season and this that Queen Village may end up winning less than half as many games as they did last year, something that seems impossible on the face of it.

tm1681 · 03-21-2026, 09:13 PM

SHAMROCK TAMES TIGER IN BEANTOWN BEATDOWN
BOSTONIANS HAVE THREE STAR BATSMEN IN SIXTEEN-RUN WIN TO OPEN SERIES

BOSTON, MASS. (Aug. 8, 1879) - Shamrock will have to win just about every one of their final fifteen games to have any hope of catching Alleghany in the Colonial Conference, and they started that effort off perfectly against Tiger on Friday:

Tiger didn’t stand a chance at the South End Grounds. The hosts came up to bat in B1 and scored five times on an odd assortment of Singles, an Error, a Passed Ball, and a Fielder’s Choice to take a quick 5-0 lead. Shamrock CF Henry Jost responded to a Tiger run in T2 with a solo Inside the Park Home Run to lead off B2. Tiger then scored another run in T3, but this time Shamrock responded to that run with four on another odd collection of run-scoring plays: a Ground Out, an Error, a Single, and another Error.

With the score 10-2, Shamrock put up a second consecutive four-run rally in B4, this one highlighted by Jost hitting a two-run Triple. They gradually tallied up more scores until it was an 18-2 game thanks to a one-run Single by PH Lewis Zeeryp in B7, and finishing up the win from there was a breeze.

Six Shamrock batsmen finished with multiple base hits, but there were three whose stars shone brighter than the others:

• SHA 1B Frank Bulger: 4/5 (2 2B), 2 R, 2 RBI, SB, 5 TB
• SHA CF Henry Jost: 3/5 (3B, HR), 3 R, 3 RBI, 8 TB – OF AST
• SHA 2B Harold Groves: 5/6 (2B), 4 R, 3 RBI, 6 TB – 85 GMSC (4th)

Groves took Player of the Game honors with a performance that earned the fourth-best Game Score by a batsman in the A.P.B.L. this season, but truth be told all three of the above players were fantastic against Tiger.

The win gave Shamrock a 42-34 record. They are 3rd in the Colonial Conference and nine games behind leaders Alleghany with fourteen left to play. Tiger S.C. is 37-38, 4th in the Metropolitan and 9.5 games behind leaders Knickerbocker with fifteen left to play due to a rainout against Pt. Jersey that will be made up on August 15th.

tm1681 · 03-21-2026, 09:14 PM

FRONTIER HAMMERS RUDDERLESS COLUMBIA
COLUMBIA HAD FIRED MGR. & G.M. IN THE MORNING BEFORE FRONTIER BEAT THEM BY BAKER’S DOZEN

BUFFALO, N.Y. (Aug. 9, 1879) - Upstate New York doormats Columbia are having another bad season, and team President Henry Price responded to their 21-42 record by firing both Field Manager Joseph Brown and General Manager Andrew Gann on Saturday morning. Brown had been with the team for three years, and Gann for five.

With that news as the backdrop, visiting Frontier laid the wood to Columbia on the field in the fourth game of their series:

Frontier started off the afternoon with five runs in T1, and after Columbia cut that lead to one (5-4) on a two-run Single by CF James Cramer in B2, the visitors went to work.

Frontier scored three times in T3 on two run-scoring Singles and an Error, five times in T4 on three Singles, a Double, and an Error, and then three more times over the 5th & 6th to take a 16-4 lead that left Columbia hopeless. The home side scored a run during B7 to make it 16-5, but Frontier decided that wasn’t acceptable and plated seven runs in T8 on a series of Singles, Errors, and a run-scoring Triple by 1B Willis Michaelson. The contest was well and truly over.

The visitors ended up scoring 24 Runs on 27 Hits, and with that kind of offensive production there was no shortage of attacking brilliance among their batsmen:

• FRO LF Fred Corr: 5/6 (all 1B), 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 BB
• FRO 1B Willis Michaelson: 3/7 (3B), 2 R, 1 RBI, 5 TB – SAC BUNT, DEF DP
• FRO SS Maikel Strijbis: 4/6 (2 2B), 4 R, 3 RBI, BB, 6 TB – DEF DP
• FRO 2B William Sudduth: 4/7 (2 2B), 4 R, 3 RBI, 6 TB – DEF DP
• FRO CF George Whaley: 3/7 (all 1B), 2 R, 2 RBI
• FRO RF John White: 4/6 (all 1B), 4 R, 3 RBI

Even Carl Bancroft, a career .170 hitter (.379) over nearly 23 full seasons as a regular Pitcher across the league baseball landscape, managed to hit 2/6 with a pair of Runs & RBI.

Frontier’s big win pulled them into a tie with Minuteman atop the Upstate New York standings. The two teams play each other at Fort Ontario (FRO) to end the season. Columbia has the worst record in the N.Y.L. at 21-43.

tm1681 · 03-21-2026, 09:15 PM

NIARAGA CLUBS GOTHAM AT ST. GEORGE
AN INCREDIBLE SIX BATSMEN HAVE FOUR HITS EACH FOR VISITORS AS THEY WIN BY A DOZEN

NEW YORK CITY (Aug. 9, 1879) - Niagara entered the second game of their series at Gotham desperately needing a win to try and stay somewhat relevant in the Colonial Conference pennant chase, having lost the opener 13-6. They completed the job splendidly on Saturday:

The hosts, whose pitching & defense have struggled all season, were never in this one. Niagara started the proceedings with a five-run rally in T1 that featured a two-run Triple by 1B William Norman which was followed by another Triple from 3B Charles Barrow that plated Norman. Niagara then repeated the trick in T2, this time with consecutive Triples from Charles Barrett & Norman driving in runs before a two-run Double by 2B Clyde Hudspeth capped the rally and made it a 10-0 game in Niagara’s favor after an inning and a half.

The visitors added single runs in each of their next three turns at bat and, while Gotham attempted to mount a comeback, after the hosts made it a 13-5 game in B5 Niagara piled on six more runs over T6 & T7, with Barrett driving in three more runs during that span. Niagara had their much-needed victory.

Niagara racked up 26 Hits during the game, and they completed a baseball first by having SIX batsmen finish the game with four Hits each:

• NIA RF James Baird: 4/6 (2B), 4 R, 1 RBI, 5 TB
• NIA CF Charles Barrett: 4/7 (2 2B, 3B), 5 R, 5 RBI, 8 TB – 90 GMSC (1st)
• NIA 3B Charles Barrow: 4/6 (2B, 3B), 3 R, 5 RBI, 7 TB – 80 GMSC (13th)
• NIA 2B Clyde Hudspeth: 4/6 (2 2B), 1 R, 4 RBI, 6 TB
• NIA 1B William Norman: 4/6 (2 3B), 3 R, 3 RBI, 8 TB
• NIA LF Reginald Roper: 4/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 1 RBI

The other men who picked up bats for Niagara, three regulars and two substitutes, combined to bat 2/19 (.105). That meant it was a feast or famine afternoon for the Niagara lineup, but for most of the men the Gotham pitching was a buffet.

Barrett’s performance was the best of the season by an A.P.B.L. batsman when going by Game Score, and Norman’s afternoon raised his Average to .414 (.979 OPS) with 97 RBI through 78 games. As a team, Niagara, which had been struggling on offense a few weeks ago, is now back up to 6th in the A.P.B.L. in Runs (7.3 R/G).

The win left Niagara ten games behind Colonial leaders Alleghany at 42-36 with a dozen games to play. Three of their final four series are against Knickerbocker, Shamrock, & St. John’s, so odds are they’ll be playing for pride before long. Gotham is 35-43 and has been eliminated from Founders Cup contention.

tm1681 · 03-21-2026, 09:16 PM

NUMEROUS LOWER LEAGUE RACES YET TO BE DECIDED
PENNANT CHASES IN NBBO, CBC, & PCBL GOING TO FINAL WEEK; MULTIPLE 1ST-PLACE TIES

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug. 10, 1879) - The 23rd season of league baseball is shaping to have its most exciting finish yet, as the National Base Ball Organization, Coastal Baseball Conference, and Philadelphia City League all have pennant races in which a winner will be decided during the final week of play, or perhaps even later.

In the A.P.B.L., Knickerbocker is running away with the Metropolitan Conference, taking an eight-game lead with a dozen left after having won their sixth consecutive game on Sunday afternoon (11-9 vs Newark). Alleghany has a smaller lead on St. John’s in the Colonial Conference – five games – but three of their final four series are against teams in the A.P.B.L.’s bottom five record-wise. Unless St. John’s can pull off the improbable yet again, Alleghany will be in the Founders Cup.

The above means that it’s the semi-pro leagues where the baseball fan needs to go in order to see pennant races that are too close to call, and there is an unprecedented amount of those to choose from.

In the N.B.B.O. there are pennant races that have already been decided. Eckford clinched the Brooklyn pennant more than a week ago, and New York A.C. clinched their third successive New York City title on Sunday. However, the other four regions are still up for the taking.

In Upstate New York, there are three teams just one game apart at the top of the standings:

• T-1st: Frontier at 40-25 (+118 RD)
• T-1st: Minuteman at 40-25 (+101 RD)
• 3rd: Utica at 39-26 (1 GB)

Frontier hosts Minuteman this week, and it’s impossible to say which way the series will go because Frontier has a 19-11 home record while Minuteman is 19-11 away from home. Frontier does have the “Last 10” advantage because they’ve won nine of their last ten games.

That leaves a door open for Utica, who plays at Victory (5th; 31-34; 16-14 Home) this week. There’s a very real chance the Frontier v Minuteman series finishes 3-2, so if Utica can win 4-5 games in Troy they could very well force a playoff or win the Upstate Championship outright.

On paper, Syracuse is still mathematically alive at 35-30 (5 GB), but since there has to be a winner in each game between Fronter & Minuteman the 5x Upstate champs will be eliminated on Wednesday.

The Coastal Championship also has two teams tied atop the standings with a third still alive, although only one of the three are teams the Writers Pool projected in the top three ahead of the season:

• T-1st: Philadelphia B.C.C. at 39-26 (+109 RD)
• T-1st: Trenton United at 39-26 (+56 RD)
• 3rd: Bunker Hill at 36-29 (3 GB)

P.B.C.C. plays at Diamond State (6th; 30-35; 15-15 Home) this week, while Trenton Utd. is at home vs Brighton (last; 22-43; 5-25 Away) and Bunker Hill hosts Maryland (4th; 33-32; 14-16 Away). Based solely on the schedule, Trenton Utd. has a huge advantage going into the final games since they’re hosting the team with the worst away record in the N.B.B.O. However, P.B.C.C. is 8-2 over their last ten games. The odds of a playoff are high, but the odds of Bunker Hill causing one are not.

