British and Irish Baseball - Making Another Attempt - Page 10

as5680 · 02-22-2022, 05:28 PM

MONTHLY ROUND-UP: SEPTEMBER 1875

LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST

It is still anybody’s guess who will win this year’s Metropolitan League as four teams enter October with twenty wins to their name, separated only by their number of defeats as postponements have left teams with different numbers of games remaining. Angel and Peckham seemed to have been easing clear after both defeated champions Clapham in the opening two weeks of September, but both then faltered as Angel were beaten at the Royal Artillery Barracks and Peckham dropped two games to the City of London Club having led in both. A week later, Angel and Peckham shared two games which helped Clapham to move closer again, as they won their last two games of the month. The Old Westminsters, who had also had a poor start to the month, likewise won their last two. Angel are in the top spot heading into the final month as they have six games to play, while Clapham have five and Peckham and the Westminsters both have three. In off-field news, there is considerable debate about whether the Metropolitan League should follow the Manchester & District and Leeds & Bradford leagues in permitting professionalism next year, with the clubs believed to be roughly evenly split and a close vote expected at the annual meeting. Clubs like the Old Westminsters and Royal Artillery Barracks in particular are believed to be concerned about the implications for their arrangements with Westminsters School and the Artillery respectively, as they provide the playing facilities for the clubs.

Pre-season favourites Edmonton are now a game clear in the Middlesex County League, as they won all four of their games in September while Brentford’s superb run ended with a narrow defeat to fellow newcomers Strawberry Hill. Both clubs have lost eight but Edmonton have played and won two more, meaning that if they win their next game, Brentford will have to win their last four including a meeting with Edmonton to force a tiebreaker. Despite winning their last three, Strawberry Hill are now officially out of the race while Tottenham’s awful second half of the season has seen them drop right back to an even record. In the Kent County League, Gravesend had looked near certain champions a few weeks ago but they were surprisingly beaten twice in a day by Dartford before dropping a close game to champions Rochester a week later. Victory over Bexley Heath to end the month leaves them tied with Rochester, albeit having played two games fewer. Rochester have only one to play having won their last three, and should they win it they would eliminate third placed Bexley Heath from the race. In that scenario, Gravesend would need to win their last three to take the championship or two of three to force an extra game.

In the Surrey County League, the picture is exactly the same at the end of September as it was at the start of the month, as remarkably Kingston, Croydon, Wimbledon and Norwood all won two and lost two of their four games during the month. That was a particular frustration to Wimbledon, who had looked the form team when they won their first two but dropped the next two, including a heavy loss at home to Kingston. That leaves Kingston a game ahead of Croydon, with Norwood and Wimbledon two games back and only two to play for each team. One more victory for Kingston will leave the race as a direct fight between themselves and Croydon. Three wins from three in September seem to have put Forest Gate in position to be the first champions of the Essex County League, as the teams who looked most likely to challenge them have fallen away. Two defeats to end the month dropped Romford out of contention, while West Ham and Pig Alley both lost all their games in September and West Ham are now in last place having looked like contender for much of the year. That has allowed Barking and the Three Blackbirds of Leyton to move up to winning records, with the Blackbirds having now won their last six, but they look to be too far behind Forest Gate with only three games to play.

NORTH-WEST

Miles Platting will complete a successful defence of the Manchester and District League championship if they win their next game and Salford lose theirs, after winning three of their four games in September including a vital 1-0 win over Salford which opened the month. Salford recovered to win their next two, but look to be too far behind and even if they win all their remaining games, two wins from three will be enough for Miles Platting. Three wins out of four in September mean that Bury still have a chance to overhaul Salford for second place.

Liverpool St Patrick’s have continued their domination of the Liverpool and District League, sealing their fifth championship in as many years with three games to spare. Their victory over Great Float in the first game of September was not quite enough as Sankey Brook won on the same day to keep the race mathematically alive, but their defeat against Anfield a week later rendered meaningless Liverpool’s own loss at Wigan. Four teams are contesting a tight race for second position, with Sankey looking to be in the best position currently, but the challengers will have to find more consistency next year if Liverpool are to be prevented from extending their remarkable run to six. They will however have the advantage of being able to pay players in their quest to win the championship away, as the league has become the third to confirm that it will allow professionalism for the 1876 season.

The Lancashire County League is set for a fascinating finish after Blackburn lost their last two games in September to leave them clinging to the smallest possible lead in the standings. They have only one game to play, while second placed Over Darwen have four. Darwen may be ruing a 2-1 loss to Ribble which prevents them from completing a perfect month, as there is now a lot of pressure on their remaining games. Most intriguingly, Blackburn’s one remaining fixture is against Darwen and if they should win it, Darwen would have to win their other three games to force a tie. If Darwen defeat Blackburn, they will only need one more win for a tiebreaker or two wins to be champions outright.

YORKSHIRE

Both Dewsbury and Leeds faltered during September in the race for the Leeds and Bradford League crown. While it was Leeds who entered the month fractionally ahead, it is Dewsbury who now hold that slight advantage as they won two and lost two in September, while Leeds won their first game but proceeded to lose the next three. Third placed Woodhouse Lane ended the month with a 3-2 win over Dewsbury but sit three games behind with only four to play and are surely too far behind to have realistic hopes of the championship.

Two defeats in three games have seen Doncaster’s lead in the Sheffield and District League reduced to the smallest possible margin, as second placed Barnsley won two of their three to edge a game closer. They have three to play while Doncaster have four, but crucially the two meet in what is scheduled to be the final game of the year for both. It may yet be that another game is needed after that to decide a champion. Title holders Sanderson’s Weir were undefeated in September and have now won their last six games, but they have surely left their run too late as the best that they can hope for is a tie at the top of the standings. Even that scenario would require them to win their last two and have several other games go in their favour.

MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST

Two wins from their final five games will be enough for Dudley Castle to win the Birmingham and District League after they edged past Walsall 4-3 in a twenty-one inning marathon on the final weekend of September. Remarkably, it was their first victory of the month, after two postponements and a loss by the same score at the Old Wulfrunians. Second place Birmingham Main Line could make no inroads into the gap at the top of the standings however, winning just once and losing their other two games, all by 1-0 scorelines. The best they cam realistically hope for now is to hold off Edgbaston and stay in second place. In the Bristol and District League, it is still too close to call the identity of the inaugural champions as three teams are split by just a single game. Arno’s Castle lead by a fraction after three extra-inning wins in four games in September, while their only defeat came at Weston super Mare who stay in contention in second place. Avon Gorge had the chance to move to the top had they completed an undefeated month by winning at Arno’s Castle, but their 1-0 loss in twelve innings sees them head into October one game back in third with four games remaining.

Ilkeston head into October just as they entered September, with a one game lead in the Derby and Nottingham League, but it is testimony to the pressure being felt by all three championship contenders that they do so despite losing three of their four games during the month. Their only win was a 2-0 success against champions Old Basford to end the month, a result which leaves Basford a game behind again as they too were beaten three times out of four. The struggles of those two clubs should have handed the initiative to Derby Union, who beat both of their title rivals during the month, but they fell to Sherwood and Midland Loco in their other two games and share second place with Basford, a game behind the leaders. The race is almost over however in the Leicester and Northampton League, with Leicester South Fields set to be the inaugural champions as the challenge of Wellingborough faded. They lost all four of their games in September, including a 2-0 defeat in ten innings against Leicester, and have now dropped the last five overall. That would have handed the championship to Leicester before the end of September had the leaders been able to end the month with victory at neighbours St Margaret’s Pasture, but they slipped up by a score of 5-4 and still need one more win to be sure.

SCOTLAND

For the third year in succession it is Burgh of Partick who take the honours in the Glasgow and District League, as they eased through the month of September with four wins from four games. It was the third of those, against near neighbours Govan, which mathematically secured the championship although their success had looked an inevitability for some time before that. Second and third places will go to the two newcomers, Tail o’ the Bank and Airdrie, who have both performed with huge credit in their debut season. Airdrie moved back into contention for second position after a strong run in the final third of the season, while Tail won their final two games in September to stay just ahead. The two meet to begin October in Airdrie’s final game, while Tail will still have two more to play after that.

A successful title defence has also been completed in the East of Scotland League, with Dunfermline holding off an Arthur’s Seat team who will finish as runners-up for the third time in the league’s three-year history. Dunfermline’s two game lead reduced to one after defeat to Fife rivals Kirkcaldy to open the month, and when they lost the first of two against Arthur’s Seat the clubs were suddenly tied with four to play. However, Dunfermline hit back to win the second of that double and when Arthur’s Seat lost at Haymarket a week later, the race was almost run. Victory over The Grange proved meaningless for Arthur’s Seat as Dunfermline ended the month with a 10-0 win over Haymarket, maintaining their two-game lead with just one remaining. Elsewhere, it appears that there may well be a third competition to follow in Scotland next year, this time based slightly further north, as clubs in Dundee and Aberdeen are seeking to find enough teams to make up a six-strong competition.

as5680 · 02-22-2022, 05:42 PM

MONTHLY ROUND-UP: OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 1875

A dramatic end to the 1875 league season has resulted in the second International Series between England and Scotland being postponed by a week, despite the best efforts of all the leagues to ensure that their competitions were completed by the end of October.

LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE

The chief cause of the delay to the International Series was the need for a three-way tiebreaker in the Metropolitan League, after the campaign came to an end with several teams ruing missed chances. October had begun with Angel fractionally ahead of champions Clapham and Peckham and the Old Westminsters just a little further behind, and Angel facing two games against Greenwich to begin the month. They were only able to share those games and a week later were beaten again , and when Clapham also lost Peckham suddenly found themselves in first place having won at Hackney. When Peckham won their next game against the Old Westminsters, the Westminsters were officially eliminated and with Angel and Clapham both winning, they sat a fraction behind Peckham with two games left to play, while Peckham had only one. Fascinatingly, Angel and Clapham were to meet a week later and it was champions Clapham who came out on top, having tied the game at 2-2 in the eighth and won it with a run in the tenth. Peckham would have guaranteed themselves at worst a tiebreaker with victory at Kensington, but saw an early lead disappear and a sixth-inning collapse sent them to an 8-4 defeat.

Clapham were now clear favourites, as victory at the Royal Artillery Barracks in their final game would complete a successful title defence. Defeat would leave them tied with Peckham and give Angel the chance to make it a three-way tie by beating Putney. In the event, that is exactly what happened as Clapham crashed 5-2, while Angel saved the game late on and defeated Putney 2-1 in eleven innings. The league enforced the same rules as had been used when there was previously a three-way tie six years ago, with two extra games to be needed. In order to only delay the International Series by one week, the first of these had to be played on a Wednesday. Records in the meetings between the three teams were used to set the schedule and were very close, with Peckham winning four of seven games against their two rivals, Angel taking three from six and Clapham three from seven. With marginally the best winning percentage, Peckham were awarded a bye to the second game while Angel would face Clapham in the first.

As Clapham had won two of three against Angel, they were awarded home advantage, much to the fury of Angel, who claimed that their better overall record against Clapham and Peckham should have seen them play at home. The league would not be swayed however, and Angel travelled to Clapham feeling somewhat aggrieved. The game was a close, tight battle between pitchers Isaac Webb of Angel and Arthur Fletcher of Clapham, and it was Webb who proved to be nearly untouchable. Clapham were only able to record a single hit against him, and in the fourth inning Angel outfielder Arthur Murcott produced a home run with a man on base to score two and give Angel what would prove to be the only runs of the game. Angel therefore moved through to face Peckham and having taken two from three during the year, this time they were awarded home advantage. In the second game, Peckham made a fine start and led 3-0 after three innings, but Angel reduced the margin with two in the fourth and then in the sixth, three successive hits saw them add two more and take a 4-3 lead. Peckham hit back to tie the game in the seventh, but with two out and two runners on base in the eighth it was pitcher Isaac Webb who produced with the bat as his hit gave Angel the lead again at 5-4. Peckham moved the possible tying run to third base with two out in the ninth, but Webb composed himself to retire outfielder Joe Preece and secure the championship for Angel.
They take their first crown having previously lost one tiebreaker and come within a game of forcing another, and become the seventh different champions in the league’s eleven-year history. The extended end to the season may prove to be important for the future of the competition as well, with some teams who were uncertain on the issue of allowing payments to players believed to be leaning towards voting in favour in an attempt to prevent another campaign running into November. Clapham in particular were believed to be undecided and may now support the idea when a vote is held in the coming weeks.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY LEAGUE

October began with Edmonton a game ahead in the Middlesex County League but having played two games more than Brentford, who were attempting to become only the second team to join an established league and win the championship at the first attempt. Brentford took control of the battle in the first week of the month when they won 4-0 against the Old Harrovians and Edmonton squandered a ninth-inning lead to lose 4-3 at Ealing, but the following week it was Brentford who faltered, crashing heavily 7-1 in a return meeting with the Harrovians. That left the clubs facing a meeting with one another in their next game, the last for Edmonton and one in which they knew victory would win the championship. Brentford had to win and on a tense afternoon, found the only run of the game in the tenth inning to keep the race alive.

Now it was Brentford with the advantage, knowing that victory over Tottenham in their final game would secure the title, but this time they were on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline and found themselves in a tie with Edmonton, meaning an extra game was needed. Remarkably, Brentford had won all four meetings and so earned home advantage for the tiebreaker, and this time they took an early lead with a run in the first inning. A second was added in the third inning, and despite the fact that Brentford have not scored as many runs as most of their league rivals their pitching has been second to none, and so it proved again. Pitcher Edwin Taylor was near untouchable, and the two runs were too much for Edmonton to recover. Brentford completed a 2-0 victory to clinch the most unlikely of championships, given that they had begun life in the league by losing five of their first six games.

KENT COUNTY LEAGUE

Gravesend and Rochester came into October tied for first place in the Kent County League, but with Gravesend having three games to play and Rochester only one. Both teams opened the month with victories, results which eliminated Bexley Heath from contention and left a two-horse race. Champions Rochester were able to do nothing more and could only watch a week later as Gravesend travelled to Maidstone, in a game rescheduled from later in the month in order to give Rochester less time to wait in the event of a tiebreaker. As it happened, that was a good decision as three runs in the fifth gave Maidstone a 4-1 victory and made an extra game necessary. With the head-to-head meetings share two each, a coin toss would decide home advantage and as reigning champions Rochester were allowed to call, but their call was wrong and the extra game was played at Gravesend. As it turned out, that did not matter as Rochester scored three in the third and two more in the seventh, while pitcher Alfred Adnams recorded a seven-hit shutout to complete a 5-0 victory and secure a second successive title for his team.

SURREY COUNTY LEAGUE

Compared to many leagues, everything was simple in the Surrey County League this year as the weather was very kind in that part of the country. Remarkably, only three games were postponed all year and all were easily rescheduled when the teams were next to meet, meaning that the league finished on schedule in early October. Kingston came into October leading Croydon by one game with two to play, and both clubs won their first game of the month to end the faint championship hopes of both Wimbledon and last year’s winners Norwood. Croydon had to win their final game at Reigate and hope that Kingston faltered at last placed Richmond, but although they shut out Reigate for a 5-0 win, it was too much to hope for. Kingston overwhelmed Richmond by a score of 8-1, maintaining their one-game lead and succeeding Norwood as champions in the league’s second campaign.

ESSEX COUNTY LEAGUE

Forest Gate entered October with six games to play and a comfortable lead in the Essex County League, knowing that at most three wins would be needed to become the inaugural champions. The first of those wins came when they edged out the Three Blackbirds of Leyton in their first game of the month, leaving Barking as the only club with realistic hopes of catching up. A week later, Forest Gate faced two games against a West Ham team who have had an awful second half to the year, and victories in both would secure the title. However, they lost the first game 5-2 meaning that to be champions on that day, they would need to win the second and hope that Barking lost to the Blackbirds. A burst of scoring in the middle innings saw the Blackbirds overwhelm Barking 9-2 and meant that a win in their second game at West Ham would be enough for Forest Gate, and when that game went into extra innings at 2-2 news was already coming through that the championship could be secured there and then.

That knowledge perhaps made Forest Gate a little nervous, as they let slip one-run leads in the eleventh and twelfth innings, but then with darkness beginning to fall West Ham collapsed, giving up an astonishing ten runs as Forest Gate ran away with a 14-4 victory. It was as well that the championship was already won, as Forest Gate lost all of their three remaining games, the last of those against Barking reducing their final margin of victory to a single game. They will care little though, as they become the first champions of Essex.

NORTH-WEST

MANCHESTER AND DISTRICT LEAGUE

Heading into October, the Manchester and District League race appeared to be straight forward, with champions Miles Platting leading Salford by three games and knowing that two wins from their remaining three games would be good enough. However, they started the month by losing narrowly 2-1 at Bury, allowing Salford to close the gap despite the postponement of their game against Moss Grove. A week later Miles Platting stumbled again, 1-0 at Bolton, and with Salford staging a ninth inning fightback to defeat Belle Vue 5-4 the race was really on. Miles Platting recovered to win their final scheduled game against Moss Grove 14-3, a result which gave Salford no room for error, but on the same afternoon they ground out a 2-1 victory at Rochdale to stay in the hunt.

Salford had three games to play, all on their own field, and had to win them all to force a tiebreaker. Wins over Stockport and Moss Grove putting them on the brink of doing so, and three seventh inning runs against Bolton in the final game completed a remarkable run which in all had seen them win their final seven games to force the tie. The extra game was scheduled to be played on the first Wednesday in November, an unsatisfactory date but one chosen in an attempt to avoid disrupting the International Series. The three-way tie in the Metropolitan League however rendered that irrelevant and the game was moved to the following Saturday, to the joy of those hoping to be able to watch. With the season’s meetings tied, champions Miles Platting called a coin toss correctly to earn home advantage and made the most of it with three runs in the first inning. Salford edged closer in the second, but the champions restored their three-run margin in the fourth and pitcher Hugh Shingler shut down Salford from that point on, earning a 4-1 win and a second successive championship for Miles Platting.

Following the conclusion of the season, the league held the much anticipate vote to determine the two newcomers to join the league as it turns professional for the 1876 season. Six applications were received, with the team from Ashton under Lyne clear favourites to take one of the available places. That expectation proved to be well founded as seven of the ten clubs supported their application, but the second place was much more closely fought. It came down to a fight between clubs from Glossop, Altrincham, and Swinton with Altrincham confident that they had enough support to succeed. However, when the votes were counted it was Glossop who had four votes to just three for Altrincham and Swinton, with the difference suspected to have been made by Stockport changing their minds at the last minute and voting for Glossop instead. The two new clubs will join the league officially in January, while next year’s schedule is expected to consist of forty-four games per team, four against each of the other eleven clubs. It is believed that one quarter of the schedule will be set for midweeks, on eleven Wednesdays during the summer, as the clubs experiment with the viability of regular midweek play.

LIVERPOOL AND DISTRICT LEAGUE

Perhaps the most uneventful end to the season came in the Liverpool and District League, where Liverpool St Patrick’s had already retained their title with some degree of comfort. In the end they won both of their remaining games to finish with a six-game margin at the top, while long-time chasers Sankey Brook lost all three in October to drop back to an even record, perhaps less than they deserved for a good season. Great Float and Wigan came through to end up as the closest challengers to Liverpool, with both ending their seasons by defeating Sankey to leave them tied for second place.

LANCASHIRE COUNTY LEAGUE

Blackburn entered October with a slim lead in the Lancashire County League and in a position where even victory over second-placed Over Darwen in their final game would leave them waiting and wondering whether they had done enough to take the title without a tiebreaker. As it happened, Darwen took that game by a score of 3-1 and with three more games to play, needed to win just two of them to be champions, or one to force a tiebreaker. In their next game, Darwen edged past last year’s champions Accrington, long since condemned to finish last this time, by a one-run margin and now needed just one more victory for the title. Their next game at Ribble was postponed, meaning that any tiebreaker would have to be delayed even longer, but that possibility was removed a week later when a return meeting with Accrington saw Darwen take a 3-0 win which meant that they could no longer be caught. Defeat in the rescheduled game at Ribble left them just a game ahead of Blackburn in the final standings but that mattered little, it was Blackburn who were left ruing the fact that having led for so long, they lost their final three games to give Darwen the chance to overtake them.

YORKSHIRE

LEEDS AND BRADFORD LEAGUE

For months there has been no more than a game between Dewsbury and Leeds Central in the race to become the new champions of the Leeds and Bradford League, with Dewsbury a fraction ahead going into October having played one game fewer. Both were struggling for form as nerves seemed to be taking over and that pattern continued at the beginning of the month, as both suffered heavy home defeats. A week later Dewsbury slipped past Bowling by a narrow 2-1 margin, but Leeds matched them with a 4-1 victory at Batley to remain right on their shoulder. Both won their next game as well, before Dewsbury defeated Huddersfield 4-2 in their match in hand and took a one game lead with two to play. The two had been scheduled to meet next on a Wednesday afternoon, but that match was switched with their planned final games so that their meeting could take place on a Saturday with more people able to attend.

It appeared that they would head to that final game tied when Leeds overwhelmed Bradford and Dewsbury trailed late on at Hunslet, but Dewsbury found three runs in the final two innings to take the win 4-3 and maintain their lead in the standings. In the final game at Leeds, the home team had to win to force a tiebreaker and they scored four in the fourth inning to take control. Dewsbury could only find a single run in response and an additional game was required. As in Manchester, this had initially been scheduled for Wednesday but was moved to Saturday when the International Series was confirmed to be delayed by a week. That game too was played in Leeds, as they had won all four meetings during the year, but this time it was Dewsbury who took control early on. They scored runs regularly in the early innings and by the sixth led 5-0, while pitcher David Jackman did not even allow Leeds a hit until the eighth. When that hit came Leeds turned it into a run, but could do no more and Dewsbury held on for a 5-1 victory. They take the championship in only their second season in the league, an achievement all the more remarkable given that they finished tenth and last in their debut campaign last year.

SHEFFIELD AND DISTRICT LEAGUE

There was another close finish in the Sheffield and District League, where Doncaster headed into October fractionally ahead of Barnsley with four games to play, Barnsley having only three. That position changed on the first Saturday of the month however, as Barnsley recorded a 3-1 win over Sheffield while Doncaster crashed to a surprise 2-1 defeat at home to lowly Holmes Tail. It was now Barnsley who were fractionally ahead, with Doncaster facing two tough games at Hallamshire the following week. Barnsley won their own game with Holmes Tail on that day, meaning that Doncaster really needed to win both games, and an immense effort took them to victories by the narrowest of margins, 1-0 in the first game and 2-1 in the second.

That left the two teams tied with one game remaining, and by chance that game was between the two contenders, meaning that there could be no tiebreaker and the winner of the final game would be champions. The game at Doncaster was close early on, with the home team finally breaking the scoreless tie with a run in the fifth inning. Once Doncaster were ahead though, Barnsley crumbled. They could do little against pitcher Mark Guiney and Doncaster’s batters found their form in some style, recording seven more runs over the next three innings to open an overwhelming 8-0 lead. That would be the final score, and Doncaster took the championship for the second time, having also finished on top of the standings two years ago.

The league has also confirmed the two new clubs who will join the competition next year, with the club from Chesterfield elected unanimously by the six current members. The second place was expected to see the vote split on a geographic basis, with the three Sheffield clubs likely to support the bid from Owlerton and the clubs from the smaller towns likely to back Worksop’s bid. In the event, Worksop did gain three votes as expected but Owlerton had only two, with one going to another club from the Sheffield area, Nether Hallam. It is not known which club supported them but it appears that the vote of the Sheffield clubs was split, allowing Worksop to be elected by a single vote. No announcement has yet been made about the schedule, but with obvious split into two geographic groups of four, it may be that the clubs follow those in Middlesex by reducing their season from thirty game to twenty-eight.

MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST

BIRMINGHAM AND DISTRICT LEAGUE

Dudley Castle took a commanding lead into October needing only two wins from their remaining five games to win the Birmingham and District League, with Birmingham Main Line the only team who could catch them. One of those two wins arrived immediately, in extra innings at outgoing champions West Bromwich, but Main Line kept a little pressure on with victory at Edgbaston. A week later, Dudley knew that beating the Old Wulfrunians at home would secure the crown but try as they might, they could not find a single run and lost 3-0 despite outhitting the Wulfrunians ten to nine. It didn’t matter however, as later that evening they received news that Main Line had let slip a late lead and fallen to a 4-2 defeat against West Bromwich, meaning that they could no longer catch up. As it turned out, Dudley were fortunate that Main Line had lost that game. The new champions were beaten at Aston a week later, before falling 1-0 at Main Line when the top two faced one another. They also lost their final game at home to Small Heath, leaving them only one game ahead in the final standings, but in truth had done all the hard work earlier and may have played differently in those final games had they needed to. The rest of the league will have to improve to challenge the top two next year, as only Dudley and Main Line were able to record winning records this year.

BRISTOL AND DISTRICT LEAGUE

The first championship of the Bristol and District League came down to a fascinating race between Arno’s Castle, Avon Gorge and Weston super Mare. The three had gone into October with Arno’s leading the way by a fraction from Weston, and Avon one game off the pace in third place. The month opened with a day of great tension as all three were involved in tight games, Avon winning 1-0 at Swindon and Arno’s doing likewise at Bristol Easton, but taking fifteen innings to do so. Weston faced an even longer battle at Bath, heading into extra innings tied at 2-2 and then seeing the game conclude in near darkness when Bath finally found the winning run in the nineteenth. All three won a week later, maintaining a one game advantage in the standings for Arno’s Castle. Weston now had just one game to play, against Arno’s Castle, while the other contenders had two and would meet one another in the final game of the season.

Weston produced a fine performance to earn a 6-0 victory at Arno’s, but in a cruel twist of fate found that the result was meaningless when Avon edged past Bristol Easton 2-1. That meant that while all three had eighteen wins to their name, the fact that Arno’s and Avon were to meet the following week actually eliminated Weston from the race, as they had no more games to play and one of their rivals was sure to reach nineteen wins. In the winner-takes-all final game, Avon had home advantage but it was Arno’s who started strongly, scoring two in the first and another in the third to lead 3-0. Avon hit back with one in the sixth, but in the eighth their hopes of a comeback were dashed when the visitors restored their three-run lead. Arno’s closed out a 4-1 victory and take the inaugural championship after a wonderful race.

DERBY AND NOTTINGHAM LEAGUE

There was another close three-horse race in the Derby and Nottingham League, with Derby Union and reigning champions Old Basford trailing Ilkeston by one game with two to play for each club as October began. Ilkeston’s first game of the month away at Sherwood was postponed, while Derby fell to a 5-2 defeat at Trent Bridge, handing a chance to champions Basford to put pressure on their rivals. They took the opportunity by defeating Midland Loco 4-1, moving within a fraction of Ilkeston and leaving Derby all but out of the running. Ilkeston were not feeling the pressure however, and they returned to action a week later with a 5-1 win over Trent Bridge, a result which meant that Basford had to beat Derby to keep the race alive. In the final match for both clubs, Derby pitcher Isaac Heath kept Basford off the board all afternoon and saw his teammates score six unanswered runs, a result which was terminal to Basford’s hopes of retaining the title and all too late for Derby. Those teams would finish tied for second place, while Ilkeston ended up just a game ahead after they lost a relatively meaningless rearranged game 2-1 at Sherwood.

LEICESTER AND NORTHAMPTON LEAGUE

The inaugural season of the Leicester and District League saw Leicester South Field enter October on the brink of becoming the first champions, leading Wellingborough by three games with three to play and needing just one win or a Wellingborough loss to secure the crown. They would not have to wait long, as on the first Saturday of the month they recorded a 3-1 success against Peterborough, rendering irrelevant Wellingborough’s extra-innings win over Northampton. As it happened, the final standings ended up making the race look much more one-sided than it had been in reality, as Leicester won their final two games while Wellingborough lost theirs, including a 5-2 Leicester win when the two met in their final game. Having played so well for much of the year, Wellingborough actually lost six of their final seven games but Leicester were deserving champions.

SCOTLAND

GLASGOW AND DISTRICT LEAGUE

There was little to play for in Scotland in October as both leagues were already decided, and Glasgow and District League champions Burgh of Partick were beaten in both of their remaining games having already secured the crown. With the other five clubs having losing records, the race was between the two newcomers Airdrie and Tail o’ the Bank to finish second, after impressive debut campaigns for both. They would meet in the first week of the month and it was Airdrie who recorded a 4-0 away win in their final game of the year. That meant that Tail needed to win both of their remaining games to share second but having won at Partick, they crashed 5-3 at Tollcross in a game rescheduled several times due to rain. That left Airdrie alone in second, three games behind Partick and wondering what might have been had they not slumped to seven defeats in eight games through May and June.

EAST OF SCOTLAND LEAGUE

The East of Scotland League saw each team enter October with just one game left to play and Dunfermline having already secured a second successive championship as they led Arthur’s Seat by two games. In their final game of the year, Arthur’s Seat edge to a 2-1 win at Kirkcaldy which earned them second place in their own right, as a Kirkcaldy win would have left the two tied for second. Dunfermline were defeated by the same score at The Grange, which meant that the final margin at the top of the standings was just a single game. With Arthur’s Seat having lost the title in tiebreaking games in each of the previous two years, the Edinburgh club now have the unfortunate distinction of finishing second, one game behind the champions, for three successive seasons.

With the final league games being concluded on the first Saturday in November, the International Series can finally get underway with England looking to retain the title they won in a deciding third game in the inaugural series last year. They will host the first game this year, with Scotland hosting the second. Should a third be required, a coin will be tossed for home advantage with England as reigning champions allowed to call. The delay to the series led to a suggestion that the second game might be played in midweek to prevent a possible decider being as late as the final Saturday in November, but Scotland refused to give up their home Saturday game and so every game will be played at the weekend as last year. England are once again the favourites to win, but many feel that the Scottish team is stronger this year than last. This year’s squads will be made up of the following players.

ENGLAND
Pitchers: Sidney Fisher (Tottenham), Alexander Barter (Sheffield), Nicholas Ford (Angel), Isaiah Harper (Sherwood), Wilfred Wellington (Commercial Dock)
Catchers: Andrew Clarke (Stockport), William Thornton (Clapham)
Infielders: Harry Pardoe (Edmonton), Thomas Wakely (Hackney), Noah Sanders (Angel), Ellis Demmer (Dewsbury), Stanley Willis (Blackburn)
Outfielders: Timothy Berry (Greenwich), Ezra Rowe (Dudley), Percival Bennett (Bexley Heath), Roland Lloyd (Greenwich), Frank Page (Edmonton), Levi Taylor (Halifax), Dennis Dunning (Clapham), William Elmar (Miles Platting)

SCOTLAND
Pitchers: Bruce Fraser (Airdrie), John Byrne (White Cart), Alexander McAulay (Tail o’ the Bank), Alan McKay (Burgh of Partick), Philip Trist (Govan)
Catchers: John Christie (Bath), Oliver Milne (Burgh of Partick)
Infielders: George Baxter (Airdrie), Gordon Rankin (Kirkcaldy), Gordon Reeves (Arthur’s Seat), Andrew Taggart (Kirkcaldy), Hugh Young (Burgh of Partick), Eric Speechley (The Grange)
Outfielders: James Harris (Kirkcaldy), Fraser Cash (Haymarket), Walter Challinor (Tollcross), John Erskine (Arthur’s Seat), Malcolm Wheeler (Dunfermline), John Cunningham (Tollcross), Roderick Dalziel (Govan)

as5680 · 02-22-2022, 05:43 PM

TOURNAMENT REVIEW: 1875 INTERNATIONAL SERIES

The final act of the 1875 season was the second International Series between England and Scotland, and there was no shortage of excitement to conclude another year of baseball. Alexander Barter of Sheffield was the surprise choice to start as pitcher for England, while Airdrie’s Bruce Fraser was the man chosen for Scotland at the end of a very impressive debut season in the Glasgow and District League. It was Fraser who struggled early in the first game in London however, as with one out in the first inning he allowed a hit to Edmonton’s Harry Pardoe. Then having got the second out, Angel’s Noah Sanders produced a home run to give England an early 2-0 lead. Barter on the other hand pitched superbly, not allowing Scotland a single baserunner until he hit Partick’s Oliver Milne with a pitch when there was one out in the sixth inning.

