The Big Bang: A Larger Baseball Universe Starting From Nothing in 1857 - Page 55

tm1681 · 03-10-2026, 11:50 PM

44-YEAR-OLD BANCROFT SHUTS DOWN EAGLE
7x ALL-STAR, IN HIS 23rd SEASON, STILL PITCHING LIKE A MUCH YOUNGER MAN

OSWEGO, N.Y. (June 13, 1879) - Frontier B.B.C. is hosting Eagle at Fort Ontario for Week Five of N.B.B.O. play, and in the middle game of the series their #2, Carl Bancroft, conjured up some old magic to make for an easy victory:

Frontier scored on a Ground Out in B1 and, although that tally proved to be enough for the win, they gradually added to their total over the course of the afternoon until they took a 9-0 lead in B8 on a two-run Single by LF Fred Corr.

However, Frontier’s attack wasn’t the story here. Instead, the man of the afternoon was 44-year-old Carl Bancroft, who twirled his eleventh career Shutout in front of 2,077 delighted fans:

• FRO P Carl Bancroft: CG SHO (6-3, 3.00), 5 HA, 0 BB, 5 K – SAC BUNT

Bancroft, who is now in his TWENTY-THIRD SEASON as a regular pitcher across the N.B.B.O. (1857-70, 73-77, 79), A.P.B.L. (1871-72), & C.B.C. (1878), is off to another strong start this year. After being named Pitcher of the Year for the inaugural campaign of the Coastal Baseball Conference, Bancroft decided to rejoin Frontier, who he pitched for from 1873 to 1876. Over a dozen appearances, Bancroft is 6-3 with a 3.00 ERA, 26 Strikeouts, and 1.9 WAR in 75 innings of work.

While Bancroft isn’t the pitcher he was a decade ago (NOTE: he has actually lost quite a bit of Stuff, as well as some control & velocity, over the last 7-8 years), Bancroft is still rated 4.0* relative to the N.B.B.O. by the Writers Pool, and it appears he’ll pitch for as long as teams will have him. Given how well-liked Bancroft is, as long as he’s capable there’s sure to be a team in one of the three lower leagues that will be happy to receive his services.

The win kept Frontier (13-10) in a tie with Syracuse for third place in Upstate New York, one game behind co-leaders Minuteman & Utica. Eagle is in last place at 8-15.

tm1681 · 03-12-2026, 02:52 PM

WHITEHURST HAS NBBO’S 1ST CYCLE IN TWO YEARS
VETERAN RF COMPLETED FEAT ON GAME-TYING HR IN 9TH; MINUTEMAN BEATS EAGLE IN TEN

ELMIRA, N.Y. (June 19, 1879) - Upstate New York powerhouse Minuteman is visiting struggling Eagle this week, but their hosts gave them everything they could handle on Thursday before Minuteman eventually won the game in extra innings:

This looked like an easy Minuteman victory halfway through, as a five-run rally in the opening inning and more tallies in the 2nd, 3rd, & 5th had given them a 9-0 lead at the Fair Street Grounds. However, Eagle clubbed Minuteman over the head with a dozen runs over the 5th & 6th to take a 12-9 lead.

Minuteman began their comeback in T7 when RF Murdock Whitehurst hit a two-run Single to cut the Eagle lead to one (12-11). After a scoreless B7 and empty eighth, Whitehurst came back to the plate in T9 and hit a Home Run to Right Field, which not only tied the game (12-12) but gave Murdock the first Cycle seen in the N.B.B.O. in slightly over two years.

Eagle wasted a Triple in B9, and even though all Whitehurst could do was hit into a lazy flyball to the CF in T10 other Minutemen picked up the slack, with 3B John Hanson giving them a 14-12, and the win, with a two-run Single.

Whitehurst’s day in full:

• T1: 2-run Double to RF off W. Proctor (R)
• T3: Leadoff Triple to RCF off W. Proctor (R)
• T5: 1-run Single past 2B off W. Proctor (R)
• T7: 2-run Single past 1B off W. Proctor
• T9: SOLO HOME RUN to RF off H. Birch
• T10: Fly Out to CF (3 out)
• TOTAL: 5/6 (2B, 3B, HR), 4 R, 6 RBI, 11 TB, CYCLE, 111 GMSC

Whitehurst’s Cycle, the twentieth in N.B.B.O. history, was the first in the competition since Charles Fletcher of Baltic completed one on June 8th of 1877 in a game versus Hilltop – slightly over two years ago. Fletcher’s Cycle was particularly notable because it’s the only one in N.B.B.O. history to feature a six-hit performance.

Whitehurst also racked up a 111 Game Score that stands as the third-highest in the competition this year, behind David Phillips of Metropolitan’s 113 on May 28th and Scott Lyons of Susquehanna’s 125 on June 5th.

Whitehurst, who’s in his first full season as a regular and his seventh with Minuteman since joining them at age 18, is having a fantastic start to 1879. Through 26 games, Whitehurst is batting .406 (1.056 OPS) with 29 Runs, 31 RBI, and 1.4 WAR.

The win gave Minuteman the Upstate lead by one game over Utica at 17-10. Eagle is in last place at 9-18 (8 GB).

tm1681 · 03-12-2026, 02:52 PM

TRENTON UTD. HAS TWIN STARS IN BIG AWAY WIN
HUNSBERGER & MARTIN THRASH DIAMOND ST. PITCHING AS COASTAL LEADERS WIN BY FOURTEEN

WILMINGTON, DEL. (June 21, 1879) - Trenton United, the surprising leaders of the Coastal Championship, are in Delaware this week playing Diamond State. With the series 2-1 to Diamond St. after an 18-17 eleven-inning thriller on Friday, Trenton Utd. exacted their revenge on Saturday to even the series at two games apiece:

The visitors took a quick 4-0 leading during T2 with, off all people, starting pitcher James Fleming capping a four-run rally by hitting a two-run homer over the Left Field fence. Diamond St. took two runs back in B3, but 4-2 was the closest they would come to Trenton Utd., who scored multiple runs in each of the last six innings before finishing the afternoon with a fourteen-run victory at DuPont Place.

Trenton Utd. saw two tremendous performances from their batsmen. The first of the two came via their leadoff man, CF James Hunsberger:

• T1: Ground Out to SS (1 out)
• T2: Pop Fly Out to 1B (3 out)
• T4: 3-run Double to CF off W. Stone
• T6: 1-run Double to CF off H. Moore (R)
• T7: 1-run Single past 2B off H. Moore (R)
• T8: Pop Fly Out to C (2 out)
• T9: 2-run Double to RCF off L. Broughton (R)
• TOTAL: 4/7 (3 2B), 3 R, 7 RBI, 7 TB 90 GMSC

Hunsberger’s afternoon lifted his Average above .300 to .308 (.755 OPS). He has 32 Runs, 13 Extra-Base Hits (9 2B, 4 3B), 31 Runs Batted In, and 1.6 WAR through 29 games. He’s currently on pace to have the best season of his career.

Trenton Utd.’s other offensive hero was the Player of the Game, C William Martin:

• T2: 2-run Single to RCF off W. Stone (R)
• T4: Infield Single to SS off W. Stone (R)
• T5: 2-RUN ItP HOME RUN to RCF off W. Stone
• T7: 1-run Double past 3B off H. Moore (R)
• T8: Single to LCF off H. Moore (R)
• T9: Reached via Error by 2B (R)
• TOTAL: 5/6 (HR), 6 R, 5 RBI, 9 TB, 118 GMSC

Martin’s 118 Game Score was the second best in the N.B.B.O. this season, and he was the third batsman in 1879 with 5+ Runs and 5+ RBI in the same game. His performance raised his Average to .328 (.775 OPS) with 28 Runs, 24 RBI, and 0.9 WAR through 28 appearances. As things stand, Martin looks likely to make his second straight All-Star Game.