Once again, the Inland Championship is a race between Susquehanna and Lancastra Britannia, but this time it will be decided during the final weekend of the season.

• 1st: Susquehanna at 46-19
• 2nd: Lancastra Britannia at 43-22 (3 GB)

Susquehanna hosts Squirrel Hill (6th; 23-39; 9-21 Away), while Lancastra is at Reading A.C. (3rd; 37-28; 19-11 Home). Both teams are 7-3 over their last ten games, so the final-week advantage here goes to the leaders.

The New England Championship, like the Upstate & Coastal, has three teams still in the running to take the pennant:

• 1st: Green Mountain at 39-26
• 2nd: Portland at 37-28 (2 GB)
• 3rd: Quinnipiac at 35-30 (4 GB)

Green Mtn. plays their final five games at Salem (5th; 31-34; 19-11 Home), and Portland (14-16 Away) is at Quinnipiac (19-11 Home). The advantage here clearly goes to Green Mtn., as it’s unlikely that either Portland or Quinnipiac will take 4-5 games off the other. Barring Green Mtn. being on the wrong end of a sweep, a competitive series in New Haven would give the team Anthony Mascherino began his career with their first ever pennant, and perhaps signal the beginning of the end of Portland’s dominance over the region that has lasted since the league split.

Surprisingly, the Coastal Baseball Conference will be decided during the final week, or perhaps with a playoff:

• T-1st: Sportsman’s at 39-26 (+88 RD)
• T-1st: Bridgeport at 39-26 (+69 RD)

Bridgeport, who has led the C.B.C. since the last week of May, started August by losing five straight games to Highland and Olympic. That opened the door for Sportsman’s, who began their August by winning six of their first seven against Lynn & Essex County. That meant a Bridgeport lead that was as large as five games has evaporated.

Sportsman’s plays at Olympic (T-4th; 32-33; 14-16 Home), while Bridgeport will play at Camden & Amboy (Last; 23-42; 9-21 Home). Advantage: Bridgeport, whose season-ending series against a team that has the league’s worst record by a full seven games looks likely to save them from late-season embarrassment.

In the P.C.B.L., both East & West Philadelphia are still in play.

In East Philadelphia, a recent slip-up by Spartan combined with win streaks from both Minerva & Frankford Arsenal have made it a three-way race once again:

• 1st: Spartan at 43-22
• 2nd: Minerva at 40-25 (3 GB)
• 3rd: Frankford 39-26 (4 GB)

That said, the week will very likely end up with Spartan snatching the East Philadelphia pennant for the first time for one reason: they play their final five games at P.C.B.L.-worst Queen Village (20-45; -155 RD; 9-21 Home). They are almost certain to win at least three games there, and that will be good enough to advance to the Liberty Bell Classic.

However, West Philadelphia is entirely up for grabs:

• 1st: Mercantile at 37-28
• T-2nd: Penn at 35-30 (2 GB; +68 RD)
• T-2nd: Overbrook at 35-30 (2 GB; -17 RD)
• T-4th: Bartram Vill. at 34-31 (3 GB; +43 RD)
• T-4th: Germantown at 34-31 (3 GB; -18 RD)

Mercantile fell on their faces last week, losing all five games in a sweep at Overbook, who themselves are on a seven-game winning streak. If Mercantile had won three games, which they were plenty capable of, they would have wrapped up West Philadelphia with a week to spare. Instead, now there are five teams still in the running.

Mercantile plays at home vs Bartram Village (13-17 Away), Penn hosts Independence (last; 27-38; 10-20 Away), Overbrook visits Merion (7th; 28-37; 18-12 Home), and Germantown will be at home against Schuylkill (6th; 30-35; 12-18 Away). Overbrook clearly has the advantage when it comes to recent results, but the schedule advantage goes to Penn. The big question will be whether or not Penn can get the 4-5 wins they’d likely need against last-place Independence to put pressure on Mercantile and at least force a playoff. Still, Overbrook’s recent run of wins can’t be overlooked, so it’s possible they win 4-5 at Merion.

With this many teams still in the pennant race there are good odds for a one-game playoff, or even seeing multiple teams tie for first place. That happened in the P.C.B.L.’s second season (1874), when Mercantile, Merion, & Schuylkill all finished the year 39-31. Merion took the three-team playoff, and M.B.C.C. then went on to beat Frankford in a sweep at the L.B.C.

There have never been this many open pennant races going into the final week of the season. Between the three semi-pro leagues there are seven pennants still up for grabs, and if nothing else the last week of play should be thrilling for diehard fans and neutral observers alike.

tm1681 · 03-22-2026, 09:27 PM

FLOUR CITY PAIR HAS FIVE HITS VS NEWARK
DUGAS & NOSS BOTH BAT 5/5 AS HOSTS WIN EXCITING TWENTY-RUN CONTEST IN UPSTATE N.Y.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (Aug. 12, 1879) - Flour City and Newark are out of Founders Cup contention but they still put on a spirited contest at Riverside Park, and the fans saw the home team come out on top:

There was plenty of excitement early. Newark scored four times in T1 on a series of three Singles and a Wild Pitch, Flour City countered with two in B1 on Singles by 1B Samuel Kessler and 3B Jesse Noss, and the score was 4-2 after just one inning. Newark scored on a Passed Ball in T2, and Flour City made it 5-4 in B2 on a run-scoring Double by CF Ernest Dugas. Newark scored two more runs in B3 on a Double by All-Star SS Jonathan Richards to take a 7-4 lead, but before long Flour City came charging back.

In B4 the hosts tied the game when a two-run Double by RF Ashley Hearns was followed with a run-scoring Single by Dugas. They then responded to a Newark run in T6 with three more runs in B6 on run-scoring hits by Dugas & Noss to take a 10-8 lead. The teams traded runs in the eighth inning, and Flour City had themselves a hard-fought home win.

Flour City finished the game with sixteen Hits, and two of their batsmen finished with five:

• FC CF Ernest Dugas: 5/5 (2B), 3 R, 3 RBI, 6 TB
• FC 3B Jesse Noss: 5/5 (3B), 1 R, 4 RBI, 7 TB

Both players are coming very close to ending the season batting .300. Dugas is batting .299 (.769) with 65 Runs, 50 RBI, 22 Stolen Bases, and 1.9 WAR through 79 games – his best season in three years. Noss, a Greenhorn, is batting .298 (.717) with 43 Runs, 48 RBI, a dozen Stolen Bases, and 0.9 WAR.

Both Flour City and Newark are out of the running for the Founders Cup. The main goal for both from here on is to avoid finishing last in the Colonial Conference. Newark is 6th at 34-45, while Flour City is 7th at 33-46. They are trying to stay ahead of Pt. Jersey, who is currently 30-48.

tm1681 · 03-22-2026, 09:27 PM

HEARNS HAS YEAR’S BEST PERFORMANCE IN HOME WIN
FLOUR CITY RF HAS FIVE HITS, FOUR RUNS, FOUR RBI IN DOMINANT VICTORY OVER NEWARK

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (Aug. 14, 1879) - Two days ago, Flour City opened their home series against Newark with an 11-9 win thanks to the duo of Ernest Dugas & Jesse Noss pounding out five Hits each. After winning via walkoff hit on Wednesday, they swept the series on Thursday thanks in no small part to the performance of the season by one of their batsmen:

Tiger didn’t stand a chance at the South End Grounds. The hosts came up to bat in B1 and scored five times on an odd Newark scored first and had a 2-0 lead after T2, but Flour City took control with a four-run rally in B3 and never looked back. Their afternoon was filled with big hits: a run-scoring Double by 1B Samuel Kessler in B3, a three-run Double by 2B Ralph Knight in B4, a run-scoring Double by CF Ernest Dugas in B5, and a three-run Inside the Park Home Run by RF Ashley Hearns in B6 that gave the hosts a 15-3 lead. Newark scored some late but meaningless runs, and Flour City had a series sweep over their visitors.

For Hearns, the Home Run in B6 was the big moment in what was a fantastic day for the tenth-year Outfielder:

• B1: Leadoff Single to CF off J. Ratican (SB)
• B3: Leadoff Single past 2B off J. Ratican (R)
• B4: Single to LCF off J. Ratican (R)
• B5: 1-run Single to RCF off J. Ratican (R)
• B6: 3-RUN ItP HOME RUN to RCF off A. Lowden
• B7: Ground Out to 1B (3 out)
• TOTAL: 5/6 (HR), 4 R, 4 RBI, SB, 8 TB – 97 GMSC (1st)

Hearns’ Game Score of 97 marked the best performance by a batsman in the A.P.B.L. so far this season, his first five-hit game since May 23rd, 1872, when he was still playing for Hilltop in the N.B.B.O.

Ashley Hearns has seen improved performance in his first season with Flour City. Alleghany let him go after a rough 1878 (.231, .555 OPS, 51 RBI, -0.5 WAR), but he’s done a respectable job over 80+ games in Upstate New York: a .293 Average (.726 OPS), 61 Runs, 61 RBI, 11 Stolen Bases, and 1.1 WAR.

The three-game sweep moved Flour City above Newark in the Colonial Conference standings. They are in 6th & 7th places.

tm1681 · 03-22-2026, 09:28 PM

SEMI-PRO SEASON OVER; PLAYOFFS SET
SUSQUEHANNA #1 IN THE NBBO AGAIN; BRIDGEPORT WINS CBC; SPARTAN VS PENN IN THE LBC

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug. 19, 1879) - The season for the leagues below the A.P.B.L. is complete, and it’s time for postseason play after the most exciting set of pennant races ever seen.

Here are the seedings in each of the three semi-professional competitions:

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP PLAYOFFS (N.B.B.O.)

• N.Y.L. #1: Eckford of Greenpoint at 49-21 (+161 RD)
• N.Y.L. #2: New York Athletic Club at 48-22 (+183 RD)
• N.Y.L. #3: Frontier B.B.C. at 44-26 (+127 RD)

• N.E.L. #1: Susquehanna B.C. at 50-20 (+212 RD)
• N.E.L. #2: Philadelphia B.C.C. at 43-28 (+133 RD)
• N.E.L. #3: Green Mountain at 42-28 (+109 RD)

• All series are best-of-five; N.Y.L. has Home Field Advantage in final

Only one of the four regions that were still in play going into the final week went to a one-game playoff. That was the Coastal Championship, where P.B.C.C. won 7-6 at Trenton United to continue their rapid rise up baseball’s hierarchy.

Yet again, Susquehanna enters the playoffs with the N.B.B.O.’s best record and best Run Differential. That’s a bit of a surprise considering how Eckford started the season, but they were just 3-7 over their last ten games, which is a major concern since N.Y.A.C. won their final seven games and Frontier was 13-2 over the final three weeks of play.

