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CARL BANCROFT CALLS IT QUITS
45-YEAR-OLD PITCHED 200+ INNINGS IN EACH OF THE FIRST 24 YEARS OF LEAGUE BASEBALL

UTICA, N.Y. (Oct. 3, 1880) - Having spent a good six weeks after the N.B.B.O. season at his farm outside Utica, New York pondering his future, Carl Bancroft has decided to retire to the farm at the age of 45, having spent two dozen seasons as a regular at Pitcher for teams across the Northeast United States.

Carl Bancroft’s career began along with the life of the National Base Ball Organization. When the N.B.B.O. began play in 1857 the 22-year-old Bancroft was the #1 for his hometown club, Utica B.B.C., finishing with a 17-14 with a 3.41 ERA at the end of league baseball’s inaugural season. After a rough Sophomore season (13-19, 4.24 ERA), Bancroft made the inaugural All-Star Game in 1859, the first of his seven All-Star selection. He also finished the season with a 21-10 record, the first of four consecutive seasons in which he won 20+ games. At the end of those four seasons Bancroft left Utica having made the All-Star Game three times, and that began his life as a nomad who ended up playing for eight different clubs around the Northeast, in three different leagues.

Bancroft joined Empire in 1863, and while he mostly struggled over four seasons there he did go 21-11 with a 3.29 ERA in 1865. Bancroft then moved back Upstate and spent a year with Syracuse (1867), where he finished with a 21-13 record, 3.15 ERA, and earned his fourth All-Star Game appearance. Bancroft then joined Gotham for the 1868 season.

Bancroft’s first two seasons in Gotham marked his best two-year run in terms of Wins, going 24-12 (4.21 ERA) in 1868 and 24-13 (3.55 ERA) in 1869 while appearing in another All-Star Game. After a decent season in 1870, Bancroft moved to the A.P.B.L. with Gotham in 1871 and had a 19-18 record with a 4.20 ERA during the inaugural season of the league. He then joined Knickerbocker for the 1872 season and went 17-13 with a 3.74 ERA, but Knick didn’t invite him back for 1873.

After being let go by Knickerbocker, Bancroft moved back to the N.B.B.O. for his third stint in Upstate New York, this time with Frontier. He made the All-Star Game in his first season with the team, finishing 1873 with a 21-17 record and 2.96 ERA. He would spend three more seasons with Frontier, finishing all three well over .500 with ERA’s near 3.00.

Bancroft left Frontier after four seasons to join Trenton United for the 1877 season. It was with Trenton Utd. that Bancroft made the last of his seven All-Star Game appearances thanks to a 24-17 record and 2.60 ERA. Bancroft left Trenton after one season but stayed in New Jersey, joining Olympic for the inaugural season of the Coastal Conference. He proceeded to win Pitcher of the Year, going 22-13 with a 2.35 ERA and 9.2 WAR during his only season in the new league, while Olympic took the first Coastal Conference championship.

Bancroft then rejoined Frontier in 1879 and spent the last two seasons of his career there. Bancroft was a respectable 16-8 with a 3.76 ERA in 1879, but even though he became the first 45-year-old to pitch a Shutout on June 10th, Bancroft’s 1880 was the worst of his career from a Win-Loss standpoint: a 7-15 record with a 4.00 ERA, his first under .500 campaign since 1866. It was those struggles in 1880 that led Bancroft to conclude that it was finally time to retire.

• Utica B.B.C. (NBBO) 1857-62, Empire B.B.C. (NBBO) 1863-66, Syracuse B.C. (1867), Gotham B.B.C. (NBBO & APBL) 1868-71, Knickerbocker B.B.C. (APBL) 1872, Frontier B.B.C. (NBBO) 1873-76, Trenton Utd. (NBBO) 1877, Olympic B.C. (CBC) 1878, Frontier B.B.C. (NBBO) 1879-80

• TIER 1 (16 yrs): 299-229, 3.55 ERA, 4,761.2 IP, 324 CG, 8 SHO, 638 K, 0.9 K/BB, 1.35 WHIP, 73.7 WAR, 54.6 rWAR
• NBBO (7 yrs): 121-91, 3.17 ERA, 1,909.2 IP, 131 CG, 3 SHO, 392 K, 1.9 K/BB, 1.36 WHIP, 31.3 WAR, 30.8 rWAR
• CBC (1 yr): 22-13, 2.35 ERA, 314.0 IP, 26 CG, 1 SHO, 131 K, 4.0 K/BB, 1.21 WHIP, 9.2 WAR, 8.0 rWAR
• TOTAL (24 yrs): 442-333, 3.39 ERA, 6.985.1 IP, 481 CG, 12 SHO, 1,097 K, 1.3 K/BB, 114.3 WAR, 93.4 rWAR

• 7x NBBO All-Star (1859-60, 62, 67, 69, 73, 77)
• 12x 20-game winner (1859-62, 65, 67-69, 73, 75, 77-78)
• 1st all-time in number of seasons as a regular Pitcher (24)
• 1st all-time in Innings Pitched regardless of level (6,985.1)
• 2nd all-time in Wins regardless of level (442)
• 3rd all-time in Complete Games regardless of level (481)
• 3rd all-time in Pitcher WAR regardless of level (114.3)
• 4th all-time in Strikeouts regardless of level (1,097)

Carl Bancroft didn’t put up eye-popping numbers like Jim Creighton or James Goodman. Instead, he was a consistent and dependable winner with eight different teams. In 19/24 seasons Bancroft finished with a Win-Loss record over .500, and that included a streak of thirteen consecutive seasons (1867-79) with six different teams for whom he finished with a winning record. Every team that signed him knew exactly what they were getting.

While Bancroft won’t be remembered as one of the most talented Pitchers in the history of the sport, it’s his unparalleled consistency & longevity as a three-times-per-week Pitcher that has made him one of the most fondly remembered Pitchers in the early history of baseball. Now, may he enjoy life back on the farm.