The victory kept Trenton Utd. alone top the Coastal Standings at 18-11. They are ahead of both Maryland and Philadelphia Baseball & Cricket Club by one game. Diamond St. is tied for fourth place with Bunker Hill with a 16-13 record (2 GB).

tm1681 · 03-12-2026, 02:53 PM

ST. JOHN’S PUNISHES PT. JERSEY IN THE RAIN
SMITH PITCHES 17TH CAREER SHUTOUT; DECKER HAS FIVE HITS; ST. JOHN’S SWEEPS SERIES

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (June 22, 1879) - It was a rainy day over Olneyville Field with a stiff breeze, but that didn’t stop St. John’s from having themselves an enjoyable afternoon against visiting Port Jersey to close out the week:

The result was never in doubt. St. John’s scored four times in B1 on an Error, a Single, and Doubles from RF Nelson Townsend & 3B Eamonn Higgins. After a scoreless second inning, St. John’s piled on seven more runs B3 – a rally that featured a leadoff Home Run by Townsend and a two-run Triple by CF Rudolph Decker. With an 11-0 lead, it was just a matter of seeing if they could keep Pt. Jersey off the scoreboard, and St. John’s did just that in a fifteen-run victory that also the hosts sweep the series.

The author of the Shutout was Thomas Smith, now in his tenth season pitching for St. John’s:

• StJ P Thomas Smith: CG SHO (7-2, 2.66), 5 HA, 0 BB, 2 K – 1/5 (2B), 1 R

It was Smith’s seventeenth career top-tier Shutout going back to his Greenhorn season with Shamrock in the N.B.B.O. in 1866. Smith missed the start of the season due to injury, but since rejoining Howard Burns in the St. John’s pitching duo Smith is 7-2 with a 2.66 ERA and 22 Strikeouts over 88.0 innings of work.

St. John’s also saw a five-hit performance on Sunday, which came from leadoff man Decker:

• StJ CF Rudolph Decker: 5/6 (2B, 3B), 3 R, 4 RBI, SB, 8 TB, 85 GMSC

Decker’s Game Score of 85 was the third highest seen in the A.P.B.L. so far this season, with only Jonathan Nabors’ (ALL) performance from yesterday (4/6, 2 2B, 4 R, 5 RBI, SB; 87 GMSC) and Townsend’s afternoon against Shamrock on May 30th (3/4, 2B, 5 R, 4 RBI, BB, 3 SB; 88 GMSC) ranking higher.

Decker is having a slow start, but the 5/6 day did raise his Average to .293 (.731 OPS) with 30 Runs, 32 RBI, 25 Stolen Bases, and 1.2 WAR through 42 Games.

As for the previously mentioned Higgins & Townsend, they both had fine games as well:

• StJ 3B Eamonn Higgins: 3/5 (2B), 2 R, 2 RBI, SB 4 TB
• StJ RF Nelson Townsend: 3/4 (2B, HR), 2 R, 3 RBI, BB, 7 TB

The series sweep of Pt. Jersey sent St. John’s into a tie with Alleghany atop the Colonial Conference at 26-16. Pt. Jersey, on the other hand, is alone in last place at 13-28 (12.5 GB).

tm1681 · 03-12-2026, 09:11 PM

NAT’L SCORES NINE IN 10TH TO BEAT LORD BALT.
VICTORS HAD ALLOWED HOME SIDE TO TIE GAME IN 9TH, THEN HAMMERED THEM IN EXTRA INNINGS

BALTIMORE, MLD. (June 25, 1879) - Going into the bottom of the ninth inning of the game between Lord Baltimore & National, it looked like visiting National would win. Then, a Lord Baltimore rally tied the game and forced extra innings. In the tenth, National decided they weren’t going to give Lord Baltimore the chance to pull off any late heroics again:

Lord Baltimore jumped to a fast lead, with a five-run rally in B1, capped by a two-run Triple from 3B Iver Jensen, giving them a 5-0 lead. It would take five innings, but National leveled the score 6-6 in T6 when a Single by RF Walter Little brought in the tying run. National would then take an 8-6 lead in T8 on run-scoring Singles by Little and 1B James Fisher.

After a scoreless B8 & T9, National went into the final half-inning looking good, as former N.Y.L. Pitcher of the Year Ashley Atkins was in to preserve the two-run lead. However, an error by the National SS and a Passed Ball by the National C allowed in runs, making it an 8-8 contest and forcing extra innings to be played.

National came to bat for T10 and made sure there wouldn’t be a second Lord Baltimore comeback, scoring nine Runs on seven Hits to take a 17-8 lead that wasn’t going to be bothered. The hosts went down scoreless in B10, and National had a much-needed victory.

National had a pair of three-hit performers on the afternoon, and although it was Little who had three big hits…

• NAT RF Walter Little: 3/6 (3B), 3 R, 4 RBI, BB, K, 5 TB

…it was All-Star 3B James Kinney who led the way with five base hits for the visitors:

• T2: Single past SS off R. Ray (R)
• T3: 1-run Double to RCF off R. Ray
• T5: Single to LF off R. Ray
• T6: Line Out to P (3 out)
• T8: Ground Out to SS (2 out)
• T10: Leadoff Single past SS off F. Foutch (R)
• T10: 1-run Single past 1B off E. Paluzzi
• TOTAL: 5/7 (2B), 3 R, 2 RBI, 6 TB

National was projected to go 41-29 this season, but they are still one game under .500 at 15-16 after the win at Lord Baltimore. That places them 6th in the Coastal Championship, but just four games behind co-leaders Maryland & Trenton United. Lord Baltimore is 7th with a 12-19 record (7 GB).

tm1681 · 03-12-2026, 09:12 PM

BUNKER HILL CLOBBERS MARYLAND IN BALTIMORE
BOSTONIANS SCORE MULTIPLE RUNS IN 7/9 INNINGS; BEAT COASTAL CO-LEADERS BY 21

BALTIMORE, MLD. (June 26, 1879) - Another day, and another story from Baltimore. This one involves the game between Maryland and visiting Bunker Hill, a game in which Bunker Hill got out to an early lead and never let up:

Bunker Hill scored three times in T1 thanks to a one-run Single by 3B Oliver Johnson and a two-run Single by 2B William Gillette. They increased the lead to 5-0 in T3 before Maryland responded with a run, but the visitors then scored the next thirteen runs, taking an 18-4 lead by the time Maryland put runs on the board again. Bunker Hill apparently wasn’t happy with Maryland’s three-run B8, because they responded with a seven-run rally in T9, one punctuated with a Grand Slam by substitute 1B Will Weathersbee, that gave the game its 25-4 final score.

Johnson & Gillette were the stars of the day for Bunker Hill:

• BH 3B Oliver Johnson: 5/7 (2 2B), 5 R, 3 RBI, 7 TB
• BH 2B William Gillette: 4/5 (all 1B), 3 R, 6 RBI, 1 BB

Four other Bunker Hill batsmen – RF Geoffrey Baker (2/4), CF Cyrus Foster (2/4), C Ed Phillip (2/6), & SUB Frank Reed (2/3) – had two base hits over the course of the afternoon. They also saw SUB Will Weathersbee finish with four RBI thanks to his Grand Slam.

Maryland remains co-leaders of the Coastal Championship at 19-13 in spite of the loss because Trenton United lost 10-4 at last-place Brighton. Bunker Hill is in a tie with P.B.C.C. for third place, with both teams one game back at 18-14.

tm1681 · 03-12-2026, 09:12 PM

WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON IN JERSEY CITY?
PT. JERSEY, 45-45 IN THEIR 1ST APBL SEASON, IS 16-29 HALFWAY THROUGH THEIR 2ND CAMPAIGN

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (June 28, 1879) - It has been a strange 1879 for Port Jersey B.B.C.

Port Jersey were the darlings of the A.P.B.L. last year. For their first season in the league, the team from Jersey City was picked by the Writers Pool to finish well under .500, as were the three other new teams, and to be not much of a factor in the Colonial Conference. However, they were over .500 for nearly the entire season and finished their inaugural A.P.B.L. campaign with a 45-45 record, placing them fifth in the Colonial Conference only via Run Differential and less than ten games behind Colonial champions St. John’s.

A big factor in Pt. Jersey’s surprising success was their ability to win close contests. They were 16-10 in 1-run games and 8-4 in Extra Innings last year. They didn’t look like a team in their first season of A.P.B.L. play, and their record in tight games was made all the more impressive by the fact that all of their key signings during the winter before their A.P.B.L. debut were young Greenhorns the team was looking to build toward the future with.