After Fraser had sacrificed himself to move Milne to second, Walter Challinor of Tollcross produced another hit which put Scotland on the board and reduced their deficit to 2-1. In the seventh, two hits to start the inning gave Scotland a chance to draw level and even after England recorded two outs on the next play, there was still time for Kirkcaldy’s James Harris to tie the game with a hit of his own. Unfortunately for Scotland, all their hard work in levelling the score was undone immediately as Percival Bennett of Bexley Heath opened England’s half of the inning with a hit and with one out, Edmonton’s Frank Page drove him in to restore England’s lead. Scotland advanced a runner to second base in the eighth, but Barter shut down their hopes of another comeback. England completed a 3-2 victory to take the first game of the series, meaning that Scotland had to win in Glasgow to force a deciding game.

Pitcher Fraser needed to be at his best in the second game, and he certainly was. England recorded no hits and had only two baserunners in the first seven innings, and were not able to advance either of them beyond first base. So impressive was Fraser than he was even instrumental in Scotland taking the lead in the fourth inning, coming to bat with two out and two runners on base and finding the hit which drove in Kirkcaldy’s James Harris. In the sixth, poor fielding from England and a reckless pitch from Alexander Barter allowed Scotland to put three runners on base and with one out, Walter Challinor’s hit brought two home to extend the lead to 3-0.

With Fraser in such form that was likely to be enough to win the game already, but Scotland added another on a hit from Harris in the seventh. In the eighth, England finally avoided the ignominy of having no hits in the game through Percival Bennett, but the visitors’ sloppy play returned as he was promptly caught straying too far from the base. Another hit from Timothy Berry of Greenwich would be all England could get on the day, and Scotland added two more in their half of the eighth following another fielding error, when John Cunningham of Tollcross found a hit with two men on and two out. England relief pitcher Isaiah Harper of Sherwood Rise finally ended the inning, and all that was left was for Fraser to ease through the ninth and tie the series at one game all. England finished with more errors than hits and would have to play much better in the third game, which was also to take place in Glasgow after England called the coin toss incorrectly.

England missed an early chance to take the lead in the decisive game when they left two runners on base in the first inning, and it was Scotland who struck first in the third when The Grange’s Eric Speechley led off with a hit and advanced to second after another fielding error from England. With two out, Tollcross man Walter Challinor continued his fine series with a hit to bring Speechley home. With Fraser pitching so well, Scotland may have hoped that the single run would be enough but in the sixth everything changed. Hits from Dennis Dunning of Clapham and Angel’s Noah Sanders put Fraser in trouble and then when Speechley made an error in the field, both came in to score and England were in the lead at 2-1.

It was left to Challinor again to inspire a Scottish fightback, as he started their half of the sixth with a two-base hit and then saw his teammate John Cunningham deliver another hit with two outs on the board to tie the score again at 2-2. There was no scoring in the next two innings, so the series came down to the ninth inning of the third game where with one out, Edmonton’s Frank Page found a hit to give England a scoring chance. With Page standing at second base, his club teammate Harry Pardoe delivered a potentially decisive blow as he drove in Page, putting England ahead again at 3-2. In their own half of the ninth, Scotland found a single hit with one out but relief pitcher Nicholas Ford of Angel completed the job for England. Matching 3-2 victories in the first and third games gave England the series, despite their poor performance in the second game which meant that across the series, they were outhit and outscored by Scotland. Of little consolation to the Scots were the awards for Best Pitcher, which went to Fraser for his superb shutout in the second game, and Best Player which was given to Walter Challinor.

as5680 · 02-22-2022, 05:44 PM

END OF SEASON REVIEW: 1875

With all the action completed for another year, leagues have been holding their annual meeting and handing out their awards. Metropolitan League champions Angel were rewarded for their success as Noah Sanders was named as Best Player and Isaac Webb as Best Pitcher, but there was controversy when Jacob Meaker missed out on the managerial award. Meaker, who is the only manager remaining in the league from the inaugural campaign in 1865, was overlooked in favour of Clapham’s Matthew Ingram who took the trophy for the second successive year, despite his team losing their title in a tiebreaker against Angel.

In the Middlesex County League, Edwin Taylor of champions Brentford was the clear choice for Best Pitcher but with his team having few outstanding hitters, the Best Player was Harry Pardoe of runners-up Edmonton. After winning the championship in the club’s first season, it was no surprise to see Brentford’s Amos Cochrane take the Best Manager award. Arthur Murnaghan of champions Rochester was Best Manager in the Kent County League, but his team missed out on the other awards as Dartford’s Frederick Barron took Best Player and Isaac Huntley of Maidstone took Best Pitcher. Indeed, Rochester had no player in the top three positions in the voting for either award, perhaps showing how much their success was a team effort rather than due to the performance of specific individuals.

In the Surrey County League, there was even less recognition for the champions Kingston as they took no awards at all. Wimbledon’s Edgar Nash was named Best Player, while runners-up Croydon took the other honours. Luke Robson was awarded Best Pitcher, while the managerial trophy went to Willie Thomas. There was a surprise in the Essex County League as Romford’s Roland Edwards took Best Manager despite his team finishing in the bottom half of the standings, and again the champions took none of the honours as Forest Gate were overlooked in every category. It was the Three Blackbirds of Leyton who took the other prizes, with Matthew Smith taking Best Player and Simeon Turner named as Best Pitcher.

Miles Platting and Salford dominated the voting the Manchester and District League, with Salford’s Henry Barton winning Best Pitcher for the third time in four years. Champions Miles Platting took Best Player courtesy of William Elmar, and also saw Harry Hunt take the managerial honour. In the Liverpool and District League, champions Liverpool St Patrick’s took Best Manager through Alfred Hancock and Best Pitcher with Harry Joyce, but missed out on the Best Player award which went to Harry Morrant of Sankey Brook. Lancashire County League winners Over Darwen also took two awards out of three, with Frank Burrows the Best Manager and Benjamin Stuckey as Best Pitcher. Runners-up Blackburn had the consolation of Stanley Willis being named Best Player.

David Oxley of Leeds was named Best Manager in the Leeds and Bradford League, a surprise to many given that Oliver Graham had led Dewsbury from last place a year ago to the championship this time around. Dewsbury did take Best Player as that award went to Ellis Demmer but missed out on the pitching award which was given to Halifax man John Kelly. In the Sheffield and District League, Mark Guiney of champions Doncaster took Best Pitcher for a third successive year, while Alfred Murray of strugglers Holmes Tail was a surprise choice for Best Player. Harold Drage took Best Manager for leading Doncaster to their second title in three years.

The two outstanding clubs in the Birmingham and District League, Dudley Castle and Birmingham Main Line, shared the awards there with Dudley’s Ezra Rowe winning Best Player and Arthur Jukes of Main Line taking Best Pitcher. Henry Burward took Best Manager after taking Dudley to the championship. The first awards in the Bristol and District League saw Avon’s Martin Hart win Best Manager, despite just missing out on the championship. Indeed, champions Arno’s Castle took none of the honours as Weston super Mare won both of the other prizes, John Ingram named as Best Pitcher and Daniel Burgess winning Best Player.

Derby and Nottingham League champions Ilkeston only took the Best Manager awards, with Herbert Wilson getting the votes. Their two title rivals earned the other trophies, as Allan Beaten of Old Basford was named Best Pitcher and Derby Union man Josiah Farquhar was named Best Player. The pattern was the same in the Leicester and Northampton League, with the inaugural Best Manager prize going to Ernest Brown of champions Leicester South Fields but the other honours going elsewhere. Best Pitcher was Percival Savage of St Margaret’s Pasture, while Reginald Boot to Best Player despite his Loughborough team having a disappointing first campaign overall.

In Scotland, Glasgow and District League champions Burgh of Partick took Best Player courtesy of Hugh Young, as well as Best Manager through George Speake. They missed out on Best Pitcher however, as Bruce Fraser of Airdrie added that award to the ones he won in the Scottish Counties Championship and the International Series. Kenneth Morris of champions Dunfermline was Best Manager in the East of Scotland League, while Dunfermline also took Best Pitcher through Francis Kemp. Their Fife rivals Kirkcaldy took the Best Player award however, as James Harris edged out Dunfermline’s Malcolm Wheeler in the voting.

ROLL OF HONOUR
Metropolitan League: Angel Islington (1st title)
Manchester and District League: Miles Platting Works (2nd title)
Leeds and Bradford League: Dewsbury Canal (1st title)
Liverpool and District League: Liverpool St Patrick’s (5th title)
Glasgow and District League: Burgh of Partick (3rd title)
Middlesex County League: Brentford Grand Junction (1st title)
Sheffield and District League: Doncaster Northern (2nd title)
Birmingham and District League: Dudley Castle (1st title)
East of Scotland League: Dunfermline Canmore (2nd title)
Kent County League: Rochester Riverbank (2nd title)
Derby and Nottingham League: Ilkeston Rutland (1st title)
Lancashire County League: Over Darwen (1st title)
Surrey County League: Kingston Fairfield (1st title)
Bristol and District League: Arno’s Castle (1st title)
Essex County League: Forest Gate (1st title)
Leicester and Northampton League: Leicester South Fields (1st title)
Oxford University Championship: New College (1st title)
Cambridge University Championship: Gonville and Caius College (2nd title)
International Series: England (2nd title)
County Championship: Staffordshire (1st title)
Scottish Counties Championship: Lanarkshire (1st title)
Varsity Series: University of Oxford (4th title)

The very final acts of the 1875 season were the votes to decide the new clubs to be admitted to the Birmingham and District and Kent County Leagues, and both proved to be somewhat controversial. In Birmingham, eight clubs applied for membership and the vote was very fractured, with the current clubs voting largely based on geography. The bids from Cannock and Kidderminster earned just one vote apiece while Stourbridge and Lichfield had no support at all, leaving a five-way fight between Bilston, Coventry, Handsworth, Smethwick and Wednesbury. When the votes were all tallied, Smethwick had two votes and the other four clubs each had three, meaning that a second ballot was going to be required. Four spare votes were available from the eliminated bids, assuming that no club who supported one of the final four changed their minds. Of the four extra votes, two went to Wednesbury, meaning that they topped the ballot with a total of five. One each went to Bilston and Handsworth, eliminating Coventry and meaning that there was still a tie.
A third ballot between Bilston and Handsworth resulted in the vote still tied at four votes each, with the assumption being that the Birmingham clubs were voting for nearby Handsworth and the Black Country clubs supporting their closer neighbour, Bilston. The league then committee then announced that they would make the final decision, and they would give the place to Bilston. The Birmingham clubs were angered by this and accused West Bromwich, the closest club to Handsworth, of having been paid to vote for Bilston. It should be made clear that there is absolutely no evidence to support this allegation, but it does appear to confirm that the allegedly secret ballot did indeed go as suspected.

In Kent, the big question was whether the County League would expand beyond the western half of the county. Seven clubs from the east applied for membership compared to just four from the west, although there was believed to be little support for any of those applications except for that of Canterbury-based military team ‘The Buffs’, the team of the army’s infantry regiment known by that name and garrisoned in the city. They were expected by many to take one of the two places, alongside clear favourites Tunbridge Wells. In the event, Tunbridge Wells did top the ballot with six votes from the eight current members, but The Buffs were edged out four votes to three by a club from Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey. It is not known with any certainty how the clubs voted, but The Buffs’ fellow army club the Royal Engineers have suggested that they were trying to persuade their near neighbours Rochester to vote in favour of the Canterbury club, without success.

The Buffs reacted with fury to the decision, questioning what point there is in attempting to join a supposed ‘county’ league if its clubs will not admit any team from the eastern half of Kent, even preferring a water crossing to the Isle of Sheppey twice a year over travelling to Canterbury. They suggested that they will invite the other applicants from the eastern half of the county to form their own competition, with no time to do so for the 1876 season but more than enough opportunity to launch in 1877.

Both the Birmingham and Kent competitions are expected to follow a thirty-six game season, identical to the format used currently in the Leeds and Bradford League and up to this year by the Manchester and District League. We now know the identities of all the new clubs joining established leagues for next season, while it has been confirmed that once again there will be three new leagues next year. The Tyne and Wear League will cover the north-east of England, while the Yorkshire County League will cover the North and East Ridings of that large county. In Scotland, the North Caledonian League will extend from Perth and Dundee up to Aberdeen. All will feature six clubs initially.

We also know that four leagues will permit players to be paid and admission fees to be charged next season, as the Metropolitan League has joined the competitions in Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds & Bradford in doing so. After a heated debate, the twelve member clubs voted narrowly seven to five in favour. The decision may have long reaching implications for the Old Westminsters and the Royal Artillery Barracks, both of whom fear being asked to vacate the school and military facilities which they currently use by authorities opposed to professional sports.

as5680 · 02-28-2022, 04:43 PM

1876 SEASON

Another year of baseball is ready to get underway and it is a year which marks a historic development in the growth of the English game. For the first time, clubs in four leagues will pay their players a regular wage for playing. It is thought this this might be worth for some players more than £1 per game, which for those at the lower end of the wage range in their daily jobs could possibly double their annual income. There are as ever new teams and new leagues to follow as well, with no fewer than nineteen club competitions now running across England and Scotland, in addition to the two University championships and various representative contests.

Three of the professional leagues have no significant changes to their format this year. There is however a commitment to reschedule more games in midweeks to prevent the season running too late and affecting the International Series as it did last year. Additionally, the Metropolitan League has confirmed that it will grow to 14 teams for the 1877 season and is now inviting applications from clubs who wish to join.

The move to professionalism has however had a significant impact on three-time Metropolitan League champions the Old Westminsters, who have been refused permission to continue using the facilities of Westminster school. In the absence of suitable land in Westminster, the club have been forced to seek a temporary location south of the Thames in Battersea Park. They have also changed their name to reflect the fact that they are no longer a club exclusively for former students at the school, now taking the name ‘Westminster Academic’ with the ‘OW’ monogram on their jerseys being updated to ‘WA’. The Royal Artillery Barracks club had feared finding themselves in a similar position but have managed to make an agreement to continue using their home field on land owned by the Artillery.

There are no changes to report at all in the Leeds and Bradford League, while in the Liverpool and District League the only difference is that St Helens are now wearing the newly granted borough arms on their jerseys in place of their ‘STH’ monogram.

as5680 · 02-28-2022, 05:27 PM

NEW TEAMS: MANCHESTER AND DISTRICT LEAGUE

Perhaps the greatest challenge this year is that facing the two new teams in the Manchester and District League, as they will go into an established league trying to compete in the new professional era having not played a competitive game before. The two newcomers are Ashton under Lyne and Glossop Hall. The Ashton club simply take the name of the town, and play in black jerseys with a white outline of a star embroidered on. That design is inspired by the coat of arms granted to the local Assheton family. Glossop take their name from a large country house near to their home field, and play in red jerseys with stripes on their caps similar to those worn by many of the Oxford colleges.

LOGOS AND UNIFORMS:
L-R: Ashton under Lyne, Glossop Hall

MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS:

The new format in the league sees the twelve clubs face one another four times, giving a forty-four game schedule. Eleven of these games are scheduled for Wednesdays, as the league tests out the viability of regular midweek play. These games will take place over the summer months, in place of the double games previous used to fit the schedule in.

NEW TEAMS: SHEFFIELD AND DISTRICT LEAGUE

Having waited a year longer than most other leagues to admit new clubs for the first time, the Sheffield and District League grows to eight teams this year. Clubs from Chesterfield and Worksop join the league, with its new format following the Middlesex County League in reducing to a twenty-eight-game schedule, every team facing each of the others four times.

Chesterfield Crooked Spire’s name comes from the famous local landmark, the twisted spire of the Church of St Mary and All Saints. The club play in dark red jerseys with their initials embroidered in yellow. The name of Worksop Wesley gives away their origins as a team founded by members of a Methodist chapel in the town. Their jerseys are turquoise with two interlocking W’s across the front.

LOGOS AND UNIFORMS:
L-R: Chesterfield Crooked Spire, Worksop Wesley

MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS:

NEW TEAMS: BIRMINGHAM AND DISTRICT LEAGUE

The Birmingham and District League grows to ten teams this year and will see a thirty-six game schedule, with every club playing the other nine on four occasions. Wednesbury Old Park started life as the works team of the Old Park Iron Works. The club play in jerseys and caps which feature boldly coloured blue and red stripes. Bilston Hope and Anchor were formed by patrons of the Hope and Anchor Inn, located near to their home field. Their jerseys are black, with orange trimmings.

LOGOS AND UNIFORMS:
L-R: Bilston Hope and Anchor, Wednesbury Old Park

MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS:

NEW TEAMS: KENT COUNTY LEAGUE

Like the Birmingham and District League, the Kent County League will now consist of ten teams playing a thirty-six game schedule. The first of the newcomers are Sheerness Mile Town, whose name comes from their location in the part of the town established a mile away from the dockyard. They play in purple jerseys with gold trim. Like Ashton under Lyne in the Manchester and District League, Tunbridge Wells simply take the name of the town in which they play. Their colours are two shades of green, with their jerseys predominantly a vibrant shade of that colour.

LOGOS AND UNIFORMS:
L-R: Sheerness Mile Town, Tunbridge Wells

MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS:

As they indicated when none of them were elected to the league at last year’s vote, the leading clubs in the east of the county have confirmed that they intend to launch their own competition next year. At present there are seven teams interested in taking part, so it remains to be seen whether an eighth can be found, whether the league would run with an odd number of teams or whether somebody would have to miss out.

NEW TEAMS: UNIVERSITIES

Both university championships are growing to twelve teams this year, with the schedule extended to forty-four games in order to maintain the pattern of clubs meeting one another four times. The new teams in Oxford represent Exeter College and University College, while at Cambridge three are now teams from Christ’s College and Sidney Sussex College. The longer schedule means that there are more midweeks with two games, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, There are no longer spare midweeks to enable postponed games to be quickly rescheduled, meaning that there are likely to be more double games again. In order to prevent delays to the Varsity Series, the season will start one week earlier than last year.

LOGOS AND UNIFORMS - OXFORD:
L-R: Exeter College, University College

MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS - OXFORD:

LOGOS AND UNIFORMS - CAMBRIDGE:
L-R: Christ's College, Sidney Sussex College

MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS - CAMBRIDGE:

as5680 · 02-28-2022, 06:27 PM

NEW LEAGUE: NORTH CALEDONIAN LEAGUE

Organised baseball in Great Britain has spread further north than ever before this year with the formation of the North Caledonian League. Six teams based from Perth to Aberdeen will play a thirty-game schedule. There are in fact two clubs from the city of Aberdeen. Aberdeen Ferryhill take their name from the area in which they play and use the city arms on their jerseys, which are red with thin white stripes. From the oldest area of the city come Old Aberdeen, who play in beige jerseys embroidered with the club initials. Heading south the next club are Arbroath Links, from the smallest town represented in the league and taking their name from the sandy linksland where their home field is located. Perhaps fittingly, they play in jerseys which are sandy yellow in colour and feature a representation of the seal of the burgh.

Two more clubs come from the city of Dundee, one of which, Dundee Law, take their name from an extinct volcanic hill in the centre of the city. They play in sea green coloured jerseys with stripes in a slightly paler shade of the same colour. Firth of Tay are based alongside the body of water bearing that name, the mouth of the River Tay. Their jerseys are light blue with dark blue trimmings. Finally, from Perth come Moncreiffe Island, so called because their field is located on an island of that name in the middle of the River Forth, currently accessible only by boat or by walking across a railway bridge. They play in green jerseys with thick red stripes.

LOGOS AND UNIFORMS:
Top Row (L-R): Aberdeen Ferryhill, Arbroath Links, Dundee Law
Bottom Row (L-R): Firth of Tay, Moncreiffe Island, Old Aberdeen

MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS:

NEW LEAGUE: TYNE AND WEAR LEAGUE

Another six-team competition with a thirty-game schedule, the Tyne and Wear League is the first competition in the north-east of England. Two of its clubs come from Newcastle upon Tyne, with Newcastle Westgate named after their home area and playing in red jerseys with pale grey stripes. The second Newcastle club are Jesmond Vale, also named after the area in which they play. Their jerseys are in halves, green on the wearer’s right-hand side and purple on the left. Just across the River Tyne from Newcastle are Gateshead Elysium, whose name comes from the lane where the founders of the club originally used to meet. They play in green jerseys with the club initials embroidered on the chest.

Based out on the coast are South Shields Mariners, named after the Mariners’ Cottages near to their home field. They play in dark blue, with an emblem of an anchor and the initials ‘SS’ on the chest. The final two clubs come from the area around Sunderland, with Sunderland Blue House based alongside the public house of that name just outside the town to the south. Unsurprisingly, their jerseys are coloured blue. Wearmouth Colliery, the works team of the coal mine of that name. They play in black, with an emblem of crossed mining tools.

LOGOS AND UNIFORMS:
Top Row (L-R): Gateshead Elysium, Jesmond Vale, Newcastle Westgate
Bottom Row (L-R): South Shields Mariners, Sunderland Blue House, Wearmouth Colliery

MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS:

NEW LEAGUE: YORKSHIRE COUNTY LEAGUE

A little like the equivalent competition in Lancashire, the Yorkshire County League features six teams somewhat away from the most densely populated areas. In the case of Yorkshire, it is the north and east of that vast county which is represent. Two of the clubs come from Kingston-upon-Hull, with East of Hull and West of Hull named to reflect the side of the River Hull on which they are based. Both wear jerseys featuring the city arms of three coronets. ‘Easts’ were formed first, with ‘Wests’ a breakaway club formed by committee members who wished to form their own team, a move which led to an immediate rivalry between the two. Easts play in blue jerseys with gold stripes, while Wests’ jerseys are plain green. Not too distant from the city of Hull are Beverley North Bar, named after the gate on the historic town walls which is near to their home field. Their jerseys are a sandy colour, with a bar across the chest in two shades of blue.

Furthest north are Scarborough Trafalgar, who take their name from the square adjoining their home field. They play in turquoise with trimmings in a deep red colour. The smallest towns represented in the league are Malton and Norton, lying on opposite banks of the River Derwent, who share a team named Derwent Bank. The club, based in Malton, wear red jerseys with gold and green stripes. Finally, the city of York itself is represented by York Phoenix Albion, formed by workers from the Phoenix and Albion foundries in the city. Their jerseys are gold with red stripes.

LOGOS AND UNIFORMS:
Top Row (L-R): Beverley North Bar, Derwent Bank, East of Hull
Bottom Row (L-R): Scarborough Trafalgar, West of Hull, York Phoenix Albion

MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS:

Fullarmor · 03-04-2022, 12:27 PM

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as5680 · 03-29-2022, 04:40 PM

TOURNAMENT REVIEW: 1876 COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

The tenth edition of the County Championship took the same format as last year, with an open draw for the quarter finals and another draw determining the semi-final matchups, although home advantage for those games was not known until a coin toss ahead of the game. Having surprisingly won the championship at the first attempt last year, Staffordshire were attempting to defend their title and they began with a home game against Lancashire in the quarter-finals, a repeat of last year’s final. The game could not have started any worse for the champions, as pitcher Percival Lambert gave up three hits in the first inning which Lancashire converted into two runs. Lambert, newly graduated from New College, Oxford and now playing for Edmonton in the Middlesex County League, soon settled however and his teammates recovered the deficit in the second, helped by some poor fielding from Lancashire. Pitching dominated until the seventh, when Staffordshire came to life again. With one on and two out, four consecutive hits brought home four runs and took Staffordshire to a 6-2 lead, which Lambert was never going to give up. In fact, after his poor first inning he allowed just one more hit all day as the champions moved through to the semi-finals.

There they would meet either Yorkshire or Essex, with Essex taking an early lead when Greenwich man Timothy Berry drove home a run in the first inning. Three successive hits to open the third allowed Yorkshire to draw level however and Essex were fortunate to escape that inning without falling behind, but they were not so lucky in the fourth as two fielding errors gave Yorkshire the opportunity to move ahead 2-1. The visitors held that advantage until the seventh, when with one out and runners at second and third, Lewis Warren of The Regent’s Park drove home the tying run. This time it was Yorkshire who were fortunate not to fall behind, and with the game heading into extra innings they had the first chance to score. With two on and one out, Yorkshire wasted two chances to move ahead again and paid the price in the Essex half of the tenth. Pitcher Robert Mitchell of Hallamshire hit the first batter in the inning and then gave up hits to two of the next three, giving Essex three baserunners and only one out. It was Timothy Berry again who stepped up and produced another hit, giving Essex a 3-2 win and a place in the semi-finals.

Having seen their run of seven successive finals ended last year, Middlesex were determined to regain their status this time around and started their quarter-final at Surrey in fine form. With two on and two out in the first, Kensington’s Walter Carroll found a hit to bring home two runs and put Middlesex in control, and when they added another in the second Surrey were already in trouble. Although Surrey got one run in the fourth, a careless pitch from Croydon’s Luke Robson gave Middlesex a 4-1 lead in the sixth. Surrey then wasted strong opportunities to close the gap, scoring only one when they had runners at first and third with nobody out in the sixth, and giving up two outs with careless baserunning in the seventh. That was their last chance, as Middlesex pitcher Sidney Fisher eased through the last two innings to complete a 4-2 victory.

Middlesex were to play either Kent or Warwickshire in the semi-final, with Warwickshire looking for their first win and indeed first run since joining the championship last year. They made an awful start, with two fielding errors gifting Kent a run in the first inning, and then in the third Bexley Heath’s Percival Bennett opened up with a three-base hit and came home on a ball into the outfield from Terence Jones of Peckham. Kent led 2-0 and after six innings, Warwickshire were still yet to score a run in their championship history and defeat seemed inevitable. However, a fielding error gave them a runner at second base with nobody out in the seventh and it was Small Heath’s Timothy Phipps who produced the first run for Warwickshire to keep their hopes alive. In the eighth, Warwickshire looked to have wasted a chance with two on and nobody out when the next two men both failed to advance the runners, only for Dudley’s Albert Bassett to find the crucial hit and tie the game. In the ninth, with a runner at second and two out, Kent chose not to pitch to Warwickshire’s dangerous hitter Ezra Rowe, giving him a free pass to first base, but paid for that decision when the next man up, Wilbur Quarles of the Old Wulfrunians, produced the game winning hit. Warwickshire took the game 3-2 and moved on to the semi-finals.

As the two former champions in the field, Staffordshire and Middlesex were allowed to call the coin tosses for home advantage in the semi-finals. Middlesex called correctly, meaning that they would host Warwickshire, but Staffordshire’s call was wrong so they had to travel to Essex for their game. That match-up turned out to be a duel between two pitchers in fine form, and the game entered the sixth inning with no score on the board. It was Essex pitcher Stephen Young who faltered first, as with one out the Regent’s Park man gave up two successive hits to give Staffordshire a real scoring chance. Lionel Lynch of Walsall, one of the star men for Staffordshire last year, stepped up and produced another hit which brought home both runners and gave his team a 2-0 lead. Staffordshire pitcher Lambert was untouchable, allowing only one baserunners and no hits in the remainder of the game. Staffordshire took the win to remain undefeated in their championship history and move on to another final.

In the other semi-final, Warwickshire were unfancied against Middlesex but started well, with Ezra Rowe leading off with a two-base hit and scoring on a fielding error from Middlesex infielder Thomas Ward. Everything changed in the second inning though, as Clapham’s Dennis Dunning got on base to start the inning and Walter Carroll of Kensington then found a home run to turn the score immediately in his team’s favour. With one out, Warwickshire fell apart as an error, three hits and a hit batsman gave Middlesex three more runs and a 5-1 lead early in the game. Pitcher Sidney Fisher was barely giving Warwickshire a look-in, but they earned a chance in the eighth when the first two men got on base, giving them runners at first and third with nobody out. One run scored on a ball hit deep by Simon Tucker of the Commercial Dock Workers, but Middlesex got two more outs on the next play to end the danger. In the Middlesex half of the eighth, Warwickshire brought in Dudley’s David Carr to pitch but his form was poor, hitting one batter and allowing four hits. That gave Middlesex three more runs and an overwhelming 8-2 advantage, which they would not give up. They moved through to face Staffordshire in a repeat of last year’s semi-final, and when Staffordshire called the coin toss wrongly again it would be Middlesex who would play at home in the final.

Given the form of pitchers Fisher and Lambert so far in the championship, it was no surprise to anyone in attendance that the final was another close, low scoring battle. Middlesex wasted a wonderful chance in the second inning when they left three baserunners on, Fisher himself making the final out when presented with a chance to score. They would have to wait just one more inning to take the lead however, as with two out in the third Clapham’s Edmund Hodgson found a two-base hit to keep the inning going. His club teammate Dennis Dunning followed that with a three-base hit which brought Hodgson in, and that lead was soon doubled when Walter Carroll made it three successive hits. Staffordshire now had to find a way to score against Fisher, but found it difficult enough to earn even a baserunner. One man reached base in the fifth and another in the sixth, but neither could advance beyond first base. In the ninth, Lionel Lynch found a two-base hit with two out to keep the champions in the game a little longer, but Fisher recovered to get the next out and end the game. Staffordshire suffered a first ever defeat in the championship, while Middlesex moved one ahead of Surrey in the all-time list with their fourth championship. Fisher was unsurprisingly named as the Best Pitcher for this year, while Edmonton’s Frank Page was Best Player having reached base eight times and recorded seven hits in just ten attempts.

as5680 · 03-29-2022, 04:41 PM

TOURNAMENT REVIEW: 1876 SCOTTISH COUNTIES CHAMPIONSHIP

The second county championship in Scotland kept the format of having one semi-final between the two eastern teams and the other between the western teams, with home advantage flipped from last year meaning that Edinburghshire and Renfrewshire would play on their own fields. In the eastern semi-final, visitors Fife took the lead in the first inning when Arthur Brown of Dunfermline produced a hit with two out to bring Kirkcaldy’s Andrew Taggart home from third. There was no more scoring until the sixth, when another Dunfermline man, Hugh Riley, stepped up for Fife with two out and runners at second and third. His hit brought both home, and his team now had a commanding 3-0 advantage. Edinburghshire were struggling against pitcher Francis Kemp, and it was Brown again who ended any hopes they may have retained of reaching a second final when his home run in the eighth added two more runs. When Kemp eased through the ninth without allowing a runner, Fife confirmed their 5-0 victory and moved through to the final for the first time.

Reigning champions Lanarkshire were indebted to the pitching of Airdrie’s Bruce Fraser in their success last year and he was in fine form again this time as they travelled to Renfrewshire for the western semi-final. He was given an advantage in the second inning as his club teammate Leslie Goldhawk found a one-out hit to bring John Cunningham of Tollcross home from second, and Renfrewshire now had to figure out how to score against Fraser. After hits in the fourth and sixth came to nothing, their chance seemed to be in the seventh when another Airdrie man, James Cleeton, opened up with a two-base hit and then advanced to third on a ground ball, giving Renfrewshire a runner at third with one out. Fraser struck out the next two men however, and then moved comfortably through the last two innings without allowing another runner. Lanarkshire were in the final for a second time, and having correctly called the coin toss would host Fife to decide the championship.

Fife knew that if Fraser was on form in the final, they would have to make the most of any chance they had to score and in the fourth inning, they did just that. James Pemberton, who will play in England’s new Tyne and Wear League for Gateshead, opened that inning with a two base hit and then with one out, Kirkcaldy’s Andrew Taggart brought hit home to open the scoring. There were no more baserunners for either team until the seventh, as the pitchers dominated, but when Hugh Neal of The Grange produced a home run to double the lead for Fife it seemed that Lanarkshire’s run as champions may be over. Unfortunately for Fife though, Lanarkshire were not giving up easily and in their half of the seventh they came to life. Two hits to open the inning gave them an immediate chance to get back into the game, and when Tollcross man John Cunningham followed that with a two-base hit of his own, Lanarkshire were on the scoreboard. Walter Byrne of White Cart was standing at third and he was able to come home on a ground ball for the first out and tie the game at 2-2. Now Cunningham was at third and two batters later, another ground ball hit by Partick’s Hugh Young brought him home to complete the turnaround.

Lanarkshire now led 3-2, but Fife were not finished yet. They got a runner to second in the eighth inning without scoring, and then in the ninth managed to get three runners on base with two outs. The man with the chance to tie the game or even put Fife ahead was Dunfermline’s Hugh Riley, but pitcher Fraser regained his composure to strike out Riley and preserve the win for Lanarkshire. They take the title for the second time in as many attempts with a 3-2 victory, with Fraser again named as Best Pitcher just as he was a year ago. Best Player went to James Pemberton, who will be a man to watch for spectators in the north-east of England when the Tyne and Wear League gets underway.

as5680 · 03-29-2022, 04:42 PM

1876 SEASON PREVIEW

It took two tiebreaker games for Angel Islington to win their first Metropolitan League championship last year but most people think they will win a second more comfortably this year, as they are overwhelming favourites to take the championship. Clapham will be among the leading challengers again having come within a game of defending their own title last year, while Putney look to be strong as well. The renamed Westminster Academic should also go well, although it remains to be seen how they will cope with being forced to change their home field. Peckham, who perhaps should have won the championship last time, look to have missed their chance as few expect them to challenge this time.

