The Big Bang: A Larger Baseball Universe Starting From Nothing in 1857 - Page 41

tm1681 · 08-01-2025, 05:02 AM

AMERICAN BASEBALL JULY RECAP

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (August 1, 1875) – The calendar has now turned over to August, which means that there are a scant few weeks left in the season and playoff places are soon to be decided. Here are how the three competitions stand.

APBL STANDINGS (75 of 90 games played)

COLONIAL – Alleghany increased their lead atop the standings from three games to seven during July, thanks to mostly excellent baseball. However, St. John’s has won nine of their last eleven games and thus have become a late-season threat once again. Shamrock, Massachusetts Bay, & Flour City played okay baseball in July, but by now it is highly unlikely that any of the three will make a miracle charge up the standings. Niagara fell from 3rd to last with a disastrous month.

METROPOLITAN – American is now alone in 1st by a handful of games thanks to a poor July by Excelsior in which they lost their last five games. Gotham also took advantage of Excelsior’s slide, using a 16-9 month to move into a tie for 2nd place and position themselves with a chance to catch American should the leaders falter. Orange is all but eliminated but can still play spoiler. Knickerbocker is playing for pride. Kings County is back to playing terrible baseball.

APBL MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
Konrad Jensen (LF, STJ) – .360, .987 OPS, 40 R, 41 H, 13 XBH, 2 HR, 29 RBI, 13 BB, 21 SB, 1.2 WPA, 1.8 WAR

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Peadar Daly (GOT) – 7-3, 2.68 ERA, 100.2 IP, 9 CG, 0 SHO, 5 K, 0.6 K/BB, 1.22 WHIP, 1.3 WAR, 3.2 rWAR

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
Daniel Gibson (P, FC) – 6-5, 2.70 ERA, 100.0 IP, 6 CG, 0 SHO, 5 K, 0.3 K/BB, 1.43 WHIP, 1.0 WAR, 0.8 rWAR

Nobody in the A.P.B.L. or N.B.B.O. has ever won B.o.t.M. with a monthly average as low as .360, but Jensen is exactly the kind of player to pull off such a feat with the ridiculous secondary numbers he put up. Still, Franklin Petty (.420, 42 R, 50 H, 16 SB, 1.5 WAR) will have felt robbed by Jensen having been awarded B.o.t.M. number fourteen.

Daly was one of four seven-game winners during July, and while he didn’t quite have the best ERA of the four (Elmer Seabold [ALL] w/ 2.61), Daly had the best W-L mark while pitching for an in-form Gotham team, and the Writers Pool felt that deserved P.o.t.M. honors over Seabold, teammate Albert Lively, & Orange’s George Sturgis.

Gibson pitched more innings and won more games than any other Greenhorn P in July, and for that he won G.o.t.M. It’s a much-deserved honor for Gibson, who was originally supposed to be a substitute for Flour City before the stunning retirement of 29-year-old James York over the winter left a big hole in the team’s pitching duo to fill, which Gibson has done admirably.

APBL STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .382 by James Burke (CF, American)
OPS: .902 by James Burke
Runs: 108 by Franklin Petty (RF, American)
Home Runs: 5 by Troy Oberst (LF, Excelsior)
Runs Batted In: 87 by Peter Boyce (2B, American)
Stolen Bases: 66 by Franklin Petty
Batsman WPA: 5.7 by Cormack Alexander (1B, Knick)
Batsman WAR: 4.6 by James Burke

ERA (150+ IP): 2.66 by Simeon DiStefano (American)
Wins: 23 by Jim Creighton (Excelsior)
Complete Games: 25 by Jim Creighton
Strikeouts: 99 by Jim Creighton
WHIP (150+ IP): 1.23 by Simeon DiStefano
Pitcher WAR: 7.5 by Jim Creighton
Pitcher rWAR: 5.0 by Elmer Seabold (Alleghany)

NBBO REGIONAL LEADERS (59 of 70 games played)

BROOKLYN: Eckford at 35-24 (Cont’l 1 GB, Atlantic 2 GB, Marathon 4 GB)
NEW YORK CITY: Metropolitan at 37-22 (Mutual 4 GB, Mercury & Union 5 GB)
UPSTATE N.Y.: Minuteman at 38-21 (Utica 2 GB, Frontier 5 GB, Victory 7 GB)
COASTAL: Port Jersey at 38-21 (Trenton Utd. 1 GB, Quaker St. 2 GB, Newark 4 GB)
INLAND: Merrimack & Susquehanna at 36-23 (Reading A.C. 5 GB, Pioneer 7 GB)
NEW ENGLAND: Cantabrigians at 36-23 (Portland 2 GB, Salem 5 GB, S.o.t.O. 6 GB)

BROOKLYN – Atlantic broke away from the pack during June, but they came right back to it with a 9-14 July. That left an opening for those masters of late-season surges, Eckford, who won their last ten games to take 1st place for themselves. Continental sits between the two of them, Marathon is lurking, and Bedford is six games behind.

NEW YORK CITY – Mutual played .500 baseball during July, meaning a 16-7 month by Metro vaulted them four games clear into top spot. Mutual still offers plenty of danger to Metro, as they play last-place Harlem to end the season. Mercury & Union are a handful of games back and are also good enough to make a move should Metro slip up.

UPSTATE N.Y. – A 16-7 month by Minuteman moved them ahead of Utica and alone into 1st place. The two teams play a series at Minuteman next week, so the five-game winner will almost certainly take the pennant. The only thing to give the previous statement pause is that Frontier is 8-2 over their last ten games and has won their last five.

COASTAL – For the second “1st of the Month” in a row the trio of Pt. Jersey, Trenton Utd., & Quaker St. find themselves two games apart, with Newark just a game or two behind. The last two weeks will be a bloodbath, as Pt. Jersey plays Newark & Quaker St., Quaker St. plays Maryland & P.J., and Newark plays P.J. & National. The team with a big advantage: Trenton Utd., who plays National (20-39) & Olympic (21-38).

INLAND – Merrimack ended the month on a 7-3 run but Susquehanna won their final fourteen games, leaving the two tied and setting up an epic pennant race. Merrimack ends the season vs Sportsman’s and then at Pioneer, while Susquehanna is at home against Pioneer and then at Reading A.C. In terms of strength of schedule, it’s a push.

NEW ENGLAND – Cantabrigians used an outstanding 15-8 July to keep the New England lead into August for the first time. They play at home against Portland next week, with the series winner the likely N.E. champion unless Salem sweeps Quinnipiac and does damage during their final series against Portland.

NBBO MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMEN OF THE MONTH
NYL: Charles Fletcher (2B, NC) – .378, .926 OPS, 26 R, 37 H, 4 2B, 4 3B, 27 RBI, 9 BB, 8 SB, 2.5 WPA, 1.3 WAR
NEL: Ned Morganti (CF, QS) – .395, .978 OPS, 30 R, 45 H, 8 2B, 5 3B, 37 RBI, 5 BB, 5 SB, 1.5 WPA, 1.3 WAR

PITCHERS OF THE MONTH
NYL: William Tighe (P, MIN) – 11-4, 2.47 ERA, 113.0 IP, 7 CG, 11 K, 1.4 K/BB, 1.28 WHIP, 1.8 WAR, 2.7 rWAR
NEL: George Burroughs (PJ)* – 11-3, 2.30 ERA, 129.1 IP, 10 CG, 11 K, 1.4 K/BB, 1.21 WHIP, 2.9 WAR, 5.0 rWAR

GREENHORNS OF THE MONTH
NYL: William McMahon (BED) – 7-4, 2.60 ERA, 100.1 IP, 6 CG, 6 K, 1.5 K/BB, 1.25 WHIP, 2.2 WAR, 1.6 rWAR
NEL: Walt Harper (SPO) – 7-7, 1.72 ERA, 110.0 IP, 9 CG, 8 K, 0.9 K/BB, 1.25 WHIP, 2.2 WAR, 3.0 rWAR

*Burroughs also won N.E.L. Pitcher of the Month for June.

NBBO STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .411 by Gerhardt Berg (1B, Quaker St.)
OPS: .974 by Gerhardt Berg
Runs: 84 by Manuel Romeiras (CF, Trenton Utd.)
Home Runs: 5 by Henry Card (RF, Maryland) & Clarence Jones (CF, Mercury)
Runs Batted In: 79 by Ned Morganti (CF, Quaker St.)
Stolen Bases: 55 by Steffen Strandlund (CF, Sportman’s)
Batsman WPA: 4.8 by Jesse Craig (1B, S.o.t.O.)
Batsman WAR: 3.8 by Manuel Romeiras

ERA (150+ IP): 1.89 by George Burroughs (Pt. Jersey)
Wins: 26 by George Burroughs
Complete Games: 26 by Rudolph Fowler (Utica)
Strikeouts: 38 by Abraham Evans (Reading A.C.)
WHIP (150+ IP): 1.12 by William Hawk (Susquehanna)
Pitcher WAR: 6.5 by George Burroughs
Pitcher rWAR: 12.1 by George Burroughs

PCBL LEADERS (59 of 70 games played)

EAST: Frankford Arsenal at 37-22 (Minerva 4 GB, Keystone 5 GB, two teams 8 GB)
WEST: Philadelphia B.C.C. at 42-17 (Germantown 8 GB, no other teams within 10 GB)

EAST – Frankford played fine baseball during July, going 14-9, and as a result increased their lead over East Philadelphia from one game to four. They end the season playing at Spartan and vs Pt. Richmond, so it’s unlikely that Minerva or Keystone, both around .500 over their last ten games, will be able to catch up to 1st place.

WEST – P.B.C.C.’s 15-8 July actually brought their Winning Percentage down. They end the season playing at Merion & Penn but they have an unheard of 21-4 (.840) Away record this year, so going 8-2 or 9-1 over those games is entirely possible. Germantown will have to hope for the mother of all collapses by P.B.C.C. to have a chance at the pennant.

PCBL MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
Joseph Evans (LF, FRA)* – .381, .958 OPS, 37 R, 43 H, 12 XBH, 1 HR, 26 RBI, 8 BB, 3 SB, 2.5 WPA, 1.7 WAR

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Harvey Bowman (SCH) – 8-2, 1.29 ERA, 77.0 IP, 8 CG, 4 K, INF K/BB, 1.01 WHIP, 1.1 WAR, 2.3 rWAR

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
Ciaran Stewart (SoB)** – .493, 1.139 OPS, 20 R, 37 H, 6 2B, 2 3B, 19 RBI, 3 BB, 0 SB, 0.9 WPA, 1.1 WAR

*Evans also won P.C.B.L. Batsman of the Month for June.
**Stewart missed five games during July, and thus was passed over for B.o.t.M.

PCBL STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .396 by Joseph Evans (LF, Frankford)
OPS: 1.049 by Joseph Evans
Runs: 80 by Robert Chase (CF, P.B.C.C.)
Home Runs: 5 by Joseph Evans
Runs Batted In: 72 by Walter Kirby (LF, P.B.C.C.)
Stolen Bases: 34 by Harrison Comstock (LF, Germantown)
Batsman WPA: 6.4 by William Norman (1B, Merion)
Batsman WAR: 4.4 by Joseph Evans

ERA (150+ IP): 1.76 by Harvey Bowman (Schuylkill)
Wins: 23 by Arthur Lipscomb (P.B.C.C.)
Complete Games: 23 by Jackie Farmer (Germantown) & Arthur Lipscomb
Strikeouts: 36 by Oscar Downs (Queen Village)
WHIP (150+ IP): 1.10 by Harvey Bowman
Pitcher WAR: 5.9 by Timotheus Memminger (Schuylkill)
Pitcher rWAR: 7.3 by Arthur Lipscomb

tm1681 · 08-01-2025, 05:03 AM

METRO WINS ANOTHER MEMORABLE ALL-STAR GAME
METRO TAKES A.S.G. FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT YEAR WITH A MIGHTY RALLY IN THE 9TH

PITTSBURGH (Aug. 2, 1875) - The 5th APBL All-Star Game took place at Recreation Park in Pittsburgh on Monday, with the forty best players in the sport of baseball taking to the field in front of a sellout crowd. It was an incredible game featuring a huge early lead for the Colonial, an incredible comeback by the Metro, and a game-deciding rally in the 9th:

Starting lineups were as follows:

• METROPOLITAN – P: Jim Creighton (EXC), C: Everett Schreiber (ORA), 1B: Cormack Alexander (KNI), 2B: Babe Johnson (GOT), 3B: Jonathan Quarles (GOT), SS: Anthony Mascherino (ORA), LF: Royal Altman (GOT), CF: James Burke (AME), RF: Franklin Petty (AME)

• COLONIAL – P: Elmer Seabold (ALL), C: Harry Thompson (ALL), 1B: Frank Bulger (SHA), 2B: Harold Groves (SHA), 3B: Frank Doherty (ALL), SS: Gerald Strong (ALL), LF: Konrad Jensen (STJ), CF: Robert Golden (ALL), RF: Nelson Townsend (STJ)

Early on this game was all Colonial. In a strange B1 they scored five times on a Wild Pitch, an Error, a Sacrifice Fly, a Fielder’s Choice, and a Doherty Single to take a very quick 5-0 lead. However, they weren’t done as the home side scored twice in the 3rd on Singles by hometown stars Thompson & Strong and then three more times in the 4th on run-scoring Singles by William Dickerson, Obelix Tsiaris, & James Simon to take a seemingly insurmountable 10-0 lead.

The Metro comeback started immediately, with a pair of runs in T5 coming in on an Error and a Double by Schreiber. After a Colonial run made the score 11-2 at the end of the 5th the visitors scored once in the 6th on a Sacrifice Fly and then twice in the 7th on a Ground Out and a William Valentine Double, which turned it into an 11-5 game. The Colonial would score once more in B7 via Ground Out to make it 12-5, but the Metro countered with two runs in B8 on an Error and a Passed Ball to cut the Colonial lead to five at 12-7.