So far in 1879, Pt. Jersey has played one fewer game than the other Colonial Conference teams due to a rainout, which means that their second season in the A.P.B.L. hit its midway point yesterday. The results so far aren’t good:

• Port Jersey: 8th (last) in Colonial at 16-29, 11.5 GB, -18 RD, 8-13 Home, 8-16 Away

At the current time, they are the second-worst team in the A.P.B.L., better only than Metropolitan bottom feeders Orange and their 15-31 record. However, one thing stands out: the fact that Pt. Jersey 16-29 with a Run Differential of -18. In contrast, Massachusetts Bay is alone in 5th in the Colonial at 23-23 with a Run Differential of -20.

So, how does Pt. Jersey have a 16-29 record with a Run Differential that suggests their record should instead be 21-24? To put it simply, their close-game ability from last year has completely evaporated:

Their 1-13 record in one-run games is BY FAR the worst in the A.P.B.L. – no other team has fewer than three wins in one-run games – and their 1-5 record when games go to extra innings is the worst of any team that has played at least five extra-inning games so far this season. What they were doing right late in games last season has gone completely wrong this season.

The team’s inexplicable struggles in close games are made all the more confounding by the fact their two 23-year-old stars are playing very well:

• 3B Vincent Dixon: .348, .801 OPS, 33 R, 69 H, 9 2B, 4 3B, 1 HR, 36 RBI, 2 BB, 4 SB, 3.4 WPA, 1.4 WAR
• 1B Samuel Eastman: .391, .902 OPS, 37 R, 75 H, 8 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 33 RBI, 4 BB, 3 SB, 1.6 WPA, 1.8 WAR

Their two 24-year-old regulars aren’t playing poorly either:

• CF Art Kanellopoulos: .293, .772 OPS, 29 R, 56 H, 10 2B, 10 3B, 24 RBI, 3 BB, 4 SB, 0.7 WPA, 0.9 WAR
• LF Jaake Romkes: .333, .802 OPS, 40 R, 64 H, 10 2B, 6 3B, 1 HR, 32 RBI, 3 BB, 11 SB, 1.2 WPA, 1.0 WAR

The statistics suggest that Pt. Jersey can turn things around in the second half due to their Run Differential combined with the fact that they’re third in the A.P.B.L. in Runs Allowed (6.1 RA/G). If they can just shake whatever hex it is that’s been hitting them when games are on the line, then at least the team can end 1879 on a high note. However, it’s unlikely that they’ll repeat last season’s .500 finish.

tm1681 · 03-15-2026, 12:35 PM

AMERICAN BASEBALL MONTHLY RECAP: JUNE

NORTHEAST U.S.A. (May 31, 1879) – It’s now time for June to roll over into July so baseball teams can be separated into the "haves and have nots", if they haven’t been already. Here is a look at the four competitions as of the end of June:

AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE STANDINGS

COLONIAL – It’s a four-team race after two months, and those four teams are separated by just one game.

Alleghany, projected by the Writers Pool to finish right around .500, were as good as they were in May (14-9) as they continue to get results with great fielding (ZR: #1, D-Eff: #1, E/G: #2, FLD%: #2). Niagara had the best June of any team in the Colonial, thanks to excellent play by RF Boss Barrett, P Tomoharu Mukai, & 1B William Norman, who’s still batting above .400 at .407 (.947 OPS). St. John’s got their offense going and, surprise, surprise, they lead the league in Runs & On-Base Pct. at the end of June. May leaders Shamrock were only a game above .500 in June as their offense struggled to put runs on the board. Still, they’re 28-20 and right in the thick of the hunt.

Mass. Bay, 14-9 in May, also struggled to produce in June. They’re top five in AVG, OBP, & OPS, but just 12th/16 in Runs Scored thanks to the worst baserunning in the league. Flour City is in the bottom four in every major offensive category, and there isn’t much reason to think they’ll have a positive second half. Newark had a nice June, and SS Jonathan Richards is hitting a surprising .353 (.848 OPS) after batting .285 (.647 OPS) during his four years as Mass. Bay’s SS. Pt. Jersey’s RD suggests a 22-25 record, but as covered elsewhere their record in close games (1-Run: 2-14, X-Inn: 2-5) is killing them.

METROPOLITAN – This is the tightest the conference has ever been after two months of play. Not surprisingly, Quaker St. came back to the pack in June. Still, they rank 2nd in Runs Scored and 1st in Runs Allowed while having five regulars batting over .325 and #1 Ross Gill leading the league in both Pitching WAR & rWAR. Knick caught up with Quaker St. by the end of June thanks to the league’s best Average & OPS. Albert Stoffers has been brilliant (AVG: .386, OPS: .898, WAR: 1.9) in his 1st year as their 3B.

Behind the co-leaders, American had a great June when you consider that James Burke missed 11 games due to a leg injury. Excelsior somehow had the best June of any Metro side, and they enter July with their All-Star duo of Elijah Hill & Troy Oberst batting .364 (.894 OPS) & .357 (.915 OPS) respectively. Tiger, like fellow Philadelphians Quaker St., struggled in June, but they’re still in a good place considering this is their 2nd A.P.B.L. season. Kings Co. improved during June, and while their pitching is struggling they’ve moved up to 4th in Runs Scored and 2nd in both Average & OPS.

The Metropolitan would be even closer if Gotham didn’t have as much trouble in close games as they’ve had (1-run: 3-12). With both Royal Altman & Babe Johnson batting .372, this is a team that can easily cause trouble over the rest of the season. Orange, on the other hand, isn’t going to cause anyone any trouble as long as they rank last in Runs, Average, On-Base Pct., Slugging Pct., & OPS.

A.P.B.L. MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
Babe Johnson* (2B, GOT) – .421, 1.117 OPS, 27 R, 48 H, 14 2B, 7 3B, 24 RBI, 6 BB, 9 SB, 1.5 WPA, 1.8 WAR
* Second straight Gotham batsman to win B.o.t.M. (Royal Altman in May)

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
George Scott (EXC) – 9-4, 3.31 ERA, 29 K, 122.1 IP, 9 CG, 2.1 K/BB, 1.27 WHIP, 1.7 WAR, 2.4 rWAR

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
Edward Jenkins (P, NIA) – 8-5, 3.26 ERA, 17 K, 102.0 IP, 8 CG, 2.8 K/BB, 1.18 WHIP, 1.5 WAR, 1.6 rWAR

Garfield Koonce (1B, KC) had a higher Average at .442, but Johnson’s 21 Extra-Base Hits and 1.117 OPS were easily the highest in the A.P.B.L. over the course of the month. Nelson Townsend (RF, StJ) was also fantastic, sporting a .412 Average, 1.036 OPS, 16 Extra-Base Hits (12 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR) & 25 RBI during June. The other two players to hit over .400 were Samuel Eastman (1B, PtJ) & Callum Murray (RF, KNI), both of whom hit .402.

George Scott was the only nine-Win Pitcher during June, so the Writers Pool gave him the P.o.t.M. honor. That was a bit of a surprise considering the month American’s Jimmy Everhart had (8-6, 2.20 ERA, 17 K, 1.7 WAR), but what aided Scott’s cause is that he’s been a bit of a revelation in his 1st season as an Excelsior regular after spending five as a relief man.

Jenkins earned G.o.t.M. due to his excellent pitching for a Niagara team that was one of two 16-9 sides during June. The 25-year-old's significant talents have easily transitioned from his time with Mercury in the N.B.B.O. Peter Hildebrand (1B, ALL) had a strong argument for G.o.t.M. as well (.389, .989 OPS, 15 XBH, 23 RBI, 1.1 WAR).

