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NEL’S 9TH-INNING RALLY WINS ALL-STAR GAME
LAKE ERIE 2B CALDWELL TAGS GAME-WINNING HIT; CANTABRIGIAN C O’DONNELL IS MVP

MANHATTAN (July 29, 1867) – Facing a 5-4 deficit going into the top of the 9th inning in the annual Midsummer Classic, the batsmen of the Northeastern League came through and powered the NEL to victory in the Elysian Fields:

In the bottom of the 7th, a single by Metropolitan OF Francis Smith drove in Flour City 3B Charles Schuster to put the New York League up 5-3. The NEL responded in the top of the 8th with a sacrifice fly by Port Jersey 1B Walter Dudley to bring the score to 5-4. That was where the score stood when Knickerbocker #1 Peadar Daly took the ball to start the 9th.

What followed was a heroic NEL rally. American 3B Werner Verstegen led off the 9th with a single, Port Jersey OF Edward Donovan reached via error, Susquehanna SS Theo Kolberg laid down a bunt single, and Shamrock OF James Burke hit a sac fly to bring home Oceanic’s William Booth, who was running for Verstegen. The score now tied, Lake Erie 2B James Caldwell hit a single to drive in Donovan and give the NEL a 6-5 lead. After a passed ball allowed Kolberg to score, Scranton SS Calum Milne doubled in Caldwell to make the score 8-5 in favor of the NEL.

The four runs in the top of the 9th were more than enough for the visitors. The NYL came to bat in the bottom of the 9th and scored via a passed ball, but that was all they could muster and the NEL had officially taken their revenge for last year’s 16-10 loss in Boston.

All-Star Game MVP honors went to Cantabrigians C Harvey O’Donnell, who was 2/2 with the bat including a double, two runs, and one RBI while catching the first five innings. He is the first MVP to come from a last-place team.

Attendance at the Elysian Fields was more than 15,000, with the now second-largest venue in the NBBO once again showing itself to be an excellent host for the All-Star Game festivities.