Another close race looks certain in the Middlesex County League, with Edmonton looking to make up for losing a tiebreaker to Brentford last year and seeming sure to challenge again. They will likely battle with a Tottenham team who faded badly last year after a strong start. Brentford will go close again due to the quality of their pitching, while Isleworth also look to be contenders. A strong batting line-up makes the Royal Engineers favourites with many to take the Kent County League this season, with Bexley Heath looking likely to be their strongest challengers. Few give Rochester a chance of winning a third successive title, while Gravesend are also being ruled out despite coming within a game of the championship last year. The two new teams, Sheerness and Tunbridge Wells, look set to have a good first campaign but be a little way short of challenging for the title.

Champions Kingston are favourites to win the Surrey County League again, with last year’s runners-up Croydon not expected to feature in the race this time. Reigate and Wimbledon are seen as the most likely challengers to Kingston’s crown, but there are few who are predicting that either will actually take the title. Forest Gate struggled over the finishing line in the Essex County League’s first season and are not fancied to take another title, with Romford the favourites for many to succeed them as champions. Barking and Pig Alley are also well backed, with the Three Blackbirds of Leyton possible contenders as well. West Ham are expected to finish last after a dreadful second half to the last campaign.

Belle Vue Gardens have been left behind by their Manchester neighbours up to now but there are plenty of observers who think that will change this season as they are favourites with many to be champions for the first time, largely due to strong hitting. Champions Miles Platting and former winners Irwell won’t be far away though and both new teams, Ashton under Lyne and Glossop Hall, are likely to go well with Ashton especially well backed. Salford’s run of championship challenges could be over though as they are expected to drop back into the middle of the pack. Liverpool St Patrick’s could make it six titles in six years in the Liverpool and District League, but will face strong challenges from Wigan and Anfield, with many thinking that the race between these three could be too close to call. Great Float and Linacre should both have good seasons but look a little way off challenging. The Lancashire County League looks to be the toughest to call this year as all six teams appear closely matched. Burnley are by a fraction the most common choice as potential champions, but Blackburn in particular look set to run them very close while champions Over Darwen, who edged out Blackburn last year, will also be in contention again.

Last season’s race in the Leeds and Bradford League was a tight battle between Leeds Central and eventual winners Dewsbury and most people expect this year to be similar, with many predicting another tiebreaker to determine the champions. The two won’t have it all their own way though, as Batley and Wakefield also look strong while Huddersfield and three-time winners Bradford won’t be far away either. Strong pitching gives newcomers Chesterfield a chance of winning the Sheffield and District League at the first attempt, while two-time winners Sanderson’s Weir are likely to be their strongest opposition. Champions Doncaster won’t be too far away but might be a little short this year, while the other newcomers Worksop look likely to have a much tougher season. The new Yorkshire County League looks likely to be a three-way fight between Beverley and the two Hull clubs, who open the season by meeting one another. There doesn’t look to be too much between the three, but for many people East of Hull are marginal favourites to take the inaugural title. Newcastle Westgate are most people’s choice to be the first winners of the Tyne and Wear League, with Jesmond and Wearmouth possibly the best of the rest. Gateshead look to be by some distance the weakest team.

In the Birmingham and District League, many people think that champions Dudley will be a little off the pace this year, with Birmingham Main Line the favourites to take the championship for the first time. It will be a close race however with Aston and Small Heath also well backed, and West Bromwich looking sure to be in the running for their second title in three years. Of the new clubs, neither Bilston or Wednesbury are expected to post a winning record although neither should struggle too badly. Champions Ilkeston are expected to face strong competition from Midland Loco and Trent Bridge in the Derby and Nottingham League this year, with many people unable to split the three and expecting a tiebreaker of some kind to be needed. Derby and Old Basford, who came so close last year, look to have fallen away this time. In the Leicester and Northampton League, champions Leicester South Fields are not widely backed to retain the crown, instead it could be their city neighbours St Margaret’s or last year’s runners-up Wellingborough who take the championship. Northampton do not look far away from a strong challenge either. Bath Spa are the only team who are being ruled out of the race in the Bristol and District League, with most observers feeling that there is little to choose between the other five clubs. Bristol Easton are marginally the most common choice as potential winners but a close race seems certain.

Burgh of Partick are going for a fourth successive title in the Glasgow and District League and opinion is split between those who think they will get it and those who feel that Tollcross or Lanark-Renfrew might take it away from them. After a strong debut season, many feel that Tail o’ the Bank and Airdrie could slip back away from contention this season. In the East of Scotland League, Dunfermline could well make it three successive titles although there is expected to be a strong challenge from Haymarket, while Arthur’s Seat will not be too far away either having finished second in all three seasons of the league’s existence so far. The new North Caledonian League could be a fight between Moncreiffe Island and Firth of Tay, although Aberdeen don’t look to be too far away from challenging either.

In the universities, Oxford champions New College are likely to challenge again and Magdalen also look strong, but it could be St Edmund Hall who are the team to beat this year. At Cambridge, Emmanuel lost a tiebreaker for the championship last year but are backed by many to go one better this time as they look to be the strongest team. Their closest challengers are likely to be Clare College, who have been close twice since winning their only title three years ago. All the newcomers in the two leagues look likely to struggle in their first seasons, and may well fill the bottom two places in each league.

as5680 · 03-29-2022, 05:04 PM

MONTHLY ROUND-UP: MARCH 1876

LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST

Renamed Westminster Academic are the only undefeated team after three rounds of games in the Metropolitan League, although they have only played two after suffering a postponement. Champions Angel are close behind despite losing at Putney in their first game, as they have won both since. Peckham have also won two after losing their opener while Hackney complete a trio of clubs with two wins from three. Well fancied Putney and Clapham have both lost twice after starting with wins, Clapham falling to champions Angel in a repeat of one of last year’s tiebreaker games. Kensington are the only team yet to win.

While the Middlesex County League has yet to get underway, two rounds of games have been played in Kent where the Royal Engineers are living up to their billing as favourites with two wins from two, sitting tied at the top with Bexley Heath and Dartford. Champions Rochester recovered from an opening defeat against Dartford to overwhelm Bromley in their second game. Of the newcomers, both Sheerness and Tunbridge Wells lost their opening games but while Sheerness lost again a week later, Tunbridge defeated Erith to earn their first win. Erith and Bromley join Sheerness in waiting for a first victory. The county leagues in Surrey and Essex have seen just one round of games, with Wimbledon, Norwood and champions Kingston the opening day winners in Surrey. In Essex, two of the three games were postponed with Pig Alley defeating Romford in the only match-up to go ahead.

NORTH-WEST

Rumours of the demise of perennial Manchester and District League challengers Salford seem to be well founded as they sit in last place in that competition having lost all three of their games so far, the only club yet to win. Irwell and Bolton are both undefeated after two wins and one postponement each, and they share first place. Newcomers Ashton and Glossop both won their opening games, but Ashton have followed that with two defeats while Glossop stunned pre-season favourites Belle Vue to sit alongside Moss Grove and Oldham on two wins from three. While the Liverpool and District League is still to start, in the Lancashire County League pre-season favourites Burnley saw their opening game called off before defeating reigning champions Over Darwen. The champions have lost both of their games so far to sit in last place, while Accrington, who went from first to last a year ago, lead the way having defeated Blackburn and Ribble.

YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST

Dewsbury and Leeds are expected to battle for the Leeds and Bradford League title again and both have won their opening two games, as have Woodhouse Lane, while Bradford have won the only game which they have played so far. Also undefeated are Batley, but they are also without a victory as both of their games have been called off due to the weather. Bowling, Huddersfield and Halifax have started badly with two defeats. The Sheffield and District League is yet to get underway, but the new Yorkshire County League has seen two rounds of games with West of Hull undefeated team after a comeback win over neighbours East of Hull on the opening day followed by another success against York. Scarborough are also yet to lose after wins over Derwent and Beverley. The first two weeks of play in the Tyne and Wear League have seen unfancied Gateshead start with two wins. Wearmouth have done likewise after their first meeting with neighbours Sunderland, who like Newcastle are yet to win.

MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST

Birmingham and District League champions Dudley are one of three undefeated teams after two rounds of games, having beaten the Old Wulfrunians and newcomers Bilston. Dudley share top spot with Aston and Edgbaston, who have also won two out of two. Prior to their defeat against Dudley, Bilston had started with a win over fellow newcomers Wednesbury. Wednesbury meanwhile fell short again a week later against West Bromwich, and share last place with the Old Wulfrunians and Small Heath. Avon Gorge, Weston super Mare and champions Arno’s Castle were the winners on the opening day of the Bristol and District League, while the champions were defeated on day one in the Derby and Nottingham League as Ilkeston fell to Derby Union. Trent Bridge and Old Basford were the other winners. Champions Leicester and well-backed Wellingborough opened up with wins in the Leicester and Northampton League, with Loughborough the other team to win their first game.

SCOTLAND

Those who were ruling out Airdrie in the Glasgow and District League may be proved very wrong as they have won their opening two games in some style, shutting out champions Burgh of Partick and overwhelming White Cart. Govan are also undefeated but have only played once, while Partick recovered to edge past Tail o’ the Bank in their second game. Tollcross and Dundashill are yet to win. Champions Dunfermline opened up with defeat against The Grange and it is The Grange who lead the way after two games having also defeated Leith. Leith are the only team yet to win, with everyone else having one win and one defeat from their two games. In the new North Caledonian League, Moncreiffe Island have won their first two games as have Firth of Tay, following their 4-1 success over city rivals Dundee Law. Dundee and Aberdeen have both lost two out of two.

UNIVERSITIES

The universities have played nine rounds of games, although at Cambridge in particular there have been several postponements already. Pembroke lead the way despite losing their first two games as they have now won the last six, ending the month with a win over champions Gonville and Caius which sees them overtake Caius at the top of the standings. St John’s and Clare are just one game back as both have won their last three, while of the newcomers Christ’s College made a good start with four wins from their first seven before ending March by losing to King’s and Clare. Sidney Sussex are having a tough start to their first season, losing seven out of nine so far. In Oxford, defending champions and early pace-setters New College have dropped back and seen Trinity, Christ Church and Balliol move to the top of the standings with strong runs of form at the end of the month. Trinity currently sit one game ahead of the other two, despite a heavy 9-1 loss to strugglers Merton. Both newcomers, University College and Exeter College, have three wins on the board at the end of March.

as5680 · 03-29-2022, 05:11 PM

MONTHLY ROUND-UP: APRIL 1876

LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST

Despite the postponement of their final game of the month, Westminster lead the way in the Metropolitan League after winning three out of four including an impressive 6-1 victory over champions Angel. Angel recovered to defeat Kensington in their next game and effectively share first place, but with a worse winning percentage having played two games more. Hackney and Putney share third place, one game off the pace, with Putney in especially good form through April. Peckham are nowhere near challenging again as they lost every game this month and share last place with the City of London Club, who did likewise. Middlesex County League champions Brentford ended April by suffering a first loss of the year, 5-1 at Tottenham, to fall fractionally behind Edmonton and Strawberry Hill in the standings. Both of those teams have won all three of their games so far having suffered two postponement, including their scheduled meeting with one another. It has been a mixed start for well fancied Tottenham, whose win over Brentford made up for defeats against Edmonton and Ealing.

Dartford have made a wonderful start in the Kent County League, with a perfect month giving them six wins from six overall and a clear lead in the standings. Most important was a 2-1 victory at the Royal Engineers, who were themselves undefeated up to that point but who went on to fall heavily at Erith a week later and lose more ground. Gravesend are the only other team with a winning record as last year’s runners-up have won their last three after a poor start, while champions Rochester are struggling early on this time. Having lost their opening game, Reigate won all five in April to lead the Surrey County League by one game from Wimbledon and champions Kingston, who have won their last three and face Reigate in their next game with a chance to join them at the top. Having missed out by one game in both seasons before now, Croydon are struggling this time having lost five of their six games. In Essex, several postponements have disrupted the start of the season but Pig Alley are leading the way despite ending April with a heavy defeat at the hands of Romford. Champions Forest Gate also lost their last game to miss a chance to move fractionally ahead, and instead they sit just behind the leaders in a tie for second with Barking.

NORTH-WEST

Newcomers Glossop have stunned the Manchester and District League by winning every game in April, including successes over champions Miles Platting and well-backed Irwell, to sit just ahead of everyone at the top of the standings. Belle Vue also won every game this month and they lead the chase, with Bolton edging into third place after Bury and Irwell finished the month poorly. Champions Miles Platting have now lost their last three and are already four games off the pace, just ahead of Salford as both of last year’s top two struggle this time around. It is also a struggle for Liverpool St Patrick’s as their hopes of a sixth title fade already in the Liverpool and District League. The champions have lost four of their five games so far, including a 12-4 disaster against Great Float to end April. Leading the way are Linacre who have won all five, just ahead of Sankey Brook who fell 5-4 at Anfield in their last game to suffer a first defeat. St Helens are keeping Liverpool off the foot of the standings, as they have lost all five. In the Lancashire County League, Burnley lost sole possession of the lead when they fell in extra innings to champions Over Darwen, who are improving after a poor start. Ribble moved into a tie at the top and denied Accrington the chance to move into first place by winning their meeting 5-2, and it was only a loss against Burnley which denied Ribble a perfect month as they look to be a dangerous team this year.

YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST

Woodhouse Lane have a small lead in the Leeds and Bradford League standings, helped by a narrow 3-2 win at champions Dewsbury earlier in April. Dewsbury are right on their shoulder however, as are three-times winners Bradford whose three-game winning run includes a victory over Woodhouse. Losing their last two games has dropped Leeds Central one off the pace, as they share fourth place with Wakefield. It is Sheffield Philadelphia who lead the way in the Sheffield and District League after four wins from five, falling only in extra-innings to near neighbours Hallamshire. They moved ahead after a similarly tight victory over their other city rivals, Sanderson’s Weir, who are one of three teams tied for second place. The others are champions Doncaster and newcomers Chesterfield, who lost their own share of first place after ending the month with a 4-1 defeat against Holmes Tail. First place in the Yorkshire County League is shared by neighbours East of Hull and West of Hull, with Easts having moved ahead by defeating Wests 4-1 only to lose their next game at home to Derwent, allowing their rivals to catch up. Beverley are the other team with a winning record as they won their last two to sit third, one game behind the leaders. In the Tyne and Wear League, it is Gateshead who somewhat surprisingly lead the way after they ended Wearmouth’s four-game winning start to the year with a 1-0 victory and then saw Wearmouth lose their next two as well. Gateshead lead by one from Wearmouth and Newcastle Westgate, who won four out of five in April including victories over both Gateshead and Wearmouth.

MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST

Champions Dudley lead the way in the Birmingham and District League, having won six out of seven so far with only a 3-2 loss in eleven innings against Edgbaston denying them a perfect record. Surprisingly, newcomers Bilston sit just a fraction behind in second place having won four out of four this month, while early pace-setters Aston collapsed to four successive defeats. The other newcomers Wednesbury are finding their feet after losing their first five, as they have two successive wins to their name. There have been a lot of postponements in the Bristol and District League, where Weston super Mare lead the standings despite having three successive games called off this month. They won one and lost one of the two that they did play, and lead by a fraction from Bristol, Bath, Swindon and Arno’s Castle, all of whom have even records. Avon sit last but are just one game behind the leaders, despite losing three of four in April.

Derby Union have also had three games called off but lead the Derby and Nottingham League with a perfect three wins from three, having edged out champions Ilkeston 1-0 in their final game of April. Ilkeston sit second having won their previous four games, but have now lost twice to Derby already this season. Old Basford are one game back in third as their meeting with Derby was one of those games called off this month. In the Leicester and Northampton League, St Margaret’s are the only team with a winning record after they won four out of four in April, including wins over Wellingborough and champion Leicester who have both dropped back to even records. They both share second with Loughborough, who also lost to St Margaret’s and then ended the month with a heavy loss at Peterborough.

SCOTLAND

Airdrie lead the Glasgow and District League but only by a fraction having seen their five-game winning run end at Dundashill, followed by another narrow loss in a twenty-four inning epic battle at Tail o’ the Bank. Champions Burgh of Partick are now right behind them having won three out of their four games in April. Lanark-Renfrew have moved just one game behind after winning their last three, while Dundashill missed out on a chance to claim a share of first place when they ended the month by losing at Partick. Champions Dunfermline look to be struggling this year in the East of Scotland league as they lost four of their five games in the past month, to fall four games off the pace at this early stage of the year. The last of those defeats was 5-3 against Arthur’s Seat, who have completed a perfect month and sit one game ahead at the top of the standings as they look to claim the title at last having finished second every year so far. The Grange are the closest chasers, having won their last three. Moncreiffe Island ended the month with their first loss in the new North Caledonian League, but still have a nice lead in the standings after Firth of Tay’s good start was ended by three postponements and two defeats in April, including a 3-0 shutout at the hands of Moncreiffe. Arbroath have surprisingly moved into second place, winning three of their last four games to move up to a winning record for the year.

UNIVERSITIES

The university leagues are almost at the half-way point and both seem set for close two-way fights for their championships this year. In Oxford, Trinity began the month one game ahead of Balliol and end it in the same position, as both clubs won eight and lost four of their twelve games in April. Balliol had moved level at the top when Trinity lost to Worcester College in their penultimate game of the month, but they recovered to beat Balliol 5-1 two days later and regain their advantage. Christ Church have fallen from contention after a good start, leaving Worcester and champions New College sharing third place. In Cambridge, Pembroke had a wonderful month as they won ten of their twelve games, but they actually saw their one game lead reduced fractionally as Clare College won eleven of thirteen themselves. Pembroke still have a small advantage while champions Gonville and Caius sit third, three games back but with their hopes damaged by losing to both Pembroke and Clare during April.

as5680 · 03-29-2022, 05:15 PM

MONTHLY ROUND-UP: MAY 1876

LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST

It is still early in the season, but it already looks as though Westminster will be tough to stop in the Metropolitan League this season. They won all four of their games in May and have now won their last six overall and nine out of ten this year. Champions Angel won only once this month, losing to both The Regent’s Park and Putney, and have lost considerable ground. They share second place with Greenwich, who looked set for an undefeated month themselves until they crashed 5-0 to the City of London Club in their final game. Edmonton end the month fractionally ahead in the Middlesex County League despite losing their first two games of May, as they rallied to defeat Ealing and Tottenham in the next two. Isleworth are second after winning three out of four including impressive shutout wins over Brentford and Strawberry Hill, both of whom have lost ground. The form team of the month however were the Old Harrovians, who won all four of their games including a 1-0 success against Edmonton and now have a winning record for the year despite having started the season with four defeats.

Dartford’s undefeated start ended with successive defeats against Erith and Tunbridge Wells, but they won their final game of the season 4-3 against Maidstone and continue to lead the Kent County League. The Royal Engineers are one game behind in second place after ending the month with a 3-2 win over Gravesend, who are themselves the only other team with a winning record. Champions Rochester have played fewer games than anyone else but moved up to an even record by winning both of their games in May. Wimbledon share the lead in the Surrey County League with champions Kingston, having won their meeting 2-1 in extra innings only to fall 4-3 to Reigate a week later. Reigate sit fractionally behind having won just one out of three during the month. In Essex, only one game splits all six teams as everyone struggles for consistency. Barking are the only team with a winning record, after defeating champions Forest Gate 3-2 to end the month. Forest Gate sit last with the only losing record, meaning that had that game gone the other way it would instead be Forest Gate at the top and Barking at the bottom of the standings.

NORTH-WEST

Belle Vue are clinging on to first place in the Manchester and District League despite losing their last two games against Rochdale and Salford, ahead of a return meeting with Salford as the league’s first scheduled midweek games begin. Rochdale could have moved to the top had they defeated Irwell in their last game, but crashed 5-0 and now share second place with their in-form opponents. Bolton and Oldham are only one game off the pace, but newcomers Glossop have seen their good start evaporate with as they have lost their last four games. Champions Miles Platting are struggling in the bottom half of the standings after defeats to Stockport and Bolton in their last two. Champions Liverpool St Patrick’s have picked up some form in the Liverpool and District League, winning three games out of four in May, but they still lost more ground on leaders Linacre who won all four of theirs to remain undefeated. They now lead the way by three games, after Sankey ended the month with defeat against an Anfield side who now join them in a tie for second. In the Lancashire County League, Blackburn won all four of their games in May to move into a tie at the top with Burnley, who dropped two games out of five including one against Blackburn. Ribble are one game behind after sharing two with Burnley on the final Saturday of the month. The league has also become the second to confirm that it will add new clubs next season, following the Metropolitan League, with a vote on two new members expected to be taken in the autumn.

YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST

A perfect month has left Leeds Central a game ahead at the top of the Leeds and Bradford League, perhaps the highlight being their 7-2 victory at champions Dewsbury. Dewsbury recovered from that to win their next two, but still sit only fourth, a fraction behind Woodhouse Lane and Wakefield. Three successive losses have dropped Bradford some way off the pace after their strong start to the year. In the Sheffield and District League, champions Doncaster crashed to a remarkable 13-0 defeat against newcomers Worksop but still lead the way having won their other three games. They are just ahead of the other new team Chesterfield, who missed the chance to take first place on their own when they ended May by losing in extra innings at Hallamshire. Sheffield Philadelphia lost their last two to drop a game back in third place, sharing that position with neighbours Sanderson’s Weir.
In the new Yorkshire County League, West of Hull moved two games clear at the top when neighbours East of Hull were beaten by both Scarborough and Beverley, but Easts closed the gap to a single game again by ending the month with a 5-1 victory in the meeting of the city rivals. Beverley dropped out of a share of second when they lost to lowly York and are now two games back in third. In the Tyne and Wear League, Newcastle Westgate opened May with an 8-3 win over Gateshead to join their opponents in a tie for first place. The two then matched one another with two victories and a defeat in the rest of the month to remain level at the top. Wearmouth remain one game off the pace having had a mixed month, defeating Newcastle but losing to Gateshead.

MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST

The whole field is tightly packed in the Birmingham and District League, with Small Heath having risen into a tie for first place after an undefeated month. They share top spot with newcomers Bilston whose strong start has faltered as they lost three of four in May. Champions Dudley are fractionally behind having lost all four of their games this month, scoring only one run in the process. They share third with Walsall and Edgbaston, while four more teams are only one game further back. Last placed Wednesbury defeated Aston and Walsall to end the month and themselves are not too far off the pace. In the Bristol and District League, it is the railway workers of Swindon who lead the way having won all four of their games this month. They sit a game ahead of Weston super Mare, as a result of winning their meeting 3-1. Avon Gorge are fractionally further back in third as they only played twice in May but won both games.

Alongside Linacre, Derby Union are the other team still undefeated this year and they are now two games ahead at the top of the Derby and Nottingham League after ending May with a narrow 3-2 success at second placed Old Basford. Basford too had been undefeated in the month prior to that game and are the only other team with a winning record, as champions Ilkeston lost their last three to fall well off the pace. In the Leicester and Northampton League, champions Leicester South Fields have moved to the top after winning all four of their games in May, while neighbours St Margaret’s were beaten by both Northampton and Wellingborough. Nobody else has a winning record after Wellingborough’s loss to Leicester in the final week of the month and Loughborough’s poor run of three defeats from four in May.

SCOTLAND

The Glasgow and District League looks like a straight fight between Partick and Airdrie after the two moved well clear of the pack, Partick’s 3-2 win when the teams met being the only time either team lost a game in May. With Dundashill losing their last three games, every other club has a losing record for the year and it doesn’t look like there will be any other contenders this season. In the East of Scotland League, Arthur’s Seat still lead the way but their lead is down to a single game after they ended May with defeat at Haymarket. The Grange, who had lost their previous two games, defeated struggling champions Dunfermline to close the gap. Haymarket’s win moved them up to a winning record and they sit two back in third place. Arbroath are the leaders of the North Caledonian League after winning all four in May, including a narrow 3-2 success over early season pace setters Moncreiffe Island. Moncreiffe ended the month with another 3-2 loss at Dundee, dropping them a fraction behind Arbroath. The Aberdeen and Dundee clubs all have losing records, as the smaller town clubs make the better start to the new competition. In other news from Scotland, the Glasgow and District League clubs have voted to allow professionalism from next season, the first Scottish competition to do so. The East of Scotland League will not follow suit as yet, but will admit two new clubs next year to become an eight-team competition.

UNIVERSITIES

Trinity College have dropped off the pace at Oxford University after a poor May, while champions New College have emerged as the main challengers to leaders Balliol. New College have won their last six, and ten of their last eleven overall, to raise hopes of a successful title defence. Balliol remain fractionally ahead however, as they had been on a six-game winning run themselves prior to their 3-2 defeat at lowly Wadham in their last outing. At Cambridge, Pembroke moved one game clear with what seemed to be an important win over Clare College, only to lose their next two without scoring a run. Clare earned a pair of 1-0 victories over Sidney Sussex and Jesus College to turn that one-game deficit into a one-game lead of their own, with both teams having twelve games to play. Champions Gonville and Caius are not out of the running yet as they have played three fewer but will need to win their rescheduled games if they are to catch up.

as5680 · 03-29-2022, 05:18 PM

MONTHLY ROUND-UP: JUNE 1876

LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST

Westminster’s progress towards the Metropolitan League championship faltered during June, as the leaders were beaten three times in four games, including a potentially crucial 3-1 defeat at champions Angel. Angel have now won their last four games to move alongside Westminster at the top, while Greenwich have also been in fine form and would have taken over in first place had they not ended the month by dropping the second of two games against the last placed Commercial Dock Workers. Wins over Westminster and Angel brought the Royal Artillery Barracks into contention as well, only for them to lose ground by dropping two games in a day against Greenwich. In Middlesex, Isleworth have a slim advantage at the top of the County League having won all three of their games in June, the last a narrow 3-2 victory at Edmonton. That barely edges them ahead because Edmonton won two of three themselves, and with third-placed Strawberry Hill dropping their last two games it is now only Isleworth and Edmonton with winning records.

Dartford have an imposing four-game advantage in the Kent County League, having won five games out of five in June for the concession of just a single run. The Royal Engineers in comparison lost three times, including once to Dartford, allowing Erith to join them in second place as they too completed an undefeated month, albeit from just four games. Also undefeated in June were Maidstone, who are now just fractionally further back in fourth having taken two games from fading champions Rochester. Wimbledon and Kingston could both only manage two wins from four games in the Surrey County League, but still edged further ahead of the chasing pack as third-placed Reigate lost three in succession to start the month. They ended it with a 1-0 win over Wimbledon however, a costly loss for Wimbledon just a week after having defeated Kingston. In the Essex County League, all six teams are split by just two games as the race continues to prove very tight. West Ham won their first four games of the month as they caught up some postponed games from earlier in the year, but then lost their next two and now share top spot with Pig Alley. Their month ending victory over Forest Gate leaves the reigning champions in a tie for last position, but nobody is out of the race at this stage.

NORTH-WEST

June ends with a three-way tie at the top of the Manchester and District League, as teams struggle for consistency amid the new schedule of midweek play. Belle Vue could only win four and lose four of their eight games, while Oldham crashed to a shock defeat to a Glossop team who had lost their previous ten up to that point. Either Bolton or Oldham could have ended the month out on top had they been able to win their two games against one another, but they shared them one each and both sit level with Belle Vue. Bury are one game behind but could have been in front themselves were it not for two defeats to struggling Salford, while Irwell are two off the pace having won just once in six games during June.

Linacre’s winning start to the Liverpool and District League season reached eleven games before they crashed twice against revived champions Liverpool St Patrick’s, before only sharing two games with Toxteth a week later. That allowed Sankey Brook, who had opened the month by losing at Linacre, to move to within just two games after double wins against Wigan and St Helens. Liverpool could have been within two as well but only shared two with Anfield to leave both those teams three games off the pace. Blackburn have taken complete control in the Lancashire County League, winning every game in June to extend their winning run to eight overall. Burnley lost all four of their games to fall back to a losing record for the year alongside champions Over Darwen, leaving Ribble as the only other team with a winning record. Ribble however had already fallen 5-1 to Blackburn earlier in the month as the leaders, who feel that they should have won the championship last year, seem strong favourites to do so this time around.

YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST

Leeds Central were denied a perfect month when they could only split two games with near neighbours Woodhouse Lane on the final Saturday in June. Champions Dewsbury likewise won four out of five leaving the gap between the two unchanged ahead of two meetings scheduled to open July. Both Woodhouse and Wakefield lost ground during the month, while Bradford’s good run was ended by two defeats at Dewsbury. Champions Doncaster have a small cushion in the Sheffield and District League, with the two newcomers Chesterfield and Worksop leading the chase. Sheffield Philadelphia’s hopes were hit by a heavy 11-0 defeat against Doncaster, while Sanderson’s Weir lost their final three games of the month and now have a losing record for the year.

East of Hull have taken a large step towards becoming the first champions of the Yorkshire County League, as they won all four of their games in June and saw rivals West of Hull lose all of theirs. Having seen a one-game lead at the start of June become a three-game deficit, Wests must surely win the meeting of the two in their next game to keep in touch. They have now been caught in a tie for second with Beverley and in-form Derwent, who inflicted their most recent loss. In the Tyne and Wear League, a 5-3 loss to neighbours Jesmond to end June brough Newcastle Westgate’s good run to a sudden end. They lead Gateshead by one game however, having defeated them earlier in the month and seen Gateshead end June with another loss at Wearmouth. That moved Wearmouth back to a winning record as they continue to hold out their own hopes of a championship challenge.

MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST

Newcomers Bilston continue their surprise championship challenge in the Birmingham and District League as they won all four of their games in June to take the outright lead in the standings. Champions Dudley are leading the chase having only missed out on a perfect month of their own by losing the first of two against Birmingham Main Line on the final weekend. Small Heath faltered with defeat against both Bilston and the other newcomers Wednesbury, allowing Aston to move into third place with two victories at the Old Wulfrunians. In the Bristol and District League, Weston super Mare are currently unchallenged at the top as they played several rescheduled games and in all won six out of seven in the month. Former leaders Swindon lost all four of their games, including two defeats at Weston, as they dropped back to an even record – although that is still good enough for second place. Bristol Easton are third having won their last four, but they still have a losing record.

Having won their first two games of the month to extend their undefeated start to nine games, Derby Union dropped their last three in June to see their march halted at the top of the standings. Old Basford, who meet Derby twice to open July, could have moved within a fraction of the leaders but crashed 6-1 to lowly Midland Loco to end the month. Champions Ilkeston have a losing record and are struggling to stay in touch having lost to both Derby and Old Basford in June. St Margaret’s Pasture are back in front in the Leicester and Northampton League after two narrow 1-0 wins over Peterborough to end June. It was a disastrous month for champions Leicester who lost five out of six to drop back to an even record, allowing Loughborough to move into second place after they enjoyed a perfect month.
Off the field of play, the Derby and Nottingham League is the fourth to announce that it will admit new members for the 1877 season, with a vote due in the autumn. There may also be not one but two more leagues in the Midlands next year, as the county associations of Staffordshire and Warwickshire look set to launch county-wide competitions for those clubs away from the Birmingham area.

SCOTLAND

In the Glasgow and District League, champions Burgh of Partick extended their advantage despite defeats at both Govan and Dundashill, as Airdrie played just twice and lost both games. They have now been joined in second place by Tail o’ the Bank, who won all four in June. Nobody else has a winning record at present. The Grange have taken over at the top in the East of Scotland League after winning three of four while Arthur’s Seat lost three of their four, including the meeting with The Grange by a narrow 3-2 scoreline. Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline are both finding some form as they too won three games out of four in June. In the new North Caledonian League, it seems to be the smallest town represented while will be celebrating this year as Arbroath have taken full control of the championship race. They completed a second successive undefeated month and have now won their last nine overall, the 2-1 win at Moncreiffe Island crucuially moving them further ahead of the former leaders. Moncreiffe won their last two to remain in touch, but everyone else has a losing record for the year.