A.P.B.L. STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .407 by William Norman (1B, Niagara)
OPS: .979 by Nelson Townsend (RF, St. John’s)
Home Runs: 3 by Nelson Townsend
Runs Batted In: 61 by William Norman
Runs: 62 by Charles Barrett (RF, Niagara)
Stolen Bases: 41 by Konrad Jensen (1B, St. John’s)
Batsman WPA: 4.8 by William Norman
Batsman WAR: 2.9 by Elijah Hill (3B, Excelsior)

Wins: 16 by George Burroughs (Shamrock)
ERA (100+ IP): 2.53 by Ray Christianson (Quaker St.)
Strikeouts: 56 by George Scott (Excelsior)
Complete Games: 20 by George Burroughs
WHIP (100+ IP): 1.11 by Ross Gill
Pitcher WAR: 3.9 by Ross Gill
Pitcher rWAR: 5.5 by Ross Gill

NATIONAL BASE BALL ORGANIZATION REGIONAL LEADERS

BROOKLYN: Eckford at 29-6 (Empire 8 GB; Cont’l 10 GB)
NEW YORK CITY: N.Y.A.C. & Union at 23-12 (Mercury 2 GB; Baltic & Metro 5 GB)
UPSTATE N.Y.: Utica at 22-13 (Minuteman 1 GB; Frontier & Syracuse 3 GB; Victory 5 GB)
COASTAL: Trenton Utd. at 22-13 (Bunker Hill 1 GB; P.B.C.C. 2 GB; Maryland 3 GB; Diamond St. 4 GB)
INLAND: Susquehanna at 27-8 (Lancastra 3 GB; Pioneer 7 GB; Merrimack 8 GB)
NEW ENGLAND: Portland at 24-11 (Green Mtn. 2 GB; Quinnipiac 4 GB; S.o.t.O. 7 GB)

BROOKLYN – Eckford is 9-5 since their 20-1 start, and indeed it looks as if the race for the Brooklyn pennant is all but over at the end of June.

NEW YORK CITY – N.Y.A.C. went 15-6 in June, Union went 16-5, and the two are right back at the top of the N.Y.C. standings. Surprisingly, it’s Union who’s leading the N.Y.L. in Runs Allowed, while N.Y.A.C. is showing a slightly improved offense so far this year. Mercury, with their fine fielding, is still close behind. Baltic & Metro are within striking distance, and Metro is particularly dangerous given their +64 RD (Pyth W-L: 22-13) and reigning B.o.t.Y. Francis Smith batting .378.

UPSTATE N.Y. – No big shock here, as Utica, Minuteman, Frontier, & Syracuse are the top four, and the quartet should make for a fine pennant chase all the way until the final week. Victory being five games back in spite of the worst first half of Henry Nabors’ career bodes well for them. Eagle is actually the big surprise, as they were projected 4th by the Writers Pool but are currently last at 13-22.

COASTAL – Trenton Utd. is still holding on to top spot by a game, with four teams giving chase. Three big surprises: 1) Bunker Hill is the team in 2nd, 2) Diamond St., projected last, is above .500, and, most importantly, 3) defending Coastal champs National are six games off the pace at 16-19.

INLAND – Once again, it looks like a two-team race between Susquehanna & Lancastra. The leaders broke the three-way end-of-May tie with a ridiculous 18-3 June that made Lancastra’s 15-6 mark look mediocre by comparison. Pioneer, the third team tied for 1st on May 31st, was just 11-10 in June, and thus they’re now well behind the familiar top two.

NEW ENGLAND – Portland’s 16-5 June put them back where they always are, but Green Mtn. and their N.B.B.O.-best pitching (5.5 RA/G) are going to give the New England champs all they can handle. Quinnipiac is lurking with the N.E.L.’s 2nd-best pitching. Sons of the Ocean had a shocking June, going 7-14 as their attack aside from Jesse Craig fell flat on its face.

N.B.B.O. MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMEN OF THE MONTH
NYL: Murdock Whitehurst (RF, MIN) – .427, 1.082 OPS, 23 R, 38 H, 7 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR, 25 RBI, 3 SB, 1.9 WPA, 1.2 WAR
NEL: Scott Lyons (C, SUS) – .422, 1.086 OPS, 32 R, 35 H, 8 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 32 RBI, 10 BB, 1.7 WPA, 1.5 WAR

PITCHERS OF THE MONTH
NYL: Charles Rhodes (NYAC) – 8-3, 1.43 ERA, 36 K, 106.2 IP, 8 CG, 1 SV, 4.0 K/BB, 1.01 WHIP, 3.0 WAR, 3.1 rWAR
NEL: William Hawk (SUS) – 11-0, 2.20 ERA, 26 K, 106.1 IP, 10 CG, 1 SV, 5.0 K/BB, 1.06 WHIP, 2.4 WAR, 2.9 rWAR

GREENHORNS OF THE MONTH
NYL: Henry Smith (SS, UTI) – .398, .905 OPS, 24 R, 39 H, 2 2B, 2 3B, 19 RBI, 10 BB, 1 SB, 1.2 WPA, 1.1 WAR
NEL: William Burrow (P, PBCC) – 8-3, 2.60 ERA, 12 K, 107.1 IP, 9 CG, 1.5 K/BB, 1.22 WHIP, 1.8 WAR, 2.0 rWAR

N.B.B.O. STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .424 by Murdock Whitehurst (RF, Minuteman)
OPS: 1.097 by Murdoch Whitehurst
Home Runs: 3 by Michael Akhverdov (RF, Continental) & Scott Lyons (C, Susquehanna)
Runs Batted In: 45 by Frank Carter (3B, Susquehanna)
Runs: 54 by Everton Edwards (1B, Reading A.C.)
Stolen Bases: 38 by Jack Anastasio (RF, New York A.C.)
Batsman WPA: 3.3 by Herb Verrett (LF, Atlantic)
Batsman WAR: 2.4 by Scott Lyons

Wins: 16 by William Barnhill (Eckford)
ERA (100+ IP): 1.81 by Charles Rhodes (New York A.C.)
Strikeouts: 64 by Earl Quinn (Maryland)
Complete Games: 16 by Richard Majors (Green Mtn.)
WHIP (100+ IP): 0.98 by Charles Rhodes
Pitcher WAR: 4.8 by Charles Rhodes
Pitcher rWAR: 7.0 by Arthur Rice (Union)

COASTAL BASEBALL CONFERENCE LEADER

Bridgeport at 23-12 (Sportsman’s 3 GB; Essex Co. 4 GB; Capitol City & Olympic 5 GB)

Bridgeport was 14-7 during June, and thus the preseason favorites remain atop the standings by a few games. Sportsman’s is close behind thanks to the league’s best pitching. Essex Co. is in third due to a 6-2 record in one-run games. Capitol City has three regulars batting better than .330. Olympic has the league’s #2 offense and two batsmen hitting over .350.

C.B.C. MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
Walter Kirby (LF, BRI) – .388, .905 OPS, 28 R, 40 H, 6 2B, 3 3B, 24 RBI, 1 BB, 6 SB, 1.5 WPA, 0.9 WAR

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Walt Harper (SPO) – 9-4, 2.31 ERA, 27 K, 116.2 IP, 9 CG, 2.5 K/BB, 1.11 WHIP, 2.4 WAR, 4.6 rWAR

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
Mark Russo (CF, SPO) – .355, .867 OPS, 18 R, 33 H, 7 2B, 2 3B, 12 RBI, 3 BB, 4 SB, 0.5 WPA, 0.4 WAR

C.B.C. STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .386 by James Smiddy (SS, Highlander)
OPS: .873 by James Smiddy
Home Runs: 3 by Lucian Diller (RF, Capitol City) & Isaac Lohman (C, Sportsman’s)
Runs Batted In: 47 by William Fair (RF, Lynn)
Runs: 47 by Jacob Overfield (3B, Bridgeport)
Stolen Bases: 28 by Everton Pauline (LF, Olympic)
Batsman WPA: 3.4 by Johnny Holcombe (2B, Sportsman’s)
Batsman WAR: 1.4 by James Holt (C, Olympic)

Wins: 15 by Walt Harper (Sportsman’s)
ERA (100+ IP): 2.61 by Walt Harper
Strikeouts: 44 by Jonathan Reitz (C. & A.)
Complete Games: 15 by Walt Harper
WHIP (100+ IP): 1.20 by Walt Harper
Pitcher WAR: 3.7 by Walt Harper
Pitcher rWAR: 5.9 by Walt Harper

PHILADELPHIA CITY BASEBALL LEAGUE LEADERS

EAST: Spartan at 25-10 (Minerva 3 GB; Sons of Ben 5 GB; Frankford 8 GB)
WEST: Mercantile & Penn at 21-14 (Bartram Vill. 2 GB; Schuylkill 3 GB; Overbrook 4 GB)

EAST – Spartan looks tremendous. After a 15-6 June they remain the P.C.B.L. leaders in Runs Scored, Batting Average, On-Base Pct., Slugging Pct., & OPS. However, Minerva was also 15-6 during June and looks very dangerous thanks to their league-best pitching. The Sons of Ben are being led by the brilliant Henry Yoder. Frankford, shockingly, is under .500.