COASTAL BASEBALL CONFERENCE

• Champions: Bridgeport B.C. at 43-27 (Sportsman’s 1 GB; Essex Co. 6 GB; Lynn & Olympic 9 GB)

Bridgeport did exactly what they needed to do, winning the first four games of the series at last-place Camden & Amboy and clinching the title with a resounding 21-6 victory on the season’s penultimate afternoon of play before losing a finale that didn’t matter.

LIBERTY BELL CLASSIC (P.C.B.L.)

• #1 Seed: Spartan B.C. at 45-25 (+110 RD)
• #2 Seed: Penn B.C. at 40-30 (+98 RD)
• Series is best-of-five

Incredibly, Penn nicked the pennant from Mercantile, who had led West Philadelphia since May 26th, on the season’s final day after finishing a five-game sweep of Independence.

The playoffs are here, and they should offer up plenty of excitement.

tm1681 · 03-23-2026, 07:47 PM

FOUNDERS CUP FIELD SET: ALLEGHANY VS KNICK
KNICK HAD METRO CLINCHED LAST WEEK; ALLEGHANY CLINCHED COLONIAL YESTERDAY

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug. 20, 1879) - With five games left in the A.P.B.L. season, the field for the Founders Cup has been officially set. It will be Alleghany against Knickerbocker, although Home Field Advantage has yet to be determined.

Knickerbocker was the first team to punch their tickets to the Founders Cup, which they did five days ago, when a 10-7 win at Niagara held their lead over second-place Kings County at nine with eight games left to play.

Alleghany clinched their third Colonial Conference pennant yesterday afternoon. After they won 7-6 at Newark thanks to a four-run rally in the ninth inning, St. John’s surprisingly lost 11-6 at Port Jersey, and that gave Alleghany a six-game lead with five remaining. There will be no miracles from St. John’s this year.

Alleghany currently leads in the race for best overall record and Home Field Advantage in the Founders Cup:

• ALLEGHANY: 56-29 (+161 RD)
• KNICKERBOCKER: 54-31 (2 GB; +101 RD)

However, Knickerbocker is 8-2 over their last ten games compared to Alleghany’s 5-5, so that difference in form and a season-ending series between the two at Pittsburgh Recreation Park means H.F.A. will likely be determined during the final weekend of play.

This will be the first Founders Cup meeting between the two teams, who both excel in pitching and defense. Expect a tight and tense series, no matter who gets to host more games.

tm1681 · 03-24-2026, 11:43 AM

THE SEVENTH LIBERTY BELL CLASSIC
FIRST-TIMERS SPARTAN & PENN BATTLE FOR PHILADELPHIA BRAGGING RIGHTS

PHILADELPHIA, PENN. (Aug. 19-22, 1879) – The sixth Liberty Bell Classic, like the fifth edition, went the full five games. However, the sixth L.B.C., unlike the fifth, was NOT won by the favorite, as Overbrook B.C., led by Pitcher of the Year Pitcher Robert Nygren, was victorious in the winner-take-all Game Five at Fitzwater Field. It was Overbrook’s first L.B.C. triumph, and Queen Village’s second consecutive Game Five disappointment.

Neither team was back in this year’s L.B.C. Queen Village suffered the hardest fall anyone had ever seen, becoming the first team in any league to win less than half as many games as they had the previous season (23 vs 50) while also becoming the first team ever to go from having their league’s best record to having its worst (50-20 to 23-47) the very next year. The defending champions, Overbrook, finished just two games back of first place in a chaotic East Philadelphia pennant race that took all the way until the final afternoon to decide a winner.

Both of this year’s entrants were playing for the Philadelphia title for the first time. Spartan B.C. had finished second in East Philadelphia in 1874, but more frequently had found themselves in the lower half of the standings. Penn B.C. had a longer wait for even moderate success, finishing 6th, 7th, 6th, 5th, & 6th in West Philadelphia during the league’s first five seasons before finishing 3rd last year.

A brief summary of the two halves of this year’s Liberty Bell Classic field…

EAST PHILADELPHIA – Spartan B.C. jumped out to a fast start – 4-1 in Week One – and led the East virtually every day after May 19th. Their pennant win was about as deserved as it gets, although a 5-8 August nearly caused them to blow a lead that had been six games at the onset of the month.

Spartan’s strength was their offense, which led the league in Runs (8.8 R/G), Average (.293), Slugging Pct. (.383), & OPS (.701). The #2-7 batsmen in their lineup all hit over .300, and they were led by the combo of veteran RF Joseph Sizemore and A.P.B.L. import SS Richard Norris. They also had a fine pitching duo in John Riley & James Kilgore.

SPARTAN B.C. KEY PLAYERS

• Richard Norris (SS): .313, .798 OPS, 71 R, 103 H, 12 2B, 15 3B, 2 HR, 83 RBI, 4 SB, +20.5 ZR, 3.4 WPA, 4.1 WAR
• Joseph Sizemore (RF): .302, .772 OPS, 77 R, 99 H, 14 2B, 10 3B, 2 HR, 65 RBI, 19 BB, 20 SB, 3.8 WPA, 2.3 WAR
• Sam Winkler (2B): .343, .775 OPS, 57 R, 109 H, 13 2B, 5 3B, 0 HR, 65 RBI, 4 BB, 16 SB, 3.9 WPA, 1.7 WAR
• John Riley (P): 26-14, 2.81 ERA, 55 K, 352.2 IP, 28 CG, 1 SV, 1.1 K/BB, 1.25 WHIP, 3.5 WAR, 6.4 rWAR

WEST PHILADELPHIA – Penn B.C. led the West at the end of exactly one day: the final day of the season.

Penn entered the last day of play tied for 1st with Mercantile, who had led the East since the last week of May, at 39-30. Penn took care of business, battering last-place Independence in an 18-6 win that gave them a series sweep. Mercantile was playing at home against Bartram Village in a game that began while Penn vs Independence was in the 7th inning. What unfolded was the P.C.B.L.’s game of the year: a 21-20 thriller that saw Bartram Village, one of five East teams still in the pennant hunt going into the final week, turn spoiler and withstand a 6/6 (2 2B, 4 R, 4 RBI) performance by 3B Jacky Kooren, five Runs by 1B Benjamin Warnock, and a six-run Mercantile rally in B9 that stranded the tying run on third in order to hand Penn the unlikeliest pennant yet in Philadelphia.

Penn’s strength was also in attack, for they could boast of the league’s #2 offense (8.4 R/G). They were also 4th in Average (.285) & On-Base Pct. (.308). However, Penn was a more well-rounded team than Spartan. Their fielders were ranked 3rd or 4th in all four Defensive Metrics, and they also employed the likely Pitcher of the Year: Thomas Bath.

OVERBROOK B.C. KEY PLAYERS

• John Werra (LF): .321, .777 OPS, 72 R, 104 H, 21 2B, 7 3B, 1 HR, 73 RBI, 9 BB, 9 SB, 2.4 WPA, 2.0 WAR
• Charles Taylor (RF): .326, .798 OPS, 89 R, 105 H, 21 2B, 5 3B, 53 RBI, 25 BB, 24 SB, 3.4 WPA, 2.4 WAR
• Damian McLaughlin (C): .287, .674 OPS, 69 R, 92 H, 20 2B, 1 HR, 77 RBI, 35.6 CS%, 2.77 CERA, 3.9 WPA, 1.4 WAR
• Thomas Bath (P): 28-10, 2.43 ERA, 123 K, 348.1 IP, 27 CG, 0.4 BB/9, 8.4 K/BB, 1.08 WHIP, 8.0 WAR, 8.6 rWAR

Spartan was the best team in the P.C.B.L. for much of the season, so they would enter the Liberty Bell Cup as the favorites. However, they were 5-8 in August while Penn was 8-5 and won their final five games. Perhaps this series was more even than it would appear to be on paper.

Would the league’s best team lift the cup? Or would the one-day leaders of West Philadelphia pull off another unlikely feat?

GAME ONE (Ninth Street Grounds – ATT: 5,049)
PENN 13-4 SPA – PENN LF John Werra: 4/6 (2B, 3B), 3 R, 4 RBI, SB, 7 TB

The surprise East Philadelphia champions became surprise Game One winners after punching their hosts in the mouth straight from the first pitch. Four runs in T1 followed by one in T4 and two more in T5 gave them a 7-1 lead, and they applied the finish with a five-run rally in the eighth.

GAME TWO (Ninth Street Grounds – ATT: 5,031)
PENN 8-6 SPA – PENN RF Charles Taylor: 2/5 (both 1B), 3 R, 1 RBI, SB

Once again, Penn took an early lead at Ninth Street. They scored in T1 on an Error and followed that up with three runs in T2 on a Single, Sacrifice Fly, and a Base on Balls with the bags full. Penn scored twice more in T4 to take a 7-1 lead before Spartan fought back with a four-run rally keyed by a two-run Double from Joseph Sizemore. However, all they could do was trade runs with Penn after that, and the P.C.B.L.’s best team at home (25-10) had lost two in their venue to open the series.

GAME THREE (University City Park – ATT: 4,607)
SPA 19-9 PENN – SPA 1B Anthony Gutkowski: 4/6 (3 2B), 3 R, 3 RBI, BB, 7 TB

Needing a win to keep their L.B.C. hopes alive, Spartan played brilliantly, scoring fifteen times over the first five innings, which gave them a 15-4 lead at the midway point. Aside from Gutkowski, LF John Bacon, 3B Frank Kenner, CF Arthur Morris, & 2B Sam Winkler also had 3+ hits. Morris also had four RBI.

GAME FOUR (University City Park – ATT: 4,594)
SPR 8-9 PENN (10) – PENN LF John Werra: 3/5 (2B), 1 R, 2 RBI, 4 TB

After the teams traded runs in the opening inning, Penn responded to a Spartan tally in T2 with a five-run rally in B2, the key hit a two-run Triple by SS Peter James, who won the Tucker-Wheaton Cup last year with N.Y.A.C. However, Spartan responded with a six-run rally in T3, the runs scoring on a series of four Singles, a Passed Ball, & a Wild Pitch, take an 8-6 lead.

There was no scoring until B7, when Penn made it a one-run game (8-7) on a Single by C Damian McLaughlin. The eighth and T9 passed without incident, and then with two men out in B9 Werra hit a run-scoring Single that evened the score (8-8) and forced Extra Innings.

In T10, veteran Spartan RF Joseph Sizemore hit a Single but went no further. In B10, after the leadoff man hit a meek flyball to the middle of the Infield a Base on Balls sent 2B William Moore to first. Moore then stole second before moving to third via Error. Then, Greenhorn PH John Borland stepped to the plate and hit a Single, driving in Moore and winning the Liberty Bell Classic for Penn Baseball Club.

