1874 MID-SEASON
As the 1874 season dawned, there was little doubt that London City were determined to defend their status as reigning BA champions. The Bulldogs started the year by winning fourteen straight games, and it looked like it was all over in the League before it had even begun. London relied on the surprising performance of Joe Colson, a spot starter with Islington who was claimed off waivers by London at the start of the season and immediately slotted at the top of the starting rotation in place of Fergus Fairless, who had suddenly lost his touch. Colson responded by winning seventeen of his twenty-eight decisions. But Birmingham and Westminster played well, and when London's hot streak cooled off in May, the Blue Stockings and Peers were ready to make their moves. Birmingham came within two games of the lead at the beginning of June, but then fell off the pace. Westminster stayed close behind the pitching of sophomore star Jeffrey Perry, but a 1-8 record against London prevented them from closing on the leaders. Instead, all of these contenders were overtaken by Newcastle, who put together a 12-3 run starting on 30 May. The Greys possessed the League's best pitching, with Evan Spalding's stellar 24-9 record leading the way. That was enough to compensate for a fairly mediocre offense, paced by veteran third baseman Jon Shore. The Greys were shaken, however, by an injury to John Cantrill in mid-June. Cantrill, batting .333 at the time, fractured his wrist, and is expected to miss at least five weeks of action. It remains to be seen whether the teams trailing Newcastle will be able to take advantage of that opening.
In the Dominion, the early season shocker was the play of Glasgow, who have inhabited the Association's nether regions for the past two years. The Gaelics started 14-6 and climbed into the unfamiliar precincts of first place, largely on the strength of Cameron Gadd's pitching. Glasgow, however, stumbled in late May, and fell as far as fourth place before climbing back into contention on the eve of the all-star break. Taking Glasgow's place at the top of the standings were Bristol, whose offense was fired by the speedy oufielder Cameron MacGachan. Defending champions Manchester, still sporting the biggest payroll in the Association, had trouble out of the gate, but their awe-inspiring offense soon had the Millers back in the hunt. Connor "Plumber" Ayling led the attack with a .379 average in the early going, while manager Albert Francombe experimented with a two-man pitching rotation of Steve Knapp and Robert Young. Sheffield boasted the best pitching in the Association, highlighted by Alexander Sewell's 1.42 ERA, but weak hitting meant that the Steelers could climb no higher than fourth place.
Spectators who flocked to Eccles Park in Salford to witness the All-Star Game saw a closely fought contest between the picked squads of the rival circuits. The home team Empires were trailing 4-2 in the fourth when they scored six runs off Islington reliever Beckan McPait. The key play in the inning came with the bases loaded, when Lambeth third baseman Gene Rennie allowed a ground ball pass through his legs, which permitted two runs to score. The Dominions fought back, with Bristol's Neil Hendricks and Glasgow's Charlie "Wagon Tongue" Shield each collecting thee hits, but, in the end, it was not enough to overcome the Empires' lead, and the home team prevailed by the final score of 9-7. Shield, who added two RBI to his three hits, garnered the MVP honors in a losing cause.