UNIVERSITIES

Apart from a few rescheduled games, the season is over at the universities and neither saw a particularly close race this year. In Oxford, Balliol’s challenge collapsed in June as they lost nine games out of twelve, leaving defending champions New College to ease further ahead. New College’s 3-2 win over Balliol all-but secured another title, and even though the champions lost their next game to University College it did not matter, as Balliol’s loss on the same day ensured a successful title defence. At Cambridge, Clare College may have feared that their 5-0 defeat to Pembroke would be costly but Pembroke went on to lose five of their next seven as their hopes crumbled. Clare’s 2-0 win over Jesus College moved them within one game of the title, with champions Gonville and Caius as their only remaining challengers. Caius had to win all of their remaining games to have a chance, including several rescheduled match-ups, but a 5-1 loss when they met Clare meant that the race was over.

After the final games are played, the Varsity Series will begin in Oxford this year with the second game to be played in Cambridge.

as5680 · 03-29-2022, 05:37 PM

TOURNAMENT REVIEW: 1876 VARSITY SERIES

Early July saw the final few league games played at both universities, including a bizarre situation in Cambridge where Trinity’s home field was unavailable for their final game against Queens’ and with no alternative date available, they were obliged to forfeit home advantage for the game. It did not affect them however, as Trinity took the win 5-3. With those games out of the way, it was time for the Varsity Series to begin in Oxford. Strangely, neither team was using the star pitcher who had dominated all the major statistical categories during the season – New College’s Mark Kirkup for Oxford and James Gulliver of Clare College for Cambridge. Family commitments meant that Kirkup had travelled home and was not selected, while Gulliver was selected but had concerns over an injury and asked not to be called on to pitch. Fortunately, both teams had strong second choices, with George Jackson of St John’s getting the nod for Cambridge and Worcester’s Cecil Hamilton chosen for Oxford.

Cambridge made a slow start when, with two out in the first inning, Edwin Wakeling of Trinity recorded the first hit of the game and then advanced to second on a throwing error. The next man up, Tom Burrows of champions New College, drove him home to give Oxford the lead and for a long time it looked as though that would be enough for the win. Cambridge managed four hits, each in a different inning, but were never able to move a man beyond second base through the first eight innings. Oxford too could not get another man past second but with that narrow lead, it seemed to matter little. In the ninth, pitcher Hamilton got the first man out but then hit Jesus College’s Edwin Tapper with a pitch to give Cambridge a baserunner. St John’s man Sydney Fuller then added a two-base hit and Cambridge suddenly had runners at second and third with only one out. Hoping to force two outs in one play, Oxford decided to allow James Aldhouse of Clare College a free pass to first, but came to regret that decision. Next up was catcher Robert Humphries of St Catharine’s, and he produced a three-base hit which scored all three runners and turned the game around, putting Cambridge on top 3-1. Allan Hearle of Queens’ came in to pitch for Cambridge in the ninth and after allowing a hit to Tom Burrows and seeing him advance to third with two outs when a pitch evaded catcher Humphries, Hearle regained his composure to record the final out. Cambridge had a 3-1 win and a chance with home advantage in the second game to take the series for the first time in three years.

In the second game, pitching was again dominant for much of the afternoon as nobody scored until the seventh inning. Tom Burrows again started things with a two-base hit and having moved himself to third, came in to score when Timothy Keightley of Christ Church followed up with another hit. With Keightley on third base and one out, Magdalen’s Samuel Seavers hit a ball deep enough into the outfield that Keightley was able to come home after the catch and extend the lead to 2-0. At this stage Cambridge did not even have a hit in the game, but in their half of the seventh found two and had runners at first and third with two out and Emmanuel’s Albert Daykin batting. Unfortunately for Daykin, he didn’t get to face a pitch as Robert Humphries strayed too far from first base and was thrown out to end the inning. In the eighth, Trinity’s Jonathan Orton started the inning for Cambridge with a three-base hit having replaced Daykin in the line-up, and Enoch Jackson of Gonville and Caius brought him home with another hit to cut the deficit to 2-1. Jackson made it to third base with two out, but Queens’ Matthew Gardner could not bring him home. Cambridge got a runner on first in the ninth inning but could advance him no further, their chance had gone in the eighth and Oxford held on to win 2-1 and tie the series at one game each.

As reigning champions, Oxford called the coin toss for home advantage in the deciding game and called correctly, meaning that the teams headed back to Oxford for the third game. On this occasion, everything seemed to go right for Cambridge. Pitcher Jackson was almost untouchable, not allowing Oxford a baserunner until a two-base hit from Timothy Keightley in the fifth. By that point, they had also done considerable damage with the bat as pitcher Jackson had driven in the first run of the game in the second inning, before scoring himself on a hit from Sydney Fuller. Jackson again produced with the bat in the third, driving in another to make the score 3-0, before Oxford crumbled in the fifth. A careless pitch from Hamilton let James Aldhouse score from third to move the score to 4-0, then with runners at second and third a hit from William Lloyd of Gonville and Caius brought home two more. Oxford’s single hit in the fifth was not the start of a comeback, as that proved to be the only time all day that they had a baserunner. For good measure, Cambridge added a home run from Emmanuel’s Ernest Duerden in the eighth and quickly confirmed their success, taking the game 7-0 and the series 2-1. Both universities have now won the series four times in its eight year history, although Oxford have a slight edge in individual games at eleven wins to nine. Unsurprisingly, George Jackson was named as Best Pitcher, having played well throughout the series but particularly in his one-hit shutout in the deciding game. Best Player was given to Tom Burrows in a losing effort for Oxford.

as5680 · 03-29-2022, 05:40 PM

MONTHLY ROUND-UP: JULY 1876

LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST

Westminster and Angel head into August with both having fifteen wins on the board in the Metropolitan League, but Westminster at the top by virtue of having played and lost three fewer games. Two more postponements held them back this month and they have played fully five fewer than some teams in the league. When they did play however, their performances were good with only defeat in the second of two games against Hackney to open July denying them a perfect month. Angel on the other hand lost twice to The Regent’s Park and again to Greenwich, damaging their chances of holding on to their title. Greenwich meanwhile lost five out of eight to lose ground, and their month-ending 3-2 loss at Westminster could spell the end of their challenge. In the Middlesex County League, Edmonton have moved one game ahead at the top of the standings after winning five of six in July, while Isleworth lost in extra innings to both Ealing and Strawberry Hill. The two meet twice to open August, with Strawberry Hill fading from the race after a pair of defeats at the hands of Edmonton.

Kent County League champions Rochester looked to be getting back into the race when they defeated leaders Dartford twice early in July, but a heavy loss in the first of two games against the Royal Engineers halted a good winning run. Another surprise loss at newcomers Tunbridge Wells ended the month, and they were fortunate that Dartford also lost on the same day at Maidstone. The gap currently sits at four games, with Maidstone fractionally further back in third place. In Surrey, champions Kingston began July by losing 4-0 at Richmond but recovered to win their next four, including a crucial 5-3 success against Wimbledon which moved them a game ahead. Wimbledon were also beaten at Richmond, who looked to be moving into the race themselves until they ended the month with a 9-0 loss in the second of two against Croydon. The Essex County League still looks tough to call, with West Ham’s loss in their final game of the month at Romford allowing Pig Alley to move to within a fraction by defeating champions Forest Gate. Only three games separate all six clubs with nobody in especially strong form.

NORTH-WEST

Despite losses against both Ashton and Irwell this month, Belle Vue have a one game lead in the Manchester and District League at the end of July. That in part is due to their two wins over Oldham, who are now one game behind them, as are champions Miles Platting who lost only once in nine games during the month. Bolton were in contention at the start of the month but they lost eight successive games before defeating Rochdale in their final game of July, while Bury’s chances were damaged by two defeats against Miles Platting and another against Belle Vue.

In the Liverpool and District League, Linacre are still holding onto first place but find second-placed Sankey edging closer, despite losing three of their nine games in July. That is because Linacre lost three of eight themselves, exactly the same record as champions Liverpool who are running out of time to make up the deficit and hold on to their crown. Sharing two with Linacre in mid-July was not enough for Liverpool who needed to win both, and their month-ending loss against Sankey may prove to be crucial in ending their reign. It was another winless month for poor St Helens, who have now lost eighteen successive games and won only once all season. In the Lancashire County League, there is a change at the top as Blackburn lost four of their five games in July, including a 3-0 defeat against a Ribble team who have now edged fractionally ahead. Ribble started the month with defeat to Burnley but won their next four to move into first place, in what at the moment looks like a two-horse race for the championship.

YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST

It appears to be another straight fight between Leeds and Dewsbury in the Leeds and Bradford League this year, with Leeds appearing to take control when they defeated Dewsbury twice at the start of July. They could only share two with both Huddersfield and Hunslet in the next two weeks however and with Dewsbury winning their last four game, the gap remains relatively small between the two as we head into August. Bradford’s extra innings loss to Leeds may leave them too far back. In the Sheffield and District League, five teams still have winning records but it is champions Doncaster who have opened up a lead after winning their last three games following a poor start to the month. Most crucial was a 2-1 win over Chesterfield in a game where they trailed heading into the ninth inning. Sanderson’s Weir had the best month but saw a four-game winning run ended by neighbours Sheffield in their last game, while newcomers Chesterfield and Worksop both lost three times to drop a little further off the pace.

East of Hull still lead the Yorkshire County League but Derwent are close behind them after winning their meeting 6-1 early in July. The gap would have been even smaller but for Derwent’s surprise loss against last placed York, while Beverley sit third as they also beat East of Hull but lost to York during the month. West of Hull have now lost nine successive games as their early season form is a fading memory. In the Tyne and Wear League, Gateshead have fallen off the pace after losing to both their fellow contenders Newcastle and Wearmouth, as well as to South Shields. It was an excellent month for Wearmouth who also defeated Newcastle and did not lose a game in July to move within one of Newcastle at the top.

MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST

Newcomers Bilston endured a poor month in the Birmingham and District League as their hopes of lifting the championship trophy at the first attempt were damaged by four successive defeats, two of them to champions Dudley who now have a two game lead at the top of the standings. By defeating Bilston 6-0 to end the month, Aston have now moved into second place while Small Heath still have a winning record but their hopes are slim after four defeats this month. In the Bristol and District League, Weston super Mare are still out in front by two games having defeated second placed Bristol Easton 2-1 when the two met early in July. However, they lost three of their other four matchups in the month while Bristol won all of their other four. Swindon have moved back up to an even record and face a crucial game against Bristol to begin August.

In the Derby and Nottingham League, champions Ilkeston are very much back in the race after Derby Union lost four games out of five and Old Basford were defeated in each of their last two, one of those at the hands of Ilkeston. It is still Basford who lead the way by a fraction from Derby, but third placed Ilkeston are just one game back now having won their last four. A close three-way battle is underway in the Leicester and Northampton League, with St Margaret’s fractionally ahead despite losing to both of the other contenders in July. Champions Leicester trail by a fraction having won all four of their games this month, while Loughborough are one game back in third place having lost heavily 7-0 to Leicester.

SCOTLAND

Champions Burgh of Partick won four games out of five in the Glasgow and District League in July but are still coming under significant pressure from second placed Tail o’ the Bank, who won all four of their games and in all have eight successive victories to their name. They sit just one game behind, but Airdrie are falling out of contention after losing three times in the past month, including a 3-1 loss at Partick. Tollcross also have a winning record after ending the month by defeating Airdrie, but they are four games off the pace and surely too far back. In the East of Scotland League, The Grange are clinging on to the narrowest of leads after losing 5-4 to second placed Arthur’s Seat when the two met in mid-July. The Grange won their other four games, but Arthur’s Seat completed an undefeated month with four wins from four to edge a little closer. Champions Dunfermline won their last three games to move up to an even record, but it was of little use having lost to both of the top two teams before that and they sit four games back with ten to play. Arbroath looked to be moving out of sight in the North Caledonian League when they defeated second placed Moncreiffe Island 2-1 midway through July, but they lost their next two games against Dundee and Firth of Tay and saw Moncreiffe record two wins to close the gap significantly. Having looked as though they might yet make it a three-way battle, Aberdeen’s strong run came to an end in their last game of July, falling 6-0 against Moncreiffe having previously won their last five.

as5680 · 03-29-2022, 05:42 PM

MONTHLY ROUND-UP: AUGUST 1876

LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST

Westminster ended August by seeing their seven game winning run come to an end with a 3-0 loss against Hackney, but three victories prior to that mean that their lead has grown to two games following Angel’s defeat at the City of London Club on the same day. The game between the two was postponed and by the time it is played in October, the championship may be beyond Angel. An undefeated month has seen Clapham move clear in third place, but having played and lost five games more than Westminster it is difficult to see them catching up. Isleworth edged closer to Edmonton at the top of the Middlesex County League despite a mixed month for both. Having shared two when they met in early August, both teams lost once more in the month but Isleworth played and won one extra game and now trail only by a fraction. A perfect month for Tottenham sees them move into third place but they are still three games back.

Long-time leaders Dartford continue are faltering in the Kent County League having lost all of their games in August, including what may be a very damaging 1-0 loss against reigning champions Rochester. Indeed, Rochester may have caught up by this point had they not lost their first two games of the month before winning three with successive shutouts. Maidstone are a further game back in third place and must take advantage of having two games in a day against Dartford in mid-September if they are to have any chance. In Surrey, Kingston look set to retain the championship after an undefeated month extended their winning run to eight overall, with the month-ending 8-0 thrashing of second placed Wimbledon looking to be the crucial game. Wimbledon had a good month aside from that game but time is running out to close the gap. The Essex County League continues to be tightly fought, with Pig Alley opening the month by defeating West Ham to move to the top, only for the teams to swap places again a week later when Pig Alley were beaten by Romford. That began a run of three successive wins for Romford who now join a tie for second position with the Pigs, fractionally behind a West Ham team who ended the month by losing to champions Forest Gate. Forest Gate and the Three Blackbirds of Leyton are well in the race despite having only even records, with Barking the only club out of the running after losing their last five.

NORTH-WEST

Belle Vue looked to have taken a large stride towards winning the Manchester and District League when they defeated champions Miles Platting 7-2 to move two games clear, only to be shocked by struggling newcomers Glossop a week later. That reduced their lead at the top back to a single game as Miles Platting defeated an Oldham team who have now lost their last four to seemingly fall out of contention. Irwell have moved into third place having won five out of six in August, and sit just two games behind the leaders. In the Liverpool and District League, Linacre are closing in on the championship after winning three out of three in August, including a vital 6-1 success at second placed Sankey Brook. Sankey actually lost three of their four games and are now four games back, the only bright spot for them a 3-0 win over Liverpool St Patrick’s which all but confirms that there will be different champions this season for the first time in the league’s six-year history. Elsewhere this month, St Helens ended their nineteen-game losing run with victory over Toxteth and now have two wins in what is an awful season for them. In the Lancashire County League, Blackburn edged back to the top of the standings when Ribble crashed 4-1 against Accrington, but Ribble’s 2-1 twelve-inning victory when the two met a week later puts them back in to first position but only by the smallest of margins.

YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST

Leeds Central lost their first two games in August but Leeds and Bradford League champions Dewsbury could not take full advantage, crashing heavily 10-0 against Woodhouse Lane to open the month. When they later fell 3-0 to Batley, they ended the month just as far behind as they had begun it and Leeds look increasingly like taking the crown for the first time. It was a good month for third placed Bradford who won four out of five, but they are three games back with time running out. The Sheffield and District League took a dramatic turn in August with champions Doncaster losing all four of their games having previously been well clear in the standings. That has allowed newcomers Chesterfield to move to the top having won four of their five, including a 10-1 annihilation of a Sheffield Philadelphia team who went into that game tied with them at the top. Sheffield and Doncaster sit one game back alongside Sanderson’s Weir, who would have held first place themselves but for an extra-innings loss to Chesterfield earlier in the month. With even records but only two games back, do not rule out Hallamshire or in-form Holmes Tail either.

East of Hull continue to falter in the Yorkshire County League, winning two and losing two this month with one of the losses coming against second-placed Derwent, who continue their unexpected challenge. Three successive wins have moved them within a fraction of the leaders, as the race looks to be between those two for the inaugural title. In the Tyne and Wear League, Wearmouth opened August by winning 4-3 at leaders Newcastle and then with some of their rescheduled games being played, did enough to end the month tied with Newcastle for first place. The title seems set to go to one of those clubs, as long-time challengers Gateshead lost their first three in August to extend their losing run to six, before ending the month defeating South Shields to return to an even record.

MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST

In the Birmingham and District League, champions Dudley still have a two game lead despite two defeats in four games, including one against challengers Aston. Aston wasted that victory by falling 1-0 in fifteen innings at West Bromwich a week later, while Bilston also failed to make ground after losing to Birmingham Main Line and Small Heath. It is Small Heath who now look the most likely challengers to Dudley, having won four of five ahead of an early-September clash with Dudley. Weston super Mare remain in front in the Bristol and District League despite losing 6-2 to Bristol Easton. Weston and Bristol both had two wins and two defeats this month, allowing Swindon to re-emerge as challengers. They won their first four in August, but ended with a 2-1 loss at Weston which could prove highly damaging to their hopes.

Derby edged clear again in the Derby and Nottingham League after narrow 2-1 wins over both Old Basford and Ilkeston to begin August. They could have been further ahead but could only share two with neighbours Midland Loco. Ilkeston could also only share two with Midland and so made no ground, while Old Basford lost their meeting with champions Ilkeston, a result which prevented them moving clear in second. Champions Leicester South Fields are now the leaders of the Leicester and Northampton League after St Margaret’s lost all four of their games in a disastrous month. Having edged their meeting 2-1, Leicester lead Loughborough by single game with St Margaret’s one further back.

SCOTLAND

Champions Burgh of Partick still lead Tail o’ the Bank by a single game in the Glasgow and District League after the two matched each other result for result through August, winning their first game, losing the next two and winning the last. They meet to open September with the result set to make the difference between a two game margin and the teams being tied. Third placed Airdrie beat Tail but lost to Partick during August and sit three games back with time beginning to run out. In the East of Scotland League, The Grange moved further ahead by winning all three of their games in August including a 5-1 victory at second placed Arthur’s Seat. Two defeats drop champions Dunfermline back to a losing record and they now seem sure to lose their grip on the championship trophy. Arbroath are all but assured of being the first champions of the North Caledonian League after they won all three games in August, including an extra innings win at Moncreiffe Island. With Moncreiffe also losing in eleven innings at Firth of Tay a week later, the gap is now four games with only seven left to play.

as5680 · 03-29-2022, 05:55 PM

MONTHLY ROUND-UP: SEPTEMBER 1876

LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST

There seems to be little to stop Westminster winning this year’s Metropolitan League championship, not even a perfect month of September from Clapham who have won nine successive games in all and moved into second place. Westminster took five out of six themselves, falling only 1-0 in extra innings to Putney, and although Clapham have the same number of victories Westminster have played and lost six games fewer. Indeed, fatigue may be their only concern as they must play every Wednesday in October to complete their schedule. Defeat to Clapham at the end of the month has dropped Angel down to third place. Despite a 7-4 loss to championship rivals Isleworth, two victories from their final three games will win the Middlesex County League for Edmonton after Isleworth lost three of their other four games during September. A dramatic 2-0 win in ten innings against the Old Harrovians may have put Edmonton out of sight, while Isleworth must win their last two and hope for at least two defeats for the leaders.

In the Kent County League, Dartford appear to have steadied the ship after a loss at in-form Tunbridge Wells early in September left them clinging to a narrow lead. Sharing two with Maidstone was much more use to Dartford than to the chasing Maidstone, with two more victories to end the month giving them a three-game lead. Champions Rochester have crumbled under the pressure of chasing a third successive crown, losing their last four games to drop to third below a Tunbridge Wells team who have remarkably won their last ten overall after a tough first half to their debut campaign. Dartford could be champions after their next game if they win and Tunbridge Wells are beaten. In Surrey, Kingston are almost home and dry despite two postponements in September and a tough extra innings loss to Reigate. Wimbledon could only win two and lose two and they sit three games back with only four to play. One more win will be enough for Romford to take the Essex County League for this year, after four wins from their first five in September edged them clear of West Ham. Indeed, they would be champions already but for a narrow 6-5 loss to Barking in their last game. West Ham lost four of five this month, including one against Romford, and have dropped back to an even record. They must defeat Romford in their next game to keep the race alive.

NORTH-WEST

In a dramatic month in the Manchester and District League, champions Miles Platting and long-time leaders Belle Vue both lost four successive games to see their title hopes fade. Their loss in form had handed a chance to Bury and Oldham, whose own dip in form earlier in the year seemed to have ruled them out. Instead, Bury now lead the way after winning four games out of five this month while Oldham are just a fraction behind having taken a perfect four from four. Belle Vue too are only fractionally off the lead, but they must turn their form around quickly. Irwell are one game back in fourth after dropping two games in a day to improving Glossop.
The first championship to be decided this year was the Liverpool and District League, with Linacre the team who finally ended Liverpool St Patrick’s five-year hold on the crown. Defeat against Sankey slowed their charge a little and then victories for Sankey and Anfield a week later made Linacre wait a little longer, but it was perhaps fitting that the title was secured with a 1-0 win over Liverpool. Two years ago Liverpool edged out Linacre in a tie-breaking game, but this year Linacre sealed their own success against the five-time winners. In the Lancashire County League, two defeats in their first three games of September saw Ribble caught by Blackburn, making their final scheduled meeting absolutely pivotal as the teams entered the game tied with three to play. Sadly for Ribble, they fell to a 5-2 defeat and when they lost again a week later to outgoing champions Over Darwen, the race was run. Blackburn defeated Burnley on the same day to move two games clear with only one remaining, secure the championship for the first time.

YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST

Victories in their first two games of September seemed to push Leeds Central to the brink of winning the Leeds and Bradford League, but defeats in the next three handed an opportunity to champions Dewsbury in their attempt to catch up. They could not take full advantage however, falling to both Woodhouse Lane and Huddersfield and remain adrift in second place three matches to play. Leeds have four remaining and know that three victories will be enough. The most exciting finish of the year is in the Sheffield and District League, where with one round of fixtures remaining three teams remain tied for first place. Chesterfield had entered the month one game ahead but lost that advantage with a 1-0 defeat at Hallamshire before they, Sheffield Philadelphia and Sanderson’s Weir all won three and lost one of their next four games. Losses to Sheffield and Weir ended Hallamshire’s hopes of getting into the thick of the race, while champions Doncaster are having a wretched end to the year as they lost all five in September to extend their losing run to nine and guarantee not only the loss of their championship but a losing record for the year. Chesterfield meet Sanderson’s Weir in the final game of the season, with the winners of that match-up knowing that they will take the title if Sheffield lose to Holmes Tail, or face a tiebreaking game should Sheffield win.

In the Yorkshire County League, East of Hull saw their hopes of taking the inaugural title suffer a blow when they lost 1-0 in eighteen innings to neighbours West of Hull and fell one game behind Derwent at the top of the standings. A 1-0 victory over Derwent the following week drew them level again, only for Derwent to move ahead once more by defeating Beverley as Easts lost to York. When Easts lost again to Scarborough in their next game, a result which moved Scarborough into a tie for second place, Derwent could have secured the title with victory over York but fell 2-0. That means that with one game to play, Derwent lead by a single game from both Scarborough and East of Hull, and will take the crown if they beat West of Hull in their last fixture. Defeat would give either or both of the chasers the chance to force tiebreakers. Winning their first three games of September seemed to move Wearmouth out of sight in the Tyne and Wear League, but they unexpectedly dropped two games to South Shields and another to Jesmond to end the month. Newcastle Westgate had the chance to move level in the standings by defeating Sunderland twice on the final Saturday in September, but having won the first game they lost the second and trail by one with one to play. They must now win at Jesmond and hope that Wearmouth lose at Gateshead to earn a tiebreaking game.

MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST

It is still tough to call the Birmingham and District League race after Dudley slumped to defeat in each of their first four games in September. They are still clinging on to a share of first place, alongside a Birmingham Main Line team who have been on the fringes of the race all year but now share top spot after winning all five in September for the concession of just a single run. Small Heath lost narrowly to both Main Line and West Bromwich to sit one game back in third, while newcomers Bilston have lost three of their last four but still have a chance if they can win all their rescheduled games, having played three fewer than the two leaders. The battle is over in the Bristol and District League, as first Bristol Easton faded away by losing their first three in the month and then Swindon faltered with losses against Avon and Arno’s Castle. That left Swindon having to beat leaders Weston super Mare to keep the race alive, but Weston took the game 3-0 and claim the championship having missed out by a single game last year.

In the Derby and Nottingham League, Derby Union earned a vital victory over champions Ilkeston midway through September and seemed set to take the crown, but a 1-0 loss to neighbours Midland Loco has revived hope for Ilkeston. They won their last two and are now just one game behind again, with both teams having three to play. Leicester South Fields are on the verge of a successful title defence in the Leicester and Northampton League, despite opening September with a 2-0 defeat at Northampton. They won their next four games, most importantly a 3-0 success at second placed Loughborough which moved them two games ahead in the standings. Two wins from their final four games will be enough for a second championship.

SCOTLAND

Tail o’ the Bank moved level with champions Burgh of Partick at the top of the Glasgow and District League when they opened September by defeating their rivals 5-0, but handed the advantage straight back with a defeat at Tollcross in their next game. Just as Partick were looking as though they might have done enough for a fourth successive title however, they too crashed to Tollcross and Tail took advantage, winning their last game of the month 3-0 against Govan to close to within a fraction at the top. They have three to play and Partick just two, with the second of those a meeting of the two contenders which may decide the destination of this year’s championship.

Victories in their first three games of September, coupled with two defeats for Arthur’s Seat against Haymarket, meant that The Grange could secure the East of Scotland League championship with victory over Arthur’s Seat when the two met for the final time this year. The Grange could not complete the job however, falling 1-0, and despite defeating Haymarket a week later the championship is still not quite theirs heading into October. They are two ahead with two to play, and know that one win or a defeat for Arthur’s Seat will end the race. The race is already over in the new North Caledonian League however, as unfancied Arbroath completed their remarkable season by taking the inaugural championship. They did not do so comfortably, losing two of their first three in September before slipping again 2-1 against Moncreiffe when victory would have secured the title. In their last game of September Arbroath lost again, 6-2 to Dundee, but this time it did not matter as Moncreiffe and Aberdeen were both defeated in their games, which meant that nobody could catch up. Arbroath now lead by three with two to play and despite having the smallest number of players at their disposal, have overcome the teams from much larger towns and cities to take the crown.

as5680 · 03-29-2022, 05:59 PM

MONTHLY ROUND-UP: OCTOBER 1876

LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST

METROPOLITAN LEAGUE
Westminster entered October knowing that three wins from their remaining eight games would secure a fourth championship and a first under their new name, but their first three games were tough with one against Angel and two against Clapham. That didn’t worry Westminster however, as a 4-0 win over Angel and a 3-1 success over Clapham took them to within one victory of the title and four days later, a they won 4-1 at Clapham to end the race. Two of the remaining five games were lost, but their final margin of success was a clear four games. Another loss to Westminster denied Angel a share of second, as Clapham won their last two to claim that position, with Angel in third.

At the conclusion of the season, the twelve clubs held a vote to determine the two new members who will join the league for next season. Six clubs applied, three of whom had applied before and three new names. Two of the previous applicants were the favourites, the clubs from Hammersmith and Limehouse, but they were expected to face a strong challenge from Highgate. The Isle of Dogs club, who had applied before and seen their bid fail due to concerns over their home field, endured the same fate again while a new applicant, Bow, suffered from being geographically very close to the more favoured Limehouse club. The vote was close but not just between the three expected contenders, as the other new bid from Catford was unexpectedly well backed. In a tight four-way battle, Hammersmith with seven votes and Limehouse with six just edged out Highgate and Catford, both of whom gained five. Those two clubs must be considered strong contenders for the next expansion, while Hammersmith and Limehouse will join the league for the 1877 season where regular midweek play looks sure to be a feature of the second professional season.

MIDDLESEX COUNTY LEAGUE
Edmonton were closing in on the Middlesex County League title as October began but defeats at the hands of Brentford and Ealing allowed Isleworth to turn the race around. They shut out Ealing and the Old Harrovians to move ahead, meaning that Edmonton had to win a rearranged game against Strawberry Hill to bring about a tiebreaker for the fourth successive season in Middlesex. The Strawberries were defeated 4-1 and Edmonton moved on to face another game against Isleworth, who had home advantage having won three of the four meeting during the year. Isleworth had won both of their past championships in tiebreakers while Edmonton lost one to Brentford last year, but Edmonton struck first in the fourth inning. Isleworth quickly tied it at 1-1 in the fifth, but in the sixth Edmonton moved ahead again and this time did not let themselves falter. Two more runs in the eighth gave Isleworth too much ground to recover, and Edmonton took the championship for the second time four years after winning the inaugural crown.

KENT COUNTY LEAGUE
Having won their last three in September, two more wins would have been enough for Dartford to win the Kent County League for the first time, but in the event they went one better. Victories over Sheerness, Bexley Heath and Erith meant that having seemed at one stage to be faltering, they actually finished with six successive victories and a four-game winning margin. After their long winning run had reached twelve games, Tunbridge Wells finished what turned out to be an excellent debut season with two defeats in the final three and ended up tied for second place with deposed champions Rochester, while Maidstone plunged back to a losing record for the year after ending the season with seven successive defeats.

SURREY COUNTY LEAGUE
Kingston began October needing a maximum of two wins from their remaining four games and they got one of them at the first attempt, overwhelming Norwood 8-0. Second placed Wimbledon also won on that day to keep hold of their very slim hopes of the title, and a week later Kingston may have feared having to wait even longer to secure their second successive title when they fell 9-7 in sixteen innings against Richmond. Unknown to their players at the time however, Wimbledon had already been beaten 6-0 by Norwood that afternoon, which ended the race in Kingston’s favour. Both teams ended the season with a win and a loss meaning that the final margin was three games, as it had been at the beginning of October, while Richmond secured third place with a losing record by beating Kingston again in their final game.

ESSEX COUNTY LEAGUE
With a two game lead and only two to play, Romford had a chance to secure the Essex County League crown by defeating West Ham in their first game of October, but slipped to a 4-1 defeat which kept West Ham in the race. On the same day, Pig Alley kept their own hopes alive and ended Forest Gate’s title defence with a 6-0 victory. That meant that on the final day, Romford had to beat the Three Blackbirds of Leyton or face a tiebreaker against the winner of the game between Pig Alley and West Ham. As it happened, that would have involved quite a wait because that game was postponed for a week owing to the state of West Ham’s home field, but the tiebreaker did not come about because Romford beat the Blackbirds 3-2 to secure the championship. When the other game was eventually played, Pig Alley took it to clinch second position, leaving West Ham on an even record and tied for third with deposed champions Forest Gate.

NORTH-WEST

MANCHESTER AND DISTRICT LEAGUE
October began with Bury fractionally ahead at the top of the Manchester and District League, although they lost that advantage immediately with a defeat at the hands of Bolton, before another loss at Belle Vue left them almost out of the running. At that stage, Belle Vue and Oldham effectively shared first place but after a rescheduled midweek game, Oldham edged ahead by beating Rochdale. Three days later the picture changed again as Oldham lost at Bury while Belle Vue beat Rochdale, leaving Belle Vue fractionally ahead and the race now just between themselves and Oldham. An 8-5 loss for Belle Vue in their final game at Irwell the following Wednesday left Oldham with a chance to move on top again and they duly did so, winning 7-1 at Oldham, and leaving themselves knowing that a win at Ashton in their last game would secure the title. Oldham led 2-0 in the seventh inning but their pitching, a weakness all year, let them down and Ashton score three in the seventh to take the win and leave Oldham facing a tiebreaker with Belle Vue. With no possibility of delaying the International Series for a second successive year, that extra game had to take place on a Wednesday and was played at Belle Vue, with Oldham again taking the lead only to be unable to hold it. A three-run fifth turned it in Belle Vue’s favour and although Oldham rallied to close a 4-1 deficit to 4-3, they could not tie the game. Belle Vue claimed the championship for the first time, leaving Oldham to wonder what might have been if their top scoring batting line-up could have been matched by a pitching staff who allowed more runs than nine of the other eleven clubs.

LIVERPOOL AND DISTRICT LEAGUE
There was nothing to play for in the Liverpool and District League in October with Linacre already confirmed as champions, but they did complete the month with three wins from three to end a wonderful season in fine form. Sankey’s defeat in their final game did not cost them second place as Anfield lost twice to Linacre to drop into a tie for third with outgoing champions Liverpool, while troubled St Helens ended the season by beating Wigan 4-2, only their third victory of the year and remarkably the only time all season that they won a game by more than a single run margin. The club have been warned by the league committee that a repeat of their performances this season, where they won fewer than one in ten of their games, could see them forced to re-apply for membership of the league if the rumours of an expansion to ten clubs does come about for the season after next.