And with that, the unlikeliest pennant winners had become the unlikeliest champions of Philadelphia.

LIBERTY BELL CLASSIC MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
PENN LF John Werra – .550 (11/20), 5 R, 2 2B, 3 3B, 9 RBI, 1 SB, 19 TB, 0.9 WPA, 2x P.o.t.G.

Simply put, Werra was fantastic. He led, or was tied for the lead, in Runs, Hits, Extra-Base Hits, Total Bases, & WPA. He was also the Player of the Game in both the series opener and the series clincher.

After becoming a regular for the first time in 1877 Werra was relegated back to substitute duty in 1878 when Hap Higgins took over as Field Manager, but was given a second crack at the lineup this season. He responded with career highs across the board: bests in all Slash Line categories (.321/.338/.438), Runs (72), Hits (104), Extra-Base Hits (28), RBI (73), Bases on Balls (10), Total Bases (142), WPA (2.8), & WAR (1.6). He had rewarded Higgins’ renewed faith in him with a fine season, and then with an outstanding performance in the Liberty Bell Classic.

LIBERTY BELL CLASSIC SUMMARY

tm1681 · 03-24-2026, 11:44 AM

TWC XXIII: THREE DAVIDS VS THREE GOLIATHS

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug. 20 to Sep. 8, 1879) – After taking an extra day to determine the winner of the Coastal Championship, the N.B.B.O. season is over and it’s now time for the 23rd edition of the Tucker-Wheaton Cup Playoffs.

The 22nd edition of the Tucker-Wheaton Cup had a familiar setup that resulted in an unfamiliar ending. Both League Championship Series were rematches, and for the second straight year New York A.C. beat Atlantic in the N.Y.C.L.S. and Susquehanna beat Portland in the N.E.L.C.S. to setup a rematch in the Tucker-Wheaton Cup Final. Then, just like the year before the final went the full five games. However, this time N.Y.A.C. came out on top instead of Susquehanna, thanks to a four-run rally in the ninth inning that saw them hoist the cup for the first time.

This year’s edition of the T.W.C. was a very interesting one, as there were three champions in the field and three teams in the N.B.B.O. playoffs for the first time.

The defending champions headlined the familiar faces. N.Y.A.C. were brilliant after May (40-16), and both of their star pitchers looked great during the stretch run. Susquehanna, 2x champs, won their seventh Inland pennant in nine years and 50+ games for the fifth time in six, so they were expecting another trip to the final at the very least. Eckford lifted the cup in 1872, but some of the regulars from that team were still present, and they’d taken five Brooklyn pennants this decade.

The big name among the playoff newcomers was Philadelphia B.C.C. After spending three years (1875-77) beating the rest of Philadelphia into submission, they left the P.C.B.L. for the N.B.B.O. in 1878, and after an 38-32 adjustment year won this season’s Coastal Championship via playoff. Frontier, who joined the N.B.B.O. after the league split in 1871, entered August 3rd in Upstate New York, but then reeled off eleven wins over their final thirteen games to snatch the pennant from the likes of former champions Minuteman & Utica. Green Mountain, a founding member of the N.B.B.O., was in the playoffs just three years after a second consecutive last-place finish in New England, and they were able to fight off Portland to make it.

The above meant the following was the big question for T.W.C. XXIII: Would one of the three teams with championship-winning pedigrees lift the cup? Or would one of the three teams that had never seen the cup playoffs do the unexpected and go all the way?

OVERVIEW

BROOKLYN – Eckford started the year 19-1 over the first four weeks, a run that featured a fifteen-game winning streak. That quickly placed them six games clear atop Brooklyn, and nobody else was able to come close. However, they were 6-7 in August and lost their final four games.

Eckford entered the playoffs with the N.B.B.O.’s fifth-best offense, the likely N.Y.L. Most Valuable Player, a pitching duo that both had ERA’s under 3.00, and a group of fielders that ranked in the N.B.B.O.’s top five.

ECKFORD OF GREENPOINT KEY PLAYERS

• Louis Murray (LF): .356, .866 OPS, 101 R, 120 H, 19 2B, 11 3B, 1 HR, 62 RBI, 77 SB, 164 TB, 6.8 WPA, 3.7 WAR
• Isaac Kelly (3B): .346, .810 OPS, 76 R, 117 H, 22 2B, 3 3B, 68 RBI, 19 BB, 3 SB, +8.6 ZR, 3.3 WPA, 3.7 WAR
• Robert Borut (C): .323, .787 OPS, 55 R, 90 H, 17 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 55 RBI, 7 BB, 2.80 CERA, 2.0 WPA, 2.5 WAR
• William Barnhill (P): 27-9, 2.76 ERA, 51 K, 349.1 IP, 26 CG, 2 SHO, 1.1 K/BB, 1.23 WHIP, 4.4 WAR, 4.3 rWAR

NEW YORK CITY – After an 8-6 May, the defending cup champions went 15-6 during June, 16-6 during July, and 9-4 in August while winning their final seven games. The result: even though N.Y.A.C. didn’t have the best record in the N.B.B.O., they had the largest winning margin of any regional champion: ten games over second-place Union.

Of course, this team’s strength was pitching, pitching, pitching. They led the N.B.B.O. in Runs Allowed, ERA, Strikeouts, WHIP, and all four opposition batting categories: Average, On Base Pct. Slugging Pct. & OPS. They had the presumptive 5x N.Y.L. Pitcher of the Year Charles Rhodes, All-Star #2 George Cerven, and a solid group of batsmen to support them.

NEW YORK ATHLETIC CLUB KEY PLAYERS

• Manuel Romeiras (CF): .308, .760 OPS, 90 R, 103 H, 8 2B, 13 3B, 0 HR, 40 RBI, 21 BB, 80 SB, 4.4 WPA, 3.1 WAR
• Thomas Cox (2B): .323, .804 OPS, 79 R, 101 H, 21 2B, 8 3B, 2 HR, 61 RBI, 5 BB, 35 SB, 1.3 WPA, 2.8 WAR
• Charles Rhodes (P): 24-14, 2.20 ERA, 134 K, 359.2 IP, 28 CG, 3 SV, 6.7 K/BB, 1.06 WHIP, 10.3 WAR, 11.5 rWAR
• George Cerven (P): 15-7, 2.56 ERA, 107 K, 207.1 IP, 14 CG, 1 SV, 4.6 K/9, 1.26 WHIP, 5.6 WAR, 2.9 rWAR

UPSTATE N.Y. – Frontier began August 3rd in Upstate, one game behind Utica and two behind Minuteman. They then went 11-2 over the August portion of the schedule, including a 4-1 series win vs Minuteman in the final week, to take the Upstate pennant by two games and go the playoffs for the first time. They played their best baseball at the perfect moment.

Frontier took a top-five offense to the playoffs that led the N.Y.L. in Average, On-Base Pct, Slugging Pct., & OPS, but was 4th overall in Runs due to some slow baserunners. They also had two fine pitchers, but questionable fielding behind them.

FRONTIER B.B.C. KEY PLAYERS

• George Whaley (CF): .343, .839 OPS, 89 R, 108 H, 19 2B, 9 3B, 2 HR, 73 RBI, 9 BB, 25 SB, 4.0 WPA, 2.4 WAR
• William Rockford (3B): .317, .808 OPS, 82 R, 105 H, 25 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 56 RBI, 19 BB, 10 SB, 3.8 WPA, 2.1 WAR
• John White (RF): .355, .787 OPS, 67 R, 102 H, 8 2B, 5 3B, 0 HR, 58 RBI, 6 BB, 19 SB, 3.1 WPA, 1.8 WAR
• Edward Pelham (P): 22-13, 3.30 ERA, 51 K, 316.1 IP, 19 CG, 2 SHO, 3.2 K/BB, 1.43 WHIP, 6.7 WAR, 5.1 rWAR

COASTAL – Trenton Utd. led the Coastal to start August, with Bunker Hill & P.B.C.C. two games behind and Maryland four games back. P.B.C.C. then went on a 10-2 run to take the lead with one game left, but a 9-5 loss at Diamond St. combined with a 4-2 Trenton Utd. win vs Brighton meant the Coastal Championship was going to a playoff.

Due to head-to-head record Trenton Utd. hosted the playoff, but it didn’t matter as P.B.C.C. won it with two big rallies. In T3 they scored on a Wild Pitch and a two-run Double by Leroy Moore, and a four-run rally in T7 featuring two run-scoring Singles, a one-run Double by Frederick Pike, and a one-run Triple by Gilbert Ingels gave P.B.C.C. a 7-3 lead. Trenton Utd. made it a 7-6 game in B8, but in B9 they stranded men on second & third and P.B.C.C. had earned their first Coastal Championship with a 7-6 victory in New Jersey.

P.B.C.C. had a well-rounded team: top-ten offense, top-fifteen pitching, and top-ten defense. Five of their regular batsmen hit over .300, and none hit below .285. They also had three talented Pitchers who could be called upon.

PHILADELPHIA BASEBALL & CRICKET CLUB KEY PLAYERS

• Frederick Pike (2B): .358, .834 OPS, 84 R, 113 H, 17 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 73 RBI, 10 BB, 23 SB, 3.5 WPA, 2.8 WAR
• Gilbert Ingels (3B): .332, .802 OPS, 60 R, 94 H, 17 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 79 RBI, 20 BB, 3 SB, 4.3 WPA, 2.4 WAR
• Wilbur Graff (1B): .339, .847 OPS, 77 R, 104 H, 15 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 49 RBI, 54 BB, 11 SB, 3.8 WPA, 3.1 WAR
• William Burrow (P): 25-14, 3.18 ERA, 47 K, 345.0 IP, 26 CG, 0 SHO, 1.5 K/BB, 1.27 WHIP, 5.9 WAR, 4.8 rWAR

INLAND – Involved in yet another thrilling pennant chase with Lancastra Brittania, Susquehanna ended up taking their seventh Inland pennant in nine years thanks to a 10-3 August finish that saw them finish atop the standings by three games, along with the N.B.B.O.’s best record and Run Differential.

EVERYBODY knew what Susquehanna were all about: frightening offense (10.2 R/G) fueled by the best batting in the N.B.B.O. (#1 in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, HR, & WAR), a venerated, 4x 30-game winner in #1 in William Hawk, a quality #2 in Frank Cyphert, and fielding good enough to ensure that the offense, if it was in shape, wouldn’t be outscored.