After a scoreless B8, the Metropolitan Conference came to bat for and unleased an incredible 9th-inning rally:

• MET #2 Louis Dyke (CF): Infield Single between C & P
• MET #3 Peter Boyce (2B): Fly Out to RF (1 out)
• MET #4 Garfield Koonce (1B): Reached via Error by SS (Dyke to 2B)
• MET #5 Troy Oberst (LF): Reached via Error by SS (Dyke to 3B, Koonce to 2B)
• MET #6 Albert Goddard (C): 1-run Single past 2B (R by Dyke, Koonce to 3B, Oberst to 2B)
• COL PITCHING CHANGE: Howard Burns in for James Goodman
• MET #7 Martin Prince (SS): 1-run Single past 2B (R by Koonce, Oberst to 3B, Goddard to 2B)
• MET #8 Elijah Hill (3B): 1-run Single past 1B (R by Oberst, Goddard to 3B, Prince to 2B)
• MET #9 Albert Lively (P): 2-run Single to LF (R’s by Goddard & Prince, Hill to 3B)
• Lively to 2B via Error by LF
• MET #1 William Valentine (RF): Reached via Base on Balls
• MET #2 Louis Dyke (CF): Reached via Fielder’s Choice at HP (2 out) (Lively to 3B, Valentine to 2B)
• MET #3 Peter Boyce (2B): 2-run Single to CF (R’s by Lively & Valentine, Dyke to 3B)
• MET #4 Garfield Koonce (1B): Reached via Base on Balls
• MET #5 Troy Oberst (LF): Ground Out to 1B (3 out)
• TOTAL: 13 Batsmen, 7 Runs, 6 Hits, 3 Errors, 2 Bases on Balls

It was Boyce’s two-run Single that put the Metro ahead 14-12, and by the end of the half-inning the Colonial Conference and their supporters in the stands were left stunned. The Colonial sent five men to bat in the bottom of the 9th and had men on 1st & 2nd with two out, but Ralph Knight hit a fly ball to RF and an extraordinary Metropolitan Conference victory had been completed in Pittsburgh. The nature of the loss will have really rankled the Colonial players, as this was the fourth consecutive Metropolitan Conference victory.

Even though it was Boyce who had the game-winning hit, Knickerbocker CF Louis Dyke took home the M.V.P. trophy:

• MET SUB Louis Dyke (CF, KNI): 3/4 (all 1B), 2 R, 1 RBI

Dyke entered for James Burke in the top of the 6th and came to bat four times, reached all four times, and was the only player in the All-Star game with three Hits to his name.

The best player for the Colonial Conference was William Dickerson:

• COL SUB William Dickerson (3B, SHA): 2/4 (2B, 3 TB), 1 R, 3 RBI

The pitchers of record were Albert Lively with the Win and Howard Burns with the Loss.

Attendance was 17,639 at Recreation Park. Weather wasn’t ideal – there was a 39-minute rain delay during the 7th inning – but the excitement the game itself provided easily made up for it.

tm1681 · 08-02-2025, 02:40 AM

NYAC TOPS HILLTOP IN DOUBLE-DIGIT THRILLER
TEAMS TOTAL THREE DOZEN BASE HITS; NYAC SS JAMES GOES FOR 5 HITS & 6 RBI

NEW YORK CITY (Aug. 6, 1875) - Thanks to some high-scoring innings, New York Athletic Club and Hilltop B.B.C. played a very exciting baseball game on Friday afternoon, with visiting N.Y.A.C. coming out on top:

A six-run rally in the 2nd inning followed by two more runs in the 3rd gave Hilltop an 8-2 lead, but N.Y.A.C. took the lead (9-8) in the 5th when they reeled off seven runs on a lengthy series of hits. Hilltop took the lead back (10-9) with a pair of runs in B5, and N.Y.A.C. tied the game (10-10) with a single run in B6.

It was the 7th inning where the game was ultimately decided. N.Y.A.C. came to bat and scored six times on a series of Errors, Bases on Balls, and Singles, with the key moment being a two-run Single by SS Peter James. The result was a 16-10 lead for the visitors, and while Hilltop scored twice in response they never seriously threatened to even the score.

The rally-capping hit was the finest plate appearance of a great afternoon for James:

• T2: 1-run Double to CF off D. Flynn (R)
• T4: Infield Single to C off D. Flynn
• T5: 2-run Single to LF off D. Flynn (R)
• T6: 1-run Double to LF off A. Hubbard
• T7: 2-run Single past SS off A. Hubbard
• T9: Fly Out to SS (3 out)
• TOTAL: 5/6 (2 2B, 7 TB), 2 R, 6 RBI

James’ performance raised his Batting Average to .325 (.763 OPS) with 52 Runs Batted In and 2.3 WAR with seven games left in the 1875 season. He has firmly established himself as one of the best middle infielders in the competition.

Both N.Y.A.C. & Hilltop are playing for pride at this point, with the teams eliminated from playoff contention and their main goal from here on out being to avoid finishing last in New York City.

tm1681 · 08-02-2025, 02:41 AM

TRENTON UTD. BLISTERS OLYMPIC TO COMMAND COASTAL
FLURRY OF LATE RUNS LEADS TO 8TH STRAIGHT T.U. WIN; KEEREWEER HAS 5 HITS & RBI EACH

PATERSON, N.J. (Aug. 12, 1875) - Trenton United went into Game Two of their all-important Week Fourteen series at Olympic expecting another win to stay on top of the Coastal Championship, and they got exactly what they expected:

6th-place Olympic kept things close during the early innings, with Trenton Utd. ahead 1-0 after the end of the 4th. After that, however, the visitors were in complete control. Olympic managed to score once in the 5th, but Trenton Utd. scored five times in the 5th, four times in the 7th, three times in the 8th, and eight more times in the 9th to turn what was a 1-0 game into a sixteen-run victory (21-5) that extended their lengthy Winning Streak.

Trenton Utd. saw a trio of three-hit performances:

• TU #2 Earl Seals (SS): 3/6 (2B, 4 TB), 3 R, 4 RBI
• TU #5 Paul Kronenberg (1B): 3/5 (2B, 4 TB), 3 R, 2 RBI, SAC BUNT
• TU #7 Charles Singer (C): 3/5 (all 1B), 1 R, 1 RBI

However, there was an obvious Player of the Game in Paterson, and it was Trenton Utd. 3B Jelmar Keereweer:

• T2: Leadoff Single past 2B off J. Davis
• T4: Ground Out to 1B (2 out)
• T5: 2-run Double to CF off J. Davis
• T7: 1-run Single past SS off J. Davis (R)
• T9: Single to RF off E. Edwards (R)
• T9: 2-run Single past 2B off E. Edwards (R)
• TOTAL: 5/6 (2B, 6 TB), 3 R, 5 RBI

Keereweer did most of his damage late to ensure that Olympic’s chances at any comeback were dead and buried. It’s been a down year for the Trenton Utd. 3B, but the performance did raise his Average to .286 (.631) with a few games remaining.

The victory was an enormous one for Trenton Utd. They have taken advantage of their late schedule, winning all five games last week against National and their first two games against Olympic, running their Winning Streak to eight games and their record to 45-22. This allowed them to fend off a six-win run by Quaker St., who lost to Pt. Jersey yesterday. That means the gap between the top two teams in the Coastal Championship is now two games with three left to play, and given the relative strength of both teams’ opposition then Trenton Utd. has one hand on the pennant.

tm1681 · 08-02-2025, 02:43 AM

BAILEY HAS INCREDIBLE DAY IN QUAKER ST. WIN
GREENHORN LF HAS 6 HITS, 5 RUNS, & 6 RBI AS TEAM TAKES OUT FRUSTRATIONS ON PT. JERSEY

PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 14, 1875) - Quaker State saw their playoff hopes come to an end yesterday, even though they had a 7-2 August record, as Trenton United just couldn’t stop winning. They responded by taking their frustrations out on Port Jersey in an enormous win between two teams that, on paper, are an even matchup:

It was visiting Pt. Jersey that drew First Blood during the opening inning thanks to a Double by Joe Thatcher, but after that this was a contest in designation only because it was all Quaker St. While the 2nd inning was scoreless, Quaker St. put up multiple-run rallies in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, & 6th to take a 14-2 lead ahead of the late innings. After a scoreless 7th Pt. Jersey scored four times in T8, but then Quaker St. came to bat and applied the coup de grâce with a ten-run rally that put them ahead by eighteen (24-6). Pt. Jersey scored what was very much a consolation run in T9, and that was that.

Quaker St. received an outstanding performance from 1B Gerhardt Berg…

• QS #3 Gerhardt Berg (1B): 4/7 (2 2B, 6 TB), 4 R, 4 RBI

…but an even better one from LF Alistair Bailey:

• B1: Ground Out to 3B (2 out)
• B3: 1-run Single past SS off R. van der Hout (R)
• B4: 1-run Triple to LCF off R. van der Hout (R)
• B5: 2-run Single past SS off R. van der Hout (R)
• B6: 1-run Infield Single to 2B off F. Metzger
• B8: Single to CF off F. Metzger (R)
• B8: 1-run Single past 2B off C. King (R)
• TOTAL: 6/7 (3B, 8 TB), 5 R, 6 RBI, 121 GMSC

Bailey’s performance was the second-best by an N.B.B.O. batsman this year, behind only Fred Stanick’s afternoon for Lake Erie vs Pioneer on June 3rd (6/7, 2B, 3B, 5 R, 7 RBI, 132 GMSC).

While Quaker St. will miss the Tucker-Wheaton Cup playoffs for the first time in five years thanks to an extraordinary run of form by Trenton Utd., the win guaranteed that they will finish alone in 2nd place in the Coastal Championship, at least one game ahead of 3rd-place Pt. Jersey.

tm1681 · 08-02-2025, 02:43 AM

METRO CONFERENCE COMES DOWN TO FINAL WEEK
AMERICAN & EXCELSIOR ONE GAME APART WITH SIX GAMES LEFT TO PLAY

BROOKLYN & PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 16, 1875) - After looking like they were going to pull away and take the pennant on August 1st, American & Excelsior are now in a fight for the Metropolitan Conference title that could very well go down to the final day of the season.

Excelsior has won their first nine games in August, and as a result they have cut American’s lead over the rest of the Metropolitan Conference from four games to one with just six games left to play in the 1875 season.

The current standings in the Metropolitan:

Gotham is technically still in the playoff chase, but they would have to win all six of their remaining games while seeing American go 0-6 and Excelsior go 1-5 or 0-6 to force a two-way or three-way playoff for the conference title. It doesn’t take a Professor of Mathematics to know that the odds of such an event occurring are almost impossibly high.

Here is the remaining schedule for both teams:

• AMERICAN: at Kings Co. (13-2 vs KC), vs Knickerbocker (10-5 vs KNI)
• EXCELSIOR: at Orange (7-8 vs ORA), vs Gotham (6-9 vs GOT)

While Excelsior is in far superior form, American has a major schedule advantage for the final week since they are playing the two worst teams in the A.P.B.L. Excelsior’s form advantage and American’s schedule advantage could cancel each other out and turn the final week into a draw, but that would mean American still takes the Metropolitan Conference by an ever-so-slim margin.

If American can keep their #1 offense going then they’ll be able to weather the Excelsior storm, as American’s combined 23-7 record against Kings Co. & Knickerbocker suggests they should be able to win at least four of their last six games. For Excelsior, that means they may very well have to keep up their impeccable start to August if they are to snatch the Metropolitan Conference pennant from American’s grasp.

As for the Colonial Conference, Alleghany clinched the pennant with a victory at Niagara and a St. John’s loss to Shamrock on Sunday afternoon.

On paper it looks like American will take the Metropolitan Conference pennant, but with the lead at just one game it should still be an exciting final week to the season.

tm1681 · 08-02-2025, 02:45 AM

BERG BECOMES 1ST .400 HITTER IN THREE YEARS
QUAKER ST. 1B GOES 2/4 ON FINAL DAY TO KEEP AVERAGE BARELY ABOVE MILESTONE MARKER

PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 16, 1875) - Quaker State was held scoreless on the final day of the N.B.B.O. season in a 9-0 home loss to Port Jersey, thanks to the efforts of the man all but guaranteed to win Northeastern League Pitcher of the Year: George Burroughs.

However, Burroughs allowed ten Hits during the Shutout victory and two of those went to Quaker St. 1B Gerhardt Berg (both 1B). Berg entered the game batting .401 after a 4/7 performance on Saturday, and his 2/4 on Sunday left him with the following as a final batting line for 1875:

• .402 AVG, .949 OPS, 93 R, 138 H, 20 2B, 7 3B, 1 HR, 66 RBI, 19 BB, 5 SB, 5.1 WPA, 3.9 WAR

Berg ends the season as the only player in the N.B.B.O. or P.C.B.L. to bat .400 or better. He is also the first player to do so in three years, when three players pulled off the feat in the N.B.B.O...

• #1: Elijah Hill (Green Mtn.): .433
• #2: Chester Alexander (N.Y.A.C.): .427
• #3: Troy Oberst (Metro): .409

...and one man crossed the .400 barrier in the A.P.B.L.:

• #1: Konrad Jensen (St. John’s): .402

Becoming the first N.B.B.O. player in three years to hit .400 should almost certainly make Berg the winner of Northeastern League Batsman of the Year. However, a stiff challenge may come from one of his own teammates, Ned Morganti, who hit .376, equaled Berg’s .949 OPS, tied the N.B.B.O. record for Triples in a season with 20, had the second-most RBI in a season in N.B.B.O. history with 92, and had a slightly higher WAR than Berg at 4.1.

That Berg hit over .400 while winning the N.B.B.O. Batting Title by roughly twenty points means his season will be remembered for some time. That Quaker St. could boast of having the two best batsmen in the N.E.L. and yet finish runners-up in the Coastal Championship this year is more of a tribute to Trenton United, who won each of their last eleven games and all by multiple runs, than anything else. It was still quite the season for the men from Philadelphia.

tm1681 · 08-02-2025, 03:13 AM

BURROUGHS EARNS NEL PITCHING TRIPLE CROWN
PT. JERSEY WHIZ LEADS LEAGUE IN WINS, ERA, & K’S WHILE SETTING NEW NBBO ERA MARK

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (Aug. 17, 1875) - It has been a season to remember for Port Jersey P George Burroughs, and the final leaderboard at the end of the season offers proof of the extraordinary season Burroughs put together.

Burroughs, the N.B.B.O.’s #1 Reserve Team prospect in 1869 & 1870, took a few years to turn promise into production, but by 1872 he was capable of winning 15-20 games while having an ERA close to 3.00 and a WAR close to 6.0. Two years later Burroughs made his first All-Star Game thanks to a 22-18 campaign with a 2.90 ERA and 6.0 WAR, and this season he took his pitching to a wholly different level:

• 29-12, 1.99 ERA, 347.2 IP, 29 CG, 2 SHO, 43 K, 2.0 K/BB, 1.20 WHIP, 7.2 WAR, 13.4 rWAR

While Burroughs didn’t quite lead the Northeastern League in Pitcher WAR – Walt Harper of Sportsman’s finished with 7.3 – his 29 Wins tied with Trenton Utd’s Francis Molinari for the league lead, his 43 Strikeouts were two better than Reading A.C.’s Abraham Evans, and his 1.99 ERA was the first sub-2.00 ERA ever by a regular pitcher over a full N.B.B.O. season.