LANCASHIRE COUNTY LEAGUE
Already crowned champions, Blackburn ended the Lancashire County League season with a 5-2 victory at Over Darwen to remain two games clear of Ribble, who beat Chorley in their last game. The defeat for Over Darwen left them on an even record one year after winning the title, but still out on their own in third place. The vote has also taken place to determine the two newcomers to the league for the 1877 season, with the strong favourites going into the vote being the team from Lancaster. They were indeed duly elected unanimously, leaving a battle between the larger but more geographically distant town of Barrow-in-Furness and several smaller towns which are closer to the current members. In the event, Barrow and Bacup were tied for second place with two votes each, meaning that the two clubs who had not voted for either were required to cast another ballot. Both switched their support to Barrow, with the fast-growing iron and steel town seen as more beneficial to the league than the smaller town of Bacup. Barrow and Lancaster will join officially join the league in January, with next season expected to see a reduction from thirty games to twenty-eight.

YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST

LEEDS AND BRADFORD LEAGUE
After both began October with a victory, the battle between Leeds and Dewsbury at the top of the Leeds and Bradford League took a twist when Leeds were beaten by neighbours Woodhouse Lane. Dewsbury won at Bradford on the same day to move within a fraction of their rivals ahead of a meeting between the two. Victory for Leeds in that game, the last of the season for Dewsbury, would give them the title but a Dewsbury win would mean that Leeds had to beat Bowling to force a repeat of last year’s tiebreaker. Leeds took a 3-0 lead in the seventh inning but Dewsbury battled back to 3-2 in the ninth and had a runner at second with two out, but could not bring him home as Leeds held on to make amends for last year’s tiebreaker defeat. The new champions cared little that they were beaten 3-1 by Bowling in their final game, as they take the title for the first time.

SHEFFIELD AND DISTRICT LEAGUE
October began with a three-way tie at the top of the Sheffield and District League with one game to play, and a comfortable win for Sheffield over Holmes Tail made a tiebreaker inevitable as Chesterfield and Sanderson’s Weir faced one another. Chesterfield’s brave attempt to win the title at the first time of asking ultimately came up short as they lost that game 4-1, leaving city rivals Weir and Sheffield to face the extra game. Sheffield had home advantage as they sought to win a first title, and although they fell behind early on they immediately tied the game and a tight pitching battle followed, with the teams reaching the end of nine innings tied at 1-1. In their half of the tenth, Sheffield had Arthur Tibbits standing at second base with two out when Henry Melloy came up to bat, and he was the man who became the hero with a hit to bring Tibbits home and score the championship winning run. Weir fell just short of a third title, while Sheffield took over as champions from a Doncaster team who earlier in the year had looked capable of retaining the crown but ended tied for sixth place after incredibly losing their final ten games.

YORKSHIRE COUNTY LEAGUE
The equation was simple for Derwent Bank in the Yorkshire County League as October began – win at West of Hull and they were champions, lose and either Scarborough, East of Hull or both could tie with victories in their final games. Derwent were looking a little nervous when they fell 1-0 behind in the fifth but runs in the sixth and eighth turned it around and they held on for a championship winning victory. It mattered little in the end as both Scarborough and East of Hull lost their games, leaving them tied for second two games behind Derwent.

TYNE AND WEAR LEAGUE
In the Tyne and Wear League, Wearmouth were another team who knew that they could clinch the title by winning their final game but if they lost, might find themselves in a tiebreaker if Newcastle could win. Unlike Derwent in the Yorkshire County League, Wearmouth could not complete the job alone as they fell 2-1 at Gateshead, leaving an anxious wait to hear whether or not Newcastle had defeated neighbours Jesmond. That game went into the eleventh inning, where it was Jesmond who found the decisive run to end their rivals’ hopes of becoming the inaugural champions. Wearmouth held on to first place by a single game, while Jesmond’s win was enough to secure a winning record for the year and third place by themselves, a game ahead of Gateshead.

MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST

BIRMINGHAM AND DISTRICT LEAGUE
What began the month as a four-horse race realistically became three on the first weekend in October as Bilston’s two victories over Small Heath all but ruled the latter out of the race in the Birmingham and District League. Wins for Birmingham Main Line and champions Dudley kept them tied at the top ahead of their meeting the following week, where the losers would be almost out of the running. Having trailed 2-1 in the fifth, Dudley turned it around to take a 5-2 victory and leave Main Line hoping for a remarkable combination of results to stay in the running. That did not come about as Dudley won their final game at West Bromwich to eliminate Main Line, but Bilston knew that by winning their last two they could force a tiebreaker to end their debut season. A late winning run took them past fellow newcomers Wednesbury, who have found the going much tougher, while their final game was more comfortable and a 4-1 win over Walsall set up the extra game. Sadly for Bilston, the effort of winning their last six to get into the tiebreak proved too much and the game at Dudley saw them shut out despite outhitting their opponents eight to five. It was Dudley who got two runs across in the sixth inning and that was enough to complete a successful title defence.

BRISTOL AND DISTRICT LEAGUE
With Weston super Mare already assured of the championship, there was little riding on the final games in the Bristol and District League but Weston won both of theirs to ultimately end the year four games clear of the chasing pack. Victories in their final games left Swindon and Arno’s Castle tied for second, with last year’s winners Avon a further game behind on an even record.

DERBY AND NOTTINGHAM LEAGUE
Entering October with a one game lead and three more to play, Derby Union took a large step towards winning the Derby and Nottingham League by defeating Trent Bridge on the same day that champions Ilkeston crashed 7-0 against in-form Sherwood Rise. Only one more win was needed and it came the very next week against and Old Basford team whose second half to the season has been very poor. A 9-1 win made the championship safe for Derby, although defeat would have made little difference as Ilkeston lost twice on that day at Trent Bridge. Sherwood then had a chance to take second place by winning their final two, including one against the new champions Derby. A 5-4 success in thirteen innings was followed by another win at Midland Loco to overtake Ilkeston and complete a best season yet for Sherwood. The identities of the two new clubs coming into the league next year were announced at a meeting shortly after the end of the campaign, following a close vote between clubs from Darley and Radford, on the edges of Derby and Nottingham respectively, and the more distant towns of Newark and Mansfield. When the votes were counted, it was the teams from Newark and Mansfield who got the nod with four votes apiece, and as in Lancashire it is expected that their admission will lead to the reduction of the schedule to twenty-eight games.

LEICESTER AND NORTHAMPTON LEAGUE
Leicester South Fields entered October knowing that two wins from their remaining four games would complete a successful defence of their title and they had a chance to get them straight away by winning two against Northampton. Both games were tight, but Leicester edged both by the same 2-1 scoreline and second placed Loughborough could no longer catch up. St Margaret’s, who started the year so well and faded midway through the campaign seemed to be revived and won their last six to end up tied for second with Loughborough.

SCOTLAND

GLASGOW AND DISTRICT LEAGUE
October began with Partick a fraction clear of Tail o’ the Bank and both hoping that the other would falter. In the event, both faltered as the two teams lost their opening fixtures in October to set up a potentially vital game between them a week later. It was Partick’s final scheduled game and victory would secure the championship for a fourth successive year, but defeat would leave them hoping that Tail would lose their final game a week later to give Partick another chance in a tiebreak. Tail led early on but Partick tied it in the sixth, before the most astonishing battle began. Innings came and went before in the fourteenth, Partick had runners at first and third with nobody out and the title in their grasp. Tail rallied however and kept Partick out, before the game eventually reached the 23rd inning and it was Tail who found three runs. Partick could not respond and lost the game 4-1, now needing a favour from Dundashill to earn them a tiebreak. Tail pitcher Edmund Scott could not be touched in the final game, shutting Dundashill out on five hit. A single run did not initially seem as though it would be enough – however, that proved to be the case and in only their second season in the league Tail o’ the Bank claim a championship.

EAST OF SCOTLAND LEAGUE
The Grange came into October two games ahead of Arthur’s Seat in the East of Scotland League and only two to play, but they could not get over the line under their own steam as they fell to defeat at both Kirkcaldy and Haymarket. Winning their last two would give Arthur’s Seat another chance to take the title, having lost two tiebreakers in the first two years and missed out by a single game last year. Both games were close but Dunfermline and Leith were indeed beaten, setting up a tiebreaker which had to be delayed by a few days due to a very wet playing surface. Arthur’s Seat scored in the first inning but lost that lead immediately and fell behind in the fourth, but it was the seventh which was really decisive. The Grange scored four without replay, eventually winning the game 8-1 and leaving Arthur’s Seat to contemplate having finished one game back in second place in all four seasons.

At the annual meeting following the season, a vote was taken between six applicant clubs who wished to join the league for next season. The vote was very close, with clubs based in Stirling, Falkirk and the southern Edinburgh suburb of Morningside all receiving three votes. The other three votes were evenly divided between the unfancied bids from Alloa, Bo’ness and St Andrews. A second ballot was needed where the three clubs who had backed the eliminated bids were invited to reallocate their votes, and all three switched to the Falkirk-based club. With no resolution regarding the second place, the league committee made the decision to admit the Stirling club in order to have the two newcomers closer together geographically, and also to make the league less centred on Edinburgh. It is thought that the new eight-team league will play a thirty-four game schedule, with four full rounds of fixtures and additional games based on geography, as is currently the case in the Liverpool and District League.

NORTH CALEDONIAN LEAGUE
Arbroath were already confirmed as the inaugural champions in the North Caledonian League, but they ended their campaign with a mixed performance in October as they were defeated heavily at Firth of Tay in their first game of the month. The champions then defeated Aberdeen to end the year with the final margin turning out to be three games. Despite that defeat, Aberdeen held on to second place as both Dundee and Moncreiffe Island also lost their final games to end one further back on even records for the year.

With all the club leagues completed, attention now turns to Scotland’s attempt to end England’s dominance of the International Series. This year, the first game is in Scotland and the second in England, with the following players chosen to take part:

ENGLAND
Pitchers: Daniel Armstrong (Westminster), Sidney Fisher (Tottenham), Alexander Barter (Sheffield), Isaiah Harper (Sherwood), Wilfred Wellington (Commercial Dock)
Catchers: Montague Bailey (Linacre), William Thornton (Clapham)
Infielders: Samuel Sheil (Toxteth), Harry Pardoe (Edmonton), John Goodwin (Kensington), Edmund Hodgson (Clapham), Mark Laidler (Belle Vue), Henry Wilde (Midland)
Outfielders: Luke Bunn (Leeds), Nicholas Roland (Jesmond), Roland Lloyd (Greenwich), Reginald Martindale (Chorley), Dennis Dunning (Clapham), Thomas Sadler (Sanderson’s Weir), Albert Wilson (Rochester)

SCOTLAND
Pitchers: Bruce Fraser (Airdrie), Kenneth Brown (Moncreiffe), Alexander McAuley (Tail o’ the Bank), Alan McKay (Burgh of Partick), Kenneth Reid (Govan)
Catchers: Leslie Goldhawk (Airdrie), Alastair McKenzie (Dundashill)
Infielders: Allan Gilbert (Old Aberdeen), Richard Nesbitt (Aberdeen), Dugald Christie (The Grange), Andrew Taggart (Kirkcaldy), Christopher Woodward (Dundee), Josiah Lever (White Cart), George Stewart (Firth of Tay)
Outfielders: Ralph Collins (Arthur’s Seat), James Harris (Kirkcaldy), Fraser Cash (Haymarket), Walter Challinor (Tollcross), John Cunningham (Tollcross), Roderick Dalziel (Govan)

02-28-2022, 04:43 PM	#185
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	1876 SEASON Another year of baseball is ready to get underway and it is a year which marks a historic development in the growth of the English game. For the first time, clubs in four leagues will pay their players a regular wage for playing. It is thought this this might be worth for some players more than £1 per game, which for those at the lower end of the wage range in their daily jobs could possibly double their annual income. There are as ever new teams and new leagues to follow as well, with no fewer than nineteen club competitions now running across England and Scotland, in addition to the two University championships and various representative contests. Three of the professional leagues have no significant changes to their format this year. There is however a commitment to reschedule more games in midweeks to prevent the season running too late and affecting the International Series as it did last year. Additionally, the Metropolitan League has confirmed that it will grow to 14 teams for the 1877 season and is now inviting applications from clubs who wish to join. The move to professionalism has however had a significant impact on three-time Metropolitan League champions the Old Westminsters, who have been refused permission to continue using the facilities of Westminster school. In the absence of suitable land in Westminster, the club have been forced to seek a temporary location south of the Thames in Battersea Park. They have also changed their name to reflect the fact that they are no longer a club exclusively for former students at the school, now taking the name ‘Westminster Academic’ with the ‘OW’ monogram on their jerseys being updated to ‘WA’. The Royal Artillery Barracks club had feared finding themselves in a similar position but have managed to make an agreement to continue using their home field on land owned by the Artillery. There are no changes to report at all in the Leeds and Bradford League, while in the Liverpool and District League the only difference is that St Helens are now wearing the newly granted borough arms on their jerseys in place of their ‘STH’ monogram. Last edited by as5680; 02-28-2022 at 06:28 PM.

02-28-2022, 05:27 PM	#186
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	NEW TEAMS: MANCHESTER AND DISTRICT LEAGUE Perhaps the greatest challenge this year is that facing the two new teams in the Manchester and District League, as they will go into an established league trying to compete in the new professional era having not played a competitive game before. The two newcomers are Ashton under Lyne and Glossop Hall. The Ashton club simply take the name of the town, and play in black jerseys with a white outline of a star embroidered on. That design is inspired by the coat of arms granted to the local Assheton family. Glossop take their name from a large country house near to their home field, and play in red jerseys with stripes on their caps similar to those worn by many of the Oxford colleges. LOGOS AND UNIFORMS: L-R: Ashton under Lyne, Glossop Hall MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS: The new format in the league sees the twelve clubs face one another four times, giving a forty-four game schedule. Eleven of these games are scheduled for Wednesdays, as the league tests out the viability of regular midweek play. These games will take place over the summer months, in place of the double games previous used to fit the schedule in. NEW TEAMS: SHEFFIELD AND DISTRICT LEAGUE Having waited a year longer than most other leagues to admit new clubs for the first time, the Sheffield and District League grows to eight teams this year. Clubs from Chesterfield and Worksop join the league, with its new format following the Middlesex County League in reducing to a twenty-eight-game schedule, every team facing each of the others four times. Chesterfield Crooked Spire’s name comes from the famous local landmark, the twisted spire of the Church of St Mary and All Saints. The club play in dark red jerseys with their initials embroidered in yellow. The name of Worksop Wesley gives away their origins as a team founded by members of a Methodist chapel in the town. Their jerseys are turquoise with two interlocking W’s across the front. LOGOS AND UNIFORMS: L-R: Chesterfield Crooked Spire, Worksop Wesley MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS: NEW TEAMS: BIRMINGHAM AND DISTRICT LEAGUE The Birmingham and District League grows to ten teams this year and will see a thirty-six game schedule, with every club playing the other nine on four occasions. Wednesbury Old Park started life as the works team of the Old Park Iron Works. The club play in jerseys and caps which feature boldly coloured blue and red stripes. Bilston Hope and Anchor were formed by patrons of the Hope and Anchor Inn, located near to their home field. Their jerseys are black, with orange trimmings. LOGOS AND UNIFORMS: L-R: Bilston Hope and Anchor, Wednesbury Old Park MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS: NEW TEAMS: KENT COUNTY LEAGUE Like the Birmingham and District League, the Kent County League will now consist of ten teams playing a thirty-six game schedule. The first of the newcomers are Sheerness Mile Town, whose name comes from their location in the part of the town established a mile away from the dockyard. They play in purple jerseys with gold trim. Like Ashton under Lyne in the Manchester and District League, Tunbridge Wells simply take the name of the town in which they play. Their colours are two shades of green, with their jerseys predominantly a vibrant shade of that colour. LOGOS AND UNIFORMS: L-R: Sheerness Mile Town, Tunbridge Wells MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS: As they indicated when none of them were elected to the league at last year’s vote, the leading clubs in the east of the county have confirmed that they intend to launch their own competition next year. At present there are seven teams interested in taking part, so it remains to be seen whether an eighth can be found, whether the league would run with an odd number of teams or whether somebody would have to miss out. NEW TEAMS: UNIVERSITIES Both university championships are growing to twelve teams this year, with the schedule extended to forty-four games in order to maintain the pattern of clubs meeting one another four times. The new teams in Oxford represent Exeter College and University College, while at Cambridge three are now teams from Christ’s College and Sidney Sussex College. The longer schedule means that there are more midweeks with two games, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, There are no longer spare midweeks to enable postponed games to be quickly rescheduled, meaning that there are likely to be more double games again. In order to prevent delays to the Varsity Series, the season will start one week earlier than last year. LOGOS AND UNIFORMS - OXFORD: L-R: Exeter College, University College MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS - OXFORD: LOGOS AND UNIFORMS - CAMBRIDGE: L-R: Christ's College, Sidney Sussex College MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS - CAMBRIDGE: Last edited by as5680; 02-28-2022 at 06:13 PM.

03-29-2022, 05:59 PM	#200
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	MONTHLY ROUND-UP: OCTOBER 1876 LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST METROPOLITAN LEAGUE Westminster entered October knowing that three wins from their remaining eight games would secure a fourth championship and a first under their new name, but their first three games were tough with one against Angel and two against Clapham. That didn’t worry Westminster however, as a 4-0 win over Angel and a 3-1 success over Clapham took them to within one victory of the title and four days later, a they won 4-1 at Clapham to end the race. Two of the remaining five games were lost, but their final margin of success was a clear four games. Another loss to Westminster denied Angel a share of second, as Clapham won their last two to claim that position, with Angel in third. At the conclusion of the season, the twelve clubs held a vote to determine the two new members who will join the league for next season. Six clubs applied, three of whom had applied before and three new names. Two of the previous applicants were the favourites, the clubs from Hammersmith and Limehouse, but they were expected to face a strong challenge from Highgate. The Isle of Dogs club, who had applied before and seen their bid fail due to concerns over their home field, endured the same fate again while a new applicant, Bow, suffered from being geographically very close to the more favoured Limehouse club. The vote was close but not just between the three expected contenders, as the other new bid from Catford was unexpectedly well backed. In a tight four-way battle, Hammersmith with seven votes and Limehouse with six just edged out Highgate and Catford, both of whom gained five. Those two clubs must be considered strong contenders for the next expansion, while Hammersmith and Limehouse will join the league for the 1877 season where regular midweek play looks sure to be a feature of the second professional season. MIDDLESEX COUNTY LEAGUE Edmonton were closing in on the Middlesex County League title as October began but defeats at the hands of Brentford and Ealing allowed Isleworth to turn the race around. They shut out Ealing and the Old Harrovians to move ahead, meaning that Edmonton had to win a rearranged game against Strawberry Hill to bring about a tiebreaker for the fourth successive season in Middlesex. The Strawberries were defeated 4-1 and Edmonton moved on to face another game against Isleworth, who had home advantage having won three of the four meeting during the year. Isleworth had won both of their past championships in tiebreakers while Edmonton lost one to Brentford last year, but Edmonton struck first in the fourth inning. Isleworth quickly tied it at 1-1 in the fifth, but in the sixth Edmonton moved ahead again and this time did not let themselves falter. Two more runs in the eighth gave Isleworth too much ground to recover, and Edmonton took the championship for the second time four years after winning the inaugural crown. KENT COUNTY LEAGUE Having won their last three in September, two more wins would have been enough for Dartford to win the Kent County League for the first time, but in the event they went one better. Victories over Sheerness, Bexley Heath and Erith meant that having seemed at one stage to be faltering, they actually finished with six successive victories and a four-game winning margin. After their long winning run had reached twelve games, Tunbridge Wells finished what turned out to be an excellent debut season with two defeats in the final three and ended up tied for second place with deposed champions Rochester, while Maidstone plunged back to a losing record for the year after ending the season with seven successive defeats. SURREY COUNTY LEAGUE Kingston began October needing a maximum of two wins from their remaining four games and they got one of them at the first attempt, overwhelming Norwood 8-0. Second placed Wimbledon also won on that day to keep hold of their very slim hopes of the title, and a week later Kingston may have feared having to wait even longer to secure their second successive title when they fell 9-7 in sixteen innings against Richmond. Unknown to their players at the time however, Wimbledon had already been beaten 6-0 by Norwood that afternoon, which ended the race in Kingston’s favour. Both teams ended the season with a win and a loss meaning that the final margin was three games, as it had been at the beginning of October, while Richmond secured third place with a losing record by beating Kingston again in their final game. ESSEX COUNTY LEAGUE With a two game lead and only two to play, Romford had a chance to secure the Essex County League crown by defeating West Ham in their first game of October, but slipped to a 4-1 defeat which kept West Ham in the race. On the same day, Pig Alley kept their own hopes alive and ended Forest Gate’s title defence with a 6-0 victory. That meant that on the final day, Romford had to beat the Three Blackbirds of Leyton or face a tiebreaker against the winner of the game between Pig Alley and West Ham. As it happened, that would have involved quite a wait because that game was postponed for a week owing to the state of West Ham’s home field, but the tiebreaker did not come about because Romford beat the Blackbirds 3-2 to secure the championship. When the other game was eventually played, Pig Alley took it to clinch second position, leaving West Ham on an even record and tied for third with deposed champions Forest Gate. NORTH-WEST MANCHESTER AND DISTRICT LEAGUE October began with Bury fractionally ahead at the top of the Manchester and District League, although they lost that advantage immediately with a defeat at the hands of Bolton, before another loss at Belle Vue left them almost out of the running. At that stage, Belle Vue and Oldham effectively shared first place but after a rescheduled midweek game, Oldham edged ahead by beating Rochdale. Three days later the picture changed again as Oldham lost at Bury while Belle Vue beat Rochdale, leaving Belle Vue fractionally ahead and the race now just between themselves and Oldham. An 8-5 loss for Belle Vue in their final game at Irwell the following Wednesday left Oldham with a chance to move on top again and they duly did so, winning 7-1 at Oldham, and leaving themselves knowing that a win at Ashton in their last game would secure the title. Oldham led 2-0 in the seventh inning but their pitching, a weakness all year, let them down and Ashton score three in the seventh to take the win and leave Oldham facing a tiebreaker with Belle Vue. With no possibility of delaying the International Series for a second successive year, that extra game had to take place on a Wednesday and was played at Belle Vue, with Oldham again taking the lead only to be unable to hold it. A three-run fifth turned it in Belle Vue’s favour and although Oldham rallied to close a 4-1 deficit to 4-3, they could not tie the game. Belle Vue claimed the championship for the first time, leaving Oldham to wonder what might have been if their top scoring batting line-up could have been matched by a pitching staff who allowed more runs than nine of the other eleven clubs. LIVERPOOL AND DISTRICT LEAGUE There was nothing to play for in the Liverpool and District League in October with Linacre already confirmed as champions, but they did complete the month with three wins from three to end a wonderful season in fine form. Sankey’s defeat in their final game did not cost them second place as Anfield lost twice to Linacre to drop into a tie for third with outgoing champions Liverpool, while troubled St Helens ended the season by beating Wigan 4-2, only their third victory of the year and remarkably the only time all season that they won a game by more than a single run margin. The club have been warned by the league committee that a repeat of their performances this season, where they won fewer than one in ten of their games, could see them forced to re-apply for membership of the league if the rumours of an expansion to ten clubs does come about for the season after next. LANCASHIRE COUNTY LEAGUE Already crowned champions, Blackburn ended the Lancashire County League season with a 5-2 victory at Over Darwen to remain two games clear of Ribble, who beat Chorley in their last game. The defeat for Over Darwen left them on an even record one year after winning the title, but still out on their own in third place. The vote has also taken place to determine the two newcomers to the league for the 1877 season, with the strong favourites going into the vote being the team from Lancaster. They were indeed duly elected unanimously, leaving a battle between the larger but more geographically distant town of Barrow-in-Furness and several smaller towns which are closer to the current members. In the event, Barrow and Bacup were tied for second place with two votes each, meaning that the two clubs who had not voted for either were required to cast another ballot. Both switched their support to Barrow, with the fast-growing iron and steel town seen as more beneficial to the league than the smaller town of Bacup. Barrow and Lancaster will join officially join the league in January, with next season expected to see a reduction from thirty games to twenty-eight. YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST LEEDS AND BRADFORD LEAGUE After both began October with a victory, the battle between Leeds and Dewsbury at the top of the Leeds and Bradford League took a twist when Leeds were beaten by neighbours Woodhouse Lane. Dewsbury won at Bradford on the same day to move within a fraction of their rivals ahead of a meeting between the two. Victory for Leeds in that game, the last of the season for Dewsbury, would give them the title but a Dewsbury win would mean that Leeds had to beat Bowling to force a repeat of last year’s tiebreaker. Leeds took a 3-0 lead in the seventh inning but Dewsbury battled back to 3-2 in the ninth and had a runner at second with two out, but could not bring him home as Leeds held on to make amends for last year’s tiebreaker defeat. The new champions cared little that they were beaten 3-1 by Bowling in their final game, as they take the title for the first time. SHEFFIELD AND DISTRICT LEAGUE October began with a three-way tie at the top of the Sheffield and District League with one game to play, and a comfortable win for Sheffield over Holmes Tail made a tiebreaker inevitable as Chesterfield and Sanderson’s Weir faced one another. Chesterfield’s brave attempt to win the title at the first time of asking ultimately came up short as they lost that game 4-1, leaving city rivals Weir and Sheffield to face the extra game. Sheffield had home advantage as they sought to win a first title, and although they fell behind early on they immediately tied the game and a tight pitching battle followed, with the teams reaching the end of nine innings tied at 1-1. In their half of the tenth, Sheffield had Arthur Tibbits standing at second base with two out when Henry Melloy came up to bat, and he was the man who became the hero with a hit to bring Tibbits home and score the championship winning run. Weir fell just short of a third title, while Sheffield took over as champions from a Doncaster team who earlier in the year had looked capable of retaining the crown but ended tied for sixth place after incredibly losing their final ten games. YORKSHIRE COUNTY LEAGUE The equation was simple for Derwent Bank in the Yorkshire County League as October began – win at West of Hull and they were champions, lose and either Scarborough, East of Hull or both could tie with victories in their final games. Derwent were looking a little nervous when they fell 1-0 behind in the fifth but runs in the sixth and eighth turned it around and they held on for a championship winning victory. It mattered little in the end as both Scarborough and East of Hull lost their games, leaving them tied for second two games behind Derwent. TYNE AND WEAR LEAGUE In the Tyne and Wear League, Wearmouth were another team who knew that they could clinch the title by winning their final game but if they lost, might find themselves in a tiebreaker if Newcastle could win. Unlike Derwent in the Yorkshire County League, Wearmouth could not complete the job alone as they fell 2-1 at Gateshead, leaving an anxious wait to hear whether or not Newcastle had defeated neighbours Jesmond. That game went into the eleventh inning, where it was Jesmond who found the decisive run to end their rivals’ hopes of becoming the inaugural champions. Wearmouth held on to first place by a single game, while Jesmond’s win was enough to secure a winning record for the year and third place by themselves, a game ahead of Gateshead. MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST BIRMINGHAM AND DISTRICT LEAGUE What began the month as a four-horse race realistically became three on the first weekend in October as Bilston’s two victories over Small Heath all but ruled the latter out of the race in the Birmingham and District League. Wins for Birmingham Main Line and champions Dudley kept them tied at the top ahead of their meeting the following week, where the losers would be almost out of the running. Having trailed 2-1 in the fifth, Dudley turned it around to take a 5-2 victory and leave Main Line hoping for a remarkable combination of results to stay in the running. That did not come about as Dudley won their final game at West Bromwich to eliminate Main Line, but Bilston knew that by winning their last two they could force a tiebreaker to end their debut season. A late winning run took them past fellow newcomers Wednesbury, who have found the going much tougher, while their final game was more comfortable and a 4-1 win over Walsall set up the extra game. Sadly for Bilston, the effort of winning their last six to get into the tiebreak proved too much and the game at Dudley saw them shut out despite outhitting their opponents eight to five. It was Dudley who got two runs across in the sixth inning and that was enough to complete a successful title defence. BRISTOL AND DISTRICT LEAGUE With Weston super Mare already assured of the championship, there was little riding on the final games in the Bristol and District League but Weston won both of theirs to ultimately end the year four games clear of the chasing pack. Victories in their final games left Swindon and Arno’s Castle tied for second, with last year’s winners Avon a further game behind on an even record. DERBY AND NOTTINGHAM LEAGUE Entering October with a one game lead and three more to play, Derby Union took a large step towards winning the Derby and Nottingham League by defeating Trent Bridge on the same day that champions Ilkeston crashed 7-0 against in-form Sherwood Rise. Only one more win was needed and it came the very next week against and Old Basford team whose second half to the season has been very poor. A 9-1 win made the championship safe for Derby, although defeat would have made little difference as Ilkeston lost twice on that day at Trent Bridge. Sherwood then had a chance to take second place by winning their final two, including one against the new champions Derby. A 5-4 success in thirteen innings was followed by another win at Midland Loco to overtake Ilkeston and complete a best season yet for Sherwood. The identities of the two new clubs coming into the league next year were announced at a meeting shortly after the end of the campaign, following a close vote between clubs from Darley and Radford, on the edges of Derby and Nottingham respectively, and the more distant towns of Newark and Mansfield. When the votes were counted, it was the teams from Newark and Mansfield who got the nod with four votes apiece, and as in Lancashire it is expected that their admission will lead to the reduction of the schedule to twenty-eight games. LEICESTER AND NORTHAMPTON LEAGUE Leicester South Fields entered October knowing that two wins from their remaining four games would complete a successful defence of their title and they had a chance to get them straight away by winning two against Northampton. Both games were tight, but Leicester edged both by the same 2-1 scoreline and second placed Loughborough could no longer catch up. St Margaret’s, who started the year so well and faded midway through the campaign seemed to be revived and won their last six to end up tied for second with Loughborough. SCOTLAND GLASGOW AND DISTRICT LEAGUE October began with Partick a fraction clear of Tail o’ the Bank and both hoping that the other would falter. In the event, both faltered as the two teams lost their opening fixtures in October to set up a potentially vital game between them a week later. It was Partick’s final scheduled game and victory would secure the championship for a fourth successive year, but defeat would leave them hoping that Tail would lose their final game a week later to give Partick another chance in a tiebreak. Tail led early on but Partick tied it in the sixth, before the most astonishing battle began. Innings came and went before in the fourteenth, Partick had runners at first and third with nobody out and the title in their grasp. Tail rallied however and kept Partick out, before the game eventually reached the 23rd inning and it was Tail who found three runs. Partick could not respond and lost the game 4-1, now needing a favour from Dundashill to earn them a tiebreak. Tail pitcher Edmund Scott could not be touched in the final game, shutting Dundashill out on five hit. A single run did not initially seem as though it would be enough – however, that proved to be the case and in only their second season in the league Tail o’ the Bank claim a championship. EAST OF SCOTLAND LEAGUE The Grange came into October two games ahead of Arthur’s Seat in the East of Scotland League and only two to play, but they could not get over the line under their own steam as they fell to defeat at both Kirkcaldy and Haymarket. Winning their last two would give Arthur’s Seat another chance to take the title, having lost two tiebreakers in the first two years and missed out by a single game last year. Both games were close but Dunfermline and Leith were indeed beaten, setting up a tiebreaker which had to be delayed by a few days due to a very wet playing surface. Arthur’s Seat scored in the first inning but lost that lead immediately and fell behind in the fourth, but it was the seventh which was really decisive. The Grange scored four without replay, eventually winning the game 8-1 and leaving Arthur’s Seat to contemplate having finished one game back in second place in all four seasons. At the annual meeting following the season, a vote was taken between six applicant clubs who wished to join the league for next season. The vote was very close, with clubs based in Stirling, Falkirk and the southern Edinburgh suburb of Morningside all receiving three votes. The other three votes were evenly divided between the unfancied bids from Alloa, Bo’ness and St Andrews. A second ballot was needed where the three clubs who had backed the eliminated bids were invited to reallocate their votes, and all three switched to the Falkirk-based club. With no resolution regarding the second place, the league committee made the decision to admit the Stirling club in order to have the two newcomers closer together geographically, and also to make the league less centred on Edinburgh. It is thought that the new eight-team league will play a thirty-four game schedule, with four full rounds of fixtures and additional games based on geography, as is currently the case in the Liverpool and District League. NORTH CALEDONIAN LEAGUE Arbroath were already confirmed as the inaugural champions in the North Caledonian League, but they ended their campaign with a mixed performance in October as they were defeated heavily at Firth of Tay in their first game of the month. The champions then defeated Aberdeen to end the year with the final margin turning out to be three games. Despite that defeat, Aberdeen held on to second place as both Dundee and Moncreiffe Island also lost their final games to end one further back on even records for the year. With all the club leagues completed, attention now turns to Scotland’s attempt to end England’s dominance of the International Series. This year, the first game is in Scotland and the second in England, with the following players chosen to take part: ENGLAND Pitchers: Daniel Armstrong (Westminster), Sidney Fisher (Tottenham), Alexander Barter (Sheffield), Isaiah Harper (Sherwood), Wilfred Wellington (Commercial Dock) Catchers: Montague Bailey (Linacre), William Thornton (Clapham) Infielders: Samuel Sheil (Toxteth), Harry Pardoe (Edmonton), John Goodwin (Kensington), Edmund Hodgson (Clapham), Mark Laidler (Belle Vue), Henry Wilde (Midland) Outfielders: Luke Bunn (Leeds), Nicholas Roland (Jesmond), Roland Lloyd (Greenwich), Reginald Martindale (Chorley), Dennis Dunning (Clapham), Thomas Sadler (Sanderson’s Weir), Albert Wilson (Rochester) SCOTLAND Pitchers: Bruce Fraser (Airdrie), Kenneth Brown (Moncreiffe), Alexander McAuley (Tail o’ the Bank), Alan McKay (Burgh of Partick), Kenneth Reid (Govan) Catchers: Leslie Goldhawk (Airdrie), Alastair McKenzie (Dundashill) Infielders: Allan Gilbert (Old Aberdeen), Richard Nesbitt (Aberdeen), Dugald Christie (The Grange), Andrew Taggart (Kirkcaldy), Christopher Woodward (Dundee), Josiah Lever (White Cart), George Stewart (Firth of Tay) Outfielders: Ralph Collins (Arthur’s Seat), James Harris (Kirkcaldy), Fraser Cash (Haymarket), Walter Challinor (Tollcross), John Cunningham (Tollcross), Roderick Dalziel (Govan) Last edited by as5680; 03-29-2022 at 06:10 PM.