WEST – Mercantile was 11-10 in June, and that allowed Penn to take a share of 1st thanks to a 15-6 month. Mercantile remains the league’s #2 offense, while Penn’s attack has climbed to 3rd/16 and #1 Thomas Bath had an extraordinary 1st half (17-3, 2.06 ERA, 60 K, 4.1 WAR). Second-year club Bartram Village continues to surprise with their well-rounded team. Schuylkill has been led by N.B.B.O. import Roy Myers. L.B.C. champs Overbrook remain dangerous due to Robert Nygren.

P.C.B.L. MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
Frederick Pietrangelo (1B, MIN) – .380, .936 OPS, 21 R, 35 H, 8 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 24 RBI, 6 BB, 1.2 WPA, 1.1 WAR

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Thomas Bath (PENN) – 12-1, 1.95 ERA, 39 K, 115.2 IP, 11 CG, 9.8 K/BB, 0.94 WAR, 2.7 WAR, 4.6 rWAR

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
Frederick Pietrangelo (1B, MIN) – also P.C.B.L. Batsman of the Month

P.C.B.L. STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .391 by Henry Yoder (CF, Sons of Ben)
OPS: .955 by Henry Yoder
Home Runs: 2 by three different batsmen
Runs Batted In: 44 by Henry Yoder
Runs: 46 by Wilbur Woods (CF, Yorktown)
Stolen Bases: 33 by Harrison Comstock (LF, Schuylkill)
Batsman WPA: 3.6 by Henry Yoder
Batsman WAR: 2.0 by Benjamin Warnock (1B, Mercantile) & Henry Yoder

Wins: 17 by Thomas Bath (Penn)
ERA (100+ IP): 2.06 by Thomas Bath
Strikeouts: 83 by Orville Oliver (Keystone)
Complete Games: 17 by Thomas Bath
WHIP (100+ IP): 1.01 by Thomas Bath
Pitcher WAR: 4.4 by Robert Nygren (Overbrook)
Pitcher rWAR: 5.4 by Thomas Bath

tm1681 · 03-15-2026, 05:08 PM

PT. JERSEY SHUTS DOWN LEAGUE’S 3RD-BEST ATTACK
KING AUTHORS SHUTOUT; PTJ FIELDERS GO ERRORLESS; ROMKES HAS THREE HITS & RBI

NEW YORK CITY (July 1, 1879) - As mentioned multiple times now, Pt. Jersey has had a shocking record in one-run games so far this year. At the St. George Cricket Grounds to open July, they proved that you won’t lose a one-run game if the opposition doesn’t score any runs at all:

In holding the league’s #3 offensive attack scoreless, it took a fine team effort by Pt. Jersey. Their fielders were errorless, their Outfielders threw out two Gotham baserunners, and Pt. Jersey #1 Charles King pitched his second career shutout:

• PtJ P Charles King: CG SHO (9-13, 3.75), 5 HA, 0 BB, 2 K – 0/3, 1 R

The closest Gotham came to scoring was right away in the opening inning, when the second man in their order, RF Walter McGovern, hit a Triple to the Right-Center Field gap. However, King was able to get Gotham stars Babe Johnson & Royal Altman to hit weak flyballs to infielders, and the scoring threat was nullified. After that, it was smooth sailing from there on for the 1878 All-Star.

Pt. Jersey also had a star offensive performer during the game. That was second-year LF Jaake Romkes, whose two-run Triple in T7 effectively sealed the win for the visitors. The key Extra-Base Hit was part of a three-hit day for him:

• PtJ LF Jaake Romkes: 3/5 (3B), 1 R, 3 RBI, SB, 5 TB

The Shutout victory gave Pt. Jersey an 18-30 record. They are still alone in last place in the Colonial Conference by a game and a half. The loss dropped Gotham to 21-28. They are seventh in the Metropolitan, seven games behind leaders Knick.

tm1681 · 03-15-2026, 05:08 PM

EXCELSIOR OPENS JULY BY HAMMERING NEWARK
BROOKLYNITES TRAVEL TO NEW JERSEY AND WIN BY SEVENTEEN; HILL FINISHES WITH FIVE HITS

NEWARK, N.J. (July 1, 1879) - Excelsior B.B.C. was the A.P.B.L.’s biggest surprise during July. The team that was expected to take a year or two to find an identity after the retirement of Jim Creighton matched Niagara with a league-best 16-9 record during the month, and on Tuesday afternoon at Ironbound Park in New Jersey they opened July with a bang:

With four runs in the opening inning, one in the 2nd, four more in the 3rd, and a further seven in the 4th, Excelsior had a whopping 16-0 lead before Newark could put any offensive production on the board. From there it was just a matter of filling out the scoresheet, and with six runs in T9 the visitors capped the scoring and took a 23-6 win.

Excelsior had three batsmen finish the game with three Hits:

• EXC 1B Gil Cappelletti: 3/4 (al 1B), 3 R, 0 RBI, HBP
• EXC LF Troy Oberst: 3/7 (2B), 3 R, 3 RBI, 4 TB
• EXC C Joseph Romano: 3/7 (all 1B), 3 R, 0 RBI, 1/1 CS

They also saw RF Christopher Morton hit a two-run Inside the Park Home Run during the top of the third inning and CF Boyd Myers hit a three-run Double during the top of the fourth.

However, Excelsior’s player of the game was 5x All-Star 3B Elijah Hill:

• T1: Single past SS off W. Kihlstedt (R)
• T2: 1-run Single to RF off W. Kihlstedt
• T3: 1-run Single to LF off W. Kihlstedt
• T4: 1-run Single to RF off A. Lowden (R)
• T6: Single past SS off A. Lowden
• T8: Fly Out to RF (1 out)
• T9: Reached via Error by 1B (R)
• TOTAL: 5/7 (all 1B), 3 R, 3 RBI

The 5/7 outburst by Hill drove his Batting Average up to .374 (.910 OPS) with 30 Extra-Base Hits (26 2B, 4 3B), 58 Runs Batted In, and 3.1 WAR through 49 games. Hill currently leads the A.P.B.L. in Batsman WAR and is on pace to have the best season in his six years in the league, all with Excelsior.

The seventeen-run win gave Excelsior a 26-23 record, placing them alone in 3rd in the Metropolitan and just two games behind leaders Knickerbocker. Newark is 20-29, 7th the Colonial and ten games behind leaders Alleghany.

tm1681 · 03-15-2026, 05:09 PM

SHOESSOW HITS C&A OVER THE HEAD WITH TRIPLE 5’S
TotY 3B HAS FIVE HITS, FIVE RUNS, & FIVE RBI AS LYNN PUMMELS HOSTS BY 20+ IN NEW JERSEY

CAMDEN, N.J. (July 2, 1879) - Lynn B.C. is visiting struggling Camden & Amboy for C.B.C. Week Eight play, and to open the series Lynn crushed their hosts to push their record back up to the break-even point:

This was maybe a contest for four innings. Lynn opened the scoring in T2 on a Passed Ball before a five-run rally in T3 that was capped by 3B John Schoessow’s two-run Triple gave them a 6-0. Lynn then added another run in T4 via Error to make it 7-0. Camden & Amboy scored via Single & Error in T4 to cut the deficit to five (7-2) and it looked like there might be a competitive game on offer.

Lynn stepped to the plate for T5 and scored seven times on a series of Singles, Errors, and a Catcher’s Interference to take a 14-2 lead and end all doubt over who would win. Lynn piled on runs late, scoring twice in the 7th, five times in the 8th, and three more times in the 9th to humiliate the C.B.C.’s last-place team by a winning margin of twenty-one.