The result: Burroughs became the second Triple Crown winner ever, matching the extraordinary 1863 season that made Excelsior’s Jim Creighton a household name (26-4, 2.29 ERA, 69 K, 6.4 WAR).

Where does Burroughs go from here? Well, Burroughs will be 27 for the whole of the 1876 season, so if his 1875 is an indication of the things to expect during the prime of his career then Burroughs just might end up in the A.P.B.L. after another year or two. It’s unlikely that Pt. Jersey will want to put him on the market this winter as they’ll want to put all of their efforts into making the slight improvements needed to reach the playoffs for the first time in 1864. Also, Burroughs is making a pro's wage playing in Jersey City so he won't move unless it's to a team where he knows that he will pitch regularly.

It was widely believed that this was a season in which George Burroughs was capable of some big things. Little did the Writers Pool or other close followers of the game know that Burroughs had just this kind of dominance available at his fingertips. It was a truly historic season for Port Jersey’s star player.

tm1681 · 08-03-2025, 12:56 AM

THE NBBO & PCBL PLAYOFFS ARE SET
TRENTON UTD IS #1; THREE TEAMS RETURN; ONE IN FOR 1ST TIME; PBCC VS FRANKFORD IN PHILA.

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug. 16, 1875) – The fourteen weeks of play have been completed, and the postseason fields are set in both the National Base Ball Organization and the Philadelphia City Baseball League.

In the N.B.B.O. playoffs, the New York League is sending the same trio of teams for the third year in a row while the Northeastern League is sending two teams that haven’t been to the playoffs in over a decade and another that is playing extra baseball for the first time in club history.

The #1 overall team going into the playoffs is Trenton United, which finished 48-22 after winning their final eleven games. However, New York League #2 Eckford enters the playoffs nearly as hot, with a 25-10 second half record just one game off Trenton’s. The N.Y.L. #1 is Utica, but there is significant danger in their half of the playoff bracket.

In the P.C.B.L., the gap between the two first-place teams ended up being tighter than expected after Philadelphia Baseball & Cricket Club followed up their blazing-hot first half with an okay second half. Frankford Arsenal followed up its 22-13 first half with a 22-13 second half, and their consistency combined with the presence of Joseph Evans means that P.B.C.C. is no sure favorite to win the third Liberty Bell Classic.

NBBO: NEW YORK LEAGUE

BROOKLYN – Eckford of Greenpoint pulled off more second half magic. Just 19-16 after Week Seven, they were 25-10 over the final seven weeks and turned a four-game deficit into a six-game cushion at the top. The rest of the field didn’t stand a chance, and Eckford had won their fourth Brooklyn Championship in a row. This is their fourth postseason appearance.

KEY PLAYER: Isaac Kelly (3B) – .372, .870 OPS, 78 R, 123 H, 22 XBH, 4 HR, 58 RBI, +12.1 ZR, 3.6 WPA, 4.3 WAR

NEW YORK CITY – For the first time in four years, N.Y.C. wasn’t decided by a playoff or a one-game final margin. Metropolitan, leaders by half a game at the midway point, had the same record in the second half (21-14) as they did in the first and ended up taking the pennant by three games over Union of Morrisania and four games over Mercury. This is Metro’s fourth playoff appearance in five years, and their fifth overall.

KEY PLAYER: Francis Smith (CF) – .334, .799 OPS, 81 R, 113 H, 21 2B, 10 3B, 64 RBI, 22 SB, 4.5 WPA, 3.2 WAR

UPSTATE N.Y. – At the end of July Minuteman was alone in 1st by two games over Utica. Over the final eleven games Minuteman went 3-8, Utica went 9-2, and the men from Albany had fumbled the pennant straight into the hands of Utica. This is Utica’s third straight playoff appearance and fourth overall.

KEY PLAYER: Jonathan Fraker (1B) – .385, .877 OPS, 77 R, 127 H, 19 XBH, 2 HR, 68 RBI, 25 SB, 3.1 WPA, 2.9 WAR

NBBO: NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE

COASTAL – At the start of August Trenton United was wedged between Pt. Jersey & Quaker St., with the trio just two games apart in a fantastic battle for 1st place. T.U. knew they had a big schedule advantage to end the season and they took full advantage, winning their final eleven games all by 2+ runs, taking the Coastal Championship by a final margin of four. This is Trenton Utd’s third playoff appearance, and their first since 1861.

KEY PLAYER: Manuel Romeiras (CF) – .360, .899 OPS, 105 R, 124 H, 33 XBH, 3 HR, 81 RBI, 49 SB, 4.6 WPA, 4.8 WAR

INLAND – Susquehanna won their final fourteen games of July, but the train ran out of steam. A 6-5 August opened the door for co-leaders Merrimack, who finished 8-3 over the final eleven games of the season and took an Inland title that seemed like it was destined to go to the defending cup champions. This is Merrimack’s third time in the postseason, and their first since winning back-to-back Inland championships in 1864 & 1865.

KEY PLAYER: William Sudduth (2B) – .357, .867 OPS, 92 R, 116 H, 23 XBH, 4 HR, 65 RBI, 12 SB, 5.9 WPA, 2.9 WAR

NEW ENGLAND – The incredible Cantabrigians, 25-45 just last year, had a two-game lead over Portland with two weeks left. They were .500 over their last ten games but so was Portland, and as a result this year’s most surprising team has gone from worst to first, and they have made it to the playoffs for the first time.

KEY PLAYER: Bubba Mack (P) – 26-13, 3.25 ERA, 337.2 IP, 23 CG, 1 SHO, 33 K, 1.0 K/BB, 1.39 WHIP, 4.3 WAR, 5.8 rWAR

THE 1875 TUCKER-WHEATON CUP

SEEDS

• N.Y.L. #1: Utica – 45-25 (+141 RD)
• N.Y.L. #2: Eckford – 44-26 (+121 RD)
• N.Y.L. #3: Metropolitan – 42-28 (+51 RD)

• N.E.L. #1: Trenton United – 48-22 (+204 RD)
• N.E.L. #2: Merrimack Mills – 44-26 (+55 RD)
• N.E.L. #3: Cantabrigians – 41-29 (+61 RD)

PLAYOFF SERIES FORMAT & MATCHUPS:

• LENGTH: L.S.F., L.S.C., & T.W.C. all Best of five games
• FORMAT: All series follow 2-2-1 schedule
• HOME FIELD: Higher seed has Home Field Advantage

• N.Y.L. SEMIFINALS: Metropolitan vs Eckford
• N.E.L. SEMIFINALS: Cantabrigians vs Merrimack

• N.Y.L. CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: MET/ECK vs Utica
• N.E.L. CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: CAN/MM vs Trenton United

• TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FINAL: NYL Champion v NEL Champion (NYL has HFA)

WRITERS POOL PREDICTIONS

• N.Y.L. SEMIFINALS: Eckford (25-10 2nd Half; 8-2 Last 10) over Metropolitan (5-5 Last 10)
• N.E.L. SEMIFINALS: Merrimack (24-11 at Home) over Cantabrigians (5-5 Last 10)

• N.Y.L. CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: Eckford over Utica (10-9 in 1-run)
• N.E.L. CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: Trenton United (11 straight W’s; 26-9 2nd half) over Merrimack

• TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FINAL: Trenton United over Eckford

PHILADELPHIA CITY BASEBALL LEAGUE

EAST: Frankford had a slow march to the pennant. They had a one-game lead at the end of May and the end of June, a four-game lead by the end of July, and eventually finished 1st in East Philadelphia by six games, with Minerva the runners-up. They have won all three East Philadelphia titles, and they have the P.C.B.L.’s #1 offense.

KEY PLAYER: Joseph Evans (LF) – .380, 1.011 OPS, 84 R, 127 H, 45 XBH, 5 HR, 75 RBI, 7 SB, 5.4 WPA, 4.8 WAR

WEST: Once Philadelphia B.C.C. finished its 27-8 opening half, it was just a matter of how many games they would win West Philadelphia by. A relatively disappointing 19-15 second half meant that their seven-game lead at the midway point shrank to five games by the time all was said and done. P.B.C.C. coasted to their 1st pennant, and that could be a big problem.

KEY PLAYER: Arthur Lipscomb (P) – 25-14, 2.52 ERA, 338.2 IP, 26 CG, 1 SJO, 26 K, 1.2 K/BB, 1.19 WHIP, 5.7 WAR, 7.9 rWAR

THE 1875 LIBERTY BELL CLASSIC

SEEDING

• #1: Philadelphia B.C.C. – 46-24 (+211 RD)
• #2: Frankford Arsenal – 44-26 (+99 RD)

PLAYOFF SERIES FORMAT

• Best of five games
• 2-2-1 format
• Higher seed (PBCC) has Home Field Advantage

WRITERS POOL PREDICTION

• Philadelphia B.C.C. (25-10 Away) over Frankford Arsenal

tm1681 · 08-03-2025, 05:48 AM

MASCHERINO HAS APBL’S 1ST 40-GAME HIT STREAK
LEGENDARY SS KNOWN FOR DEFENSE MAKES OFFENSIVE HISTORY IN 19TH SEASON

MANHATTAN (Aug. 18, 1875) - Orange B.B.C. took a six-run loss at home to an Excelsior side still in the fight to make the Founders’ Cup for the first time, but there was one very bright spot for the home team during the 14-8 defeat.

With two out in the bottom of the 7th, legendary Orange SS Anthony Mascherino stepped up to bat and hit a Single on the fourth pitch to him from Jim Creighton, and in the process became the first player in the history of the A.P.B.L. with a Hitting Streak of 40+ games in length.

Mascherino has become one of the most famous names in the history of the sport thanks to his defense – he has thirteen Golden Gloves and a career Zone Rating of +435.1, all at SS – but the incredible veteran has experienced an offensive renaissance in 1875.

Mascherino’s Hitting Streak was eventually stopped on the season’s penultimate day as the team lost at Kings County, with his Hitting Streak ending at 42 games, beating Nelson Townsend’s Hitting Streak in 1871 & ’72 by four.

With one game left in the A.P.B.L. season, Mascherino has a .357 Batting Average, .373 On-Base %, .444 Slugging %, .817 OPS, and 32 Extra-Base Hits, all numbers the highest he’s had in the A.P.B.L. and all five his best numbers for a single season since 1870, when he joined Orange for their last season in the N.B.B.O. ahead of the league split.

While Mascherino has never led his league in any major category other than Batsman WAR, he can now brag about having the first forty-game Hitting Streak in the history of professional baseball, something he can now hold over the most talented batsmen in the sport.

tm1681 · 08-03-2025, 05:48 AM

CREIGHTON WINS 30 FOR THE SECOND TIME
CREIGHTON MAKES MORE HISTORY IN 14-8 WIN AT ORANGE AS EXCELSIOR CHASES AMERICAN

MANHATTAN (Aug. 18, 1875) - With American facing the A.P.B.L.’s two worst teams during the final week of play, Excelsior has taken a mindset that they need to win all six games to have a chance to at least force a playoff for the Metropolitan Conference title. Game One at Orange was a 2-1 win, and Game Two was a tough contest:

On paper it looks like a solid, six-run Excelsior win, but in reality the result wasn’t decided until late. Going into the 7th inning Excelsior had 7-5 lead, and they proceeded to score six runs over the 7th & 8th, the biggest hit being a two-run Double by SS Marcel Bresciani in T8, to take a 13-5 lead that finally allowed Excelsior to breathe easy.

The outing wasn’t Jim Creighton’s best with the ball, but he was excellent with the bat:

• EXC P Jim Creighton PITCHING: 7.2 IP, 11 HA (2B, 2 3B), 8 RA, 3 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• EXC P Jim Creighton BATTING: 3/4 (2B, 4 TB), 2 R, 3 RBI

Nonetheless, at the end of the game there was a bottle of champagne waiting in the locker room for Creighton, as the result meant he had both A) won 30+ games in the second for the second time, and B) won 30+ games in a season for the second year in a row.

Creighton is 30-14 with a 2.90 Earned Run Average, 112 Strikeouts, and 8.5 Pitcher WAR over 372 innings. Breaking the 30-win barrier again means he is guaranteed to win his second-straight Pitcher of the Year award as Creighton has six more Wins than any other pitcher in the A.P.B.L. while leading the league in numerous statistical categories.

Jim Creighton now has 391 total Wins (391-234) between the N.B.B.O. & A.P.B.L., he was won 20+ games for each of the past fifteen seasons, and he is the one of two pitchers, with the other being John Henry in 1873, to reach thirty Wins in a season during the A.P.B.L.’s short history.

For the Excelsior team, the victory at Orange ran their Winning Streak to eleven games, and they remain just one game behind Orange for the Metropolitan Conference lead with four games left to play.

tm1681 · 08-03-2025, 05:50 AM

AMERICAN CLINCHES PENNANT; BURKE CROSSES .400
STAR CF ENTERS FINAL DAY BATTING .399, BATS 3/5 TO FINISH WITH A .401 AVERAGE

PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 22, 1875) - American entered the final day of the A.P.B.L. season one game ahead of Excelsior for the Metropolitan Conference title, so they had to win at home against Knickerbocker to guarantee their place in the Founders’ Cup for the third time in four years. The result:

Thanks to eight runs during the 5th & 6th, American won the game and clinched the Metropolitan Conference title. As it turned out, it was a win they needed as Excelsior defeated Gotham 10-8 and finished that single game behind American, with American ending the season 57-33 and Excelsior finishing with a 56-34 record.

However, the above was not the only thing of major importance on the minds of the American team. Superstar CF James Burke, who had been batting nearly .500 through fourteen August games, entered the final day of the season with exactly a .399 Batting Average and needed to have something notably better than a 2/5 (.400) performance to cross the .400 barrier and become the first A.P.B.L. player since Korad Jensen in 1872 to finish with a .400+ Batting Average.

The final game of Burke’s season:

• B1: Infield Single to 1B off C. Burton
• B3: Ground Out to 2B (1 out)
• B5: Reached via Error by LF C. Washer (R)
• B6: Double past 1B off C. Burton (R)
• B7: Single past SS off M. Hales
• TOTAL: 3/5 (2B, 4 TB), 2 R, 0 RBI

After five innings Burke was 1/3, which lowered his Batting Average from .3990 to .3986, a full point short of the rounding that could take him to .400.