SUSQUEHANNA KEY PLAYERS

• Scott Lyons (C): .399, 1.005 OPS, 86 R, 105 H, 22 2B, 5 3B, 3 HR, 78 RBI, 23 BB, 43.2 CS%, 4.4 WPA, 3.9 WAR
• Walter Braden (LF): .388, .921 OPS, 89 R, 123 H, 20 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 61 RBI, 12 BB, 19 SB, 3.2 WPA, 3.2 WAR
• Stephen Barley (SS): .318, .801 OPS, 85 R, 98 H, 17 2B, 12 3B, 70 RBI, 15 BB, 16 SB, +26.1 ZR, 3.6 WPA, 3.9 WAR
• William Hawk (P): 30-11, 2.68 ERA, 87 K, 346.0 IP, 26 CG, 1 SV, 4.6 K/BB, 1.23 WHIP, 7.7 WAR, 7.5 rWAR

NEW ENGLAND – Green Mountain started the month knowing that no less than four teams, including 6x champs Portland, were within five games. They weren’t perfect, but Green Mtn. responded with an 8-5 August that allowed them to clinch their first New England Championship with two games left to play.

Green Mtn.’s strength was their excellent pitching duo of Paul Caldwell, a former A.P.B.L. All-Star, and Richard Majors. They were supported with a decent offense led by 7x All-Star C Bertrand Bosley and rangy players in the middle of the field.

PORTLAND KEY PLAYERS

• Bertrand Bosley (C): .336, .857 OPS, 69 R, 94 H, 29 XBH, 51 RBI, 18 SB, 43.1 CS%, 2.77 C-ERA, 3.7 WPA, 3.2 WAR
• Otto Olson (2B): .316, .732 OPS, 56 R, 91 H, 11 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 56 RBI, 18 BB, 2 SB, 2.8 WPA, 2.0 WAR
• Paul Caldwell (P): 21-10, 2.59 ERA, 57 K, 239.1 IP, 19 CG, 1 SHO, 2.4 K/BB, 1.22 WHIP, 4.2 WAR, 3.8 rWAR
• Richard Majors (P): 20-17, 2.89 ERA, 97 K, 308.1 IP, 23 CG, 1 SHO, 1.5 K/BB, 9.8 HA/9, 5.9 WAR, 3.4 rWAR

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FORMAT & NOTES

SEEDING

• N.Y.L. #1: Eckford of Greenpoint at 49-21 (+161 RD) – 5th appearance (1872-75), 1x winner (1872)
• N.Y.L. #2: New York Athletic Club at 48-22 (+183 RD) – 3rd appearance (1877-78), 1x winner (1878)
• N.Y.L. #3: Frontier B.B.C. at 44-26 (+127 RD) – 1st appearance

• N.E.L. #1: Susquehanna B.C. at 50-20 (+212 RD) – 8th appearance (1868, 71-72, 74, 76-78), 2x winner (1874, 77)
• N.E.L. #2: Philadelphia B.C.C. at 43-28 (+133 RD) – 1st appearance
• N.E.L. #3: Green Mountain at 42-28 (+109 RD) – 1st appearance

FORMAT

LEAGUE SEMIFINALS

• #2 vs #3; #2 seed has Home Field Advantage
• HH-AA-H; day off after Game Two & Game Four

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

• #1 vs L.S.F. winner; #1 seed has Home Field Advantage
• HH-AA-H; day off after Game Two & Game Four

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FINAL

• N.Y.L. champ v N.E.L. champ; N.E.L. has Home Field Advantage
• HH-AA-H; day off after Game Two & Game Four

The favorites to lift the cup were New York A.C. While Susquehanna had the best record and Eckford the season’s longest winning streak, N.Y.A.C. had the strongest finish of any of the six teams and the New York League was going to have Home Field Advantage in the final.

tm1681 · 03-24-2026, 11:45 AM

NEW YORK LEAGUE SEMIFINALS

GAME 1: FRO 4-9 NYAC – NYAC RF Jack Anastasio: 2/4 (3B), 1 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB, 4 TB
GAME 2: FRO 5-19 NYAC – NYAC C Clarence Jamison: 3/5 (3B), 2 R, 3 RBI, 5 TB
GAME 3: NYAC 6-3 FRO – NYAC LF Frank Williams: 3/5 (2B, HR), 3 R, 2 RBI, 7 TB
SERIES M.V.P.: NYAC LF Frank Williams – 7/15, 7 R, 2 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 11 TB, 1x P.o.t.G.

Frontier didn’t have much of a chance in the opening two games at the N.Y.A.C. Grounds. N.Y.A.C. went ahead 7-0 in the opener before Frontier scored all of their runs in T7, and N.Y.A.C. pounded them into submission in Game Two, taking an 18-1 lead by the end of the sixth inning.

The defending champs finished the sweep in a tense Game Three. It was 3-2 after four, and after the 5th-7th went by without runs the visitors plated one in T8 on a Single before sealing the series on a two-run homer by Williams in T9.

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE SEMIFINALS

GAME 1: GM 1-14 PBCC – PBCC RF Edwin Bortz: 3/5 (3B), 2 R, 3 RBI, 5 TB
GAME 2: GM 12-16 PBCC – PBCC 1B Wilbur Graff: 3/3 (all 1B), 3 R, 1 RBI, 3 BB, SB
GAME 3: PBCC 9-6 GM – PBCC 3B Gilbert Ingels: 3/4 (2B), 2 R, 2 RBI, 4 TB – DEF DP
SERIES M.V.P.: PBCC 1B Wilbur Graff – 6/14, 5 R, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 1 SB, 6 TB, 1x P.o.t.G.

P.B.C.C. hammered Green Mtn. in the opener at Willow Grove, taking a 13-1 lead by the end of the third and coasting from there. They repeated that level of offense against the team that led the N.E.L. in Runs Allowed in Game Two, but it took a frantic eight-run rally in B8 to earn the victory.

P.B.C.C. finished a most impressive sweep in Vermont thanks to two big innings. They took a 3-1 lead in T2 on a run-scoring Error followed by a two-run Single from 1B Wilbur Graff. Then, with the score 4-3 to Green Mtn. P.B.C.C. put up a five-run rally in T6 that featured a pair of two-run Singles, giving them an 8-4 lead that was never threatened.

NEW YORK LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

GAME 1: NYAC 7-11 ECK – ECK LF Louis Murray: 4/5 (2B), 4 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB, 5 TB
GAME 2: NYAC 6-10 ECK – ECK CF J.W. Williams: 2/5 (2 3B), 2 R, 3 RBI, 6 TB – OF AST
GAME 3: ECK 7-8 NYAC – NYAC LF Frank Williams: 2/4 (both 1B), 1 R, 1 RBI, SB
GAME 4: ECK 2-4 NYAC – NYAC P George Cerven: CG, 7 HA, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K – 1/2
GAME 5: NYAC 10-11 ECK – ECK RF Carl Smith: 3/5 (HR), 3 R, 2 RBI, 6 TB
SERIES M.V.P.: ECK LF Louis Murray – 9/22, 8 R, 1 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 4 SB, 17 TB, 1x P.o.t.G.

There was excitement early in the opener, with the score 5-4 to the hosts after two innings. After that, it was all Eckford as they scored six of the game’s final eight runs to get the better of Charles Rhodes and win Game One. Eckford racked up double figured on N.Y.A.C. again in Game Two by scoring eight runs from the 6th-8th, and they had a 2-0 lead going to the N.Y.A.C. Grounds.

N.Y.A.C. earned a hard-fought win in Game Three to live another day. The 8th inning was the key – Eckford scored twice to even the score (7-7), but N.Y.A.C. took the lead and the win on a one-run Single by PH William Hopkins. The champs then evened the series thanks to excellent pitching from Cerven that allowed them to beat Eckford by two even though their offense only totaled five Hits, with one of those by Cerven himself. The series would be decided at Manor House.

Game Five at Manor House was a classic. It was a back-and-forth affair, and with the score 9-6 to Eckford going into the ninth inning N.Y.A.C. put up a four-run rally to take a 10-9 lead. They brought in George Cerven to close out the series, but Eckford was able to score twice against him, first on a Single by Smith and then on a Sacrifice Fly by CF J.W. Williams, to take the N.Y.L.C.S. with an 11-10 victory.

The defending champions were out, and there would NOT be a third straight N.Y.A.C. vs Susquehanna final.

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

GAME 1: PBCC 6-7 SUS – PBCC C Harrison Hearst: 3/4 (all 1B), 2 R, 3 RBI – 1/1 CS
GAME 2: PBCC 21-6 SUS – PBCC 3B Gilbert Ingels: 4/7 (all 1B), 3 R, 5 RBI
GAME 3: SUS 9-8 PBCC – SUS CF John Schultz: 3/5 (2B), 2 R, 1 RBI, SB
GAME 4: SUS 11-9 PBCC – SUS CF John Schultz: 3/5 (2 2B, 3B), 2 R, 1 RBI, BB, 7 TB
SERIES M.V.P.: SUS CF John Schultz – 7/20, 5 R, 3 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB, 12 TB 2x P.o.t.G.

P.B.C.C. gave Susquehanna everything they could handle during the opener in Wilkes-Barre, with a three-run T8 brining them to within a run before the tying run stuck to 3B in T9. P.B.C.C. then hit Susquehanna with a stunner in Game Two: a fifteen-run beating that evened the series in which the visitors finished with 27 Hits. An upset looked entirely possible.

Susquehanna cancelled out P.B.C.C.’s away win in Game Three, but it wasn’t easy. The visitors used a four-run rally in T7 to take a 9-6 lead, and after P.B.C.C. made it 9-8 in B7 Susquehanna made it a 2-1 series by stranding men on 2nd & 3rd in B9. Susquehanna then took the series with another hard-fought victory in Game Four. With the score 9-9, the visitors scored twice in T9 on a Single by 10th-year 1B Joseph Jurski. P.B.C.C. could move nobody past first in B9, and the series was over.

Incredibly, Susquehanna would be going to the Tucker-Wheaton Cup final for the fifth time in six years. For P.B.C.C., by taking three close losses to Susquehanna in the N.E.L.C.S. while giving them one thorough beating, they proved that they would likely be a club to be reckoned with in the years ahead.

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FINAL

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

For the second straight season it would be #1 seed vs #1 seed. N.Y.L. champions Eckford would have Home Field Advantage, and with a 28-7 home record they were happy to have it. However, Susquehanna was 25-10 both home and away in 1879, so defeating the kings of the N.E.L. at Manor House wasn’t going to be easy. There was also the fact that this was Susquehanna’s fifth final in six years to consider. Playing for the cup was now a normal thing for them, and that granted a mental edge over an Eckford team that hadn’t been to the playoffs in four years.

For neutrals, the hope was for yet another five-game series.