Three Lynn batsmen finished with four Hits…

• LYNN RF Clifton Curry: 4/7 (all 1B), 3 R, 2 RBI, SB
• LYNN 1B Terrance Nichols: 4/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 2 RBI
• LYNN SS Dee Wheeler: 4/6 (2B), 5 R, 0 RBI, BB, 5 TB

…but the man of the afternoon was the one who hit that key Triple in the 3rd inning, John Schoessow:

• T2: Leadoff Single to CF off J. Reitz (R)
• T3: 2-run Triple to RF off J. Reitz (R)
• T4: Line Drive Double Play to SS (3 out)
• T5: Reached via Catcher’s Interference (R)
• T7: 1-run Single past 1B off A. Piggott (R)
• T8: 1-run Single to RF off A. Piggott (R)
• T9: 1-run Single past 2B off J. Herr
• TOTAL: 5/6 (3B), 5 R, 5 RBI, 7 TB, 106 GMSC

With his 5/5/5 game, Schoessow became the first player in the C.B.C. this season with a Game Score of 100+. The previous high was 92, achieved by Olympic 3B Theodore Foote vs Camden & Amboy on June 1st (4/6, HR, 3 R, 6 RBI).

Schoessow, the 3B in the inaugural C.B.C. Team of the Year, isn’t quite having the season he did last year. Through 36 games he’s batting .308 (.722 OPS) with 43 Runs, 27 RBI, and 1.2 WAR.

The win moved Lynn back up to .500 at 18-18 and into a tie with Olympic for fifth place, with both teams five games behind leaders Bridgeport. Lynn is in last place at 11-25, and their -109 Run Differential is 77 runs worse than any other team.

tm1681 · 03-15-2026, 05:09 PM

QUINNIPIAC’S MITCHELL SLAMS SIX HITS
LEADOFF MAN SETS THE TONE AS HOSTS DEMOLISH GRANITE; HOLYFIELD ADDS FOUR HITS & RBI

NEW HAVEN, CONN. (July 3, 1879) - New England basement dwellers Granite surprisingly beat their hosts Quinnipiac by seven (12-5) to open the N.B.B.O. Week Eight series between the two teams in Connecticut on Wednesday. Going by the box score, it’s safe to say that Quinnipiac exacted their revenge on Thursday:

This was Quinnipiac’s game the entire way. After a pair of runs in the first and one in the second, the hosts hit Granite with an eight-run rally in B4 that was spearheaded by two base hits from CF Isaac Mitchell. With three runs in the 5th followed by two more in the 6th, Quinnipiac found themselves ahead 16-0. Granite was able to put up a run in T7, but Quinnipiac responded to that with five more of their own, and it was now a 21-1 laugher. Granite scored a few consolation runs, and the result was a seventeen-run Quinnipiac victory.

Quinnipiac received a fine performance from 3B Dee Holyfield:

• QUI 3B Dee Holyfield: 4/6 (all 1B), 4 R, 4 RBI, BB, 85 GMSC

However, the man of the hour in New Haven was their leadoff batter, Isaac Mitchell:

• B1: Leadoff Single to RF off E. van den Broek (SB, R)
• B2: Single past SS off E. van den Broek
• B4: Leadoff Single to CF off E. van den Broek (SB, R)
• B4: 2-run Single past SS off E. van den Broek (SB, R)
• B5: 1-run Single past 2B off J. Schlitz
• B6: Ground Out to 2B (3 out)
• B7: 1-run Single to CF off H. Oliver
• TOTAL: 6/7 (all 1B), 3 R, 4 RBI, 3 SB, 93 GMSC

With his four base hits and three steals during the first four innings, Mitchell set the tone for what ended up being a voracious day on offense by victorious Quinnipiac. It was a much-needed day for the Greenhorn, too. Mitchell entered the game batting .231 (.564 OPS) with 25 Runs Batted In, 25 Stolen Bases, and Replacement Level WAR (0.0) through the first 36 games of his career. Perhaps this six-hit game will spur him on to better things over the last 6+ weeks.

Quinnipiac is 21-16, alone in third place in New England and four games behind leaders Portland. Granite is 12-25 and alone in last place by four games.

tm1681 · 03-15-2026, 05:10 PM

44-YEAR-OLD BANCROFT TWO-HITS SYRACUSE
23RD-YEAR PITCHER HAS SECOND SHUTOUT OF 1879 FOR FRONTIER

OSWEGO, N.Y. (July 5, 1879) - He’s done it again. On Saturday afternoon, 44-year-old Carl Bancroft took the ball for Frontier B.B.C. and proceeded to both dazzle the 2,068 in attendance at Fort Ontario and befuddle the Syracuse batsmen:

Frontier scored five runs over the first two innings, and that ended up being more than enough to secure the result as that old master, Bancroft, held Syracuse to a pair of Singles and completed his second Shutout of 1879:

• FRO P Carl Bancroft: CG SHO (9-6, 3.20), 2 HA, 1 BB, 2 K – 0/2, 2 SAC BUNT

Syracuse’s two base hits were by 3B David Bertolet in the first inning and P Jonathan Hill in the third. Over the last six innings, the only Syracuse runners to make it to First Base reached via one Base on Balls and two Errors.

Carl Bancroft isn’t going to be an All-Star this year, but he’s still going strong more than halfway through his 23rd season of pitching during a career that goes all the way back to the foundation of the N.B.B.O. After this afternoon’s outstanding outing, Bancroft is 9-6 with a 3.20 ERA, 36 Strikeouts, two Shutouts, and 2.5 WAR through 132 innings of work in 1879.

The two-hit Shout kept Frontier alone in third place in Upstate New York at 22-17, two games behind second-place Minuteman and three behind first-place Utica. Syracuse is alone in fifth place at 20-19 (5 GB).

tm1681 · 03-16-2026, 06:12 PM

A BASEBALL FIRST: A PITCHER HITS FOR THE CYCLE
KNICK’S AVERY PULLS OFF THE FEAT IN DEMOLITION OF KINGS CO.; TWO OTHERS HAVE FOUR HITS

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (July 9, 1879) - Kings County and Knickerbocker played the middle game of their series at Washington Park on Wednesday, and after some early excitement Knick put their hosts to the sword:

Knick began the game with a six-run rally in T1. Veteran 1B Cormack Alexander provided the key hit with a three-run Double, and P William Avery capped the scoring with a one-run two-bagger. They added two more in T2 on a Triple by 3B Albert Stoffers and a Single by Alexander to go ahead 8-0, but Kings Co. came back with five runs on a pair of two-run Doubles and a run-scoring Single in B2.

With the score 8-5 after the end of the second inning, Knick took total control of the proceedings in Brooklyn, scoring fourteen of the game’s final fifteen runs before exiting with an utterly dominant 22-6 victory. As for Avery, he followed his Double in T1 with a Single in T6, a Home Run in T8, and a Triple in T9 to become the first Pitcher in the history of the sport, in any league, to hit for the Cycle:

• T1: 1-run Double past 3B off J. Smith
• T3: Sacrifice Bunt to C (1 out)
• T5: Ground Out to 1B (2 out)
• T6: Single to RF off G. Dellenbrant (R)
• T8: 2-RUN HOME RUN to RF off G. Dellenbrant
• T9: 1-run Triple to RF off W. Johannessen (R)
• TOTAL: 4/5 (2B, 3B, HR), 3 R, 4 RBI, CYCLE, 10 TB, SAC BUNT, 82 GMSC
• PITCHING: CG W (14-13, 4.29), 11 HA, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

What made Avery’s feat all the more astounding was that his last two hits, and the two most difficult ones needed to complete the Cycle, occurred during the final two innings. His Cycle was also the second in the history of the A.P.B.L., with the other occurring on July 22nd, 1875, when Knickerbocker 3B Werner Verstegen hit for the Cycle against Excelsior.

William Avery is known to be an excellent hitter compared to other Pitchers. In his first full season as a regular he’s batting .283 (.704 OPS) with nine Extra-Base Hits (6 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR) and 17 Runs Batted In over 28 appearances. In fact, Avery is good enough both with the bat and in the field that he’s also a backup Corner Outfielder in the Knick roster. Avery rates 3.0 stars at P, and 2.0 stars at LF or RF.