However, with his most important turns at bat in 1875 to come Burke hit a Double in the 6th and a Single in the 7th, and with no more Plate Appearances on the afternoon he finished with an A.P.B.L. record 173 Hits in 431 At Bats for a final Batting Average of .4013, or .401.

Burke’s final mark of .401 was the first time he had finished a day with a Batting Average over .400 since June 10th, roughly a 75-day gap. During that time Burke’s average fell as low at .373, but with one of the best August runs on record he pulled his average up thirteen points during the final week of play, from .388 past .400 to make history.

Burke joins Nelson Townsend’s .404 season in 1871 and Konrad Jensen’s .402 mark in 1872 as the only seasons with a .400 Batting Average in the A.P.B.L.’s short history. However, given the way in which Burke finished across the .400 line this will likely be the most memorable of the three.

tm1681 · 08-03-2025, 05:50 AM

The end-of-season lunacy just never stops...

tm1681 · 08-03-2025, 07:09 AM

FOUNDERS’ CUP V MATCHUP IS SET
ALLEGHANY WINS COLONIAL CONF. AGAIN, WILL TAKE ON WHITE-HOT AMERICANE

PITTSBURGH & PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 23, 1875) – The APBL season is over, and after the Metropolitan Conference was decided on the season’s final day the matchup for Founders’ Cup V is set in place.

COLONIAL: Alleghany (51-39) had the pennant clinched with a week left to play, as the next three teams in the standings had each fallen to eight games behind them. Alleghany then did something of a repeat of last year and had a 1-5 final week to finish in 1st by four games over a Flour City team that was in last place at the midway point of the season.

KEY PLAYERS:

• Gerald Strong (SS) – .305, .699 OPS, 94 R, 137 H, 21 XBH, 3 HR, 72 RBI, 30 SB, +27.5 ZR, 4.2 WPA, 3.8 WAR
• Frank Doherty (3B) – .340, .773 OPS, 69 R, 120 H, 17 XBH, 3 HR, 71 RBI, 6 BB, +15.4 ZR, 4.0 WPA, 3.5 WAR
• John Meier (LF) – .330, .771 OPS, 103 R, 144 H, 27 XBH, 2 HR, 82 RBI, 5 BB, 49 SB, 4.5 WPA, 3.2 WAR
• Elmer Seabold (P) – 25-16, 3.23 ERA, 362.1 IP, 26 CG, 1 SHO, 86 K, 1.6 K/BB, 1.39 WHIP, 5.7 WAR

METROPOLITAN: The Metropolitan Conference had an epic finish. Excelsior had a 14-1 August that pushed American (57-33) to the brink, but the 2x champions responded by going 10-2 over their last dozen games to take the conference title by a single game and go to the Founders’ Cup for the third time.

KEY PLAYERS:

• James Burke (CF) – .401, .950 OPS, 111 R, 173 H, 41 XBH, 1 HR, 93 RBI, 14 BB, 77 SB, 5.7 WPA, 5.9 WAR
• Franklin Petty (RF) – .365, .837 OPS, 130 R, 160 H, 26 XBH, 2 HR, 70 RBI, 15 BB, 79 SB, 6.2 WPA, 4.0 WAR
• Peter Boyce (2B) – .322, .742 OPS, 96 R, 136 H, 25 XBH, 2 HR, 111 RBI, 6 BB, 38 SB, 3.5 WPA, 3.0 WAR
• Simeon DiStefano (P) – 22-9, 2.70 ERA, 269.2 IP, 19 CG, 1 SV, 15 K, 0.7 K/BB, 1.28 WHIP, 4.0 WAR

The Founders’ Cup is a best-of-seven series with the following schedule:

• Aug. 24: GAME 1 – Alleghany at American
• Aug. 25: GAME 2 – Alleghany at American
• Aug. 26: day off
• Aug. 27: GAME 3 – American at Alleghany
• Aug. 28: GAME 4 – American at Alleghany
• Aug. 29: GAME 5 – American at Alleghany (if necessary)
• Aug. 30: day off
• Aug. 31: GAME 6 – Alleghany at American (if necessary)
• Sep. 1: GAME 7 – Alleghany at American (if necessary)

The Writers Pool sees American as heavy favorites due to their offense and their late-season form.

• American (10-2 Last 12, 34-11 at Home) will defeat Alleghany (5-10 post A.S.G.)
• The series will go five games

tm1681 · 08-04-2025, 03:41 PM

THE THIRD LIBERTY BELL CLASSIC
IT’S PBCC VS FRANKFORD AS CITY’S MOST PROMINENT CLUB GOES FOR 1ST TITLE

PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 17-23, 1873) – The second Liberty Bell Classic unfolded in a way that nobody expected. Frankford Arsenal entered with Home Field Advantage, Merion had to play two extra games to win a three-way playoff just to face them, and…of course Merion won the series in a 3-0 sweep.

This season, East Philadelphia was more of the same, with Frankford Arsenal simply being better than the field thanks to the incredible Joseph Evans and a strong cast of supporting characters, including CF Francis Brown, 2B Jonathan Toppin, and P Charlie Greiner. They bettered last year’s record with a 44-26 finish to 1875, but they could only watch the leaders of West Philadelphia put up a better win total.

Philadelphia Cricket & Baseball Club finally topped West Philadelphia, with a 27-8 first half to the season effectively putting them in the Liberty Bell Classic before the Dog Days of summer had even hit. They were the opposite of Frankford and its #1 offense. They had one player who hit above .325 – C Harrison Hearst – and instead dominated the western half of the city with an outstanding pitching duo of Arthur Lipscomb & Warren Leonard, a set of fielders that gave the team unquestionably the league’s #1 defense, and the best individual defensive player in the league in SS Moody Steiger.

However, people weren’t quite sure what to make of this year’s series. P.B.C.C. had the best record, but they followed up that 27-8 first half by playing just 19-15 baseball over the second half of the season, while Frankford Arsenal was a nice, consistent 22-13 in both halves of the season, had – of course – the city’s best player, and had been to the L.B.C. twice.

One team was looking to become Philadelphia Champions after stumbling at the final hurdle in each of the P.C.B.L.’s first two seasons, and the other was in a series they felt like they should have made in each of the league’s first two seasons. Would this finally be Arsenal’s year?

GAME ONE (Willow Grove Cricket Grounds)
FRA 3-8 PBCC – Walter Kirby (LF, PBCC) 4/5 (2B, 2 3B, 9 TB), 1 R, 2 RBI

Joseph Evans reached base four times in the L.B.C. opener (2 H, 2 BB), but that was about all the good news Frankford enjoyed. P.B.C.C. responded to Frankford scoring first with a three-run second, and after four scoreless innings P.B.C.C. had another three-run rally in the 7th to go ahead 6-1. The teams traded two runs after that, and P.B.C.C. had won the opener. Kirby had a brilliant afternoon with the bat, but there was no elevated mood after the win as likely Pitcher of the Year Arthur Lipscomb had to exit after two innings due to a back issue.

GAME TWO (Willow Grove Cricket Grounds)
FRA 9-5 PBCC – Joseph Evans (LF, FRA) 4/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 1 RBI

For about five innings Game Two was a close contest. Frankford scored once in the 2nd & three times in the 3rd to take a 4-0 lead, but P.B.C.C. cut the lead in half with a pair of scores in the 5th. Then, the visitors came to bat in the 6th and rallied for five runs, with a two-run Single by the brilliant Evans the key moment, to take a 9-2 lead and seal the win.

GAME THREE (Frankford Park)
PBCC 4-10 FRA – Joseph Evans (LF, FRA) 3/5 (all 1B), 3 R, 3 RBI, SB

P.B.C.C. had an early 3-0 lead thanks to a two-run Double by Walter Kirby and an Error, but after that just about all of the offensive output was by Frankford, who scored ten of the game’s last eleven runs and were gifted with more brilliant work by Evans and a 3/5 performance by 3B James Montuoro. Frankford was now one game away from their first P.C.B.L. title.

GAME FOUR (Frankford Park)
PBCC 10-5 FRA – Charles Hunt (3B, PBCC) 5/5 (2 2B, 3B, 9 TB), 1 R, 6 RBI

Five different two-run rallies over the first six innings were easily enough as P.B.C.C. forced a winter-take-all Game Five back at Willow Grove. Hunt, who had a serious drop in production from last year to this one, had an outstanding afternoon, and P Alexander Lewis did a very admirable job filling in for the injured Arthur Lipscomb.

GAME FIVE (Willow Grove Cricket Grounds)
FRA 6-9 PBCC – Robert Chase (CF, PBCC) 3/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 3 RBI, GW HIT

And the third trip to the L.B.C. was NOT the charm for Frankford Arsenal, instead ending in excruciating fashion.

After a run-scoring Error was followed with 1-run Singles by Roger Thomas & Francis Brown to open the scoring in the 2nd inning, Frankford scored again in the 3rd to open up a 4-0 lead. P.B.C.C. responded with runs in B3 on two run-scoring Singles of their own to halve the deficit, but Frankford came right back in the 4th and scored on a Sacrifice to make it a 5-2 game. The teams then traded single runs in the 5th & 6th to give Frankford a 6-3 ahead of the final frames of the season.

After a scoreless 7th Frankford went down quickly in the 8th, and then disaster struck. P.B.C.C. came to bat in B8 and scored six times, all with two out. First, PH Franklin Fried hit a two-run Single to make it a 6-5 game. Then, Chase hit another two-run Single to give Frankford the lead (7-6). After a pitching change, SS Moody Steiger came to bat and hit a run-scoring Double to make it 8-6, and 2B Frederick Pike followed with another 1-run Double to put P.B.C.C. ahead 9-6. LF Walter Kirby hit a grounder to 2B to end the inning, but the damage was done and Frankford was left in shock. The visitors managed to get one man as far as Second Base in the 9th but that was all, and the series was over.

For the Philadelphia Cricket & Baseball Club, they felt as if this was a cup triumph that came two years too late. Ahead of the inaugural season of the Philadelphia City Baseball League they were regarded by just about everybody as the club with the highest prestige, the best facilities, and the most talented players. However, for reasons unknown they could only play like an above-average team during the first two years of the P.C.B.L. before everything came together in 1875.

What made this victory even more satisfying for the P.B.C.C. was that they took the series to five games and won it even though their key player, P Arthur Lipscomb, had to exit the opening game after just two innings and didn’t see the field again. It was a testament to team spirit & strength in the face of significant adversity.

LIBERTY BELL CLASSIC MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Charles Hunt (3B, P.B.C.C.) – .476 (10/21), 1.167 OPS, 5 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 7 RBI, 1x PotG

Charles Hunt took the Liberty Bell Classic M.V.P. honor as confirmation that he made a valiant comeback after a miserable season. During 1875, Hunt’s year-to-year Batting Average fell 65-70 points (.311 to .245), his OPS fell nearly 130 points (.700 to .573), his Zone Rating at 3B fell by more than half (+12.1 to +5.6), and his Batsman WAR fell by more than 75% (2.6 to 0.6). However, the 32-year-old was brilliant during the Liberty Bell Classic, bringing back the form that he displayed in 1874 as he helped P.B.C.C. win their first title.

Had Frankford not allowed that late rally in Game Five then M.V.P. would’ve gone directly into the hands of Joseph Evans:

Joseph Evans (LF, Frankford) – .545 (12/22), 1.236 OPS, 8 R, 1 3B, 5 RBI, 3 BB, 3 SB, 2x PotG

He was absolutely spectacular, and arguments were made that Evans should have taken home the M.V.P. trophy even though he played for the losing side once again.

LIBERTY BELL CLASSIC SUMMARY

tm1681 · 08-04-2025, 03:49 PM

TWC XIX: NYL RETURNEES & NEL NEWCOMERS

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug. 18 to Sep. 1, 1875) – The nineteenth edition of the Tucker-Wheaton Cup playoffs was going to be a bit different than the previous one as, instead of having all six teams taking part either returning or having played in it two seasons prior, half the field consisted of teams mostly unfamiliar with playoff baseball.

In the New York League the same three entrées were on the menu for the third straight year: Eckford, the 1872 champion, was representing Brooklyn, Metropolitan was representing New York City, and Utica, the 1873 champion, was representing Upstate New York. The trio would be battling each other once again for the chance to play in the cup final – three teams with championship or cup final experience that all knew what it took to be the best team in the N.B.B.O.

The Northeastern League had a much different look.

Representing the Coastal Championship was the N.B.B.O.’s #1 overall team: Trenton United. After finishing 2-3 games out of 1st the previous two years, they ended the season on an eleven-game Winning Streak to dethrone Quaker St. and make the playoffs for the first time since 1861, before the N.B.B.O. playoffs had ever gone to a Round Robin format.

Representing the Inland was Merrimack Mills, making their first playoff appearance since finishing atop the region in back-to-back years in the mid-60’s (1864-65). They had seen off a fierce challenge from defending cup champions Susquehanna.

Representing New England was perhaps the most surprising regional champion in N.B.B.O. history: Cantabrigians, which went from last place and a 25-45 record the previous season to fighting off 4x defending N.E. champions Portland to take the pennant by two games with a 41-29 record, a sixteen-win improvement over 1874. On top of that, this was a team that had finished in last place no less than eight times while never being better than 4th, yet here they were in the playoffs.

Trenton United, with its N.B.B.O.-best record and 11-game winning run, would enter the playoffs as the favorites to lift the cup. Still, the three New York teams had loads of postseason experience, and the familiarity with one another would make it easier for them to prepare for possible cup final matchups. Would it be Trenton United’s year? Or would the cup go back to New York? Could it go to Merrimack, or even those darling underdogs, the Cantabrigians? It was time to find out.

tm1681 · 08-04-2025, 03:51 PM

NEW YORK LEAGUE SEMIFINALS

• GAME 1: MET 10-13 ECK – Huibrecht van der Laan (2B, ECK) 2/4 (both 1B), 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB
• GAME 2: MET 1-18 ECK – Ernest Geis (RF, ECK) 3/5 (3B, 5 TB), 4 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB
• GAME 3: ECK 5-6 MET – Francis Smith (CF, MET) 3/5 (2B, 3B, 6 TB), 2 R, 4 RBI
• GAME 4: ECK 8-11 MET – Harold Rowsey (C, MET) 3/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 3 RBI, 1/4 CS
• GAME 5: MET 2-4 ECK – William Barnhill (P, ECK) CG, 8 HA, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 1/3 (1B), 1 R, 2 RBI
• SERIES MVP: Huibrecht van der Laan (2B, Eckford)

After two games it looked like this would be an Eckford sweep, as the Brooklyn champs followed up a close Game 1 with a Game 2 demolition of Metropolitan. However, when the series went to Hamilton Square Metro found some late magic, winning Game 3 in walkoff fashion and Game 4 with a four-run rally in the 8th inning.