GAME ONE (Manor House Grounds in Brooklyn, N.Y. – ATT: 6,731)
SUS 3-5 ECK – ECK P William Barnhill: CG W, 5 HA, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K – 1/3 (2B), 1 R, 1 RBI

If Eckford had more nerves compared to Susquehanna going into the opener, they didn’t show it.

Susquehanna took the lead with a three-run rally in T4, with a run-scoring Single by LF Walter Braden followed by an Error and Sacrifice Fly that sent men across the plate. Often that would mark the start of a Susquehanna bludgeoning, but Eckford instead took the lead with a four-run rally in B5 that was capped with a two-run Single from All-Star C Robert Borut.

Eckford #1 Barnhill was able to keep the mighty Susquehanna attack in check, and he gave the hosts a two-run lead with a run-scoring Double in B8 before setting Susquehanna down 1-2-3 in T9 and giving the 1872 champs the Game One victory.

GAME TWO (Manor House Grounds in Brooklyn, N.Y. – ATT: 6,729)
SUS 16-11 ECK – SUS C Scott Lyons: 4/6 (2B), 2 R, 6 RBI, 5 TB

Game Two was more to Susquehanna’s liking, and the result was an even series.

The 2x champs started the game with three runs in T1 that scored via two Errors and a Single by 2B Jacob Falk. Eckford would then score the next eight – three in B2, a pair in B3, and three more in B4 – to take an 8-3 lead. However, Susquehanna took the lead back in T5 on a six-run rally, with the key hit a three-run Double by likely N.E.L. Batsman of the Year Lyons, to take a 9-8 lead. Eckford then forced another lead change with three runs in B6 via three run-scoring hits to take an 11-9 lead.

After six innings of hectic baseball, Susquehanna won the game late. They scored once in T7 on an Error to cut the deficit to one (11-10), took the lead (12-11) in T8 on a two-run Single by Lyons, and then sealed the win with four runs in T9, a rally capped with another two-run Single by the brilliant Lyons.

Susquehanna had the advantage now, with the series about to head to Wilkes-Barre.

GAME THREE (River View Field in Wilkes-Barre, Penn. – ATT: 1,855)
ECK 3-10 SUS – SUS C Scott Lyons: 2/4 (3B), 2 R, 3 RBI, 4 TB – 1/1 CS

Susquehanna used big rallies during the middle innings to take the series lead.

After the opening two innings went by scoreless, Eckford scored the first runs of the game in T3 when a one-run Triple by LF Louis Murray was followed with a run-scoring Ground Out. Susquehanna responded with a five-run rally in B4, with 1B Joseph Jurski hitting a one-run Single, Lyons hitting another one-run Single, Jacob Falk cracking a two-run Double, and RF Karl Valentine finishing matters with a run-scoring Triple. Ahead 5-2, Susquehanna sealed the Game Three win with four runs in B5 that granted them a 9-2 lead. This time the runs came through on a one-run Double by Jurski, a two-run Triple by Lyons, and a run-scoring Ground Out.

Susquehanna was now one win away from their third cup triumph.

GAME FOUR (River View Field in Wilkes-Barre, Penn. – ATT: 1,854)
ECK 3-6 SUS – SUS SS Stephen Barley: 2/4 (2B), 1 R, 3 RBI, SB, 3 TB

Thanks to six runs over the first four innings, Susquehanna lifted the Tucker-Wheaton Cup for the third time.

Eckford scored twice in T1, with a Double by Robert Borut opening the scoring. Susquehanna saw that as no trouble at all and responded with three runs in B1 to take the lead, thanks to a two-run Double by Barley that was followed up with a one-run Single by Scott Lyons. The hosts then made it a 5-2 game in B2 on a Joseph Jurski Single and a Fielder’s Choice, and they increased the lead to 6-2 in B4 when 3B Frank Carter hit a run-scoring Double.

The rest of the game was uneventful. While Susquehanna was surprisingly held scoreless after their initial outburst, Eckford was only able to put one run on the scoreboard against P Frank Cypert and the Susquehanna fielders over the final five innings. Susquehanna won by three, and because of that they had title number three.

The people of Wilkes-Barre gathered to celebrate another championship for their beloved team, while the Writers Pool sat in astonishment at just how one of the smallest teams in the N.B.B.O. has remained so great for so long.

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
SUS C Scott Lyons – 8 G, .333 (11/33), 10 R, 1 2B, 2 3B, 12 RBI, 1 BB, 16 TB, 1.0 WPA, 8/12 CS – 2x P.o.t.G.

Scott Lyons won the Tucker-Wheaton Cup M.V.P. for his work in the Final, during which he was 7/17 with eleven Runs Batted in over just four games whilst also throwing out four of six would-be Eckford base thieves. While he only hit 4/16 in the N.E.L.C.S., Lyons also threw out 4/6 runners on Stolen Base attempts in that series.

For Lyons, winning Tucker-Wheaton Cup M.V.P. marked a wonderful end to an incredible season. Having signed with the team just before he turned 22 in 1874, Lyons started five games for them in 1875 and was then in their Reserve Roster for the next three years. He spent that time working on his batting, and after being given his chance to start this year had an incredible campaign. Lyons agonizingly fell short of the .400 mark by one point (AVG: .399, OPS: 1.005), but he’ll almost certainly finish his first season as a regular by winning N.E.L. Batsman of the Year and earning a spot on the Team of the Year. That’s not bad for someone who was toiling away in the Reserves until he was 26.

For runners-up Eckford, their best player in the cup playoffs, by far, was likely N.Y.L. Most Valuable Player Louis Murray:

• ECK LF Louis Murray: 9 G, .425 (17/40), 13 R, 4 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 6 SB, 30 TB, 0.7 WPA – 1x P.o.t.G.

They also received a great performance from CF J.W. Williams in the final (9/17, 1 2B, 3 RBI). Unfortunately, half of their lineup hit below .200 against Susquehanna, and All-Star 2B William Syder was just 1/16. Conversely, the only Susquehanna batsman to bat below .200 in the final was 3B Frank Carter, who hit .167 (2/12).

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FINAL SUMMARY

tm1681 · 03-24-2026, 11:45 AM

FOUNDERS CUP IX: THE THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM

MANHATTAN, N.Y. & PITTSBURGH, PENN. (Aug. 26 to Sep. 2, 1879) – Last year’s Founders Cup was a battle between overall #1 Knickerbocker and St. John’s after a miraculous six-game run over the final week by the men from Providence saw them snatch the pennant from the grasp of Niagara & Shamrock. Knick won the first three games and, after two St. John’s home wins made a miraculous comeback appear to be in the cards, a 9-1 home win in Game Six gave Knickerbocker their first A.P.B.L. title.

There were no final week pennant race miracles to be had this year. Knickerbocker clinched the Metropolitan Conference title with eight games remaining, and Alleghany the Colonial Conference title with five remaining. There was still drama in the final week, however, because Knick’s 6-4 victory at Alleghany on the final day of the season gave the two teams equal records at 58-32, a win which also gave Knick a 4-2 season series win over Alleghany and thus the defending champions would receive Home Field Advantage for the Founders Cup. Not only that, but the performance of Alleghany #2 John Miles during the season finale (8.0 IP, 12 HA, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 K) was deemed concerning enough that third-year Alleghany Field Manager Charles Davis announced that Miles would be demoted for the series.

Knickerbocker would bring the same strong pitching & fielding that they won the Founders Cup with the previous year. However, they had a surprisingly strong offensive attack, one that finished 3rd in Runs (7.6 R/G) and 1st in AVG (.313), OPS (.760), & WAR (23.4) while playing their home games in a venue, the famous Elysian Fields, that was the second most Pitcher-friendly park in the A.P.B.L. (AVG-L: .917, AVG-R: .905). One wonders what Knick’s batsmen would have done had their home stadium been more like Tiger S.C.’s Broad Street Diamond (AVG-L: 1.052, AVG-R: 1.052).

Alleghany also brought outstanding pitching & fielding to the Founders Cup, things that had been their calling cards for years. They finished second in Runs Allowed (6.2 RA/G), had a Team ERA (3.49) in the top five, and their fielders ranked in the top three in all four Defensive Metrics (E/G, FLD%, ZR, EFF). However, they also managed to score more than Knickerbocker, finishing second in the league in Runs (7.9 R/G), not due to outstanding batting power but due to the best baserunning and run manufacturing in the A.P.B.L. This was a team built to win close games.

In the end, the ninth Founders Cup came down to a simple question: which team with fine pitching, excellent fielding, and a surprisingly powerful offensive attack would win?

FOUNDERS’ CUP FORMAT & NOTES

SEEDING

• #1: Knickerbocker (58-32; +115 RD; 4-2 vs ALL)
• #2: Alleghany (58-32; +158 RD; 2-4 vs ALL)

FORMAT

• HH-AAA-HH Schedule
• One day off after Game Two & Game Five
• #1 seed (Knickerbocker; 32-13 at home) has Home Field Advantage

ST. JOHN'S KEY PLAYERS

• Gerald Strong (SS): .306, .732 OPS, 96 R, 128 H, 21 2B, 8 3B, 1 HR, 49 RBI, 43 SB, +25.9 ZR, 3.3 WPA, 4.5 WAR
• John Meier (LF): .323, .812 OPS, 97 R, 133 H, 30 2B, 16 3B, 1 HR, 76 RBI, 51 SB, 198 TB, 5.4 WPA, 3.0 WAR
• Frank Doherty (3B): .309, .760 OPS, 74 R, 106 H, 25 2B, 7 3B, 2 HR, 73 RB, 6 SB, +15.7 ZR, 0.9 WPA, 2.9 WAR
• Peter Hildebrand (1B): .325, .787 OPS, 65 R, 104 H, 25 2B, 7 3B, 71 RBI, 8 BB, 7 SB, 143 TB, 4.7 WPA, 2.0 WAR
• Tom Ricks (P): 27-12, 3.09 ERA, 46 K, 320.1 IP, 25 CG, 2 SHO, 1.6 K/BB, 1.26 WHIP, 4.0 WAR, 7.9 rWAR

KNICKERBOCKER KEY PLAYERS

• Anthony Mascherino (2B): .348, .813 OPS, 94 R, 141 H, 29 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 57 RBI, 20 SB, +20.3 ZR, 1.9 WPA, 4.6 WAR
• Albert Stoffers (3B): .398, .940 OPS, 98 R, 158 H, 35 2B, 8 3B, 77 RBI, 7 BB, 4 SB, 209 TB, 6.7 WPA, 4.2 WAR
• Cormack Alexander (1B): .350, .880 OPS, 92 R, 135 H, 43 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 95 RBI, 18 BB, 3 SB, 6.3 WPA, 3.4 WAR
• Callum Murray (RF): .343, .823 OPS, 93 R, 139 H, 21 2B, 11 3B, 2 HR, 48 RBI, 9 BB, 18 SB, 2.0 WPA, 2.8 WAR
• Robert Goodman (P): 26-7, 3.20 ERA, 77 K, 334.1 IP, 26 CG, 1 SV, 4.1 K/BB, 1.19 WHIP, 5.1 WAR, 5.5 rWAR

On the face of it, Knickerbocker had the series edge because they had Home Field Advantage and were a league-best 31-14 at home. However, Alleghany had the best away record in A.P.B.L. history in 1879: an absurd 31-14 that matched Knick’s home mark. That meant the way to compare these two teams was the last week and a half and the season series.