02-22-2022, 05:28 PM	#181
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	MONTHLY ROUND-UP: SEPTEMBER 1875 LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST It is still anybody’s guess who will win this year’s Metropolitan League as four teams enter October with twenty wins to their name, separated only by their number of defeats as postponements have left teams with different numbers of games remaining. Angel and Peckham seemed to have been easing clear after both defeated champions Clapham in the opening two weeks of September, but both then faltered as Angel were beaten at the Royal Artillery Barracks and Peckham dropped two games to the City of London Club having led in both. A week later, Angel and Peckham shared two games which helped Clapham to move closer again, as they won their last two games of the month. The Old Westminsters, who had also had a poor start to the month, likewise won their last two. Angel are in the top spot heading into the final month as they have six games to play, while Clapham have five and Peckham and the Westminsters both have three. In off-field news, there is considerable debate about whether the Metropolitan League should follow the Manchester & District and Leeds & Bradford leagues in permitting professionalism next year, with the clubs believed to be roughly evenly split and a close vote expected at the annual meeting. Clubs like the Old Westminsters and Royal Artillery Barracks in particular are believed to be concerned about the implications for their arrangements with Westminsters School and the Artillery respectively, as they provide the playing facilities for the clubs. Pre-season favourites Edmonton are now a game clear in the Middlesex County League, as they won all four of their games in September while Brentford’s superb run ended with a narrow defeat to fellow newcomers Strawberry Hill. Both clubs have lost eight but Edmonton have played and won two more, meaning that if they win their next game, Brentford will have to win their last four including a meeting with Edmonton to force a tiebreaker. Despite winning their last three, Strawberry Hill are now officially out of the race while Tottenham’s awful second half of the season has seen them drop right back to an even record. In the Kent County League, Gravesend had looked near certain champions a few weeks ago but they were surprisingly beaten twice in a day by Dartford before dropping a close game to champions Rochester a week later. Victory over Bexley Heath to end the month leaves them tied with Rochester, albeit having played two games fewer. Rochester have only one to play having won their last three, and should they win it they would eliminate third placed Bexley Heath from the race. In that scenario, Gravesend would need to win their last three to take the championship or two of three to force an extra game. In the Surrey County League, the picture is exactly the same at the end of September as it was at the start of the month, as remarkably Kingston, Croydon, Wimbledon and Norwood all won two and lost two of their four games during the month. That was a particular frustration to Wimbledon, who had looked the form team when they won their first two but dropped the next two, including a heavy loss at home to Kingston. That leaves Kingston a game ahead of Croydon, with Norwood and Wimbledon two games back and only two to play for each team. One more victory for Kingston will leave the race as a direct fight between themselves and Croydon. Three wins from three in September seem to have put Forest Gate in position to be the first champions of the Essex County League, as the teams who looked most likely to challenge them have fallen away. Two defeats to end the month dropped Romford out of contention, while West Ham and Pig Alley both lost all their games in September and West Ham are now in last place having looked like contender for much of the year. That has allowed Barking and the Three Blackbirds of Leyton to move up to winning records, with the Blackbirds having now won their last six, but they look to be too far behind Forest Gate with only three games to play. NORTH-WEST Miles Platting will complete a successful defence of the Manchester and District League championship if they win their next game and Salford lose theirs, after winning three of their four games in September including a vital 1-0 win over Salford which opened the month. Salford recovered to win their next two, but look to be too far behind and even if they win all their remaining games, two wins from three will be enough for Miles Platting. Three wins out of four in September mean that Bury still have a chance to overhaul Salford for second place. Liverpool St Patrick’s have continued their domination of the Liverpool and District League, sealing their fifth championship in as many years with three games to spare. Their victory over Great Float in the first game of September was not quite enough as Sankey Brook won on the same day to keep the race mathematically alive, but their defeat against Anfield a week later rendered meaningless Liverpool’s own loss at Wigan. Four teams are contesting a tight race for second position, with Sankey looking to be in the best position currently, but the challengers will have to find more consistency next year if Liverpool are to be prevented from extending their remarkable run to six. They will however have the advantage of being able to pay players in their quest to win the championship away, as the league has become the third to confirm that it will allow professionalism for the 1876 season. The Lancashire County League is set for a fascinating finish after Blackburn lost their last two games in September to leave them clinging to the smallest possible lead in the standings. They have only one game to play, while second placed Over Darwen have four. Darwen may be ruing a 2-1 loss to Ribble which prevents them from completing a perfect month, as there is now a lot of pressure on their remaining games. Most intriguingly, Blackburn’s one remaining fixture is against Darwen and if they should win it, Darwen would have to win their other three games to force a tie. If Darwen defeat Blackburn, they will only need one more win for a tiebreaker or two wins to be champions outright. YORKSHIRE Both Dewsbury and Leeds faltered during September in the race for the Leeds and Bradford League crown. While it was Leeds who entered the month fractionally ahead, it is Dewsbury who now hold that slight advantage as they won two and lost two in September, while Leeds won their first game but proceeded to lose the next three. Third placed Woodhouse Lane ended the month with a 3-2 win over Dewsbury but sit three games behind with only four to play and are surely too far behind to have realistic hopes of the championship. Two defeats in three games have seen Doncaster’s lead in the Sheffield and District League reduced to the smallest possible margin, as second placed Barnsley won two of their three to edge a game closer. They have three to play while Doncaster have four, but crucially the two meet in what is scheduled to be the final game of the year for both. It may yet be that another game is needed after that to decide a champion. Title holders Sanderson’s Weir were undefeated in September and have now won their last six games, but they have surely left their run too late as the best that they can hope for is a tie at the top of the standings. Even that scenario would require them to win their last two and have several other games go in their favour. MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST Two wins from their final five games will be enough for Dudley Castle to win the Birmingham and District League after they edged past Walsall 4-3 in a twenty-one inning marathon on the final weekend of September. Remarkably, it was their first victory of the month, after two postponements and a loss by the same score at the Old Wulfrunians. Second place Birmingham Main Line could make no inroads into the gap at the top of the standings however, winning just once and losing their other two games, all by 1-0 scorelines. The best they cam realistically hope for now is to hold off Edgbaston and stay in second place. In the Bristol and District League, it is still too close to call the identity of the inaugural champions as three teams are split by just a single game. Arno’s Castle lead by a fraction after three extra-inning wins in four games in September, while their only defeat came at Weston super Mare who stay in contention in second place. Avon Gorge had the chance to move to the top had they completed an undefeated month by winning at Arno’s Castle, but their 1-0 loss in twelve innings sees them head into October one game back in third with four games remaining. Ilkeston head into October just as they entered September, with a one game lead in the Derby and Nottingham League, but it is testimony to the pressure being felt by all three championship contenders that they do so despite losing three of their four games during the month. Their only win was a 2-0 success against champions Old Basford to end the month, a result which leaves Basford a game behind again as they too were beaten three times out of four. The struggles of those two clubs should have handed the initiative to Derby Union, who beat both of their title rivals during the month, but they fell to Sherwood and Midland Loco in their other two games and share second place with Basford, a game behind the leaders. The race is almost over however in the Leicester and Northampton League, with Leicester South Fields set to be the inaugural champions as the challenge of Wellingborough faded. They lost all four of their games in September, including a 2-0 defeat in ten innings against Leicester, and have now dropped the last five overall. That would have handed the championship to Leicester before the end of September had the leaders been able to end the month with victory at neighbours St Margaret’s Pasture, but they slipped up by a score of 5-4 and still need one more win to be sure. SCOTLAND For the third year in succession it is Burgh of Partick who take the honours in the Glasgow and District League, as they eased through the month of September with four wins from four games. It was the third of those, against near neighbours Govan, which mathematically secured the championship although their success had looked an inevitability for some time before that. Second and third places will go to the two newcomers, Tail o’ the Bank and Airdrie, who have both performed with huge credit in their debut season. Airdrie moved back into contention for second position after a strong run in the final third of the season, while Tail won their final two games in September to stay just ahead. The two meet to begin October in Airdrie’s final game, while Tail will still have two more to play after that. A successful title defence has also been completed in the East of Scotland League, with Dunfermline holding off an Arthur’s Seat team who will finish as runners-up for the third time in the league’s three-year history. Dunfermline’s two game lead reduced to one after defeat to Fife rivals Kirkcaldy to open the month, and when they lost the first of two against Arthur’s Seat the clubs were suddenly tied with four to play. However, Dunfermline hit back to win the second of that double and when Arthur’s Seat lost at Haymarket a week later, the race was almost run. Victory over The Grange proved meaningless for Arthur’s Seat as Dunfermline ended the month with a 10-0 win over Haymarket, maintaining their two-game lead with just one remaining. Elsewhere, it appears that there may well be a third competition to follow in Scotland next year, this time based slightly further north, as clubs in Dundee and Aberdeen are seeking to find enough teams to make up a six-strong competition.

02-22-2022, 05:43 PM	#183
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	TOURNAMENT REVIEW: 1875 INTERNATIONAL SERIES The final act of the 1875 season was the second International Series between England and Scotland, and there was no shortage of excitement to conclude another year of baseball. Alexander Barter of Sheffield was the surprise choice to start as pitcher for England, while Airdrie’s Bruce Fraser was the man chosen for Scotland at the end of a very impressive debut season in the Glasgow and District League. It was Fraser who struggled early in the first game in London however, as with one out in the first inning he allowed a hit to Edmonton’s Harry Pardoe. Then having got the second out, Angel’s Noah Sanders produced a home run to give England an early 2-0 lead. Barter on the other hand pitched superbly, not allowing Scotland a single baserunner until he hit Partick’s Oliver Milne with a pitch when there was one out in the sixth inning. After Fraser had sacrificed himself to move Milne to second, Walter Challinor of Tollcross produced another hit which put Scotland on the board and reduced their deficit to 2-1. In the seventh, two hits to start the inning gave Scotland a chance to draw level and even after England recorded two outs on the next play, there was still time for Kirkcaldy’s James Harris to tie the game with a hit of his own. Unfortunately for Scotland, all their hard work in levelling the score was undone immediately as Percival Bennett of Bexley Heath opened England’s half of the inning with a hit and with one out, Edmonton’s Frank Page drove him in to restore England’s lead. Scotland advanced a runner to second base in the eighth, but Barter shut down their hopes of another comeback. England completed a 3-2 victory to take the first game of the series, meaning that Scotland had to win in Glasgow to force a deciding game. Pitcher Fraser needed to be at his best in the second game, and he certainly was. England recorded no hits and had only two baserunners in the first seven innings, and were not able to advance either of them beyond first base. So impressive was Fraser than he was even instrumental in Scotland taking the lead in the fourth inning, coming to bat with two out and two runners on base and finding the hit which drove in Kirkcaldy’s James Harris. In the sixth, poor fielding from England and a reckless pitch from Alexander Barter allowed Scotland to put three runners on base and with one out, Walter Challinor’s hit brought two home to extend the lead to 3-0. With Fraser in such form that was likely to be enough to win the game already, but Scotland added another on a hit from Harris in the seventh. In the eighth, England finally avoided the ignominy of having no hits in the game through Percival Bennett, but the visitors’ sloppy play returned as he was promptly caught straying too far from the base. Another hit from Timothy Berry of Greenwich would be all England could get on the day, and Scotland added two more in their half of the eighth following another fielding error, when John Cunningham of Tollcross found a hit with two men on and two out. England relief pitcher Isaiah Harper of Sherwood Rise finally ended the inning, and all that was left was for Fraser to ease through the ninth and tie the series at one game all. England finished with more errors than hits and would have to play much better in the third game, which was also to take place in Glasgow after England called the coin toss incorrectly. England missed an early chance to take the lead in the decisive game when they left two runners on base in the first inning, and it was Scotland who struck first in the third when The Grange’s Eric Speechley led off with a hit and advanced to second after another fielding error from England. With two out, Tollcross man Walter Challinor continued his fine series with a hit to bring Speechley home. With Fraser pitching so well, Scotland may have hoped that the single run would be enough but in the sixth everything changed. Hits from Dennis Dunning of Clapham and Angel’s Noah Sanders put Fraser in trouble and then when Speechley made an error in the field, both came in to score and England were in the lead at 2-1. It was left to Challinor again to inspire a Scottish fightback, as he started their half of the sixth with a two-base hit and then saw his teammate John Cunningham deliver another hit with two outs on the board to tie the score again at 2-2. There was no scoring in the next two innings, so the series came down to the ninth inning of the third game where with one out, Edmonton’s Frank Page found a hit to give England a scoring chance. With Page standing at second base, his club teammate Harry Pardoe delivered a potentially decisive blow as he drove in Page, putting England ahead again at 3-2. In their own half of the ninth, Scotland found a single hit with one out but relief pitcher Nicholas Ford of Angel completed the job for England. Matching 3-2 victories in the first and third games gave England the series, despite their poor performance in the second game which meant that across the series, they were outhit and outscored by Scotland. Of little consolation to the Scots were the awards for Best Pitcher, which went to Fraser for his superb shutout in the second game, and Best Player which was given to Walter Challinor.

02-22-2022, 05:44 PM	#184
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	END OF SEASON REVIEW: 1875 With all the action completed for another year, leagues have been holding their annual meeting and handing out their awards. Metropolitan League champions Angel were rewarded for their success as Noah Sanders was named as Best Player and Isaac Webb as Best Pitcher, but there was controversy when Jacob Meaker missed out on the managerial award. Meaker, who is the only manager remaining in the league from the inaugural campaign in 1865, was overlooked in favour of Clapham’s Matthew Ingram who took the trophy for the second successive year, despite his team losing their title in a tiebreaker against Angel. In the Middlesex County League, Edwin Taylor of champions Brentford was the clear choice for Best Pitcher but with his team having few outstanding hitters, the Best Player was Harry Pardoe of runners-up Edmonton. After winning the championship in the club’s first season, it was no surprise to see Brentford’s Amos Cochrane take the Best Manager award. Arthur Murnaghan of champions Rochester was Best Manager in the Kent County League, but his team missed out on the other awards as Dartford’s Frederick Barron took Best Player and Isaac Huntley of Maidstone took Best Pitcher. Indeed, Rochester had no player in the top three positions in the voting for either award, perhaps showing how much their success was a team effort rather than due to the performance of specific individuals. In the Surrey County League, there was even less recognition for the champions Kingston as they took no awards at all. Wimbledon’s Edgar Nash was named Best Player, while runners-up Croydon took the other honours. Luke Robson was awarded Best Pitcher, while the managerial trophy went to Willie Thomas. There was a surprise in the Essex County League as Romford’s Roland Edwards took Best Manager despite his team finishing in the bottom half of the standings, and again the champions took none of the honours as Forest Gate were overlooked in every category. It was the Three Blackbirds of Leyton who took the other prizes, with Matthew Smith taking Best Player and Simeon Turner named as Best Pitcher. Miles Platting and Salford dominated the voting the Manchester and District League, with Salford’s Henry Barton winning Best Pitcher for the third time in four years. Champions Miles Platting took Best Player courtesy of William Elmar, and also saw Harry Hunt take the managerial honour. In the Liverpool and District League, champions Liverpool St Patrick’s took Best Manager through Alfred Hancock and Best Pitcher with Harry Joyce, but missed out on the Best Player award which went to Harry Morrant of Sankey Brook. Lancashire County League winners Over Darwen also took two awards out of three, with Frank Burrows the Best Manager and Benjamin Stuckey as Best Pitcher. Runners-up Blackburn had the consolation of Stanley Willis being named Best Player. David Oxley of Leeds was named Best Manager in the Leeds and Bradford League, a surprise to many given that Oliver Graham had led Dewsbury from last place a year ago to the championship this time around. Dewsbury did take Best Player as that award went to Ellis Demmer but missed out on the pitching award which was given to Halifax man John Kelly. In the Sheffield and District League, Mark Guiney of champions Doncaster took Best Pitcher for a third successive year, while Alfred Murray of strugglers Holmes Tail was a surprise choice for Best Player. Harold Drage took Best Manager for leading Doncaster to their second title in three years. The two outstanding clubs in the Birmingham and District League, Dudley Castle and Birmingham Main Line, shared the awards there with Dudley’s Ezra Rowe winning Best Player and Arthur Jukes of Main Line taking Best Pitcher. Henry Burward took Best Manager after taking Dudley to the championship. The first awards in the Bristol and District League saw Avon’s Martin Hart win Best Manager, despite just missing out on the championship. Indeed, champions Arno’s Castle took none of the honours as Weston super Mare won both of the other prizes, John Ingram named as Best Pitcher and Daniel Burgess winning Best Player. Derby and Nottingham League champions Ilkeston only took the Best Manager awards, with Herbert Wilson getting the votes. Their two title rivals earned the other trophies, as Allan Beaten of Old Basford was named Best Pitcher and Derby Union man Josiah Farquhar was named Best Player. The pattern was the same in the Leicester and Northampton League, with the inaugural Best Manager prize going to Ernest Brown of champions Leicester South Fields but the other honours going elsewhere. Best Pitcher was Percival Savage of St Margaret’s Pasture, while Reginald Boot to Best Player despite his Loughborough team having a disappointing first campaign overall. In Scotland, Glasgow and District League champions Burgh of Partick took Best Player courtesy of Hugh Young, as well as Best Manager through George Speake. They missed out on Best Pitcher however, as Bruce Fraser of Airdrie added that award to the ones he won in the Scottish Counties Championship and the International Series. Kenneth Morris of champions Dunfermline was Best Manager in the East of Scotland League, while Dunfermline also took Best Pitcher through Francis Kemp. Their Fife rivals Kirkcaldy took the Best Player award however, as James Harris edged out Dunfermline’s Malcolm Wheeler in the voting. ROLL OF HONOUR Metropolitan League: Angel Islington (1st title) Manchester and District League: Miles Platting Works (2nd title) Leeds and Bradford League: Dewsbury Canal (1st title) Liverpool and District League: Liverpool St Patrick’s (5th title) Glasgow and District League: Burgh of Partick (3rd title) Middlesex County League: Brentford Grand Junction (1st title) Sheffield and District League: Doncaster Northern (2nd title) Birmingham and District League: Dudley Castle (1st title) East of Scotland League: Dunfermline Canmore (2nd title) Kent County League: Rochester Riverbank (2nd title) Derby and Nottingham League: Ilkeston Rutland (1st title) Lancashire County League: Over Darwen (1st title) Surrey County League: Kingston Fairfield (1st title) Bristol and District League: Arno’s Castle (1st title) Essex County League: Forest Gate (1st title) Leicester and Northampton League: Leicester South Fields (1st title) Oxford University Championship: New College (1st title) Cambridge University Championship: Gonville and Caius College (2nd title) International Series: England (2nd title) County Championship: Staffordshire (1st title) Scottish Counties Championship: Lanarkshire (1st title) Varsity Series: University of Oxford (4th title) The very final acts of the 1875 season were the votes to decide the new clubs to be admitted to the Birmingham and District and Kent County Leagues, and both proved to be somewhat controversial. In Birmingham, eight clubs applied for membership and the vote was very fractured, with the current clubs voting largely based on geography. The bids from Cannock and Kidderminster earned just one vote apiece while Stourbridge and Lichfield had no support at all, leaving a five-way fight between Bilston, Coventry, Handsworth, Smethwick and Wednesbury. When the votes were all tallied, Smethwick had two votes and the other four clubs each had three, meaning that a second ballot was going to be required. Four spare votes were available from the eliminated bids, assuming that no club who supported one of the final four changed their minds. Of the four extra votes, two went to Wednesbury, meaning that they topped the ballot with a total of five. One each went to Bilston and Handsworth, eliminating Coventry and meaning that there was still a tie. A third ballot between Bilston and Handsworth resulted in the vote still tied at four votes each, with the assumption being that the Birmingham clubs were voting for nearby Handsworth and the Black Country clubs supporting their closer neighbour, Bilston. The league then committee then announced that they would make the final decision, and they would give the place to Bilston. The Birmingham clubs were angered by this and accused West Bromwich, the closest club to Handsworth, of having been paid to vote for Bilston. It should be made clear that there is absolutely no evidence to support this allegation, but it does appear to confirm that the allegedly secret ballot did indeed go as suspected. In Kent, the big question was whether the County League would expand beyond the western half of the county. Seven clubs from the east applied for membership compared to just four from the west, although there was believed to be little support for any of those applications except for that of Canterbury-based military team ‘The Buffs’, the team of the army’s infantry regiment known by that name and garrisoned in the city. They were expected by many to take one of the two places, alongside clear favourites Tunbridge Wells. In the event, Tunbridge Wells did top the ballot with six votes from the eight current members, but The Buffs were edged out four votes to three by a club from Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey. It is not known with any certainty how the clubs voted, but The Buffs’ fellow army club the Royal Engineers have suggested that they were trying to persuade their near neighbours Rochester to vote in favour of the Canterbury club, without success. The Buffs reacted with fury to the decision, questioning what point there is in attempting to join a supposed ‘county’ league if its clubs will not admit any team from the eastern half of Kent, even preferring a water crossing to the Isle of Sheppey twice a year over travelling to Canterbury. They suggested that they will invite the other applicants from the eastern half of the county to form their own competition, with no time to do so for the 1876 season but more than enough opportunity to launch in 1877. Both the Birmingham and Kent competitions are expected to follow a thirty-six game season, identical to the format used currently in the Leeds and Bradford League and up to this year by the Manchester and District League. We now know the identities of all the new clubs joining established leagues for next season, while it has been confirmed that once again there will be three new leagues next year. The Tyne and Wear League will cover the north-east of England, while the Yorkshire County League will cover the North and East Ridings of that large county. In Scotland, the North Caledonian League will extend from Perth and Dundee up to Aberdeen. All will feature six clubs initially. We also know that four leagues will permit players to be paid and admission fees to be charged next season, as the Metropolitan League has joined the competitions in Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds & Bradford in doing so. After a heated debate, the twelve member clubs voted narrowly seven to five in favour. The decision may have long reaching implications for the Old Westminsters and the Royal Artillery Barracks, both of whom fear being asked to vacate the school and military facilities which they currently use by authorities opposed to professional sports.

02-28-2022, 06:27 PM	#187
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	NEW LEAGUE: NORTH CALEDONIAN LEAGUE Organised baseball in Great Britain has spread further north than ever before this year with the formation of the North Caledonian League. Six teams based from Perth to Aberdeen will play a thirty-game schedule. There are in fact two clubs from the city of Aberdeen. Aberdeen Ferryhill take their name from the area in which they play and use the city arms on their jerseys, which are red with thin white stripes. From the oldest area of the city come Old Aberdeen, who play in beige jerseys embroidered with the club initials. Heading south the next club are Arbroath Links, from the smallest town represented in the league and taking their name from the sandy linksland where their home field is located. Perhaps fittingly, they play in jerseys which are sandy yellow in colour and feature a representation of the seal of the burgh. Two more clubs come from the city of Dundee, one of which, Dundee Law, take their name from an extinct volcanic hill in the centre of the city. They play in sea green coloured jerseys with stripes in a slightly paler shade of the same colour. Firth of Tay are based alongside the body of water bearing that name, the mouth of the River Tay. Their jerseys are light blue with dark blue trimmings. Finally, from Perth come Moncreiffe Island, so called because their field is located on an island of that name in the middle of the River Forth, currently accessible only by boat or by walking across a railway bridge. They play in green jerseys with thick red stripes. LOGOS AND UNIFORMS: Top Row (L-R): Aberdeen Ferryhill, Arbroath Links, Dundee Law Bottom Row (L-R): Firth of Tay, Moncreiffe Island, Old Aberdeen MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS: NEW LEAGUE: TYNE AND WEAR LEAGUE Another six-team competition with a thirty-game schedule, the Tyne and Wear League is the first competition in the north-east of England. Two of its clubs come from Newcastle upon Tyne, with Newcastle Westgate named after their home area and playing in red jerseys with pale grey stripes. The second Newcastle club are Jesmond Vale, also named after the area in which they play. Their jerseys are in halves, green on the wearer’s right-hand side and purple on the left. Just across the River Tyne from Newcastle are Gateshead Elysium, whose name comes from the lane where the founders of the club originally used to meet. They play in green jerseys with the club initials embroidered on the chest. Based out on the coast are South Shields Mariners, named after the Mariners’ Cottages near to their home field. They play in dark blue, with an emblem of an anchor and the initials ‘SS’ on the chest. The final two clubs come from the area around Sunderland, with Sunderland Blue House based alongside the public house of that name just outside the town to the south. Unsurprisingly, their jerseys are coloured blue. Wearmouth Colliery, the works team of the coal mine of that name. They play in black, with an emblem of crossed mining tools. LOGOS AND UNIFORMS: Top Row (L-R): Gateshead Elysium, Jesmond Vale, Newcastle Westgate Bottom Row (L-R): South Shields Mariners, Sunderland Blue House, Wearmouth Colliery MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS: NEW LEAGUE: YORKSHIRE COUNTY LEAGUE A little like the equivalent competition in Lancashire, the Yorkshire County League features six teams somewhat away from the most densely populated areas. In the case of Yorkshire, it is the north and east of that vast county which is represent. Two of the clubs come from Kingston-upon-Hull, with East of Hull and West of Hull named to reflect the side of the River Hull on which they are based. Both wear jerseys featuring the city arms of three coronets. ‘Easts’ were formed first, with ‘Wests’ a breakaway club formed by committee members who wished to form their own team, a move which led to an immediate rivalry between the two. Easts play in blue jerseys with gold stripes, while Wests’ jerseys are plain green. Not too distant from the city of Hull are Beverley North Bar, named after the gate on the historic town walls which is near to their home field. Their jerseys are a sandy colour, with a bar across the chest in two shades of blue. Furthest north are Scarborough Trafalgar, who take their name from the square adjoining their home field. They play in turquoise with trimmings in a deep red colour. The smallest towns represented in the league are Malton and Norton, lying on opposite banks of the River Derwent, who share a team named Derwent Bank. The club, based in Malton, wear red jerseys with gold and green stripes. Finally, the city of York itself is represented by York Phoenix Albion, formed by workers from the Phoenix and Albion foundries in the city. Their jerseys are gold with red stripes. LOGOS AND UNIFORMS: Top Row (L-R): Beverley North Bar, Derwent Bank, East of Hull Bottom Row (L-R): Scarborough Trafalgar, West of Hull, York Phoenix Albion MAP OF TEAM LOCATIONS:

03-04-2022, 12:27 PM	#188
Fullarmor Minors (Single A) Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Belgium Posts: 53	I can't get enough of your simulation, this is amazing!

03-29-2022, 04:40 PM	#189
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	TOURNAMENT REVIEW: 1876 COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP The tenth edition of the County Championship took the same format as last year, with an open draw for the quarter finals and another draw determining the semi-final matchups, although home advantage for those games was not known until a coin toss ahead of the game. Having surprisingly won the championship at the first attempt last year, Staffordshire were attempting to defend their title and they began with a home game against Lancashire in the quarter-finals, a repeat of last year’s final. The game could not have started any worse for the champions, as pitcher Percival Lambert gave up three hits in the first inning which Lancashire converted into two runs. Lambert, newly graduated from New College, Oxford and now playing for Edmonton in the Middlesex County League, soon settled however and his teammates recovered the deficit in the second, helped by some poor fielding from Lancashire. Pitching dominated until the seventh, when Staffordshire came to life again. With one on and two out, four consecutive hits brought home four runs and took Staffordshire to a 6-2 lead, which Lambert was never going to give up. In fact, after his poor first inning he allowed just one more hit all day as the champions moved through to the semi-finals. There they would meet either Yorkshire or Essex, with Essex taking an early lead when Greenwich man Timothy Berry drove home a run in the first inning. Three successive hits to open the third allowed Yorkshire to draw level however and Essex were fortunate to escape that inning without falling behind, but they were not so lucky in the fourth as two fielding errors gave Yorkshire the opportunity to move ahead 2-1. The visitors held that advantage until the seventh, when with one out and runners at second and third, Lewis Warren of The Regent’s Park drove home the tying run. This time it was Yorkshire who were fortunate not to fall behind, and with the game heading into extra innings they had the first chance to score. With two on and one out, Yorkshire wasted two chances to move ahead again and paid the price in the Essex half of the tenth. Pitcher Robert Mitchell of Hallamshire hit the first batter in the inning and then gave up hits to two of the next three, giving Essex three baserunners and only one out. It was Timothy Berry again who stepped up and produced another hit, giving Essex a 3-2 win and a place in the semi-finals. Having seen their run of seven successive finals ended last year, Middlesex were determined to regain their status this time around and started their quarter-final at Surrey in fine form. With two on and two out in the first, Kensington’s Walter Carroll found a hit to bring home two runs and put Middlesex in control, and when they added another in the second Surrey were already in trouble. Although Surrey got one run in the fourth, a careless pitch from Croydon’s Luke Robson gave Middlesex a 4-1 lead in the sixth. Surrey then wasted strong opportunities to close the gap, scoring only one when they had runners at first and third with nobody out in the sixth, and giving up two outs with careless baserunning in the seventh. That was their last chance, as Middlesex pitcher Sidney Fisher eased through the last two innings to complete a 4-2 victory. Middlesex were to play either Kent or Warwickshire in the semi-final, with Warwickshire looking for their first win and indeed first run since joining the championship last year. They made an awful start, with two fielding errors gifting Kent a run in the first inning, and then in the third Bexley Heath’s Percival Bennett opened up with a three-base hit and came home on a ball into the outfield from Terence Jones of Peckham. Kent led 2-0 and after six innings, Warwickshire were still yet to score a run in their championship history and defeat seemed inevitable. However, a fielding error gave them a runner at second base with nobody out in the seventh and it was Small Heath’s Timothy Phipps who produced the first run for Warwickshire to keep their hopes alive. In the eighth, Warwickshire looked to have wasted a chance with two on and nobody out when the next two men both failed to advance the runners, only for Dudley’s Albert Bassett to find the crucial hit and tie the game. In the ninth, with a runner at second and two out, Kent chose not to pitch to Warwickshire’s dangerous hitter Ezra Rowe, giving him a free pass to first base, but paid for that decision when the next man up, Wilbur Quarles of the Old Wulfrunians, produced the game winning hit. Warwickshire took the game 3-2 and moved on to the semi-finals. As the two former champions in the field, Staffordshire and Middlesex were allowed to call the coin tosses for home advantage in the semi-finals. Middlesex called correctly, meaning that they would host Warwickshire, but Staffordshire’s call was wrong so they had to travel to Essex for their game. That match-up turned out to be a duel between two pitchers in fine form, and the game entered the sixth inning with no score on the board. It was Essex pitcher Stephen Young who faltered first, as with one out the Regent’s Park man gave up two successive hits to give Staffordshire a real scoring chance. Lionel Lynch of Walsall, one of the star men for Staffordshire last year, stepped up and produced another hit which brought home both runners and gave his team a 2-0 lead. Staffordshire pitcher Lambert was untouchable, allowing only one baserunners and no hits in the remainder of the game. Staffordshire took the win to remain undefeated in their championship history and move on to another final. In the other semi-final, Warwickshire were unfancied against Middlesex but started well, with Ezra Rowe leading off with a two-base hit and scoring on a fielding error from Middlesex infielder Thomas Ward. Everything changed in the second inning though, as Clapham’s Dennis Dunning got on base to start the inning and Walter Carroll of Kensington then found a home run to turn the score immediately in his team’s favour. With one out, Warwickshire fell apart as an error, three hits and a hit batsman gave Middlesex three more runs and a 5-1 lead early in the game. Pitcher Sidney Fisher was barely giving Warwickshire a look-in, but they earned a chance in the eighth when the first two men got on base, giving them runners at first and third with nobody out. One run scored on a ball hit deep by Simon Tucker of the Commercial Dock Workers, but Middlesex got two more outs on the next play to end the danger. In the Middlesex half of the eighth, Warwickshire brought in Dudley’s David Carr to pitch but his form was poor, hitting one batter and allowing four hits. That gave Middlesex three more runs and an overwhelming 8-2 advantage, which they would not give up. They moved through to face Staffordshire in a repeat of last year’s semi-final, and when Staffordshire called the coin toss wrongly again it would be Middlesex who would play at home in the final. Given the form of pitchers Fisher and Lambert so far in the championship, it was no surprise to anyone in attendance that the final was another close, low scoring battle. Middlesex wasted a wonderful chance in the second inning when they left three baserunners on, Fisher himself making the final out when presented with a chance to score. They would have to wait just one more inning to take the lead however, as with two out in the third Clapham’s Edmund Hodgson found a two-base hit to keep the inning going. His club teammate Dennis Dunning followed that with a three-base hit which brought Hodgson in, and that lead was soon doubled when Walter Carroll made it three successive hits. Staffordshire now had to find a way to score against Fisher, but found it difficult enough to earn even a baserunner. One man reached base in the fifth and another in the sixth, but neither could advance beyond first base. In the ninth, Lionel Lynch found a two-base hit with two out to keep the champions in the game a little longer, but Fisher recovered to get the next out and end the game. Staffordshire suffered a first ever defeat in the championship, while Middlesex moved one ahead of Surrey in the all-time list with their fourth championship. Fisher was unsurprisingly named as the Best Pitcher for this year, while Edmonton’s Frank Page was Best Player having reached base eight times and recorded seven hits in just ten attempts.