The above meant it was time for Game Five at Manor House, and it was a tight, defensive affair in which no runs were scored after the 6th inning of play. Only four Eckford batsmen had hits, and that meant it was their new #1 pitcher, former American prospect William Barnhill, whose excellent effort won the series for the 1872 champions.

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE SEMIFINALS

• GAME 1: CAN 5-6 MM – John Porter (C, MM) 4/5 (2B, 5 TB) 2 R, 0 RBI, 1/1 CS
• GAME 2: CAN 10-9 MM – George Scott (RF, MM) 3/3 (3B, 5 TB), 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HBP
• GAME 3: MM 12-13 CAN – Julius Bailey (LF, MM) 4/6 (all 1B), 1 R, 4 RBI
• GAME 4: MM 5-12 CAN – Lage Barlund (CF), CAN) 4/4 (all 1B), 1 R, 2 RBI, SB, HBP
• SERIES MVP: Lage Barlund (CF, Cantabrigians)

Merrimack Mills won the opener after six early runs allowed them to withstand a late rally, but past that the series belonged to this season’s playoff darlings: the Cantabrigians. They took Game 2 & Game 3 by a run each, with Game 3 being a walk-off at home thanks to an Error, and in Game 4 they applied the finish by scoring six times in the 8th to seal Merrimack’s fate.

NEW YORK LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

• GAME 1: ECK 8-3 UTI – Louis Murray (LF, ECK) 2/5 (2B, 3 TB), 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB
• GAME 2: MET 16-17 UTI (11) – John Baddley (2B, UTI) 6/7 (all 1B), 5 R, 4 RBI, SB
• GAME 3: UTI 4-5 ECK – William Barnhill (P, ECK) CG, 5 HA, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2/4 (both 1B), 1 RBI
• GAME 4: UTI 0-6 ECK – Isaac Kelly (3B, ECK) 2/5 (HR, 5 TB), 2 R, 2 RBI
• SERIES MVP: Isaac Kelly (3B, Eckford)

Utica scored in each of the first two innings of the opener to take a 2-0 lead, but from the 3rd inning on Eckford had their hosts firmly in check, scoring eight runs while holding Utica to a handful of hits on the way to a five-run win.

Game Two was an all-timer. Utica was ahead 12-5 after the 4th thanks to a barrage of thirteen hits, but Eckford outscored Utica 6-1 over the middle innings to cut the deficit to two. Utica scored three runs in B8 to take a 16-11 lead, only for Eckford to even the score in the 9th on a series of four Singles & a Double. It took extra innings to decide a winner, and in the bottom of the 11th Baddley reached with his sixth Hit of the game, stole 2B, and was then Singled in by SS Edward Davis to win the game for Utica and even the series.

Game Three belonged to Utica first, but Eckford last. Utica scored single runs in each of the first four innings to take a 4-0 lead, but Eckford scored single runs in the 4th-8th, the go-ahead hit a Single by Barnhill, to take a 5-4 win and the series lead.

Game Four saw Eckford close out the series and return to the cup final for the first time since their 1872 triumph. The hosts scored twice in B1 and never looked back, adding two runs in the 5th and two more in the 6th as Utica couldn’t do much of anything against fine pitching by Augustus Cook (5 HA) and outstanding Eckford defense (1 E), and Eckford was through.

NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

• GAME 1: CAN 2-8 TU – Fred Lydon (RF, TU) 3/4 (all 1B), 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB
• GAME 2: CAN 1-2 TU (10) – Thomas Koch (P, TU) CG, 7 HA, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
• GAME 3: TU 16-0 CAN – Paul Kronenberg (1B, TU) 5/6 (3B, 7 TB), 4 R, 6 RBI
• SERIES MVP: Francis Molinari (P, Trenton Utd.)

Game One was close for 6+ innings before the home side sealed the win. Ahead 4-2 after the visiting half of the 7th, Trenton Utd. scored four times on a trio of Singles and a Manuel Romeiras Double to give the game its final score of 8-2.

Game Two was close the entire way, although the visitors should have won. Cantabrigians opened the scoring in T5 on a Single by 2B Jonathan Crow, and it looked like it would end up a rare 1-0 final until the hosts tied the score via Error with two out in the 9th. Trenton Utd. then won the game in the 10th on a James Lanagan Single to take a 2-0 series lead.

Game Three showed that, sadly, good fortune had run out for the surprise team of ’75. Given a chance to extend the series at home, Cantabrigians were instead steamrolled by Trenton Utd., with the visitors scoring fifteen runs over the first five innings to take a 15-0 lead, and from there it was just a matter of filling out the scoreboard and punching T.U.’s tickets to the cup final, which they would be going to for the first time.

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP XVII FINAL

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

Based on both regular season records and playoff performance, Trenton United entered the series as favorites. Eckford had done well to take out #1 Utica in four games in the N.Y.L.C.S. but that was after a tough five-game semifinal, and Trenton Utd. dispatched Cantabrigians in a three-game sweep in the N.E.L.C.S., with the third game ending 16-0.

One thing in Eckford’s favor: they had lifted the cup just three years ago, while Trenton Utd. was in the postseason for the first time in fourteen years and was one of the last two teams standing for the first time in club history.

GAME ONE (Manor House in Brooklyn)
TU 11-7 ECK – Francis Molinari (P, TU) CG, 10 HA, 5 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 4/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 3 RBI

Game One went to the favorites, but their attack had a most surprising leader.

Eckford scored four times in B1, and that apparently inspired T.U. P Francis Molinari – a .244 hitter – to make up for it with the bat because he would hit a pair of run-scoring Singles over the next three innings to help his side take a 6-4 lead. Molinari gave the lead right back by allowing two runs in B4, but his Single during T6 kept the inning going and T.U. went on to score three times to take a 9-6 lead that would never be seriously threatened.

GAME TWO (Manor House in Brooklyn)
TU 2-3 ECK – Louis Murray (LF, ECK) 2/4 (3B, 4 TB), 1 R, 2 RBI

The 5th inning was the decider in Game Two.

Trenton Utd. had the lead early at Manor House, scoring on a Ground Out in the opening inning. The visitors added a second run in the 3rd on a Double by Paul Kronenberg, and that stood as the only scoring until the midway point of the game. Then, in the bottom of the 5th Eckford scored on a Single before a two-run Triple by Murray gave them a 3-2 lead that would stand the rest of the way, as outstanding pitching & defense prevented T.U.’s top-scoring attack from evening the score.

GAME THREE (Trenton Commons in Trenton, N.J.)
ECK 6-12 TU – Manuel Romeiras (CF, TU) 4/5 (2B, 5 TB), 2 R, 0 RBI, SB

Game Three belonged to the home side.

Visiting Eckford opened the scoring in T1 on a Single by Isaac Kelly, but Trenton Utd. responded with four runs to exit the opening frame with a 4-1 lead. That was the score going into T4, when Trenton Utd. ended the contest with a six-run rally featuring a pair of run-scoring Doubles. Eckford put up a handful of late runs, but T.U. had a well-earned 2-1 series lead.

GAME FOUR (Trenton Commons in Trenton, N.J.)
ECK 7-13 TU – Earl Seals (SS, TU) 3/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 DEF DP

The N.B.B.O.’s best team became the N.B.B.O. champions in Game Four.

Eckford again opened the scoring in T1 but again Trenton Utd. provided an immediate response, this one more furious than the one the given the previous day, with the hosts scoring eight times over the first two innings to take a commanding 8-1 lead. Eckford took a pair of runs back over the middle innings, but T.U. scored once in the 6th to ahead by six (9-3) and then ended Eckford’s chances at forcing a Game Five with a four-run rally in the 7th that gave them a 13-3 lead.

Try as they might, a late Eckford rally was nowhere near large enough, and for the first time a team from New Jersey was lifting the Tucker-Wheaton Cup.

Trenton United’s cup triumph would be hailed as another victory for all of the “small” clubs in the N.B.B.O. T.U. was the smallest of New Jersey’s four N.B.B.O. teams, with its lone “big club” being Newark B.C. In contrast, T.U.’s venue held just over 1,700, a full 10,000 less than Quaker St. and more than 5,000 less than Newark. They had won the Coastal Championship three times and finished elsewhere in the top half of the standings nine more times, and they had done so in a region filled with metropolitan clubs that had large venues and deep pockets. Trenton Utd.’s success was a testament to the quality of their organization, from the President’s office all the way down to the maker of their bats & balls.

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Manuel Romeiras (CF, TU) – 7 G, .441 (15/34), 1.016 OPS, 10 R, 4 2B, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 4 SB, 0.6 WAR

It should come as little surprise that the man almost certain to be named N.E.L. Most Valuable Player was named the postseason M.V.P. After two up-and-down seasons upon leaving Harlem for Trenton United, Romeiras finally was able to put out peak performance for a full seventy games in 1875, and he continued that form in the N.B.B.O. playoffs, where he was undoubtedly the #1 player for the cup champions.

For runners-up Eckford, their best player during the playoffs was veteran star Isaac Kelly:

Isaac Kelly (3B, ECK) – 13 G, .333 (21/63), .751 OPS, 11 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB, 0.5 WAR

The favorite to be named N.Y.L. Most Valuable Player opposite Romeiras struggled during the cup final (4/19), but his work during the N.Y.L. playoffs was one of the main reasons why Eckford had the chance to play for their second title.

TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FINAL SUMMARY

tm1681 · 08-04-2025, 04:12 PM

FOUNDERS’ CUP V: THE BATTLE OF PENNSYLVANIA

PITTSBURGH & PHILADELPHIA (Aug. 24 to Sep. 1, 1875) – Last year’s Founders’ Cup was one in which neither team had finished the season in the best of states. In the end, Orange dispatched Alleghany in six games after losing the first two, with Alleghany’s form during their 4-11 end to the season catching up with them during the series.

Founders’ Cup V had one returnee in Alleghany, with the other team, American, making its third appearance in the series in four years after hoisting in the cup in 1872 & ’73, with the 1873 team regarded as the best in the history of the sport.

For Alleghany, the road to this year Founders’ Cup was a little too familiar. For the second straight year they enjoyed a big lead over the Colonial Conference to enter August but proceeded to use that to coast to the finish line, going 5-10 over the final two and a half weeks while clinching the pennant.

For American, this was their most difficult Metropolitan Conference title. In order to win the Metropolitan by one game – they clinched on the final day – they had to withstand an incredible 14-1 August by Excelsior, and they did so by going 10-2 over their last dozen games to complete what was probably the most entertaining 1-2 finish in pennant race history.

Alleghany made it back to the Founders’ Cup on the same basic attributes they had the previous year: a good offense, quality pitching, and the league’s #1 defense, especially across the infield. American was back in it, after a year off, for the same reason they’d made it twice previously: a star-studded attack that led the A.P.B.L. in nearly every notable offensive category.

That meant this year’s series was a contrast of styles. On one hand, Alleghany won games with a seemingly spider-like group of fielders that made the opposition earn every base hit. On the other hand, American was the best team in the regular season because they pounded teams into submission with their mighty offense.

American would enter the series as a solid, if not heavy, favorite thanks to their superior record and their end-of-season form. Would that hold true, or would Alleghany make up for last year’s disappointment?

tm1681 · 08-04-2025, 04:12 PM

GAME ONE (Glenwood Field in Philadelphia)
ALL 1-8 AME – James Burke (CF, AME): 3/5 (2B, 3B, 6 TB), 1 R, 2 RBI, SB

The Founders’ Cup opener was all American, although it was an odd one.

The 2x champions opened scoring in B1 on a Wild Pitch, added a second run in B4 via Error, went ahead 3-0 in B6 on a Fielder’s Choice, and two more runs in B7 on an Error and a Single by 3B William Carrigan, the first run-scoring hit of the game, gave American a 5-0 lead. They then responded to an Alleghany run in T8 with three more of their own, two coming in on a Double by the outstanding Burke, and American had a seven-run win in Game One.

GAME TWO (Glenwood Field in Philadelphia)
ALL 3-19 AME – Franklin Petty (RF, AME): 4/6 (3B, 6 TB), 4 R, 2 RBI

Game Two was a classic American demolition job.

American opened the scoring with a pair of runs in B1, and after Alleghany responded with a run in T2 they shot five runs right back at Alleghany to take a 7-1 lead. It would be 10-1 before the visitors scored again, and after Alleghany scored in T8 to make it a 10-3 game American piled on an eight-run rally in B8 to take a sixteen-run win and go up 2-0.

The top of the American lineup was outstanding, with Petty, 1B William Busby, & CF James Burke combining to bat 9/17 with 10 Runs, 5 Runs Batted In, 3 Bases on Balls, and a Stolen Base between them.

GAME THREE (Recreation Park in Pittsburgh)
AME 5-9 ALL – Frank Doherty (3B, ALL): 4/4 (2B, 5 TB), 1 R, 3 RBI

Alleghany overcame the embarrassment of Game Two to get one in the win column.

It was all Alleghany early on, as the hosts followed up single runs in the 1st & 2nd with a four-run rally in the 3rd, the key hit a run-scoring Double by Doherty, to give Alleghany a 6-0 lead. They added a 7th run in B4, and once American began to muster up any sort of comeback they responded to three American runs in the 7th with two of their own to make it a 9-3 game, and the win was theirs.

GAME FOUR (Recreation Park in Pittsburgh)
AME 11-7 ALL – Sidney Crowder (LF, AME): 2/4 (HR, 5 TB), 2 R, 4 RBI

In Game Four, the mighty American attack moved the team to within a win of their third title.

The scoring started immediately, with American plating four during the top of the 1st on a Single, a Double, a Fielder’s Choice, and an Error to go ahead 4-0 before Allegany swung a bat. The hosts grabbed a run in B2 but American responded with three in T3, thanks to a three-run Home Run by Crowder, to go up 7-1. Alleghany clawed two runs back in B3, but then American scored three more times in T4 on three separate hits to go ahead 10-3.

Alleghany’s offense was decent during the second half of the contest, but they could only score four more runs when they needed at least seven, and American added a late run to quash any comeback hopes.

GAME FIVE (Recreation Park in Pittsburgh)
AME 0-4 ALL – Elmer Seabold (P, ALL): NO-HITTER, 0 BB, 2 K

Some incredible baseball history was made in Game Five.