Avery wasn’t the only Knick batsman to have an excellent day, as two of his teammates collected four hits in Brooklyn:

• KNI 2B Anthony Mascherino: 4/7 (all 1B), 4 R, 2 RBI
• KNI 3B Albert Stoffers: 4/7 (2B, 2 3B), 4 R, 4 RBI, 9 TB

Mascherino’s four-hit game left the seemingly ageless 40-year-old with a .337 Average (.790 OPS), 63 Runs, 33 RBI, and 2.8 WAR through 56 games. Stoffers’ four-hit afternoon pushed him over the .400 mark to .401 (.934) with 60 Runs, 26 Extra-Base Hits (23 2B, 3 3B), 46 RBI, and 2.8 WAR. He’s one of four batsmen in the A.P.B.L. currently batting over .400, with the other three being Samuel Eastman (PtJ; .407), Joseph Evans (StJ; .402), & William Norman (NIA; .402).

Thanks to Quaker St.’s 7-5 home loss to Gotham, Knick’s win at Kings Co. moved them into a first-place tie atop the Metropolitan at 33-23. Kings Co. is tied for fourth place with American at 28-28 (5 GB).

tm1681 · 03-16-2026, 06:13 PM

HAWK AIDS OWN CAUSE WITH FIVE HITS & RBI
SUSQUEHANNA #1 STRUGGLES WITH BALL, MAKES UP FOR IT WITH BAT IN WIN AT MERRIMACK

LOWELL, MASS. (July 11, 1879) - Susquehanna and Merrimack Mills played the middle game of their five-game set at P.T. Jackson Field on Friday, and Susquehanna made it three wins in three days with a resounding eight-run victory:

The key innings of the contest were the 5th & 6th. Taking an 8-5 advantage into T5, Susquehanna used a five-run rally fueled by LF Walter Braden’s three-run Inside the Park Home run to take a 13-5 lead. After Merrimack sent one man around in B5, the visitors then plated five in T6, a rally capped by a two-run Single from star P William Hawk, to take a 19-6 lead that Merrimack had zero chance of threatening.

Braden’s Home Run was the key hit of an excellent day for both he and RF Karl Valentine:

• SUS LF Walter Braden: 4/5 (2B, HR), 1 R, 5 RBI, SB, 8 TB, OF AST
• SUS RF Karl Valentine: 4/6 (2B), 3 R, 4 RBI, 5 TB

William Hawk was a key player for Susquehanna over the course of the afternoon, but not in the way you’d usually expect:

• SUS P William Hawk: W (18-6, 2.40), 7.2 IP, 11 HA, 10 RA, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
• SUS P William Hawk: 5/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 5 RBI, SAC BUNT

While Susquehanna fielding issues didn’t help, Hawk struggled with the Merrimack Mills attack, currently ranked 5th/48 in the N.B.B.O. He more than made up for it with his batwork, reminding people that he is perhaps the best-hitting Pitcher in the competition.

Hawk’s performance at Merrimack raised his Average to .383 (.804 OPS) with one Home Run and 19 Runs Batted In so far in 1879, and for Hawk’s career he’s batting .330 (.705 OPS) with offensive production above Replacement Level. Considering that Hawk has been one of the best pitchers in the N.B.B.O. since his historic 1874 campaign (32-6, 2.00 ERA, 39 K, 6.0 WAR), his batting ability is the proverbial cherry on top.

Since their 9-5 May Susquehanna is a blistering 23-6, giving them an overall record of 32-11 and a lead of three games over Lancastra Britannia atop the Inland Championship. Merrimack Mills is 21-22, placing them 5th (11 GB).

tm1681 · 03-16-2026, 06:14 PM

TOWNSEND HAS 40-GAME HITTING STREAK
ST. JOHN’S STAR HITS SINGLE IN 2ND TO BECOME 2ND IN APBL HISTORY WITH 40-GAME RUN

NEW YORK CITY (July 12, 1879) - St. John’s is playing at Knickerbocker this weekend in a battle of old cross-regional rivals. St. John’s took the opener 11-2, and Knick took this afternoon’s game 6-5 thanks to a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth. The player of the game was Knick 3B Albert Stoffers, who hit 3/4 with two Runs and an RBI. However, Stoffers wasn’t the center of attention here.

Many eyes in attendance were on St. John’s RF Nelson Townsend, because he entered the afternoon with a 39-game Hitting Streak. After hitting a flyball to the Right Fielder to open the game, Townsend got his second chance with the bat in T2 and hit a one-run Single to Left Field, making him the second batsman in A.P.B.L. history with a 40-game Hitting Streak. It would be Townsend’s only hit of the day, and he exited Saturday’s contest with an Average of .370 (.948 OPS).

The longest Hitting Streak in A.P.B.L. history belongs to Anthony Mascherino, who had a 42-game streak that ended on August 21st, 1875, the tail end of his last season as the Shortstop for Orange B.B.C. Mascherino would hit .357 (.816 OPS) that year, hit best mark in the A.P.B.L.

Before his recent history-making run, Townsend was actually the owner of the second-longest Hitting Streak in A.P.B.L. history: a 38-game streak that ended on May 11th, 1872. He now has the second-longest AND third-longest Hitting Streaks in A.P.B.L. history.

Here are the ten longest Hitting Streaks in A.P.B.L. history to date:

#1: 42 games by Anthony Mascherino (Orange) during 1875 (ended August 21st)
#2: 40 games by Nelson Townsend (St. John’s) during 1879 (ongoing)
#3: 38 games by Nelson Townsend (St. John’s) during 1871-72 (ended May 11th, 1872)
#4: 37 games by William Valentine (Orange) during 1875-76 (ended May 6th, 1876)
#5: 37 games by Earl Crosby (Shamrock) during 1875 (ended Aug. 8th)
#6: 36 games by Babe Johnson (Gotham) during 1878-79 (ended May 13th, 1879)
#7: 34 games by Alfred Calvert (Excelsior) during 1874-75 (ended June 1st, 1875)
#8: 33 games by Fred Bartholomew (Kings Co.) during 1877 (ended July 25th)
#9: 33 games by Elijah Hill (Excelsior) during 1876 (ended August 11th)
#10: 33 games by William Valentine (Orange) during 1875 (ended June 19th)

Can Townsend hit safely in the three games he needs to set the new record? He’s only batting .314 across eleven games during July, so the odds aren’t in his favor. However, considering he hit .278 just three years ago it’s great to see Nelson Townsend back at the top of the leaderboards again.

tm1681 · 03-16-2026, 06:15 PM

TWO WITH TEN TOTAL BASES IN LOWER LEAGUES
SIMONS & WERRA TORTURE OPPOSING PITCHERS ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON

NEW HAVEN, CONN. & PHILADELPHIA, PENN. (July 13, 1879) - There were thirty-six games played in the leagues outside of the A.P.B.L. on Sunday afternoon, and two of them featured batsmen accumulating ten Total Bases during big wins for their teams.

In N.B.B.O. action, Oceanic ended their series at Quinnipiac by winning 18-3, a game in which they were responsible for sixteen of the first seventeen runs put on the scoreboard.

As part of the fifteen-run win, two Oceanic batsmen had three hits – CF Calle Forsman (3/5, 2 2B) & 2B Dewey Gaulden (3/6) – and one finished with five: LF William Simons.

• T1: 1-run Triple to RCF off T. Hauser (R)
• T2: 2-RUN HOME RUN to LF off T. Hauser
• T3: Leadoff Single past SS off T. Hauser (R)
• T5: Ground Out to 2B off A. Taylor (2 out)
• T7: 1-run Single to CF off A. Taylor
• T9: 1-run Single to LCF off A. Taylor
• TOTAL: 5/6 (3B, HR), 3 R, 5 RBI, SB, 10 TB, 97 GMSC

As one can see, Simons started his afternoon off quite right, with seven Total Bases over the first two innings before adding three Singles to increase his output to ten Total Bases on the afternoon. The outburst raised his Average to .328 (.802 OPS) with 40 RBI and 1.2 WAR through nine weeks of play.

The result gave Oceanic a 20-25 record, good for 6th in New England (8 GB). Quinnipiac is alone in 3rd at 25-20 (3 GB).

Over in the P.C.B.L., the day’s other performance featuring ten Total Bases took place in Penn B.C.’s 15-6 mauling of Mercantile at Mercantile’s Market Street Grounds.