• Final ten games: Knickerbocker 7-3, Alleghany 5-5 – Advantage KNI
• Season series (6 G): Knickerbocker 4, Alleghany 2 – Advantage KNI

That was two advantages to Knickerbocker. The defending champions would be favorites, but a close and lengthy series was expected by the experts in the Writers Pool.

03-23-2026, 07:47 PM	#1116
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,597	FOUNDERS CUP FIELD SET: ALLEGHANY VS KNICK KNICK HAD METRO CLINCHED LAST WEEK; ALLEGHANY CLINCHED COLONIAL YESTERDAY NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug. 20, 1879) - With five games left in the A.P.B.L. season, the field for the Founders Cup has been officially set. It will be Alleghany against Knickerbocker, although Home Field Advantage has yet to be determined. Knickerbocker was the first team to punch their tickets to the Founders Cup, which they did five days ago, when a 10-7 win at Niagara held their lead over second-place Kings County at nine with eight games left to play. Alleghany clinched their third Colonial Conference pennant yesterday afternoon. After they won 7-6 at Newark thanks to a four-run rally in the ninth inning, St. John’s surprisingly lost 11-6 at Port Jersey, and that gave Alleghany a six-game lead with five remaining. There will be no miracles from St. John’s this year. Alleghany currently leads in the race for best overall record and Home Field Advantage in the Founders Cup: • ALLEGHANY: 56-29 (+161 RD) • KNICKERBOCKER: 54-31 (2 GB; +101 RD) However, Knickerbocker is 8-2 over their last ten games compared to Alleghany’s 5-5, so that difference in form and a season-ending series between the two at Pittsburgh Recreation Park means H.F.A. will likely be determined during the final weekend of play. This will be the first Founders Cup meeting between the two teams, who both excel in pitching and defense. Expect a tight and tense series, no matter who gets to host more games. __________________ Logo & uniform work here Thread about my fictional universe that begins in 1857 here Last edited by tm1681; 03-23-2026 at 07:48 PM.

03-24-2026, 11:44 AM	#1118
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,597	TWC XXIII: THREE DAVIDS VS THREE GOLIATHS NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug. 20 to Sep. 8, 1879) – After taking an extra day to determine the winner of the Coastal Championship, the N.B.B.O. season is over and it’s now time for the 23rd edition of the Tucker-Wheaton Cup Playoffs. The 22nd edition of the Tucker-Wheaton Cup had a familiar setup that resulted in an unfamiliar ending. Both League Championship Series were rematches, and for the second straight year New York A.C. beat Atlantic in the N.Y.C.L.S. and Susquehanna beat Portland in the N.E.L.C.S. to setup a rematch in the Tucker-Wheaton Cup Final. Then, just like the year before the final went the full five games. However, this time N.Y.A.C. came out on top instead of Susquehanna, thanks to a four-run rally in the ninth inning that saw them hoist the cup for the first time. This year’s edition of the T.W.C. was a very interesting one, as there were three champions in the field and three teams in the N.B.B.O. playoffs for the first time. The defending champions headlined the familiar faces. N.Y.A.C. were brilliant after May (40-16), and both of their star pitchers looked great during the stretch run. Susquehanna, 2x champs, won their seventh Inland pennant in nine years and 50+ games for the fifth time in six, so they were expecting another trip to the final at the very least. Eckford lifted the cup in 1872, but some of the regulars from that team were still present, and they’d taken five Brooklyn pennants this decade. The big name among the playoff newcomers was Philadelphia B.C.C. After spending three years (1875-77) beating the rest of Philadelphia into submission, they left the P.C.B.L. for the N.B.B.O. in 1878, and after an 38-32 adjustment year won this season’s Coastal Championship via playoff. Frontier, who joined the N.B.B.O. after the league split in 1871, entered August 3rd in Upstate New York, but then reeled off eleven wins over their final thirteen games to snatch the pennant from the likes of former champions Minuteman & Utica. Green Mountain, a founding member of the N.B.B.O., was in the playoffs just three years after a second consecutive last-place finish in New England, and they were able to fight off Portland to make it. The above meant the following was the big question for T.W.C. XXIII: Would one of the three teams with championship-winning pedigrees lift the cup? Or would one of the three teams that had never seen the cup playoffs do the unexpected and go all the way? OVERVIEW BROOKLYN – Eckford started the year 19-1 over the first four weeks, a run that featured a fifteen-game winning streak. That quickly placed them six games clear atop Brooklyn, and nobody else was able to come close. However, they were 6-7 in August and lost their final four games. Eckford entered the playoffs with the N.B.B.O.’s fifth-best offense, the likely N.Y.L. Most Valuable Player, a pitching duo that both had ERA’s under 3.00, and a group of fielders that ranked in the N.B.B.O.’s top five. ECKFORD OF GREENPOINT KEY PLAYERS • Louis Murray (LF): .356, .866 OPS, 101 R, 120 H, 19 2B, 11 3B, 1 HR, 62 RBI, 77 SB, 164 TB, 6.8 WPA, 3.7 WAR • Isaac Kelly (3B): .346, .810 OPS, 76 R, 117 H, 22 2B, 3 3B, 68 RBI, 19 BB, 3 SB, +8.6 ZR, 3.3 WPA, 3.7 WAR • Robert Borut (C): .323, .787 OPS, 55 R, 90 H, 17 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 55 RBI, 7 BB, 2.80 CERA, 2.0 WPA, 2.5 WAR • William Barnhill (P): 27-9, 2.76 ERA, 51 K, 349.1 IP, 26 CG, 2 SHO, 1.1 K/BB, 1.23 WHIP, 4.4 WAR, 4.3 rWAR NEW YORK CITY – After an 8-6 May, the defending cup champions went 15-6 during June, 16-6 during July, and 9-4 in August while winning their final seven games. The result: even though N.Y.A.C. didn’t have the best record in the N.B.B.O., they had the largest winning margin of any regional champion: ten games over second-place Union. Of course, this team’s strength was pitching, pitching, pitching. They led the N.B.B.O. in Runs Allowed, ERA, Strikeouts, WHIP, and all four opposition batting categories: Average, On Base Pct. Slugging Pct. & OPS. They had the presumptive 5x N.Y.L. Pitcher of the Year Charles Rhodes, All-Star #2 George Cerven, and a solid group of batsmen to support them. NEW YORK ATHLETIC CLUB KEY PLAYERS • Manuel Romeiras (CF): .308, .760 OPS, 90 R, 103 H, 8 2B, 13 3B, 0 HR, 40 RBI, 21 BB, 80 SB, 4.4 WPA, 3.1 WAR • Thomas Cox (2B): .323, .804 OPS, 79 R, 101 H, 21 2B, 8 3B, 2 HR, 61 RBI, 5 BB, 35 SB, 1.3 WPA, 2.8 WAR • Charles Rhodes (P): 24-14, 2.20 ERA, 134 K, 359.2 IP, 28 CG, 3 SV, 6.7 K/BB, 1.06 WHIP, 10.3 WAR, 11.5 rWAR • George Cerven (P): 15-7, 2.56 ERA, 107 K, 207.1 IP, 14 CG, 1 SV, 4.6 K/9, 1.26 WHIP, 5.6 WAR, 2.9 rWAR UPSTATE N.Y. – Frontier began August 3rd in Upstate, one game behind Utica and two behind Minuteman. They then went 11-2 over the August portion of the schedule, including a 4-1 series win vs Minuteman in the final week, to take the Upstate pennant by two games and go the playoffs for the first time. They played their best baseball at the perfect moment. Frontier took a top-five offense to the playoffs that led the N.Y.L. in Average, On-Base Pct, Slugging Pct., & OPS, but was 4th overall in Runs due to some slow baserunners. They also had two fine pitchers, but questionable fielding behind them. FRONTIER B.B.C. KEY PLAYERS • George Whaley (CF): .343, .839 OPS, 89 R, 108 H, 19 2B, 9 3B, 2 HR, 73 RBI, 9 BB, 25 SB, 4.0 WPA, 2.4 WAR • William Rockford (3B): .317, .808 OPS, 82 R, 105 H, 25 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 56 RBI, 19 BB, 10 SB, 3.8 WPA, 2.1 WAR • John White (RF): .355, .787 OPS, 67 R, 102 H, 8 2B, 5 3B, 0 HR, 58 RBI, 6 BB, 19 SB, 3.1 WPA, 1.8 WAR • Edward Pelham (P): 22-13, 3.30 ERA, 51 K, 316.1 IP, 19 CG, 2 SHO, 3.2 K/BB, 1.43 WHIP, 6.7 WAR, 5.1 rWAR COASTAL – Trenton Utd. led the Coastal to start August, with Bunker Hill & P.B.C.C. two games behind and Maryland four games back. P.B.C.C. then went on a 10-2 run to take the lead with one game left, but a 9-5 loss at Diamond St. combined with a 4-2 Trenton Utd. win vs Brighton meant the Coastal Championship was going to a playoff. Due to head-to-head record Trenton Utd. hosted the playoff, but it didn’t matter as P.B.C.C. won it with two big rallies. In T3 they scored on a Wild Pitch and a two-run Double by Leroy Moore, and a four-run rally in T7 featuring two run-scoring Singles, a one-run Double by Frederick Pike, and a one-run Triple by Gilbert Ingels gave P.B.C.C. a 7-3 lead. Trenton Utd. made it a 7-6 game in B8, but in B9 they stranded men on second & third and P.B.C.C. had earned their first Coastal Championship with a 7-6 victory in New Jersey. P.B.C.C. had a well-rounded team: top-ten offense, top-fifteen pitching, and top-ten defense. Five of their regular batsmen hit over .300, and none hit below .285. They also had three talented Pitchers who could be called upon. PHILADELPHIA BASEBALL & CRICKET CLUB KEY PLAYERS • Frederick Pike (2B): .358, .834 OPS, 84 R, 113 H, 17 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 73 RBI, 10 BB, 23 SB, 3.5 WPA, 2.8 WAR • Gilbert Ingels (3B): .332, .802 OPS, 60 R, 94 H, 17 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 79 RBI, 20 BB, 3 SB, 4.3 WPA, 2.4 WAR • Wilbur Graff (1B): .339, .847 OPS, 77 R, 104 H, 15 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 49 RBI, 54 BB, 11 SB, 3.8 WPA, 3.1 WAR • William Burrow (P): 25-14, 3.18 ERA, 47 K, 345.0 IP, 26 CG, 0 SHO, 1.5 K/BB, 1.27 WHIP, 5.9 WAR, 4.8 rWAR INLAND – Involved in yet another thrilling pennant chase with Lancastra Brittania, Susquehanna ended up taking their seventh Inland pennant in nine years thanks to a 10-3 August finish that saw them finish atop the standings by three games, along with the N.B.B.O.’s best record and Run Differential. EVERYBODY knew what Susquehanna were all about: frightening offense (10.2 R/G) fueled by the best batting in the N.B.B.O. (#1 in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, HR, & WAR), a venerated, 4x 30-game winner in #1 in William Hawk, a quality #2 in Frank Cyphert, and fielding good enough to ensure that the offense, if it was in shape, wouldn’t be outscored. SUSQUEHANNA KEY PLAYERS • Scott Lyons (C): .399, 1.005 OPS, 86 R, 105 H, 22 2B, 5 3B, 3 HR, 78 RBI, 23 BB, 43.2 CS%, 4.4 WPA, 3.9 WAR • Walter Braden (LF): .388, .921 OPS, 89 R, 123 H, 20 2B, 6 3B, 2 HR, 61 RBI, 12 BB, 19 SB, 3.2 WPA, 3.2 WAR • Stephen Barley (SS): .318, .801 OPS, 85 R, 98 H, 17 2B, 12 3B, 70 RBI, 15 BB, 16 SB, +26.1 ZR, 3.6 WPA, 3.9 WAR • William Hawk (P): 30-11, 2.68 ERA, 87 K, 346.0 IP, 26 CG, 1 SV, 4.6 K/BB, 1.23 WHIP, 7.7 WAR, 7.5 rWAR NEW ENGLAND – Green Mountain started the month knowing that no less than four teams, including 6x champs Portland, were within five games. They weren’t perfect, but Green Mtn. responded with an 8-5 August that allowed them to clinch their first New England Championship with two games left to play. Green Mtn.’s strength was their excellent pitching duo of Paul Caldwell, a former A.P.B.L. All-Star, and Richard Majors. They were supported with a decent offense led by 7x All-Star C Bertrand Bosley and rangy players in the middle of the field. PORTLAND KEY PLAYERS • Bertrand Bosley (C): .336, .857 OPS, 69 R, 94 H, 29 XBH, 51 RBI, 18 SB, 43.1 CS%, 2.77 C-ERA, 3.7 WPA, 3.2 WAR • Otto Olson (2B): .316, .732 OPS, 56 R, 91 H, 11 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 56 RBI, 18 BB, 2 SB, 2.8 WPA, 2.0 WAR • Paul Caldwell (P): 21-10, 2.59 ERA, 57 K, 239.1 IP, 19 CG, 1 SHO, 2.4 K/BB, 1.22 WHIP, 4.2 WAR, 3.8 rWAR • Richard Majors (P): 20-17, 2.89 ERA, 97 K, 308.1 IP, 23 CG, 1 SHO, 1.5 K/BB, 9.8 HA/9, 5.9 WAR, 3.4 rWAR TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FORMAT & NOTES SEEDING • N.Y.L. #1: Eckford of Greenpoint at 49-21 (+161 RD) – 5th appearance (1872-75), 1x winner (1872) • N.Y.L. #2: New York Athletic Club at 48-22 (+183 RD) – 3rd appearance (1877-78), 1x winner (1878) • N.Y.L. #3: Frontier B.B.C. at 44-26 (+127 RD) – 1st appearance • N.E.L. #1: Susquehanna B.C. at 50-20 (+212 RD) – 8th appearance (1868, 71-72, 74, 76-78), 2x winner (1874, 77) • N.E.L. #2: Philadelphia B.C.C. at 43-28 (+133 RD) – 1st appearance • N.E.L. #3: Green Mountain at 42-28 (+109 RD) – 1st appearance FORMAT LEAGUE SEMIFINALS • #2 vs #3; #2 seed has Home Field Advantage • HH-AA-H; day off after Game Two & Game Four LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES • #1 vs L.S.F. winner; #1 seed has Home Field Advantage • HH-AA-H; day off after Game Two & Game Four TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FINAL • N.Y.L. champ v N.E.L. champ; N.E.L. has Home Field Advantage • HH-AA-H; day off after Game Two & Game Four The favorites to lift the cup were New York A.C. While Susquehanna had the best record and Eckford the season’s longest winning streak, N.Y.A.C. had the strongest finish of any of the six teams and the New York League was going to have Home Field Advantage in the final. __________________ Logo & uniform work here Thread about my fictional universe that begins in 1857 here Last edited by tm1681; 03-24-2026 at 11:52 AM.