With his team’s backs to the proverbial wall, Seabold took the ball for Alleghany and fired off what was both the maiden No-Hitter in A.P.B.L. history and the first No-Hitter during postseason competition ever seen in the sport.

Seabold was impeccable, not only allowing no Hits but gifting the opposition no Bases on Balls. The only baserunners reached via four Errors by Alleghany fielders – none by Seabold – and one of the four was thrown out trying to steal a base. The fact that Seabold’s no-hitter came against the most fearsome lineup in the sport with the season on the line made his feat that much harder to believe. It was a performance that will be remembered forever.

GAME SIX (Glenwood Field in Philadelphia)
ALL 7-6 AME – John Meier (LF, ALL) 3/4 (all 1B), 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB

Against the odds, Alleghany forced Game Seven.

American, 34-11 at home during the season, appeared to be in control early, scoring in four of the first five innings to take a 5-1 lead through to the second half of the contest. That was when Alleghany’s comeback began in earnest.

In the top of the 6th Alleghany scored three times, twice on a Single by 2B Burton Ellerby and once on a Single by P Elmer Seabold, to cut the American lead to 5-4. American would score once in B6, but Alleghany took the run right back in T7 on a Single by Meier to make it a 6-5 game. That was the score going into the 9th, when Alleghany tied the game on a Single by C Harry Thompson and then took a 7-6 lead on a Single by PH Richard Norris. Veteran P John Brown, a 2x All-Star who entered in the 8th, set the American attack down 1-2-3, and a winner-take-all game was in store.

GAME SEVEN (Glenwood Field in Philadelphia)
ALL 7-13 AME – Peter Boyce (2B, AME) 3/5 (all 1B), 3 R, 1 RBI

It all came down to this, a Game Seven that seemed quite unlikely after American’s 19-3 Game Two win.

The opening inning had plenty of action. Alleghany started the game with two runs in T1 on Singles by LF John Meier & 1B Jerald Peterson. American’s counter: four runs in B1, the key hit a two-run Triple by Martin Prince, to go ahead 4-2

After a scoreless 2nd inning, American came to bat in B3 and scored twice, once on a Fielder’s Choice and once on a Single by C Raynard Steinbach, to take a 6-2 lead. In the 4th American would score five more times, with one run via run-scoring Single by 1B William Busby and the other four runs coming in on two-run Singles by 3B William Carrigan & LF Sidney Crowder, to take an 11-2 lead.

Alleghany tried to mount a comeback starting in the 5th, with two runs scoring via Single & Error to make it an 11-4 game. However, American answered immediately with two runs on Singles by Boyce & Prince to bring the lead back to nine (13-4), making the rest of Game Seven a formality.

For Alleghany, it was Game Seven heartbreak. For American, it was the third time in four years they could stake their claim as the best team in the sport. With St. John’s finally having fallen out of postseason contention in consecutive years, it looked to all like American B.C. of Philadelphia was the new kings of baseball.

FOUNDERS’ CUP MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Franklin Petty (RF, AME) – .406 (13/32), .991 OPS, 13 R, 1 2B, 2 3B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 SB, 0.4 WAR, 1x PotG

James Burke had more Runs Batted In (8) and more Stolen Bases (7), but Petty’s .400+ hitting at the top of the lineup meant the men below him in the order had someone to move around the basepaths, and Petty scored an outstanding thirteen Runs over seven games as a result. He also reached base more than anyone else in the series (15 times), and his always excellent defense in RF was another net positive for American.

Don’t shed any tears for Burke. He “only” hit .371 (13/35) during the series, with 10 Runs and those 8 RBI & 7 SB, and he’ll just have to settle for being named A.P.B.L. Batsman of the Year instead of being named Founders’ Cup M.V.P.

The best player for Alleghany was their Greenhorn All-Star LF, John Meier:

John Meier (LF, ALL) – .355 (11/31), .878 OPS, 10 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SB, 0.3 WAR, 1x PotG

For Meier, it was an excellent end to a season in which he lived up to the hype granted to him as the #1 indy ball signing of last winter. He hit .330 while making the All-Star Game in his first season, and he was excellent in the postseason as well.

FOUNDERS' CUP SUMMARY

tm1681 · 08-06-2025, 05:19 AM

1875 PHILADELPHIA CITY BASEBALL LEAGUE REVIEW

1875 PCBL STANDINGS

PER-TEAM STATISTICS

1875: 7.9 R/G, .276, .645 OPS, 796 H, 93 2B, 40 3B, 11 HR, 53 SB, 2.86 ERA, 68 BB, 56 K, 8.2 E/G, .816 FLD%
1874: 7.9 R/G, .276, .639 OPS, 804 H, 91 2B, 38 3B, 9 HR, 49 SB, 2.83 ERA, 69 BB, 60 K, 8.3 E/G, .815 FLD%

LIBERTY BELL CLASSIC:

Philadelphia Baseball & Cricket Club (1st title) wins series 3-2 over Frankford Arsenal.

GAME 1: FRA 3-8 PBCC – Walter Kirby (LF, PBCC) 4/5 (2B, 2 3B, 9 TB), 1 R, 2 RBI
GAME 2: FRA 9-5 PBCC – Joseph Evans (LF, FRA) 4/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 1 RBI
GAME 3: PBCC 4-10 FRA – Joseph Evans (LF, FRA) 3/5 (all 1B), 3 R, 3 RBI, SB
GAME 4: PBCC 10-5 FRA – Charles Hunt (3B, PBCC) 5/5 (2 2B, 3B, 9 TB), 1 R, 6 RBI
GAME 5: FRA 6-9 PBCC – Robert Chase (CF, PBCC) 3/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 3 RBI, GW HIT

LIBERTY BELL CLASSIC MVP: Charles Hunt (3B, P.B.C.C.)

PHILADELPHIA CITY BASEBALL LEAGUE AWARD WINNERS

BATSMAN OF THE YEAR: Joseph Evans (LF, age 23) – Frankford Arsenal; 3rd career B.o.t.Y.

• .380/.410/.602, 1.011 OPS, 84 R, 127 H, 21 2B, 19 3B, 5 HR, 75 RBI, 17 BB, 7 SB, 201 TB, 5.4 WPA, 4.7 WAR
• Led P.C.B.L. in AVG, SLG, OPS, XBH, 3B, HR, TB, & WAR; 3rd consecutive B.o.t.Y.
• Benjamin Warnock (1B, MERC) 2nd – .376, .925 OPS, 78 R, 128 H, 35 XBH, 1 HR, 73 RBI, 11 BB, 9 SB, 3.4 WPA, 3.8 WAR
• William Norman (1B, MBCC) – P.C.B.L. Most Valuable Player

PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Arthur Lipscomb (age 33) – Philadelphia Baseball & Cricket Club; 1st career P.o.t.Y.

• 25-14, 2.52 ERA, 26 K, 338.2 IP, 26 CG, 1 SHO, 0.7 K/9, 1.2 K/BB, 1.19 WHIP, 5.7 WAR, 7.9 rWAR
• Led P.C.B.L. in W, CG, & rWAR; Top five in IP, SHO, QS, WHIP, HA/9
• Charlie Greiner (FRA) 2nd – 24-12, 2.92 ERA, 27 K, 351.1 IP, 24 CG, 1 SV, 1.2 K/BB, 1.28 WHIP, 4.8 WAR
• Moses Smith (KEY) 3rd – P.C.B.L. Greenhorn of the Year

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: William Norman (1B, age 25) – Merion Baseball & Cricket Club; 1st career M.V.P.

• .341/.360/.489, .849 OPS, 63 R, 113 H, 17 2B, 13 3B, 2 HR, 79 RBI, 8 BB, 1 SB, 162 TB, 7.7 WPA, 2.7 WAR
• Set P.C.B.L. record for WPA; Led league in RBI; Top five in SLG, H, XBH, 3B, & TB; 2nd straight Merion M.V.P.
• Kieron Hearth (RF, MIN) 2nd – .315, .775 OPS, 86 R, 102 H, 21 XBH, 3 HR, 69 RBI, 19 BB, 8 SB, 6.1 WPA, 2.5 WAR
• James Fink (2B, KEY) 3rd – .348, .861 OPS, 70 R, 101 H, 23 XBH, 4 HR, 55 RBI, 19 BB, +17.4 ZR, 5.6 WPA, 4.0 WAR

GREENHORN OF THE YEAR: Moses Smith (P, age 26) – Keystone B.C.

• 23-16, 2.27 ERA, 30 K, 332.2 IP, 20 CG, 0 SHO, 0.8 K/9, 0.9 K/BB, 1.37 WHIP, 6.9 WAR, 4.0 rWAR
• 3rd place in P.o.t.Y. vote; Top five in W, QS, CG, & WAR; Top ten in ERA & K
• Tim Memminger (SCH) 2nd – 21-19, 2.74 ERA, 30 K, 335.0 IP, 18 CG, 1 SHO, 1.9 K/BB, 1.21 WHIP, 6.6 WAR
• Douglas Izzard (3B, MERC) 3rd – .304, .738 OPS, 65 R, 97 H, 19 XBH, 2 HR, 76 RBI, 12 BB, GG (3B), 3.9 WPA, 2.7 WAR

PCBL GOLDEN GLOVES

• P: Paul Krueger (SoB) – 23 PO, 52 AST, 2 DP, 17 E, 2.09 RNG, +3.1 ZR, 1.124 EFF
• C: Andrew Schneider (SPA) – 41.4 RTO%, 2.43 C-ERA, 4 PB, 9 E, +3.2 ZR, 1.011 EFF
• 1B: Benjamin Warnock (MERC) – 665 PO, 50 AST, 16 DP, 37 E, 10.50 RNG, +5.9 ZR, 1.073 EFF
• 2B: Herman Stanley (QV) – 281 PO, 194 AST, 18 DP, 80 E, 7.32 RNG, +16.2 ZR, 1.137 EFF
• 3B: Douglas Izzard (MERC) – 110 PO, 123 AST, 2 DP, 78 E, 3.42 RNG, +7.8 ZR, 1.105 EFF
• SS: Moody Steiger (PBCC) – 211 PO, 245 AST, 24 DP, 96 E, 6.59 RNG, +27.4 ZR, 1.247 EFF
• LF: Jacob Jensen (SPA) – 125 PO, 7 AST, 34 E, 1.95 RNG, +1.7 ARM, +2.2 ZR, 1.053 EFF
• CF: Robert Chase (PBCC) – 176 PO, 11 AST, 56 E, 2.76 RNG, +4.9 ARM, +6.6 ZR, 1.084 EFF
• RF: Alphonso Nelson (QV) – 130 PO, 6 AST, 51 E, 2.07 RNG, +0.5 ARM, +6.0 ZR, 1.129 EFF

PCBL TEAM OF THE YEAR

P: Arthur Lipscomb (PBCC) - 25-14, 2.52 ERA, 26 K, 338.2 IP, 26 CG, 1 SHO, 1.2 K/BB, 1.19 WHIP, 5.7 WAR, 7.9 rWAR
C: Harrison Hearst (PBCC) - .370, .425 OBP, .865 OPS, 62 R, 101 H, 1 HR, 58 RBI, 17 BB, 2.11 C-ERA, 3.4 WPA, 3.4 WAR
1B: Benjamin Warnoch (MERC) - .376, .925 OPS, 78 R, 128 H, 21 2B, 13 3B, 1 HR, 73 RBI, 11 BB, 9 SB, 3.4 WPA, 3.8 WAR
2B: James Fink (KEY) - .348, .861 OPS, 70 R, 101 H, 15 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 55 RBI, 19 BB, +17.4 ZR, 5.6 WPA, 4.0 WAR
3B: George Reed (MIN) - .329, .775 OPS, 73 R, 96 H, 7 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 50 RBI, 7 BB, 3 SB, 2.3 WPA, 2.1 WAR
SS: Moody Steiger (PBCC) - .292, .663 OPS, 56 R, 89 H, 10 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 58 RBI, 6 SB, +27.4 ZR, 1.9 WPA, 3.1 WAR
OF: Joseph Evans (FRA) - .380, 1.011 OPS, 84 R, 127 H, 21 2B, 19 3B, 5 HR, 75 RBI, 17 BB, 201 TB, 5.4 WPA, 4.7 WAR
OF: Francis Brown (FRA) - .327, .849 OPS, 69 R, 103 H, 24 2B, 10 3B, 2 HR, 55 RBI, 14 BB, 11 SB, 2.8 WPA, 3.2 WAR
OF: Arthur Hall (SoB) - .322, .829 OPS, 81 R, 109 H, 15 2B, 13 3B, 4 HR, 75 RBI, 12 BB, 23 SB, 4.3 WPA, 2.4 WAR

MISCELLANEOUS

PCBL STATISTICAL LEADERS

• Average: .380 by Joseph Evans (LF, Frankford)
• On-Base: .425 by Harrison Hearst (C, P.B.C.C.)
• Slugging: .602 by Joseph Evans
• OPS: 1.011 by Joseph Evans
• Home Runs: 5 by Joseph Evans
• Runs Batted In: 79 by William Norman (1B, Merion)
• Hits: 128 by Benjamin Warnock (1B, Mercantile)
• Extra-Base Hits: 45 by Joseph Evans
• Doubles: 22 by Francis Brown (CF, Frankford)
• Triples: 19 by Joseph Evans
• Runs: 94 by Robert Chase (P.B.C.C.)
• Stolen Bases: 36 by Harrison Comstock (LF, Germantown)
• Total Bases: 201 by Joseph Evans
• Bases on Balls: 19 by three different batsmen
• Zone Rating: +27.4 by Moody Steiger (SS, P.B.C.C.)
• Win Prob. Added: 7.7 by William Norman
• Batsman WAR: 4.7 by Joseph Evans

• Wins: 25 by Arthur Lipscomb (P.B.C.C.)
• Losses: 24 by Ward Jackson (Independence)
• ERA (175+ IP): 1.87 by Richard Johnson (Penn)
• Strikeouts: 39 by Oscar Downs (Queen Village)
• Innings: 351.1 by Charlie Greiner (Frankford)
• Complete Games: 26 by Arthur Lipscomb
• Shutouts: 2 by three different pitchers
• BB/9 (175+ IP): 0.3 by Casper Shultis (Mercantile) & Acie Collins (Pt. Richmond)
• K/9 (175+ IP): 1.1 by five different pitchers
• K/BB (175+ IP): 3.2 by Acie Collins
• WHIP (175+ IP): 1.13 by Warren Leonard (P.B.C.C.)
• Pitcher WAR: 7.7 by Paul Krueger (Sons of Ben)
• Pitcher rWAR: 7.9 by Arthur Lipscomb

ACHIEVEMENTS & NOTABLE EVENTS

• May 27: Edward Long (Queen Village) has 7 RBI (3/6, GS, 7 RBI) vs Pt. Richmond.
• May 28: Overbrook erases a record 11-run deficit (23-12) to win 25-23 at Independence.
• May 28: Overbrook & Independence combine for a record 48 Runs (OVER 25-23 IND).
• May 28: Overbrook & Independence combine for a record 43 Errors (OVER 17, IND 26).
• May 28: Independence sets a new all-leagues record with 11 Errors in the 8th inning vs Overbrook.
• May 28: Independence sets a new all-leagues record for Errors in a game with 26 vs Overbrook.
• May 28: George Selby (Independence) sets a new all-leagues record for Errors in a game with 9 vs Overbrook.
• May 28: William Cardigan (Overbrook) has 7 RBI (2/7, GS, 7 RBI) at Independence.
• June 4: Bradley Bowman (Pt. Richmond) has 6 Hits (6/7, HR, 4 RBI) vs Sons of Ben.
• June 29: P.B.C.C. finishes the first half 27-8, the best half-season record in P.C.B.L. history.
• July 2: Charlie Kleinman (Mercantile) has 6 RBI (5/6, 2B, 6 RBI) vs Merion.
• July 11: Joseph Evans (Frankford) becomes the first P.C.B.L. player with 5+ HR in a season.
• July 22: Walter Kirby (P.B.C.C.) has 6 Hits (6/7, 2 2B, 2 3B, 5 RBI) at Independence.
• Aug. 13: Arthur Lipscomb (P.B.C.C.) becomes the first P.C.B.L. P with 25+ Wins in a season.
• Aug. 23: Philadelphia B.C.C. (1st title) wins Liberty Bell Classic in five games over Frankford Arsenal.