03-29-2022, 04:41 PM	#190
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	TOURNAMENT REVIEW: 1876 SCOTTISH COUNTIES CHAMPIONSHIP The second county championship in Scotland kept the format of having one semi-final between the two eastern teams and the other between the western teams, with home advantage flipped from last year meaning that Edinburghshire and Renfrewshire would play on their own fields. In the eastern semi-final, visitors Fife took the lead in the first inning when Arthur Brown of Dunfermline produced a hit with two out to bring Kirkcaldy’s Andrew Taggart home from third. There was no more scoring until the sixth, when another Dunfermline man, Hugh Riley, stepped up for Fife with two out and runners at second and third. His hit brought both home, and his team now had a commanding 3-0 advantage. Edinburghshire were struggling against pitcher Francis Kemp, and it was Brown again who ended any hopes they may have retained of reaching a second final when his home run in the eighth added two more runs. When Kemp eased through the ninth without allowing a runner, Fife confirmed their 5-0 victory and moved through to the final for the first time. Reigning champions Lanarkshire were indebted to the pitching of Airdrie’s Bruce Fraser in their success last year and he was in fine form again this time as they travelled to Renfrewshire for the western semi-final. He was given an advantage in the second inning as his club teammate Leslie Goldhawk found a one-out hit to bring John Cunningham of Tollcross home from second, and Renfrewshire now had to figure out how to score against Fraser. After hits in the fourth and sixth came to nothing, their chance seemed to be in the seventh when another Airdrie man, James Cleeton, opened up with a two-base hit and then advanced to third on a ground ball, giving Renfrewshire a runner at third with one out. Fraser struck out the next two men however, and then moved comfortably through the last two innings without allowing another runner. Lanarkshire were in the final for a second time, and having correctly called the coin toss would host Fife to decide the championship. Fife knew that if Fraser was on form in the final, they would have to make the most of any chance they had to score and in the fourth inning, they did just that. James Pemberton, who will play in England’s new Tyne and Wear League for Gateshead, opened that inning with a two base hit and then with one out, Kirkcaldy’s Andrew Taggart brought hit home to open the scoring. There were no more baserunners for either team until the seventh, as the pitchers dominated, but when Hugh Neal of The Grange produced a home run to double the lead for Fife it seemed that Lanarkshire’s run as champions may be over. Unfortunately for Fife though, Lanarkshire were not giving up easily and in their half of the seventh they came to life. Two hits to open the inning gave them an immediate chance to get back into the game, and when Tollcross man John Cunningham followed that with a two-base hit of his own, Lanarkshire were on the scoreboard. Walter Byrne of White Cart was standing at third and he was able to come home on a ground ball for the first out and tie the game at 2-2. Now Cunningham was at third and two batters later, another ground ball hit by Partick’s Hugh Young brought him home to complete the turnaround. Lanarkshire now led 3-2, but Fife were not finished yet. They got a runner to second in the eighth inning without scoring, and then in the ninth managed to get three runners on base with two outs. The man with the chance to tie the game or even put Fife ahead was Dunfermline’s Hugh Riley, but pitcher Fraser regained his composure to strike out Riley and preserve the win for Lanarkshire. They take the title for the second time in as many attempts with a 3-2 victory, with Fraser again named as Best Pitcher just as he was a year ago. Best Player went to James Pemberton, who will be a man to watch for spectators in the north-east of England when the Tyne and Wear League gets underway.

03-29-2022, 04:42 PM	#191
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	1876 SEASON PREVIEW It took two tiebreaker games for Angel Islington to win their first Metropolitan League championship last year but most people think they will win a second more comfortably this year, as they are overwhelming favourites to take the championship. Clapham will be among the leading challengers again having come within a game of defending their own title last year, while Putney look to be strong as well. The renamed Westminster Academic should also go well, although it remains to be seen how they will cope with being forced to change their home field. Peckham, who perhaps should have won the championship last time, look to have missed their chance as few expect them to challenge this time. Another close race looks certain in the Middlesex County League, with Edmonton looking to make up for losing a tiebreaker to Brentford last year and seeming sure to challenge again. They will likely battle with a Tottenham team who faded badly last year after a strong start. Brentford will go close again due to the quality of their pitching, while Isleworth also look to be contenders. A strong batting line-up makes the Royal Engineers favourites with many to take the Kent County League this season, with Bexley Heath looking likely to be their strongest challengers. Few give Rochester a chance of winning a third successive title, while Gravesend are also being ruled out despite coming within a game of the championship last year. The two new teams, Sheerness and Tunbridge Wells, look set to have a good first campaign but be a little way short of challenging for the title. Champions Kingston are favourites to win the Surrey County League again, with last year’s runners-up Croydon not expected to feature in the race this time. Reigate and Wimbledon are seen as the most likely challengers to Kingston’s crown, but there are few who are predicting that either will actually take the title. Forest Gate struggled over the finishing line in the Essex County League’s first season and are not fancied to take another title, with Romford the favourites for many to succeed them as champions. Barking and Pig Alley are also well backed, with the Three Blackbirds of Leyton possible contenders as well. West Ham are expected to finish last after a dreadful second half to the last campaign. Belle Vue Gardens have been left behind by their Manchester neighbours up to now but there are plenty of observers who think that will change this season as they are favourites with many to be champions for the first time, largely due to strong hitting. Champions Miles Platting and former winners Irwell won’t be far away though and both new teams, Ashton under Lyne and Glossop Hall, are likely to go well with Ashton especially well backed. Salford’s run of championship challenges could be over though as they are expected to drop back into the middle of the pack. Liverpool St Patrick’s could make it six titles in six years in the Liverpool and District League, but will face strong challenges from Wigan and Anfield, with many thinking that the race between these three could be too close to call. Great Float and Linacre should both have good seasons but look a little way off challenging. The Lancashire County League looks to be the toughest to call this year as all six teams appear closely matched. Burnley are by a fraction the most common choice as potential champions, but Blackburn in particular look set to run them very close while champions Over Darwen, who edged out Blackburn last year, will also be in contention again. Last season’s race in the Leeds and Bradford League was a tight battle between Leeds Central and eventual winners Dewsbury and most people expect this year to be similar, with many predicting another tiebreaker to determine the champions. The two won’t have it all their own way though, as Batley and Wakefield also look strong while Huddersfield and three-time winners Bradford won’t be far away either. Strong pitching gives newcomers Chesterfield a chance of winning the Sheffield and District League at the first attempt, while two-time winners Sanderson’s Weir are likely to be their strongest opposition. Champions Doncaster won’t be too far away but might be a little short this year, while the other newcomers Worksop look likely to have a much tougher season. The new Yorkshire County League looks likely to be a three-way fight between Beverley and the two Hull clubs, who open the season by meeting one another. There doesn’t look to be too much between the three, but for many people East of Hull are marginal favourites to take the inaugural title. Newcastle Westgate are most people’s choice to be the first winners of the Tyne and Wear League, with Jesmond and Wearmouth possibly the best of the rest. Gateshead look to be by some distance the weakest team. In the Birmingham and District League, many people think that champions Dudley will be a little off the pace this year, with Birmingham Main Line the favourites to take the championship for the first time. It will be a close race however with Aston and Small Heath also well backed, and West Bromwich looking sure to be in the running for their second title in three years. Of the new clubs, neither Bilston or Wednesbury are expected to post a winning record although neither should struggle too badly. Champions Ilkeston are expected to face strong competition from Midland Loco and Trent Bridge in the Derby and Nottingham League this year, with many people unable to split the three and expecting a tiebreaker of some kind to be needed. Derby and Old Basford, who came so close last year, look to have fallen away this time. In the Leicester and Northampton League, champions Leicester South Fields are not widely backed to retain the crown, instead it could be their city neighbours St Margaret’s or last year’s runners-up Wellingborough who take the championship. Northampton do not look far away from a strong challenge either. Bath Spa are the only team who are being ruled out of the race in the Bristol and District League, with most observers feeling that there is little to choose between the other five clubs. Bristol Easton are marginally the most common choice as potential winners but a close race seems certain. Burgh of Partick are going for a fourth successive title in the Glasgow and District League and opinion is split between those who think they will get it and those who feel that Tollcross or Lanark-Renfrew might take it away from them. After a strong debut season, many feel that Tail o’ the Bank and Airdrie could slip back away from contention this season. In the East of Scotland League, Dunfermline could well make it three successive titles although there is expected to be a strong challenge from Haymarket, while Arthur’s Seat will not be too far away either having finished second in all three seasons of the league’s existence so far. The new North Caledonian League could be a fight between Moncreiffe Island and Firth of Tay, although Aberdeen don’t look to be too far away from challenging either. In the universities, Oxford champions New College are likely to challenge again and Magdalen also look strong, but it could be St Edmund Hall who are the team to beat this year. At Cambridge, Emmanuel lost a tiebreaker for the championship last year but are backed by many to go one better this time as they look to be the strongest team. Their closest challengers are likely to be Clare College, who have been close twice since winning their only title three years ago. All the newcomers in the two leagues look likely to struggle in their first seasons, and may well fill the bottom two places in each league.

03-29-2022, 05:04 PM	#192
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	MONTHLY ROUND-UP: MARCH 1876 LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST Renamed Westminster Academic are the only undefeated team after three rounds of games in the Metropolitan League, although they have only played two after suffering a postponement. Champions Angel are close behind despite losing at Putney in their first game, as they have won both since. Peckham have also won two after losing their opener while Hackney complete a trio of clubs with two wins from three. Well fancied Putney and Clapham have both lost twice after starting with wins, Clapham falling to champions Angel in a repeat of one of last year’s tiebreaker games. Kensington are the only team yet to win. While the Middlesex County League has yet to get underway, two rounds of games have been played in Kent where the Royal Engineers are living up to their billing as favourites with two wins from two, sitting tied at the top with Bexley Heath and Dartford. Champions Rochester recovered from an opening defeat against Dartford to overwhelm Bromley in their second game. Of the newcomers, both Sheerness and Tunbridge Wells lost their opening games but while Sheerness lost again a week later, Tunbridge defeated Erith to earn their first win. Erith and Bromley join Sheerness in waiting for a first victory. The county leagues in Surrey and Essex have seen just one round of games, with Wimbledon, Norwood and champions Kingston the opening day winners in Surrey. In Essex, two of the three games were postponed with Pig Alley defeating Romford in the only match-up to go ahead. NORTH-WEST Rumours of the demise of perennial Manchester and District League challengers Salford seem to be well founded as they sit in last place in that competition having lost all three of their games so far, the only club yet to win. Irwell and Bolton are both undefeated after two wins and one postponement each, and they share first place. Newcomers Ashton and Glossop both won their opening games, but Ashton have followed that with two defeats while Glossop stunned pre-season favourites Belle Vue to sit alongside Moss Grove and Oldham on two wins from three. While the Liverpool and District League is still to start, in the Lancashire County League pre-season favourites Burnley saw their opening game called off before defeating reigning champions Over Darwen. The champions have lost both of their games so far to sit in last place, while Accrington, who went from first to last a year ago, lead the way having defeated Blackburn and Ribble. YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST Dewsbury and Leeds are expected to battle for the Leeds and Bradford League title again and both have won their opening two games, as have Woodhouse Lane, while Bradford have won the only game which they have played so far. Also undefeated are Batley, but they are also without a victory as both of their games have been called off due to the weather. Bowling, Huddersfield and Halifax have started badly with two defeats. The Sheffield and District League is yet to get underway, but the new Yorkshire County League has seen two rounds of games with West of Hull undefeated team after a comeback win over neighbours East of Hull on the opening day followed by another success against York. Scarborough are also yet to lose after wins over Derwent and Beverley. The first two weeks of play in the Tyne and Wear League have seen unfancied Gateshead start with two wins. Wearmouth have done likewise after their first meeting with neighbours Sunderland, who like Newcastle are yet to win. MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST Birmingham and District League champions Dudley are one of three undefeated teams after two rounds of games, having beaten the Old Wulfrunians and newcomers Bilston. Dudley share top spot with Aston and Edgbaston, who have also won two out of two. Prior to their defeat against Dudley, Bilston had started with a win over fellow newcomers Wednesbury. Wednesbury meanwhile fell short again a week later against West Bromwich, and share last place with the Old Wulfrunians and Small Heath. Avon Gorge, Weston super Mare and champions Arno’s Castle were the winners on the opening day of the Bristol and District League, while the champions were defeated on day one in the Derby and Nottingham League as Ilkeston fell to Derby Union. Trent Bridge and Old Basford were the other winners. Champions Leicester and well-backed Wellingborough opened up with wins in the Leicester and Northampton League, with Loughborough the other team to win their first game. SCOTLAND Those who were ruling out Airdrie in the Glasgow and District League may be proved very wrong as they have won their opening two games in some style, shutting out champions Burgh of Partick and overwhelming White Cart. Govan are also undefeated but have only played once, while Partick recovered to edge past Tail o’ the Bank in their second game. Tollcross and Dundashill are yet to win. Champions Dunfermline opened up with defeat against The Grange and it is The Grange who lead the way after two games having also defeated Leith. Leith are the only team yet to win, with everyone else having one win and one defeat from their two games. In the new North Caledonian League, Moncreiffe Island have won their first two games as have Firth of Tay, following their 4-1 success over city rivals Dundee Law. Dundee and Aberdeen have both lost two out of two. UNIVERSITIES The universities have played nine rounds of games, although at Cambridge in particular there have been several postponements already. Pembroke lead the way despite losing their first two games as they have now won the last six, ending the month with a win over champions Gonville and Caius which sees them overtake Caius at the top of the standings. St John’s and Clare are just one game back as both have won their last three, while of the newcomers Christ’s College made a good start with four wins from their first seven before ending March by losing to King’s and Clare. Sidney Sussex are having a tough start to their first season, losing seven out of nine so far. In Oxford, defending champions and early pace-setters New College have dropped back and seen Trinity, Christ Church and Balliol move to the top of the standings with strong runs of form at the end of the month. Trinity currently sit one game ahead of the other two, despite a heavy 9-1 loss to strugglers Merton. Both newcomers, University College and Exeter College, have three wins on the board at the end of March.

03-29-2022, 05:11 PM	#193
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	MONTHLY ROUND-UP: APRIL 1876 LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST Despite the postponement of their final game of the month, Westminster lead the way in the Metropolitan League after winning three out of four including an impressive 6-1 victory over champions Angel. Angel recovered to defeat Kensington in their next game and effectively share first place, but with a worse winning percentage having played two games more. Hackney and Putney share third place, one game off the pace, with Putney in especially good form through April. Peckham are nowhere near challenging again as they lost every game this month and share last place with the City of London Club, who did likewise. Middlesex County League champions Brentford ended April by suffering a first loss of the year, 5-1 at Tottenham, to fall fractionally behind Edmonton and Strawberry Hill in the standings. Both of those teams have won all three of their games so far having suffered two postponement, including their scheduled meeting with one another. It has been a mixed start for well fancied Tottenham, whose win over Brentford made up for defeats against Edmonton and Ealing. Dartford have made a wonderful start in the Kent County League, with a perfect month giving them six wins from six overall and a clear lead in the standings. Most important was a 2-1 victory at the Royal Engineers, who were themselves undefeated up to that point but who went on to fall heavily at Erith a week later and lose more ground. Gravesend are the only other team with a winning record as last year’s runners-up have won their last three after a poor start, while champions Rochester are struggling early on this time. Having lost their opening game, Reigate won all five in April to lead the Surrey County League by one game from Wimbledon and champions Kingston, who have won their last three and face Reigate in their next game with a chance to join them at the top. Having missed out by one game in both seasons before now, Croydon are struggling this time having lost five of their six games. In Essex, several postponements have disrupted the start of the season but Pig Alley are leading the way despite ending April with a heavy defeat at the hands of Romford. Champions Forest Gate also lost their last game to miss a chance to move fractionally ahead, and instead they sit just behind the leaders in a tie for second with Barking. NORTH-WEST Newcomers Glossop have stunned the Manchester and District League by winning every game in April, including successes over champions Miles Platting and well-backed Irwell, to sit just ahead of everyone at the top of the standings. Belle Vue also won every game this month and they lead the chase, with Bolton edging into third place after Bury and Irwell finished the month poorly. Champions Miles Platting have now lost their last three and are already four games off the pace, just ahead of Salford as both of last year’s top two struggle this time around. It is also a struggle for Liverpool St Patrick’s as their hopes of a sixth title fade already in the Liverpool and District League. The champions have lost four of their five games so far, including a 12-4 disaster against Great Float to end April. Leading the way are Linacre who have won all five, just ahead of Sankey Brook who fell 5-4 at Anfield in their last game to suffer a first defeat. St Helens are keeping Liverpool off the foot of the standings, as they have lost all five. In the Lancashire County League, Burnley lost sole possession of the lead when they fell in extra innings to champions Over Darwen, who are improving after a poor start. Ribble moved into a tie at the top and denied Accrington the chance to move into first place by winning their meeting 5-2, and it was only a loss against Burnley which denied Ribble a perfect month as they look to be a dangerous team this year. YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST Woodhouse Lane have a small lead in the Leeds and Bradford League standings, helped by a narrow 3-2 win at champions Dewsbury earlier in April. Dewsbury are right on their shoulder however, as are three-times winners Bradford whose three-game winning run includes a victory over Woodhouse. Losing their last two games has dropped Leeds Central one off the pace, as they share fourth place with Wakefield. It is Sheffield Philadelphia who lead the way in the Sheffield and District League after four wins from five, falling only in extra-innings to near neighbours Hallamshire. They moved ahead after a similarly tight victory over their other city rivals, Sanderson’s Weir, who are one of three teams tied for second place. The others are champions Doncaster and newcomers Chesterfield, who lost their own share of first place after ending the month with a 4-1 defeat against Holmes Tail. First place in the Yorkshire County League is shared by neighbours East of Hull and West of Hull, with Easts having moved ahead by defeating Wests 4-1 only to lose their next game at home to Derwent, allowing their rivals to catch up. Beverley are the other team with a winning record as they won their last two to sit third, one game behind the leaders. In the Tyne and Wear League, it is Gateshead who somewhat surprisingly lead the way after they ended Wearmouth’s four-game winning start to the year with a 1-0 victory and then saw Wearmouth lose their next two as well. Gateshead lead by one from Wearmouth and Newcastle Westgate, who won four out of five in April including victories over both Gateshead and Wearmouth. MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST Champions Dudley lead the way in the Birmingham and District League, having won six out of seven so far with only a 3-2 loss in eleven innings against Edgbaston denying them a perfect record. Surprisingly, newcomers Bilston sit just a fraction behind in second place having won four out of four this month, while early pace-setters Aston collapsed to four successive defeats. The other newcomers Wednesbury are finding their feet after losing their first five, as they have two successive wins to their name. There have been a lot of postponements in the Bristol and District League, where Weston super Mare lead the standings despite having three successive games called off this month. They won one and lost one of the two that they did play, and lead by a fraction from Bristol, Bath, Swindon and Arno’s Castle, all of whom have even records. Avon sit last but are just one game behind the leaders, despite losing three of four in April. Derby Union have also had three games called off but lead the Derby and Nottingham League with a perfect three wins from three, having edged out champions Ilkeston 1-0 in their final game of April. Ilkeston sit second having won their previous four games, but have now lost twice to Derby already this season. Old Basford are one game back in third as their meeting with Derby was one of those games called off this month. In the Leicester and Northampton League, St Margaret’s are the only team with a winning record after they won four out of four in April, including wins over Wellingborough and champion Leicester who have both dropped back to even records. They both share second with Loughborough, who also lost to St Margaret’s and then ended the month with a heavy loss at Peterborough. SCOTLAND Airdrie lead the Glasgow and District League but only by a fraction having seen their five-game winning run end at Dundashill, followed by another narrow loss in a twenty-four inning epic battle at Tail o’ the Bank. Champions Burgh of Partick are now right behind them having won three out of their four games in April. Lanark-Renfrew have moved just one game behind after winning their last three, while Dundashill missed out on a chance to claim a share of first place when they ended the month by losing at Partick. Champions Dunfermline look to be struggling this year in the East of Scotland league as they lost four of their five games in the past month, to fall four games off the pace at this early stage of the year. The last of those defeats was 5-3 against Arthur’s Seat, who have completed a perfect month and sit one game ahead at the top of the standings as they look to claim the title at last having finished second every year so far. The Grange are the closest chasers, having won their last three. Moncreiffe Island ended the month with their first loss in the new North Caledonian League, but still have a nice lead in the standings after Firth of Tay’s good start was ended by three postponements and two defeats in April, including a 3-0 shutout at the hands of Moncreiffe. Arbroath have surprisingly moved into second place, winning three of their last four games to move up to a winning record for the year. UNIVERSITIES The university leagues are almost at the half-way point and both seem set for close two-way fights for their championships this year. In Oxford, Trinity began the month one game ahead of Balliol and end it in the same position, as both clubs won eight and lost four of their twelve games in April. Balliol had moved level at the top when Trinity lost to Worcester College in their penultimate game of the month, but they recovered to beat Balliol 5-1 two days later and regain their advantage. Christ Church have fallen from contention after a good start, leaving Worcester and champions New College sharing third place. In Cambridge, Pembroke had a wonderful month as they won ten of their twelve games, but they actually saw their one game lead reduced fractionally as Clare College won eleven of thirteen themselves. Pembroke still have a small advantage while champions Gonville and Caius sit third, three games back but with their hopes damaged by losing to both Pembroke and Clare during April.

03-29-2022, 05:15 PM	#194
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	MONTHLY ROUND-UP: MAY 1876 LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST It is still early in the season, but it already looks as though Westminster will be tough to stop in the Metropolitan League this season. They won all four of their games in May and have now won their last six overall and nine out of ten this year. Champions Angel won only once this month, losing to both The Regent’s Park and Putney, and have lost considerable ground. They share second place with Greenwich, who looked set for an undefeated month themselves until they crashed 5-0 to the City of London Club in their final game. Edmonton end the month fractionally ahead in the Middlesex County League despite losing their first two games of May, as they rallied to defeat Ealing and Tottenham in the next two. Isleworth are second after winning three out of four including impressive shutout wins over Brentford and Strawberry Hill, both of whom have lost ground. The form team of the month however were the Old Harrovians, who won all four of their games including a 1-0 success against Edmonton and now have a winning record for the year despite having started the season with four defeats. Dartford’s undefeated start ended with successive defeats against Erith and Tunbridge Wells, but they won their final game of the season 4-3 against Maidstone and continue to lead the Kent County League. The Royal Engineers are one game behind in second place after ending the month with a 3-2 win over Gravesend, who are themselves the only other team with a winning record. Champions Rochester have played fewer games than anyone else but moved up to an even record by winning both of their games in May. Wimbledon share the lead in the Surrey County League with champions Kingston, having won their meeting 2-1 in extra innings only to fall 4-3 to Reigate a week later. Reigate sit fractionally behind having won just one out of three during the month. In Essex, only one game splits all six teams as everyone struggles for consistency. Barking are the only team with a winning record, after defeating champions Forest Gate 3-2 to end the month. Forest Gate sit last with the only losing record, meaning that had that game gone the other way it would instead be Forest Gate at the top and Barking at the bottom of the standings. NORTH-WEST Belle Vue are clinging on to first place in the Manchester and District League despite losing their last two games against Rochdale and Salford, ahead of a return meeting with Salford as the league’s first scheduled midweek games begin. Rochdale could have moved to the top had they defeated Irwell in their last game, but crashed 5-0 and now share second place with their in-form opponents. Bolton and Oldham are only one game off the pace, but newcomers Glossop have seen their good start evaporate with as they have lost their last four games. Champions Miles Platting are struggling in the bottom half of the standings after defeats to Stockport and Bolton in their last two. Champions Liverpool St Patrick’s have picked up some form in the Liverpool and District League, winning three games out of four in May, but they still lost more ground on leaders Linacre who won all four of theirs to remain undefeated. They now lead the way by three games, after Sankey ended the month with defeat against an Anfield side who now join them in a tie for second. In the Lancashire County League, Blackburn won all four of their games in May to move into a tie at the top with Burnley, who dropped two games out of five including one against Blackburn. Ribble are one game behind after sharing two with Burnley on the final Saturday of the month. The league has also become the second to confirm that it will add new clubs next season, following the Metropolitan League, with a vote on two new members expected to be taken in the autumn. YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST A perfect month has left Leeds Central a game ahead at the top of the Leeds and Bradford League, perhaps the highlight being their 7-2 victory at champions Dewsbury. Dewsbury recovered from that to win their next two, but still sit only fourth, a fraction behind Woodhouse Lane and Wakefield. Three successive losses have dropped Bradford some way off the pace after their strong start to the year. In the Sheffield and District League, champions Doncaster crashed to a remarkable 13-0 defeat against newcomers Worksop but still lead the way having won their other three games. They are just ahead of the other new team Chesterfield, who missed the chance to take first place on their own when they ended May by losing in extra innings at Hallamshire. Sheffield Philadelphia lost their last two to drop a game back in third place, sharing that position with neighbours Sanderson’s Weir. In the new Yorkshire County League, West of Hull moved two games clear at the top when neighbours East of Hull were beaten by both Scarborough and Beverley, but Easts closed the gap to a single game again by ending the month with a 5-1 victory in the meeting of the city rivals. Beverley dropped out of a share of second when they lost to lowly York and are now two games back in third. In the Tyne and Wear League, Newcastle Westgate opened May with an 8-3 win over Gateshead to join their opponents in a tie for first place. The two then matched one another with two victories and a defeat in the rest of the month to remain level at the top. Wearmouth remain one game off the pace having had a mixed month, defeating Newcastle but losing to Gateshead. MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST The whole field is tightly packed in the Birmingham and District League, with Small Heath having risen into a tie for first place after an undefeated month. They share top spot with newcomers Bilston whose strong start has faltered as they lost three of four in May. Champions Dudley are fractionally behind having lost all four of their games this month, scoring only one run in the process. They share third with Walsall and Edgbaston, while four more teams are only one game further back. Last placed Wednesbury defeated Aston and Walsall to end the month and themselves are not too far off the pace. In the Bristol and District League, it is the railway workers of Swindon who lead the way having won all four of their games this month. They sit a game ahead of Weston super Mare, as a result of winning their meeting 3-1. Avon Gorge are fractionally further back in third as they only played twice in May but won both games. Alongside Linacre, Derby Union are the other team still undefeated this year and they are now two games ahead at the top of the Derby and Nottingham League after ending May with a narrow 3-2 success at second placed Old Basford. Basford too had been undefeated in the month prior to that game and are the only other team with a winning record, as champions Ilkeston lost their last three to fall well off the pace. In the Leicester and Northampton League, champions Leicester South Fields have moved to the top after winning all four of their games in May, while neighbours St Margaret’s were beaten by both Northampton and Wellingborough. Nobody else has a winning record after Wellingborough’s loss to Leicester in the final week of the month and Loughborough’s poor run of three defeats from four in May. SCOTLAND The Glasgow and District League looks like a straight fight between Partick and Airdrie after the two moved well clear of the pack, Partick’s 3-2 win when the teams met being the only time either team lost a game in May. With Dundashill losing their last three games, every other club has a losing record for the year and it doesn’t look like there will be any other contenders this season. In the East of Scotland League, Arthur’s Seat still lead the way but their lead is down to a single game after they ended May with defeat at Haymarket. The Grange, who had lost their previous two games, defeated struggling champions Dunfermline to close the gap. Haymarket’s win moved them up to a winning record and they sit two back in third place. Arbroath are the leaders of the North Caledonian League after winning all four in May, including a narrow 3-2 success over early season pace setters Moncreiffe Island. Moncreiffe ended the month with another 3-2 loss at Dundee, dropping them a fraction behind Arbroath. The Aberdeen and Dundee clubs all have losing records, as the smaller town clubs make the better start to the new competition. In other news from Scotland, the Glasgow and District League clubs have voted to allow professionalism from next season, the first Scottish competition to do so. The East of Scotland League will not follow suit as yet, but will admit two new clubs next year to become an eight-team competition. UNIVERSITIES Trinity College have dropped off the pace at Oxford University after a poor May, while champions New College have emerged as the main challengers to leaders Balliol. New College have won their last six, and ten of their last eleven overall, to raise hopes of a successful title defence. Balliol remain fractionally ahead however, as they had been on a six-game winning run themselves prior to their 3-2 defeat at lowly Wadham in their last outing. At Cambridge, Pembroke moved one game clear with what seemed to be an important win over Clare College, only to lose their next two without scoring a run. Clare earned a pair of 1-0 victories over Sidney Sussex and Jesus College to turn that one-game deficit into a one-game lead of their own, with both teams having twelve games to play. Champions Gonville and Caius are not out of the running yet as they have played three fewer but will need to win their rescheduled games if they are to catch up.