Penn, who needed a win to move into a tie for first place in East Philadelphia, scored the game’s first eight runs over the opening three innings, and then responded to a Mercantile run in B4 with a five-run rally in T5 that put the contest to bed.

The main driver of the Penn attack at Mercantile was their leadoff man, LF John Werra:

• T1: Leadoff Single to RF off C. Pratt (R)
• T2: Single to RCF off C. Pratt (R)
• T3: Single to RCF off C. Pratt
• T5: 2-run Triple to LCF off C. Pratt (R)
• T6: Double past 1B off M. Ellis
• T8: Double past 1B off M. Ellis
• TOTAL: 6/6 (2 2B, 3B), 3 R, 2 RBI, 10 TB, 83 GMSC

The six Hits and ten Total Bases were both career highs for the fourth-year Penn batsman. The performance raised his Average to .313 (.745 OPS), with 46 Runs, 49 Runs Batted In, and 0.9 WAR through 45 games.

The result at Market Street left both Penn & Mercantile tied for 1st in East Philadelphia at 26-19. They have a two-game lead over Schuylkill and a three-game lead over Bartram Village & Overbrook.

tm1681 · 03-16-2026, 09:34 PM

TOWNSEND HAS NEW APBL RECORD HIT STREAK
SINGLE IN 2ND AGAINST FLOUR CITY GAVE ST. JOHN’S STAR 43-GAME STREAK

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (July 16, 1879) - St. John’s and Flour City played the second game of their series at Olneyville Field on Wednesday afternoon, with the hosts winning 10-2 thanks to an eight-run rally during the bottom of the fourth inning that featured a three-run Home Run over the Left Field fence by Greenhorn C Joseph Nalley.

That wasn’t the big news of the game, however.

What everyone was watching was the #4 batsman in the St. John’s order: Nelson Townsend. He entered the game with a 42-game Hitting Streak that was even with Anthony Mascerhino’s in 1875 for the longest in A.P.B.L. history. Townsend had his first chance at history in B2, and on his second swing his a Single between the Flour City 1B & 2B, giving Townsend the new longest Hitting Streak in A.P.B.L. history at 43 games.

Townsend wasn’t done, as he would bat 4/4 on the afternoon:

• B2: Leadoff Single past 2B off L. Hastie
• B4: Leadoff Single past 2B off L. Hastie (SB, R)
• B4: 2-run Double past 1B off L. Hastie (R)
• B7: Single past SS off L. Hastie (R)
• TOTAL: 4/4 (2B), 3 R, 2 RBI, SB, 5 TB

So, Townsend not only set a new A.P.B.L. record on Wednesday, but he also raised his Batting Average to .382 with an A.P.B.L.-leading .975 OPS. Townsend is now having his best year since his historic run during the inaugural season of the A.P.B.L. (.404, 1.076 OPS, 118 R, 88 RBI, 52 SB) that saw him finish with 7.0 WAR, an all-leagues record that still stands.

Now that Townsend has his record, it’s just a matter of seeing how much longer his Hitting Streak will last.

tm1681 · 03-16-2026, 09:42 PM

ALLEGHANY JUICES ORANGE IN PITTSBURGH
COLONIAL LEADERS TAKE EIGHTEEN-RUN LEAD BEFORE EASING TO VICTORY; NABORS HAS FIVE HITS

PITTSBURGH, PENN. (July 18, 1879) - Orange B.B.C. scored first in their series-opening game against Alleghany at the Pittsburgh Recreation Grounds on Friday, and then everything went haywire:

The game started off decently for the visitors. After CF George Hopp led off the game with a Double past the 3B, spot-starter at 1B Lorne Brown moved him over to third with a Sacrifice Bunt and Hopp then scored when a ball hit by 2B Charles Whitehead was mishandled by the 1B. So far, so good…Orange was ahead 1-0.

Then, Alleghany came to bat for B1 and scored half a dozen times, with C Harvey O’Donnell’s two-run Double the key hit. It turned out that the hosts were far from done, as the 3,279 in attendance at the Pittsburgh Recreation Grounds watched Alleghany score what wound up to be EIGHTEEN unanswered runs, taking an 18-1 lead in the process, before Orange finally put a pair of meaningless scores on the board in T9.

It was an excellent day for the Alleghany attack. They pounded out two dozen base hits, the first three batsmen in their lineup had four Hits each…

• ALL SS Gerald Strong: 4/6 (2B), 3 R, 1 RBI, 5 TB
• ALL LF John Meier: 4/6 (3B), 4 R, 1 RBI, 6 TB
• ALL 1B Peter Hildebrand: 4/5 (all 1B), 2 R, 5 RBI, SB

…and RF Jonathan Nabors outdid everybody with five:

• B1: Infield Single to 2B off N. Banfield (R)
• B3: Leadoff Single to LCF off N. Banfield
• B4: Double to RF off E. McLean
• B6: SOLO ItP HOME RUN to LCF off E. McLean
• B7: 2-run Single past SS off E. McLean (R)
• B8: Swinging Strike Out (3 out)
• TOTAL: 5/6 (2B, HR), 3 R, 3 RBI, K, 9 TB, 83 GMSC

For Nabors, in his first year as a regular with Alleghany after three years as a backup, that was surprisingly only his second-best performance of the season by Game Score. On June 21st, Nabors did the following in a 23-15 win against Newark…

• ALL RF Jonathan Nabors (6/21 vs NEW): 4/5 (2 2B), 4 R, 5 RBI, SB, 6 TB

…and earned a Game Score of 87, which remains the second-highest in the A.P.B.L. this season.

Through 64 games, Nabors is batting .325 (.786) with 20 Extra-Base Hits (14 2B, 5 3B, 1 HR), 50 Runs Batted In, 14 Stolen Bases, and 1.2 WAR.

The resounding victory moved Alleghany five games clear atop the Colonial Conference standings at 42-22. Orange remains in a place that has been customary for them over the past few seasons: last in the Metropolitan Conference, at 23-41.

Elsewhere in the A.P.B.L. on Friday, St. John’s RF Nelson Townsend was 0/5 in the team’s 6-1 loss at American, bringing his record-long Hitting Streak to an end after 44 games.

tm1681 · 03-16-2026, 09:43 PM

GOTHAM’S KRUEGER ONE HIT FROM HISTORY
GOTHAM #2 ALLOWS LONE SINGLE TO FLOUR CITY IN SHUTOUT WIN AT ST. GEORGE CRICKET GROUNDS

NEW YORK CITY (July 20, 1879) - Gotham played Flour City at the St. George Cricket Grounds to end Week Eleven of the A.P.B.L. season, and it was an easy win for the home side at the famous ballpark:

Gotham scored four times in the opening inning on a run-scoring Ground Out, a one-run Single by LF William Tillman, and a two-run Single by C Howard LeBouf. That ended up being plenty of scoring as the Flour City offense, now ranked last in the A.P.B.L., even below Orange, did just about nothing.

Gotham’s fielding was great. They went errorless over the course of the game (A.P.B.L. team avg.: 5.4 E/G) and LeBouf threw out the only man who tried to steal a base against him. However, Gotham’s pitching was even better:

• GOT P Paul Krueger: CG SHO (17-11, 4.05), 1 HA, 1 BB, 2 K – 1/4

In the end, Flour City had exactly two men reach base. The first was CF Ernest Dugas, who drew a Base on Balls with two out in the top of the fourth. The other, agonizingly, was 1B Floyd Hoffman, starting in place the injured Samuel Kessler, who hit a Single past Gotham 3B Benjamin Crisp with Krueger just five outs from what would have been the second No-Hitter in league history. As it stands, Elmer Seabold remains the author of the A.P.B.L.’s only No-Hitter, which he famously did during the 1875 Founders Cup against an American attack that was at its peak.

The One-Hitter improved Krueger’s record to 17-11. His ERA of 4.05 is much higher than it was last year (2.74), but other statistical markers like Bases on Balls (21), Strikeouts (40), Innings (262.1), & WAR (4.3) are right on pace to match what he did in his Greenhorn campaign with Gotham last year.

Gotham is 29-37 (10 GB), seventh place in the Metropolitan Conference and sporting a 3-15 record in one-run games that has crushed their chances of entering the pennant hunt. Flour City is 25-41 (19 GB) and last in the Colonial Conference.