PERFORMANCES OF THE SEASON BY GAME SCORE

• #1: 112 by Bradley Bowman (Pt. Richmond) on June 4th vs Sons of Ben (6/7, HR, 5 R, 4 RBI, 9 TB)
• #2: 107 by Walter Kirby (P.B.C.C.) on July 22nd at Independence (6/7, 2 2B, 2 3B, 4 R, 5 RBI, 12 TB)
• #3: 106 by Charlie Kleinman (Mercantile) on July 2 vs Merion (5/6, 2B, 4 R, 6 RBI, 6 TB)
• #4: 102 by Gareth Webber (Overbrook) on May 28th at Independence (5/7, 2B, 5 R, 5 RBI, 6 TB, HBP)
• #5: 92 by John Henry George (Mercantile) on May 21 vs Penn (5/6, 2B, 3 R, 5 RBI, 6 TB)

08-03-2025, 12:56 AM	#809
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,368	THE NBBO & PCBL PLAYOFFS ARE SET TRENTON UTD IS #1; THREE TEAMS RETURN; ONE IN FOR 1ST TIME; PBCC VS FRANKFORD IN PHILA. NORTHEAST U.S.A. (Aug. 16, 1875) – The fourteen weeks of play have been completed, and the postseason fields are set in both the National Base Ball Organization and the Philadelphia City Baseball League. In the N.B.B.O. playoffs, the New York League is sending the same trio of teams for the third year in a row while the Northeastern League is sending two teams that haven’t been to the playoffs in over a decade and another that is playing extra baseball for the first time in club history. The #1 overall team going into the playoffs is Trenton United, which finished 48-22 after winning their final eleven games. However, New York League #2 Eckford enters the playoffs nearly as hot, with a 25-10 second half record just one game off Trenton’s. The N.Y.L. #1 is Utica, but there is significant danger in their half of the playoff bracket. In the P.C.B.L., the gap between the two first-place teams ended up being tighter than expected after Philadelphia Baseball & Cricket Club followed up their blazing-hot first half with an okay second half. Frankford Arsenal followed up its 22-13 first half with a 22-13 second half, and their consistency combined with the presence of Joseph Evans means that P.B.C.C. is no sure favorite to win the third Liberty Bell Classic. NBBO: NEW YORK LEAGUE BROOKLYN – Eckford of Greenpoint pulled off more second half magic. Just 19-16 after Week Seven, they were 25-10 over the final seven weeks and turned a four-game deficit into a six-game cushion at the top. The rest of the field didn’t stand a chance, and Eckford had won their fourth Brooklyn Championship in a row. This is their fourth postseason appearance. KEY PLAYER: Isaac Kelly (3B) – .372, .870 OPS, 78 R, 123 H, 22 XBH, 4 HR, 58 RBI, +12.1 ZR, 3.6 WPA, 4.3 WAR NEW YORK CITY – For the first time in four years, N.Y.C. wasn’t decided by a playoff or a one-game final margin. Metropolitan, leaders by half a game at the midway point, had the same record in the second half (21-14) as they did in the first and ended up taking the pennant by three games over Union of Morrisania and four games over Mercury. This is Metro’s fourth playoff appearance in five years, and their fifth overall. KEY PLAYER: Francis Smith (CF) – .334, .799 OPS, 81 R, 113 H, 21 2B, 10 3B, 64 RBI, 22 SB, 4.5 WPA, 3.2 WAR UPSTATE N.Y. – At the end of July Minuteman was alone in 1st by two games over Utica. Over the final eleven games Minuteman went 3-8, Utica went 9-2, and the men from Albany had fumbled the pennant straight into the hands of Utica. This is Utica’s third straight playoff appearance and fourth overall. KEY PLAYER: Jonathan Fraker (1B) – .385, .877 OPS, 77 R, 127 H, 19 XBH, 2 HR, 68 RBI, 25 SB, 3.1 WPA, 2.9 WAR NBBO: NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE COASTAL – At the start of August Trenton United was wedged between Pt. Jersey & Quaker St., with the trio just two games apart in a fantastic battle for 1st place. T.U. knew they had a big schedule advantage to end the season and they took full advantage, winning their final eleven games all by 2+ runs, taking the Coastal Championship by a final margin of four. This is Trenton Utd’s third playoff appearance, and their first since 1861. KEY PLAYER: Manuel Romeiras (CF) – .360, .899 OPS, 105 R, 124 H, 33 XBH, 3 HR, 81 RBI, 49 SB, 4.6 WPA, 4.8 WAR INLAND – Susquehanna won their final fourteen games of July, but the train ran out of steam. A 6-5 August opened the door for co-leaders Merrimack, who finished 8-3 over the final eleven games of the season and took an Inland title that seemed like it was destined to go to the defending cup champions. This is Merrimack’s third time in the postseason, and their first since winning back-to-back Inland championships in 1864 & 1865. KEY PLAYER: William Sudduth (2B) – .357, .867 OPS, 92 R, 116 H, 23 XBH, 4 HR, 65 RBI, 12 SB, 5.9 WPA, 2.9 WAR NEW ENGLAND – The incredible Cantabrigians, 25-45 just last year, had a two-game lead over Portland with two weeks left. They were .500 over their last ten games but so was Portland, and as a result this year’s most surprising team has gone from worst to first, and they have made it to the playoffs for the first time. KEY PLAYER: Bubba Mack (P) – 26-13, 3.25 ERA, 337.2 IP, 23 CG, 1 SHO, 33 K, 1.0 K/BB, 1.39 WHIP, 4.3 WAR, 5.8 rWAR THE 1875 TUCKER-WHEATON CUP SEEDS • N.Y.L. #1: Utica – 45-25 (+141 RD) • N.Y.L. #2: Eckford – 44-26 (+121 RD) • N.Y.L. #3: Metropolitan – 42-28 (+51 RD) • N.E.L. #1: Trenton United – 48-22 (+204 RD) • N.E.L. #2: Merrimack Mills – 44-26 (+55 RD) • N.E.L. #3: Cantabrigians – 41-29 (+61 RD) PLAYOFF SERIES FORMAT & MATCHUPS: • LENGTH: L.S.F., L.S.C., & T.W.C. all Best of five games • FORMAT: All series follow 2-2-1 schedule • HOME FIELD: Higher seed has Home Field Advantage • N.Y.L. SEMIFINALS: Metropolitan vs Eckford • N.E.L. SEMIFINALS: Cantabrigians vs Merrimack • N.Y.L. CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: MET/ECK vs Utica • N.E.L. CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: CAN/MM vs Trenton United • TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FINAL: NYL Champion v NEL Champion (NYL has HFA) WRITERS POOL PREDICTIONS • N.Y.L. SEMIFINALS: Eckford (25-10 2nd Half; 8-2 Last 10) over Metropolitan (5-5 Last 10) • N.E.L. SEMIFINALS: Merrimack (24-11 at Home) over Cantabrigians (5-5 Last 10) • N.Y.L. CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: Eckford over Utica (10-9 in 1-run) • N.E.L. CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: Trenton United (11 straight W’s; 26-9 2nd half) over Merrimack • TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FINAL: Trenton United over Eckford PHILADELPHIA CITY BASEBALL LEAGUE EAST: Frankford had a slow march to the pennant. They had a one-game lead at the end of May and the end of June, a four-game lead by the end of July, and eventually finished 1st in East Philadelphia by six games, with Minerva the runners-up. They have won all three East Philadelphia titles, and they have the P.C.B.L.’s #1 offense. KEY PLAYER: Joseph Evans (LF) – .380, 1.011 OPS, 84 R, 127 H, 45 XBH, 5 HR, 75 RBI, 7 SB, 5.4 WPA, 4.8 WAR WEST: Once Philadelphia B.C.C. finished its 27-8 opening half, it was just a matter of how many games they would win West Philadelphia by. A relatively disappointing 19-15 second half meant that their seven-game lead at the midway point shrank to five games by the time all was said and done. P.B.C.C. coasted to their 1st pennant, and that could be a big problem. KEY PLAYER: Arthur Lipscomb (P) – 25-14, 2.52 ERA, 338.2 IP, 26 CG, 1 SJO, 26 K, 1.2 K/BB, 1.19 WHIP, 5.7 WAR, 7.9 rWAR THE 1875 LIBERTY BELL CLASSIC SEEDING • #1: Philadelphia B.C.C. – 46-24 (+211 RD) • #2: Frankford Arsenal – 44-26 (+99 RD) PLAYOFF SERIES FORMAT • Best of five games • 2-2-1 format • Higher seed (PBCC) has Home Field Advantage WRITERS POOL PREDICTION • Philadelphia B.C.C. (25-10 Away) over Frankford Arsenal __________________ Logo & uniform work here Thread about my fictional universe that begins in 1857 here Last edited by tm1681; 08-04-2025 at 02:37 AM.

08-03-2025, 05:50 AM	#813
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,368	The end-of-season lunacy just never stops... __________________ Logo & uniform work here Thread about my fictional universe that begins in 1857 here