03-24-2026, 11:45 AM	#1120
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,597	FOUNDERS CUP IX: THE THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM MANHATTAN, N.Y. & PITTSBURGH, PENN. (Aug. 26 to Sep. 2, 1879) – Last year’s Founders Cup was a battle between overall #1 Knickerbocker and St. John’s after a miraculous six-game run over the final week by the men from Providence saw them snatch the pennant from the grasp of Niagara & Shamrock. Knick won the first three games and, after two St. John’s home wins made a miraculous comeback appear to be in the cards, a 9-1 home win in Game Six gave Knickerbocker their first A.P.B.L. title. There were no final week pennant race miracles to be had this year. Knickerbocker clinched the Metropolitan Conference title with eight games remaining, and Alleghany the Colonial Conference title with five remaining. There was still drama in the final week, however, because Knick’s 6-4 victory at Alleghany on the final day of the season gave the two teams equal records at 58-32, a win which also gave Knick a 4-2 season series win over Alleghany and thus the defending champions would receive Home Field Advantage for the Founders Cup. Not only that, but the performance of Alleghany #2 John Miles during the season finale (8.0 IP, 12 HA, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 K) was deemed concerning enough that third-year Alleghany Field Manager Charles Davis announced that Miles would be demoted for the series. Knickerbocker would bring the same strong pitching & fielding that they won the Founders Cup with the previous year. However, they had a surprisingly strong offensive attack, one that finished 3rd in Runs (7.6 R/G) and 1st in AVG (.313), OPS (.760), & WAR (23.4) while playing their home games in a venue, the famous Elysian Fields, that was the second most Pitcher-friendly park in the A.P.B.L. (AVG-L: .917, AVG-R: .905). One wonders what Knick’s batsmen would have done had their home stadium been more like Tiger S.C.’s Broad Street Diamond (AVG-L: 1.052, AVG-R: 1.052). Alleghany also brought outstanding pitching & fielding to the Founders Cup, things that had been their calling cards for years. They finished second in Runs Allowed (6.2 RA/G), had a Team ERA (3.49) in the top five, and their fielders ranked in the top three in all four Defensive Metrics (E/G, FLD%, ZR, EFF). However, they also managed to score more than Knickerbocker, finishing second in the league in Runs (7.9 R/G), not due to outstanding batting power but due to the best baserunning and run manufacturing in the A.P.B.L. This was a team built to win close games. In the end, the ninth Founders Cup came down to a simple question: which team with fine pitching, excellent fielding, and a surprisingly powerful offensive attack would win? FOUNDERS’ CUP FORMAT & NOTES SEEDING • #1: Knickerbocker (58-32; +115 RD; 4-2 vs ALL) • #2: Alleghany (58-32; +158 RD; 2-4 vs ALL) FORMAT • HH-AAA-HH Schedule • One day off after Game Two & Game Five • #1 seed (Knickerbocker; 32-13 at home) has Home Field Advantage ST. JOHN'S KEY PLAYERS • Gerald Strong (SS): .306, .732 OPS, 96 R, 128 H, 21 2B, 8 3B, 1 HR, 49 RBI, 43 SB, +25.9 ZR, 3.3 WPA, 4.5 WAR • John Meier (LF): .323, .812 OPS, 97 R, 133 H, 30 2B, 16 3B, 1 HR, 76 RBI, 51 SB, 198 TB, 5.4 WPA, 3.0 WAR • Frank Doherty (3B): .309, .760 OPS, 74 R, 106 H, 25 2B, 7 3B, 2 HR, 73 RB, 6 SB, +15.7 ZR, 0.9 WPA, 2.9 WAR • Peter Hildebrand (1B): .325, .787 OPS, 65 R, 104 H, 25 2B, 7 3B, 71 RBI, 8 BB, 7 SB, 143 TB, 4.7 WPA, 2.0 WAR • Tom Ricks (P): 27-12, 3.09 ERA, 46 K, 320.1 IP, 25 CG, 2 SHO, 1.6 K/BB, 1.26 WHIP, 4.0 WAR, 7.9 rWAR KNICKERBOCKER KEY PLAYERS • Anthony Mascherino (2B): .348, .813 OPS, 94 R, 141 H, 29 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 57 RBI, 20 SB, +20.3 ZR, 1.9 WPA, 4.6 WAR • Albert Stoffers (3B): .398, .940 OPS, 98 R, 158 H, 35 2B, 8 3B, 77 RBI, 7 BB, 4 SB, 209 TB, 6.7 WPA, 4.2 WAR • Cormack Alexander (1B): .350, .880 OPS, 92 R, 135 H, 43 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 95 RBI, 18 BB, 3 SB, 6.3 WPA, 3.4 WAR • Callum Murray (RF): .343, .823 OPS, 93 R, 139 H, 21 2B, 11 3B, 2 HR, 48 RBI, 9 BB, 18 SB, 2.0 WPA, 2.8 WAR • Robert Goodman (P): 26-7, 3.20 ERA, 77 K, 334.1 IP, 26 CG, 1 SV, 4.1 K/BB, 1.19 WHIP, 5.1 WAR, 5.5 rWAR On the face of it, Knickerbocker had the series edge because they had Home Field Advantage and were a league-best 31-14 at home. However, Alleghany had the best away record in A.P.B.L. history in 1879: an absurd 31-14 that matched Knick’s home mark. That meant the way to compare these two teams was the last week and a half and the season series. • Final ten games: Knickerbocker 7-3, Alleghany 5-5 – Advantage KNI • Season series (6 G): Knickerbocker 4, Alleghany 2 – Advantage KNI That was two advantages to Knickerbocker. The defending champions would be favorites, but a close and lengthy series was expected by the experts in the Writers Pool. __________________ Logo & uniform work here Thread about my fictional universe that begins in 1857 here Last edited by tm1681; 03-24-2026 at 11:54 AM.