03-29-2022, 05:18 PM	#195
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	MONTHLY ROUND-UP: JUNE 1876 LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST Westminster’s progress towards the Metropolitan League championship faltered during June, as the leaders were beaten three times in four games, including a potentially crucial 3-1 defeat at champions Angel. Angel have now won their last four games to move alongside Westminster at the top, while Greenwich have also been in fine form and would have taken over in first place had they not ended the month by dropping the second of two games against the last placed Commercial Dock Workers. Wins over Westminster and Angel brought the Royal Artillery Barracks into contention as well, only for them to lose ground by dropping two games in a day against Greenwich. In Middlesex, Isleworth have a slim advantage at the top of the County League having won all three of their games in June, the last a narrow 3-2 victory at Edmonton. That barely edges them ahead because Edmonton won two of three themselves, and with third-placed Strawberry Hill dropping their last two games it is now only Isleworth and Edmonton with winning records. Dartford have an imposing four-game advantage in the Kent County League, having won five games out of five in June for the concession of just a single run. The Royal Engineers in comparison lost three times, including once to Dartford, allowing Erith to join them in second place as they too completed an undefeated month, albeit from just four games. Also undefeated in June were Maidstone, who are now just fractionally further back in fourth having taken two games from fading champions Rochester. Wimbledon and Kingston could both only manage two wins from four games in the Surrey County League, but still edged further ahead of the chasing pack as third-placed Reigate lost three in succession to start the month. They ended it with a 1-0 win over Wimbledon however, a costly loss for Wimbledon just a week after having defeated Kingston. In the Essex County League, all six teams are split by just two games as the race continues to prove very tight. West Ham won their first four games of the month as they caught up some postponed games from earlier in the year, but then lost their next two and now share top spot with Pig Alley. Their month ending victory over Forest Gate leaves the reigning champions in a tie for last position, but nobody is out of the race at this stage. NORTH-WEST June ends with a three-way tie at the top of the Manchester and District League, as teams struggle for consistency amid the new schedule of midweek play. Belle Vue could only win four and lose four of their eight games, while Oldham crashed to a shock defeat to a Glossop team who had lost their previous ten up to that point. Either Bolton or Oldham could have ended the month out on top had they been able to win their two games against one another, but they shared them one each and both sit level with Belle Vue. Bury are one game behind but could have been in front themselves were it not for two defeats to struggling Salford, while Irwell are two off the pace having won just once in six games during June. Linacre’s winning start to the Liverpool and District League season reached eleven games before they crashed twice against revived champions Liverpool St Patrick’s, before only sharing two games with Toxteth a week later. That allowed Sankey Brook, who had opened the month by losing at Linacre, to move to within just two games after double wins against Wigan and St Helens. Liverpool could have been within two as well but only shared two with Anfield to leave both those teams three games off the pace. Blackburn have taken complete control in the Lancashire County League, winning every game in June to extend their winning run to eight overall. Burnley lost all four of their games to fall back to a losing record for the year alongside champions Over Darwen, leaving Ribble as the only other team with a winning record. Ribble however had already fallen 5-1 to Blackburn earlier in the month as the leaders, who feel that they should have won the championship last year, seem strong favourites to do so this time around. YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST Leeds Central were denied a perfect month when they could only split two games with near neighbours Woodhouse Lane on the final Saturday in June. Champions Dewsbury likewise won four out of five leaving the gap between the two unchanged ahead of two meetings scheduled to open July. Both Woodhouse and Wakefield lost ground during the month, while Bradford’s good run was ended by two defeats at Dewsbury. Champions Doncaster have a small cushion in the Sheffield and District League, with the two newcomers Chesterfield and Worksop leading the chase. Sheffield Philadelphia’s hopes were hit by a heavy 11-0 defeat against Doncaster, while Sanderson’s Weir lost their final three games of the month and now have a losing record for the year. East of Hull have taken a large step towards becoming the first champions of the Yorkshire County League, as they won all four of their games in June and saw rivals West of Hull lose all of theirs. Having seen a one-game lead at the start of June become a three-game deficit, Wests must surely win the meeting of the two in their next game to keep in touch. They have now been caught in a tie for second with Beverley and in-form Derwent, who inflicted their most recent loss. In the Tyne and Wear League, a 5-3 loss to neighbours Jesmond to end June brough Newcastle Westgate’s good run to a sudden end. They lead Gateshead by one game however, having defeated them earlier in the month and seen Gateshead end June with another loss at Wearmouth. That moved Wearmouth back to a winning record as they continue to hold out their own hopes of a championship challenge. MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST Newcomers Bilston continue their surprise championship challenge in the Birmingham and District League as they won all four of their games in June to take the outright lead in the standings. Champions Dudley are leading the chase having only missed out on a perfect month of their own by losing the first of two against Birmingham Main Line on the final weekend. Small Heath faltered with defeat against both Bilston and the other newcomers Wednesbury, allowing Aston to move into third place with two victories at the Old Wulfrunians. In the Bristol and District League, Weston super Mare are currently unchallenged at the top as they played several rescheduled games and in all won six out of seven in the month. Former leaders Swindon lost all four of their games, including two defeats at Weston, as they dropped back to an even record – although that is still good enough for second place. Bristol Easton are third having won their last four, but they still have a losing record. Having won their first two games of the month to extend their undefeated start to nine games, Derby Union dropped their last three in June to see their march halted at the top of the standings. Old Basford, who meet Derby twice to open July, could have moved within a fraction of the leaders but crashed 6-1 to lowly Midland Loco to end the month. Champions Ilkeston have a losing record and are struggling to stay in touch having lost to both Derby and Old Basford in June. St Margaret’s Pasture are back in front in the Leicester and Northampton League after two narrow 1-0 wins over Peterborough to end June. It was a disastrous month for champions Leicester who lost five out of six to drop back to an even record, allowing Loughborough to move into second place after they enjoyed a perfect month. Off the field of play, the Derby and Nottingham League is the fourth to announce that it will admit new members for the 1877 season, with a vote due in the autumn. There may also be not one but two more leagues in the Midlands next year, as the county associations of Staffordshire and Warwickshire look set to launch county-wide competitions for those clubs away from the Birmingham area. SCOTLAND In the Glasgow and District League, champions Burgh of Partick extended their advantage despite defeats at both Govan and Dundashill, as Airdrie played just twice and lost both games. They have now been joined in second place by Tail o’ the Bank, who won all four in June. Nobody else has a winning record at present. The Grange have taken over at the top in the East of Scotland League after winning three of four while Arthur’s Seat lost three of their four, including the meeting with The Grange by a narrow 3-2 scoreline. Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline are both finding some form as they too won three games out of four in June. In the new North Caledonian League, it seems to be the smallest town represented while will be celebrating this year as Arbroath have taken full control of the championship race. They completed a second successive undefeated month and have now won their last nine overall, the 2-1 win at Moncreiffe Island crucuially moving them further ahead of the former leaders. Moncreiffe won their last two to remain in touch, but everyone else has a losing record for the year. UNIVERSITIES Apart from a few rescheduled games, the season is over at the universities and neither saw a particularly close race this year. In Oxford, Balliol’s challenge collapsed in June as they lost nine games out of twelve, leaving defending champions New College to ease further ahead. New College’s 3-2 win over Balliol all-but secured another title, and even though the champions lost their next game to University College it did not matter, as Balliol’s loss on the same day ensured a successful title defence. At Cambridge, Clare College may have feared that their 5-0 defeat to Pembroke would be costly but Pembroke went on to lose five of their next seven as their hopes crumbled. Clare’s 2-0 win over Jesus College moved them within one game of the title, with champions Gonville and Caius as their only remaining challengers. Caius had to win all of their remaining games to have a chance, including several rescheduled match-ups, but a 5-1 loss when they met Clare meant that the race was over. After the final games are played, the Varsity Series will begin in Oxford this year with the second game to be played in Cambridge.

03-29-2022, 05:37 PM	#196
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	TOURNAMENT REVIEW: 1876 VARSITY SERIES Early July saw the final few league games played at both universities, including a bizarre situation in Cambridge where Trinity’s home field was unavailable for their final game against Queens’ and with no alternative date available, they were obliged to forfeit home advantage for the game. It did not affect them however, as Trinity took the win 5-3. With those games out of the way, it was time for the Varsity Series to begin in Oxford. Strangely, neither team was using the star pitcher who had dominated all the major statistical categories during the season – New College’s Mark Kirkup for Oxford and James Gulliver of Clare College for Cambridge. Family commitments meant that Kirkup had travelled home and was not selected, while Gulliver was selected but had concerns over an injury and asked not to be called on to pitch. Fortunately, both teams had strong second choices, with George Jackson of St John’s getting the nod for Cambridge and Worcester’s Cecil Hamilton chosen for Oxford. Cambridge made a slow start when, with two out in the first inning, Edwin Wakeling of Trinity recorded the first hit of the game and then advanced to second on a throwing error. The next man up, Tom Burrows of champions New College, drove him home to give Oxford the lead and for a long time it looked as though that would be enough for the win. Cambridge managed four hits, each in a different inning, but were never able to move a man beyond second base through the first eight innings. Oxford too could not get another man past second but with that narrow lead, it seemed to matter little. In the ninth, pitcher Hamilton got the first man out but then hit Jesus College’s Edwin Tapper with a pitch to give Cambridge a baserunner. St John’s man Sydney Fuller then added a two-base hit and Cambridge suddenly had runners at second and third with only one out. Hoping to force two outs in one play, Oxford decided to allow James Aldhouse of Clare College a free pass to first, but came to regret that decision. Next up was catcher Robert Humphries of St Catharine’s, and he produced a three-base hit which scored all three runners and turned the game around, putting Cambridge on top 3-1. Allan Hearle of Queens’ came in to pitch for Cambridge in the ninth and after allowing a hit to Tom Burrows and seeing him advance to third with two outs when a pitch evaded catcher Humphries, Hearle regained his composure to record the final out. Cambridge had a 3-1 win and a chance with home advantage in the second game to take the series for the first time in three years. In the second game, pitching was again dominant for much of the afternoon as nobody scored until the seventh inning. Tom Burrows again started things with a two-base hit and having moved himself to third, came in to score when Timothy Keightley of Christ Church followed up with another hit. With Keightley on third base and one out, Magdalen’s Samuel Seavers hit a ball deep enough into the outfield that Keightley was able to come home after the catch and extend the lead to 2-0. At this stage Cambridge did not even have a hit in the game, but in their half of the seventh found two and had runners at first and third with two out and Emmanuel’s Albert Daykin batting. Unfortunately for Daykin, he didn’t get to face a pitch as Robert Humphries strayed too far from first base and was thrown out to end the inning. In the eighth, Trinity’s Jonathan Orton started the inning for Cambridge with a three-base hit having replaced Daykin in the line-up, and Enoch Jackson of Gonville and Caius brought him home with another hit to cut the deficit to 2-1. Jackson made it to third base with two out, but Queens’ Matthew Gardner could not bring him home. Cambridge got a runner on first in the ninth inning but could advance him no further, their chance had gone in the eighth and Oxford held on to win 2-1 and tie the series at one game each. As reigning champions, Oxford called the coin toss for home advantage in the deciding game and called correctly, meaning that the teams headed back to Oxford for the third game. On this occasion, everything seemed to go right for Cambridge. Pitcher Jackson was almost untouchable, not allowing Oxford a baserunner until a two-base hit from Timothy Keightley in the fifth. By that point, they had also done considerable damage with the bat as pitcher Jackson had driven in the first run of the game in the second inning, before scoring himself on a hit from Sydney Fuller. Jackson again produced with the bat in the third, driving in another to make the score 3-0, before Oxford crumbled in the fifth. A careless pitch from Hamilton let James Aldhouse score from third to move the score to 4-0, then with runners at second and third a hit from William Lloyd of Gonville and Caius brought home two more. Oxford’s single hit in the fifth was not the start of a comeback, as that proved to be the only time all day that they had a baserunner. For good measure, Cambridge added a home run from Emmanuel’s Ernest Duerden in the eighth and quickly confirmed their success, taking the game 7-0 and the series 2-1. Both universities have now won the series four times in its eight year history, although Oxford have a slight edge in individual games at eleven wins to nine. Unsurprisingly, George Jackson was named as Best Pitcher, having played well throughout the series but particularly in his one-hit shutout in the deciding game. Best Player was given to Tom Burrows in a losing effort for Oxford.

03-29-2022, 05:40 PM	#197
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	MONTHLY ROUND-UP: JULY 1876 LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST Westminster and Angel head into August with both having fifteen wins on the board in the Metropolitan League, but Westminster at the top by virtue of having played and lost three fewer games. Two more postponements held them back this month and they have played fully five fewer than some teams in the league. When they did play however, their performances were good with only defeat in the second of two games against Hackney to open July denying them a perfect month. Angel on the other hand lost twice to The Regent’s Park and again to Greenwich, damaging their chances of holding on to their title. Greenwich meanwhile lost five out of eight to lose ground, and their month-ending 3-2 loss at Westminster could spell the end of their challenge. In the Middlesex County League, Edmonton have moved one game ahead at the top of the standings after winning five of six in July, while Isleworth lost in extra innings to both Ealing and Strawberry Hill. The two meet twice to open August, with Strawberry Hill fading from the race after a pair of defeats at the hands of Edmonton. Kent County League champions Rochester looked to be getting back into the race when they defeated leaders Dartford twice early in July, but a heavy loss in the first of two games against the Royal Engineers halted a good winning run. Another surprise loss at newcomers Tunbridge Wells ended the month, and they were fortunate that Dartford also lost on the same day at Maidstone. The gap currently sits at four games, with Maidstone fractionally further back in third place. In Surrey, champions Kingston began July by losing 4-0 at Richmond but recovered to win their next four, including a crucial 5-3 success against Wimbledon which moved them a game ahead. Wimbledon were also beaten at Richmond, who looked to be moving into the race themselves until they ended the month with a 9-0 loss in the second of two against Croydon. The Essex County League still looks tough to call, with West Ham’s loss in their final game of the month at Romford allowing Pig Alley to move to within a fraction by defeating champions Forest Gate. Only three games separate all six clubs with nobody in especially strong form. NORTH-WEST Despite losses against both Ashton and Irwell this month, Belle Vue have a one game lead in the Manchester and District League at the end of July. That in part is due to their two wins over Oldham, who are now one game behind them, as are champions Miles Platting who lost only once in nine games during the month. Bolton were in contention at the start of the month but they lost eight successive games before defeating Rochdale in their final game of July, while Bury’s chances were damaged by two defeats against Miles Platting and another against Belle Vue. In the Liverpool and District League, Linacre are still holding onto first place but find second-placed Sankey edging closer, despite losing three of their nine games in July. That is because Linacre lost three of eight themselves, exactly the same record as champions Liverpool who are running out of time to make up the deficit and hold on to their crown. Sharing two with Linacre in mid-July was not enough for Liverpool who needed to win both, and their month-ending loss against Sankey may prove to be crucial in ending their reign. It was another winless month for poor St Helens, who have now lost eighteen successive games and won only once all season. In the Lancashire County League, there is a change at the top as Blackburn lost four of their five games in July, including a 3-0 defeat against a Ribble team who have now edged fractionally ahead. Ribble started the month with defeat to Burnley but won their next four to move into first place, in what at the moment looks like a two-horse race for the championship. YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST It appears to be another straight fight between Leeds and Dewsbury in the Leeds and Bradford League this year, with Leeds appearing to take control when they defeated Dewsbury twice at the start of July. They could only share two with both Huddersfield and Hunslet in the next two weeks however and with Dewsbury winning their last four game, the gap remains relatively small between the two as we head into August. Bradford’s extra innings loss to Leeds may leave them too far back. In the Sheffield and District League, five teams still have winning records but it is champions Doncaster who have opened up a lead after winning their last three games following a poor start to the month. Most crucial was a 2-1 win over Chesterfield in a game where they trailed heading into the ninth inning. Sanderson’s Weir had the best month but saw a four-game winning run ended by neighbours Sheffield in their last game, while newcomers Chesterfield and Worksop both lost three times to drop a little further off the pace. East of Hull still lead the Yorkshire County League but Derwent are close behind them after winning their meeting 6-1 early in July. The gap would have been even smaller but for Derwent’s surprise loss against last placed York, while Beverley sit third as they also beat East of Hull but lost to York during the month. West of Hull have now lost nine successive games as their early season form is a fading memory. In the Tyne and Wear League, Gateshead have fallen off the pace after losing to both their fellow contenders Newcastle and Wearmouth, as well as to South Shields. It was an excellent month for Wearmouth who also defeated Newcastle and did not lose a game in July to move within one of Newcastle at the top. MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST Newcomers Bilston endured a poor month in the Birmingham and District League as their hopes of lifting the championship trophy at the first attempt were damaged by four successive defeats, two of them to champions Dudley who now have a two game lead at the top of the standings. By defeating Bilston 6-0 to end the month, Aston have now moved into second place while Small Heath still have a winning record but their hopes are slim after four defeats this month. In the Bristol and District League, Weston super Mare are still out in front by two games having defeated second placed Bristol Easton 2-1 when the two met early in July. However, they lost three of their other four matchups in the month while Bristol won all of their other four. Swindon have moved back up to an even record and face a crucial game against Bristol to begin August. In the Derby and Nottingham League, champions Ilkeston are very much back in the race after Derby Union lost four games out of five and Old Basford were defeated in each of their last two, one of those at the hands of Ilkeston. It is still Basford who lead the way by a fraction from Derby, but third placed Ilkeston are just one game back now having won their last four. A close three-way battle is underway in the Leicester and Northampton League, with St Margaret’s fractionally ahead despite losing to both of the other contenders in July. Champions Leicester trail by a fraction having won all four of their games this month, while Loughborough are one game back in third place having lost heavily 7-0 to Leicester. SCOTLAND Champions Burgh of Partick won four games out of five in the Glasgow and District League in July but are still coming under significant pressure from second placed Tail o’ the Bank, who won all four of their games and in all have eight successive victories to their name. They sit just one game behind, but Airdrie are falling out of contention after losing three times in the past month, including a 3-1 loss at Partick. Tollcross also have a winning record after ending the month by defeating Airdrie, but they are four games off the pace and surely too far back. In the East of Scotland League, The Grange are clinging on to the narrowest of leads after losing 5-4 to second placed Arthur’s Seat when the two met in mid-July. The Grange won their other four games, but Arthur’s Seat completed an undefeated month with four wins from four to edge a little closer. Champions Dunfermline won their last three games to move up to an even record, but it was of little use having lost to both of the top two teams before that and they sit four games back with ten to play. Arbroath looked to be moving out of sight in the North Caledonian League when they defeated second placed Moncreiffe Island 2-1 midway through July, but they lost their next two games against Dundee and Firth of Tay and saw Moncreiffe record two wins to close the gap significantly. Having looked as though they might yet make it a three-way battle, Aberdeen’s strong run came to an end in their last game of July, falling 6-0 against Moncreiffe having previously won their last five.

03-29-2022, 05:42 PM	#198
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	MONTHLY ROUND-UP: AUGUST 1876 LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST Westminster ended August by seeing their seven game winning run come to an end with a 3-0 loss against Hackney, but three victories prior to that mean that their lead has grown to two games following Angel’s defeat at the City of London Club on the same day. The game between the two was postponed and by the time it is played in October, the championship may be beyond Angel. An undefeated month has seen Clapham move clear in third place, but having played and lost five games more than Westminster it is difficult to see them catching up. Isleworth edged closer to Edmonton at the top of the Middlesex County League despite a mixed month for both. Having shared two when they met in early August, both teams lost once more in the month but Isleworth played and won one extra game and now trail only by a fraction. A perfect month for Tottenham sees them move into third place but they are still three games back. Long-time leaders Dartford continue are faltering in the Kent County League having lost all of their games in August, including what may be a very damaging 1-0 loss against reigning champions Rochester. Indeed, Rochester may have caught up by this point had they not lost their first two games of the month before winning three with successive shutouts. Maidstone are a further game back in third place and must take advantage of having two games in a day against Dartford in mid-September if they are to have any chance. In Surrey, Kingston look set to retain the championship after an undefeated month extended their winning run to eight overall, with the month-ending 8-0 thrashing of second placed Wimbledon looking to be the crucial game. Wimbledon had a good month aside from that game but time is running out to close the gap. The Essex County League continues to be tightly fought, with Pig Alley opening the month by defeating West Ham to move to the top, only for the teams to swap places again a week later when Pig Alley were beaten by Romford. That began a run of three successive wins for Romford who now join a tie for second position with the Pigs, fractionally behind a West Ham team who ended the month by losing to champions Forest Gate. Forest Gate and the Three Blackbirds of Leyton are well in the race despite having only even records, with Barking the only club out of the running after losing their last five. NORTH-WEST Belle Vue looked to have taken a large stride towards winning the Manchester and District League when they defeated champions Miles Platting 7-2 to move two games clear, only to be shocked by struggling newcomers Glossop a week later. That reduced their lead at the top back to a single game as Miles Platting defeated an Oldham team who have now lost their last four to seemingly fall out of contention. Irwell have moved into third place having won five out of six in August, and sit just two games behind the leaders. In the Liverpool and District League, Linacre are closing in on the championship after winning three out of three in August, including a vital 6-1 success at second placed Sankey Brook. Sankey actually lost three of their four games and are now four games back, the only bright spot for them a 3-0 win over Liverpool St Patrick’s which all but confirms that there will be different champions this season for the first time in the league’s six-year history. Elsewhere this month, St Helens ended their nineteen-game losing run with victory over Toxteth and now have two wins in what is an awful season for them. In the Lancashire County League, Blackburn edged back to the top of the standings when Ribble crashed 4-1 against Accrington, but Ribble’s 2-1 twelve-inning victory when the two met a week later puts them back in to first position but only by the smallest of margins. YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST Leeds Central lost their first two games in August but Leeds and Bradford League champions Dewsbury could not take full advantage, crashing heavily 10-0 against Woodhouse Lane to open the month. When they later fell 3-0 to Batley, they ended the month just as far behind as they had begun it and Leeds look increasingly like taking the crown for the first time. It was a good month for third placed Bradford who won four out of five, but they are three games back with time running out. The Sheffield and District League took a dramatic turn in August with champions Doncaster losing all four of their games having previously been well clear in the standings. That has allowed newcomers Chesterfield to move to the top having won four of their five, including a 10-1 annihilation of a Sheffield Philadelphia team who went into that game tied with them at the top. Sheffield and Doncaster sit one game back alongside Sanderson’s Weir, who would have held first place themselves but for an extra-innings loss to Chesterfield earlier in the month. With even records but only two games back, do not rule out Hallamshire or in-form Holmes Tail either. East of Hull continue to falter in the Yorkshire County League, winning two and losing two this month with one of the losses coming against second-placed Derwent, who continue their unexpected challenge. Three successive wins have moved them within a fraction of the leaders, as the race looks to be between those two for the inaugural title. In the Tyne and Wear League, Wearmouth opened August by winning 4-3 at leaders Newcastle and then with some of their rescheduled games being played, did enough to end the month tied with Newcastle for first place. The title seems set to go to one of those clubs, as long-time challengers Gateshead lost their first three in August to extend their losing run to six, before ending the month defeating South Shields to return to an even record. MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST In the Birmingham and District League, champions Dudley still have a two game lead despite two defeats in four games, including one against challengers Aston. Aston wasted that victory by falling 1-0 in fifteen innings at West Bromwich a week later, while Bilston also failed to make ground after losing to Birmingham Main Line and Small Heath. It is Small Heath who now look the most likely challengers to Dudley, having won four of five ahead of an early-September clash with Dudley. Weston super Mare remain in front in the Bristol and District League despite losing 6-2 to Bristol Easton. Weston and Bristol both had two wins and two defeats this month, allowing Swindon to re-emerge as challengers. They won their first four in August, but ended with a 2-1 loss at Weston which could prove highly damaging to their hopes. Derby edged clear again in the Derby and Nottingham League after narrow 2-1 wins over both Old Basford and Ilkeston to begin August. They could have been further ahead but could only share two with neighbours Midland Loco. Ilkeston could also only share two with Midland and so made no ground, while Old Basford lost their meeting with champions Ilkeston, a result which prevented them moving clear in second. Champions Leicester South Fields are now the leaders of the Leicester and Northampton League after St Margaret’s lost all four of their games in a disastrous month. Having edged their meeting 2-1, Leicester lead Loughborough by single game with St Margaret’s one further back. SCOTLAND Champions Burgh of Partick still lead Tail o’ the Bank by a single game in the Glasgow and District League after the two matched each other result for result through August, winning their first game, losing the next two and winning the last. They meet to open September with the result set to make the difference between a two game margin and the teams being tied. Third placed Airdrie beat Tail but lost to Partick during August and sit three games back with time beginning to run out. In the East of Scotland League, The Grange moved further ahead by winning all three of their games in August including a 5-1 victory at second placed Arthur’s Seat. Two defeats drop champions Dunfermline back to a losing record and they now seem sure to lose their grip on the championship trophy. Arbroath are all but assured of being the first champions of the North Caledonian League after they won all three games in August, including an extra innings win at Moncreiffe Island. With Moncreiffe also losing in eleven innings at Firth of Tay a week later, the gap is now four games with only seven left to play.

03-29-2022, 05:55 PM	#199
as5680 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Didcot, England Posts: 1,426	MONTHLY ROUND-UP: SEPTEMBER 1876 LONDON AND SOUTH-EAST There seems to be little to stop Westminster winning this year’s Metropolitan League championship, not even a perfect month of September from Clapham who have won nine successive games in all and moved into second place. Westminster took five out of six themselves, falling only 1-0 in extra innings to Putney, and although Clapham have the same number of victories Westminster have played and lost six games fewer. Indeed, fatigue may be their only concern as they must play every Wednesday in October to complete their schedule. Defeat to Clapham at the end of the month has dropped Angel down to third place. Despite a 7-4 loss to championship rivals Isleworth, two victories from their final three games will win the Middlesex County League for Edmonton after Isleworth lost three of their other four games during September. A dramatic 2-0 win in ten innings against the Old Harrovians may have put Edmonton out of sight, while Isleworth must win their last two and hope for at least two defeats for the leaders. In the Kent County League, Dartford appear to have steadied the ship after a loss at in-form Tunbridge Wells early in September left them clinging to a narrow lead. Sharing two with Maidstone was much more use to Dartford than to the chasing Maidstone, with two more victories to end the month giving them a three-game lead. Champions Rochester have crumbled under the pressure of chasing a third successive crown, losing their last four games to drop to third below a Tunbridge Wells team who have remarkably won their last ten overall after a tough first half to their debut campaign. Dartford could be champions after their next game if they win and Tunbridge Wells are beaten. In Surrey, Kingston are almost home and dry despite two postponements in September and a tough extra innings loss to Reigate. Wimbledon could only win two and lose two and they sit three games back with only four to play. One more win will be enough for Romford to take the Essex County League for this year, after four wins from their first five in September edged them clear of West Ham. Indeed, they would be champions already but for a narrow 6-5 loss to Barking in their last game. West Ham lost four of five this month, including one against Romford, and have dropped back to an even record. They must defeat Romford in their next game to keep the race alive. NORTH-WEST In a dramatic month in the Manchester and District League, champions Miles Platting and long-time leaders Belle Vue both lost four successive games to see their title hopes fade. Their loss in form had handed a chance to Bury and Oldham, whose own dip in form earlier in the year seemed to have ruled them out. Instead, Bury now lead the way after winning four games out of five this month while Oldham are just a fraction behind having taken a perfect four from four. Belle Vue too are only fractionally off the lead, but they must turn their form around quickly. Irwell are one game back in fourth after dropping two games in a day to improving Glossop. The first championship to be decided this year was the Liverpool and District League, with Linacre the team who finally ended Liverpool St Patrick’s five-year hold on the crown. Defeat against Sankey slowed their charge a little and then victories for Sankey and Anfield a week later made Linacre wait a little longer, but it was perhaps fitting that the title was secured with a 1-0 win over Liverpool. Two years ago Liverpool edged out Linacre in a tie-breaking game, but this year Linacre sealed their own success against the five-time winners. In the Lancashire County League, two defeats in their first three games of September saw Ribble caught by Blackburn, making their final scheduled meeting absolutely pivotal as the teams entered the game tied with three to play. Sadly for Ribble, they fell to a 5-2 defeat and when they lost again a week later to outgoing champions Over Darwen, the race was run. Blackburn defeated Burnley on the same day to move two games clear with only one remaining, secure the championship for the first time. YORKSHIRE AND NORTH-EAST Victories in their first two games of September seemed to push Leeds Central to the brink of winning the Leeds and Bradford League, but defeats in the next three handed an opportunity to champions Dewsbury in their attempt to catch up. They could not take full advantage however, falling to both Woodhouse Lane and Huddersfield and remain adrift in second place three matches to play. Leeds have four remaining and know that three victories will be enough. The most exciting finish of the year is in the Sheffield and District League, where with one round of fixtures remaining three teams remain tied for first place. Chesterfield had entered the month one game ahead but lost that advantage with a 1-0 defeat at Hallamshire before they, Sheffield Philadelphia and Sanderson’s Weir all won three and lost one of their next four games. Losses to Sheffield and Weir ended Hallamshire’s hopes of getting into the thick of the race, while champions Doncaster are having a wretched end to the year as they lost all five in September to extend their losing run to nine and guarantee not only the loss of their championship but a losing record for the year. Chesterfield meet Sanderson’s Weir in the final game of the season, with the winners of that match-up knowing that they will take the title if Sheffield lose to Holmes Tail, or face a tiebreaking game should Sheffield win. In the Yorkshire County League, East of Hull saw their hopes of taking the inaugural title suffer a blow when they lost 1-0 in eighteen innings to neighbours West of Hull and fell one game behind Derwent at the top of the standings. A 1-0 victory over Derwent the following week drew them level again, only for Derwent to move ahead once more by defeating Beverley as Easts lost to York. When Easts lost again to Scarborough in their next game, a result which moved Scarborough into a tie for second place, Derwent could have secured the title with victory over York but fell 2-0. That means that with one game to play, Derwent lead by a single game from both Scarborough and East of Hull, and will take the crown if they beat West of Hull in their last fixture. Defeat would give either or both of the chasers the chance to force tiebreakers. Winning their first three games of September seemed to move Wearmouth out of sight in the Tyne and Wear League, but they unexpectedly dropped two games to South Shields and another to Jesmond to end the month. Newcastle Westgate had the chance to move level in the standings by defeating Sunderland twice on the final Saturday in September, but having won the first game they lost the second and trail by one with one to play. They must now win at Jesmond and hope that Wearmouth lose at Gateshead to earn a tiebreaking game. MIDLANDS AND SOUTH-WEST It is still tough to call the Birmingham and District League race after Dudley slumped to defeat in each of their first four games in September. They are still clinging on to a share of first place, alongside a Birmingham Main Line team who have been on the fringes of the race all year but now share top spot after winning all five in September for the concession of just a single run. Small Heath lost narrowly to both Main Line and West Bromwich to sit one game back in third, while newcomers Bilston have lost three of their last four but still have a chance if they can win all their rescheduled games, having played three fewer than the two leaders. The battle is over in the Bristol and District League, as first Bristol Easton faded away by losing their first three in the month and then Swindon faltered with losses against Avon and Arno’s Castle. That left Swindon having to beat leaders Weston super Mare to keep the race alive, but Weston took the game 3-0 and claim the championship having missed out by a single game last year. In the Derby and Nottingham League, Derby Union earned a vital victory over champions Ilkeston midway through September and seemed set to take the crown, but a 1-0 loss to neighbours Midland Loco has revived hope for Ilkeston. They won their last two and are now just one game behind again, with both teams having three to play. Leicester South Fields are on the verge of a successful title defence in the Leicester and Northampton League, despite opening September with a 2-0 defeat at Northampton. They won their next four games, most importantly a 3-0 success at second placed Loughborough which moved them two games ahead in the standings. Two wins from their final four games will be enough for a second championship. SCOTLAND Tail o’ the Bank moved level with champions Burgh of Partick at the top of the Glasgow and District League when they opened September by defeating their rivals 5-0, but handed the advantage straight back with a defeat at Tollcross in their next game. Just as Partick were looking as though they might have done enough for a fourth successive title however, they too crashed to Tollcross and Tail took advantage, winning their last game of the month 3-0 against Govan to close to within a fraction at the top. They have three to play and Partick just two, with the second of those a meeting of the two contenders which may decide the destination of this year’s championship. Victories in their first three games of September, coupled with two defeats for Arthur’s Seat against Haymarket, meant that The Grange could secure the East of Scotland League championship with victory over Arthur’s Seat when the two met for the final time this year. The Grange could not complete the job however, falling 1-0, and despite defeating Haymarket a week later the championship is still not quite theirs heading into October. They are two ahead with two to play, and know that one win or a defeat for Arthur’s Seat will end the race. The race is already over in the new North Caledonian League however, as unfancied Arbroath completed their remarkable season by taking the inaugural championship. They did not do so comfortably, losing two of their first three in September before slipping again 2-1 against Moncreiffe when victory would have secured the title. In their last game of September Arbroath lost again, 6-2 to Dundee, but this time it did not matter as Moncreiffe and Aberdeen were both defeated in their games, which meant that nobody could catch up. Arbroath now lead by three with two to play and despite having the smallest number of players at their disposal, have overcome the teams from much larger towns and cities to take the crown.