08-04-2025, 03:51 PM	#817
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,368	NEW YORK LEAGUE SEMIFINALS • GAME 1: MET 10-13 ECK – Huibrecht van der Laan (2B, ECK) 2/4 (both 1B), 2 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB • GAME 2: MET 1-18 ECK – Ernest Geis (RF, ECK) 3/5 (3B, 5 TB), 4 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB • GAME 3: ECK 5-6 MET – Francis Smith (CF, MET) 3/5 (2B, 3B, 6 TB), 2 R, 4 RBI • GAME 4: ECK 8-11 MET – Harold Rowsey (C, MET) 3/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 3 RBI, 1/4 CS • GAME 5: MET 2-4 ECK – William Barnhill (P, ECK) CG, 8 HA, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 1/3 (1B), 1 R, 2 RBI • SERIES MVP: Huibrecht van der Laan (2B, Eckford) After two games it looked like this would be an Eckford sweep, as the Brooklyn champs followed up a close Game 1 with a Game 2 demolition of Metropolitan. However, when the series went to Hamilton Square Metro found some late magic, winning Game 3 in walkoff fashion and Game 4 with a four-run rally in the 8th inning. The above meant it was time for Game Five at Manor House, and it was a tight, defensive affair in which no runs were scored after the 6th inning of play. Only four Eckford batsmen had hits, and that meant it was their new #1 pitcher, former American prospect William Barnhill, whose excellent effort won the series for the 1872 champions. NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE SEMIFINALS • GAME 1: CAN 5-6 MM – John Porter (C, MM) 4/5 (2B, 5 TB) 2 R, 0 RBI, 1/1 CS • GAME 2: CAN 10-9 MM – George Scott (RF, MM) 3/3 (3B, 5 TB), 2 R, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 HBP • GAME 3: MM 12-13 CAN – Julius Bailey (LF, MM) 4/6 (all 1B), 1 R, 4 RBI • GAME 4: MM 5-12 CAN – Lage Barlund (CF), CAN) 4/4 (all 1B), 1 R, 2 RBI, SB, HBP • SERIES MVP: Lage Barlund (CF, Cantabrigians) Merrimack Mills won the opener after six early runs allowed them to withstand a late rally, but past that the series belonged to this season’s playoff darlings: the Cantabrigians. They took Game 2 & Game 3 by a run each, with Game 3 being a walk-off at home thanks to an Error, and in Game 4 they applied the finish by scoring six times in the 8th to seal Merrimack’s fate. NEW YORK LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES • GAME 1: ECK 8-3 UTI – Louis Murray (LF, ECK) 2/5 (2B, 3 TB), 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB • GAME 2: MET 16-17 UTI (11) – John Baddley (2B, UTI) 6/7 (all 1B), 5 R, 4 RBI, SB • GAME 3: UTI 4-5 ECK – William Barnhill (P, ECK) CG, 5 HA, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 2/4 (both 1B), 1 RBI • GAME 4: UTI 0-6 ECK – Isaac Kelly (3B, ECK) 2/5 (HR, 5 TB), 2 R, 2 RBI • SERIES MVP: Isaac Kelly (3B, Eckford) Utica scored in each of the first two innings of the opener to take a 2-0 lead, but from the 3rd inning on Eckford had their hosts firmly in check, scoring eight runs while holding Utica to a handful of hits on the way to a five-run win. Game Two was an all-timer. Utica was ahead 12-5 after the 4th thanks to a barrage of thirteen hits, but Eckford outscored Utica 6-1 over the middle innings to cut the deficit to two. Utica scored three runs in B8 to take a 16-11 lead, only for Eckford to even the score in the 9th on a series of four Singles & a Double. It took extra innings to decide a winner, and in the bottom of the 11th Baddley reached with his sixth Hit of the game, stole 2B, and was then Singled in by SS Edward Davis to win the game for Utica and even the series. Game Three belonged to Utica first, but Eckford last. Utica scored single runs in each of the first four innings to take a 4-0 lead, but Eckford scored single runs in the 4th-8th, the go-ahead hit a Single by Barnhill, to take a 5-4 win and the series lead. Game Four saw Eckford close out the series and return to the cup final for the first time since their 1872 triumph. The hosts scored twice in B1 and never looked back, adding two runs in the 5th and two more in the 6th as Utica couldn’t do much of anything against fine pitching by Augustus Cook (5 HA) and outstanding Eckford defense (1 E), and Eckford was through. NORTHEASTERN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES • GAME 1: CAN 2-8 TU – Fred Lydon (RF, TU) 3/4 (all 1B), 1 R, 1 RBI, 2 SB • GAME 2: CAN 1-2 TU (10) – Thomas Koch (P, TU) CG, 7 HA, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K • GAME 3: TU 16-0 CAN – Paul Kronenberg (1B, TU) 5/6 (3B, 7 TB), 4 R, 6 RBI • SERIES MVP: Francis Molinari (P, Trenton Utd.) Game One was close for 6+ innings before the home side sealed the win. Ahead 4-2 after the visiting half of the 7th, Trenton Utd. scored four times on a trio of Singles and a Manuel Romeiras Double to give the game its final score of 8-2. Game Two was close the entire way, although the visitors should have won. Cantabrigians opened the scoring in T5 on a Single by 2B Jonathan Crow, and it looked like it would end up a rare 1-0 final until the hosts tied the score via Error with two out in the 9th. Trenton Utd. then won the game in the 10th on a James Lanagan Single to take a 2-0 series lead. Game Three showed that, sadly, good fortune had run out for the surprise team of ’75. Given a chance to extend the series at home, Cantabrigians were instead steamrolled by Trenton Utd., with the visitors scoring fifteen runs over the first five innings to take a 15-0 lead, and from there it was just a matter of filling out the scoreboard and punching T.U.’s tickets to the cup final, which they would be going to for the first time. TUCKER-WHEATON CUP XVII FINAL It was time for the final of Tucker-Wheaton Cup XIX. Based on both regular season records and playoff performance, Trenton United entered the series as favorites. Eckford had done well to take out #1 Utica in four games in the N.Y.L.C.S. but that was after a tough five-game semifinal, and Trenton Utd. dispatched Cantabrigians in a three-game sweep in the N.E.L.C.S., with the third game ending 16-0. One thing in Eckford’s favor: they had lifted the cup just three years ago, while Trenton Utd. was in the postseason for the first time in fourteen years and was one of the last two teams standing for the first time in club history. GAME ONE (Manor House in Brooklyn) TU 11-7 ECK – Francis Molinari (P, TU) CG, 10 HA, 5 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 4/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 3 RBI Game One went to the favorites, but their attack had a most surprising leader. Eckford scored four times in B1, and that apparently inspired T.U. P Francis Molinari – a .244 hitter – to make up for it with the bat because he would hit a pair of run-scoring Singles over the next three innings to help his side take a 6-4 lead. Molinari gave the lead right back by allowing two runs in B4, but his Single during T6 kept the inning going and T.U. went on to score three times to take a 9-6 lead that would never be seriously threatened. GAME TWO (Manor House in Brooklyn) TU 2-3 ECK – Louis Murray (LF, ECK) 2/4 (3B, 4 TB), 1 R, 2 RBI The 5th inning was the decider in Game Two. Trenton Utd. had the lead early at Manor House, scoring on a Ground Out in the opening inning. The visitors added a second run in the 3rd on a Double by Paul Kronenberg, and that stood as the only scoring until the midway point of the game. Then, in the bottom of the 5th Eckford scored on a Single before a two-run Triple by Murray gave them a 3-2 lead that would stand the rest of the way, as outstanding pitching & defense prevented T.U.’s top-scoring attack from evening the score. GAME THREE (Trenton Commons in Trenton, N.J.) ECK 6-12 TU – Manuel Romeiras (CF, TU) 4/5 (2B, 5 TB), 2 R, 0 RBI, SB Game Three belonged to the home side. Visiting Eckford opened the scoring in T1 on a Single by Isaac Kelly, but Trenton Utd. responded with four runs to exit the opening frame with a 4-1 lead. That was the score going into T4, when Trenton Utd. ended the contest with a six-run rally featuring a pair of run-scoring Doubles. Eckford put up a handful of late runs, but T.U. had a well-earned 2-1 series lead. GAME FOUR (Trenton Commons in Trenton, N.J.) ECK 7-13 TU – Earl Seals (SS, TU) 3/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 4 RBI, 1 DEF DP The N.B.B.O.’s best team became the N.B.B.O. champions in Game Four. Eckford again opened the scoring in T1 but again Trenton Utd. provided an immediate response, this one more furious than the one the given the previous day, with the hosts scoring eight times over the first two innings to take a commanding 8-1 lead. Eckford took a pair of runs back over the middle innings, but T.U. scored once in the 6th to ahead by six (9-3) and then ended Eckford’s chances at forcing a Game Five with a four-run rally in the 7th that gave them a 13-3 lead. Try as they might, a late Eckford rally was nowhere near large enough, and for the first time a team from New Jersey was lifting the Tucker-Wheaton Cup. Trenton United’s cup triumph would be hailed as another victory for all of the “small” clubs in the N.B.B.O. T.U. was the smallest of New Jersey’s four N.B.B.O. teams, with its lone “big club” being Newark B.C. In contrast, T.U.’s venue held just over 1,700, a full 10,000 less than Quaker St. and more than 5,000 less than Newark. They had won the Coastal Championship three times and finished elsewhere in the top half of the standings nine more times, and they had done so in a region filled with metropolitan clubs that had large venues and deep pockets. Trenton Utd.’s success was a testament to the quality of their organization, from the President’s office all the way down to the maker of their bats & balls. TUCKER-WHEATON CUP MOST VALUABLE PLAYER Manuel Romeiras (CF, TU) – 7 G, .441 (15/34), 1.016 OPS, 10 R, 4 2B, 5 RBI, 1 BB, 4 SB, 0.6 WAR It should come as little surprise that the man almost certain to be named N.E.L. Most Valuable Player was named the postseason M.V.P. After two up-and-down seasons upon leaving Harlem for Trenton United, Romeiras finally was able to put out peak performance for a full seventy games in 1875, and he continued that form in the N.B.B.O. playoffs, where he was undoubtedly the #1 player for the cup champions. For runners-up Eckford, their best player during the playoffs was veteran star Isaac Kelly: Isaac Kelly (3B, ECK) – 13 G, .333 (21/63), .751 OPS, 11 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 1 BB, 1 SB, 0.5 WAR The favorite to be named N.Y.L. Most Valuable Player opposite Romeiras struggled during the cup final (4/19), but his work during the N.Y.L. playoffs was one of the main reasons why Eckford had the chance to play for their second title. TUCKER-WHEATON CUP FINAL SUMMARY __________________ Logo & uniform work here Thread about my fictional universe that begins in 1857 here Last edited by tm1681; 08-07-2025 at 06:23 AM.

08-04-2025, 04:12 PM	#819
tm1681 All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Salt Lake City, UT Posts: 1,368	GAME ONE (Glenwood Field in Philadelphia) ALL 1-8 AME – James Burke (CF, AME): 3/5 (2B, 3B, 6 TB), 1 R, 2 RBI, SB The Founders’ Cup opener was all American, although it was an odd one. The 2x champions opened scoring in B1 on a Wild Pitch, added a second run in B4 via Error, went ahead 3-0 in B6 on a Fielder’s Choice, and two more runs in B7 on an Error and a Single by 3B William Carrigan, the first run-scoring hit of the game, gave American a 5-0 lead. They then responded to an Alleghany run in T8 with three more of their own, two coming in on a Double by the outstanding Burke, and American had a seven-run win in Game One. GAME TWO (Glenwood Field in Philadelphia) ALL 3-19 AME – Franklin Petty (RF, AME): 4/6 (3B, 6 TB), 4 R, 2 RBI Game Two was a classic American demolition job. American opened the scoring with a pair of runs in B1, and after Alleghany responded with a run in T2 they shot five runs right back at Alleghany to take a 7-1 lead. It would be 10-1 before the visitors scored again, and after Alleghany scored in T8 to make it a 10-3 game American piled on an eight-run rally in B8 to take a sixteen-run win and go up 2-0. The top of the American lineup was outstanding, with Petty, 1B William Busby, & CF James Burke combining to bat 9/17 with 10 Runs, 5 Runs Batted In, 3 Bases on Balls, and a Stolen Base between them. GAME THREE (Recreation Park in Pittsburgh) AME 5-9 ALL – Frank Doherty (3B, ALL): 4/4 (2B, 5 TB), 1 R, 3 RBI Alleghany overcame the embarrassment of Game Two to get one in the win column. It was all Alleghany early on, as the hosts followed up single runs in the 1st & 2nd with a four-run rally in the 3rd, the key hit a run-scoring Double by Doherty, to give Alleghany a 6-0 lead. They added a 7th run in B4, and once American began to muster up any sort of comeback they responded to three American runs in the 7th with two of their own to make it a 9-3 game, and the win was theirs. GAME FOUR (Recreation Park in Pittsburgh) AME 11-7 ALL – Sidney Crowder (LF, AME): 2/4 (HR, 5 TB), 2 R, 4 RBI In Game Four, the mighty American attack moved the team to within a win of their third title. The scoring started immediately, with American plating four during the top of the 1st on a Single, a Double, a Fielder’s Choice, and an Error to go ahead 4-0 before Allegany swung a bat. The hosts grabbed a run in B2 but American responded with three in T3, thanks to a three-run Home Run by Crowder, to go up 7-1. Alleghany clawed two runs back in B3, but then American scored three more times in T4 on three separate hits to go ahead 10-3. Alleghany’s offense was decent during the second half of the contest, but they could only score four more runs when they needed at least seven, and American added a late run to quash any comeback hopes. GAME FIVE (Recreation Park in Pittsburgh) AME 0-4 ALL – Elmer Seabold (P, ALL): NO-HITTER, 0 BB, 2 K Some incredible baseball history was made in Game Five. With his team’s backs to the proverbial wall, Seabold took the ball for Alleghany and fired off what was both the maiden No-Hitter in A.P.B.L. history and the first No-Hitter during postseason competition ever seen in the sport. Seabold was impeccable, not only allowing no Hits but gifting the opposition no Bases on Balls. The only baserunners reached via four Errors by Alleghany fielders – none by Seabold – and one of the four was thrown out trying to steal a base. The fact that Seabold’s no-hitter came against the most fearsome lineup in the sport with the season on the line made his feat that much harder to believe. It was a performance that will be remembered forever. GAME SIX (Glenwood Field in Philadelphia) ALL 7-6 AME – John Meier (LF, ALL) 3/4 (all 1B), 3 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB Against the odds, Alleghany forced Game Seven. American, 34-11 at home during the season, appeared to be in control early, scoring in four of the first five innings to take a 5-1 lead through to the second half of the contest. That was when Alleghany’s comeback began in earnest. In the top of the 6th Alleghany scored three times, twice on a Single by 2B Burton Ellerby and once on a Single by P Elmer Seabold, to cut the American lead to 5-4. American would score once in B6, but Alleghany took the run right back in T7 on a Single by Meier to make it a 6-5 game. That was the score going into the 9th, when Alleghany tied the game on a Single by C Harry Thompson and then took a 7-6 lead on a Single by PH Richard Norris. Veteran P John Brown, a 2x All-Star who entered in the 8th, set the American attack down 1-2-3, and a winner-take-all game was in store. GAME SEVEN (Glenwood Field in Philadelphia) ALL 7-13 AME – Peter Boyce (2B, AME) 3/5 (all 1B), 3 R, 1 RBI It all came down to this, a Game Seven that seemed quite unlikely after American’s 19-3 Game Two win. The opening inning had plenty of action. Alleghany started the game with two runs in T1 on Singles by LF John Meier & 1B Jerald Peterson. American’s counter: four runs in B1, the key hit a two-run Triple by Martin Prince, to go ahead 4-2 After a scoreless 2nd inning, American came to bat in B3 and scored twice, once on a Fielder’s Choice and once on a Single by C Raynard Steinbach, to take a 6-2 lead. In the 4th American would score five more times, with one run via run-scoring Single by 1B William Busby and the other four runs coming in on two-run Singles by 3B William Carrigan & LF Sidney Crowder, to take an 11-2 lead. Alleghany tried to mount a comeback starting in the 5th, with two runs scoring via Single & Error to make it an 11-4 game. However, American answered immediately with two runs on Singles by Boyce & Prince to bring the lead back to nine (13-4), making the rest of Game Seven a formality. For Alleghany, it was Game Seven heartbreak. For American, it was the third time in four years they could stake their claim as the best team in the sport. With St. John’s finally having fallen out of postseason contention in consecutive years, it looked to all like American B.C. of Philadelphia was the new kings of baseball. FOUNDERS’ CUP MOST VALUABLE PLAYER Franklin Petty (RF, AME) – .406 (13/32), .991 OPS, 13 R, 1 2B, 2 3B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 4 SB, 0.4 WAR, 1x PotG James Burke had more Runs Batted In (8) and more Stolen Bases (7), but Petty’s .400+ hitting at the top of the lineup meant the men below him in the order had someone to move around the basepaths, and Petty scored an outstanding thirteen Runs over seven games as a result. He also reached base more than anyone else in the series (15 times), and his always excellent defense in RF was another net positive for American. Don’t shed any tears for Burke. He “only” hit .371 (13/35) during the series, with 10 Runs and those 8 RBI & 7 SB, and he’ll just have to settle for being named A.P.B.L. Batsman of the Year instead of being named Founders’ Cup M.V.P. The best player for Alleghany was their Greenhorn All-Star LF, John Meier: John Meier (LF, ALL) – .355 (11/31), .878 OPS, 10 R, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 2 SB, 0.3 WAR, 1x PotG For Meier, it was an excellent end to a season in which he lived up to the hype granted to him as the #1 indy ball signing of last winter. He hit .330 while making the All-Star Game in his first season, and he was excellent in the postseason as well. FOUNDERS' CUP SUMMARY __________________ Logo & uniform work here Thread about my fictional universe that begins in 1857 here Last edited by tm1681; 08-08-2025 at 06:38 AM.