Swifts, Slows, and Batteries: A Chronology of the 1868 Championship Season

The Union Club of Morrisania, located in the modern day Bronx, claimed their first championship in 1867. (NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY)

 

This article will present a chronology of the 1868 championship season, with particular focus on the pitchers and catchers for the contending teams. It will also discuss the importance of the battery, the unique rules of the pre-National Association era that made batteries so important, and how the new phenomenon of player movement between clubs affected both the battery and the pennant.

In the early years of the Knickerbocker game, starting in 1845 and lasting until the founding of the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) in 1858, the key conflict was between the hitter and the opposing fielders. The pitcher was only on the field to begin play: the batter requested a pitch location (up or down, near or away), which the pitcher had to oblige. He was limited to an underhanded pitch with a straightened elbow and wrist, rules more restrictive than the average slow-pitch softball league. Finally, the batter could wait and see as many pitches as he wanted without any rules compelling him to swing.1 The rules were meant to minimize the pitcher’s influence as much as possible.

Along came Jim Creighton, the first man to put the pitcher at the center of the conflict as a member of the lauded Excelsior Club of 1860. Creighton introduced velocity to pitching with a technically-illegal-but-impossible-to-perceive wrist flick that sent the ball toward home plate faster than batters had ever seen before.2 He was the first man who could dependably strike out more than just one or two batters in a nine-inning game.

For Creighton’s approach to work, he needed a talented catcher. Let’s first calibrate your understanding of what traits a talented catcher possessed in the 1860s. First, a catcher had to be tough. Catchers wore no protective chest padding, no face mask, no leg guards, and likely no glove, as they didn’t come into heavy use until the mid to late 1870s. A catcher also had to be agile because of an old-time play known as the foul bound catch. During this era, foul tips caught at any time during in an at-bat were outs; furthermore, the rule extended to any foul ball that bounced one time. These foul balls caught on the bounce were known as foul bound outs. Foul bound outs incentivized catchers to play much further back than they do today, with some etchings from the time showing the catcher playing several feet behind the plate (insert photo one). However, catchers had the same responsibility to hold baserunners and cut down would-be base stealers that they do today, so if a runner was on base, the catcher had to play far closer to the plate and make strong throws to the bases. Playing closer to the plate obviously made foul bounds catches more difficult. Oftentimes, bound catches made close to the plate were called “tips.” During this era, when errors in the field were quite common, catchers that could catch these fast tips, hold baserunners, and withstand the wear and tear of the position were worth two innings’ worth of outs or more.

The Excelsiors’ catcher during Creighton’s era was Joe Leggett, and he was, indeed, baseball’s first great catcher. Leggett stood in bravely against Creighton’s velocity and he was exceptional at making those tough foul tip catches. Per the New York Clipper, “Indeed so fine and reliable was his style that even now sharp ‘tips’ are reported as caught ‘a la Leggett.’”3

Creighton and Leggett were the pioneers of the battery. Modern batteries like Adam Wainwright and Yadier Molina, Don Drysdale and Johnny Roseboro, Lefty Grove and Mickey Cochrane all stood on the shoulders of Creighton and Leggett. As you will see, like those other famous batteries, the pitchers and catchers who worked well together tended to stay together in the NABBP. It was common for batteries to switch clubs together as a tandem, rather than to try to make it with a new mate, but as you’ll see in this article, pitchers could and did change teams without their counterpart.

Creighton’s every appearance inspired more pitchers to throw like him. The umpires turned a blind eye to the wrist flicks, so long as the pitcher could disguise it well enough, and thus restrictions on a pitcher’s elbow and wrist were considered a “dead letter law” when the rule was changed to allow sidearm delivery in 1872.4 Few men were as accurate as Creighton, however, and games became longer, more plodding affairs with a lot of time between balls in play. The Brooklyn and New York press decried this development, which they called “swift pitching.” “As long as swift pitching remains in vogue,” wrote the Brooklyn Eagle on October 7, 1863, “we expect to see dull, tedious and uninteresting games.”5

In response, the NABBP adopted a major rule change before the 1864 season began: to compel a pitcher to present the batter a pitch to hit, umpires now had the discretion to call balls. The Eagle celebrated the new rule on April 19, 1864, believing that this would lead to more action and relegate the pitcher back to their role as a background character in the conflict: “Hence it is that the rule will ensure more work in the field, and consequently livelier and more attractive games, for now the position of pitcher becomes secondary, the fielders being now the most important players of the Nine.”6

Another drawback of swift pitching was that it led to tired arms. Unlike the balls and strikes issue, the NABBP did not amend their rules to address this. Substitution rules of the period did not allow for anybody appear in a game outside of the original starting nine, except in the case of injury. The most a team were allowed to do were to change positions. “Change pitchers” could not be regular pitchers but had to be other position players who dabbled.

Generals Grant and Lee solved what the NABBP did not with the surrender at Appomattox Court House in April 1865. For soldiers of the North and South, baseball was a popular way to pass the time between marching and battles. The post-Civil War talent boom unearthed a bevy of young men that were capable two-way players, so teams could have a designated change pitcher that they could stick in the field without harming their offense or defense. The conventional wisdom about pitchers began to evolve. During the 1867 season, newspaper writers noted that batters struggled with changes of pace. A May 30 contest between the Irvington and Active clubs was a revelation for the Brooklyn Union, with the paper writing, “It was plainly apparent that the Irvingtons could not hit [Charles] Faitoute’s pitching as they had done that of [Eureka pitcher Harry] Lex, principally for the reason that they were practiced only in batting swift balls. For the same reason, too, viz.: want of familiarity with both styles of pitching, the Actives failed to hit [swift] balls.”7 These developments made change pitchers a requirement for first-rate clubs to stay competitive. A starting nine needed two primary pitchers, one of whom started somewhere in the field but was prepared to pitch at a moment’s notice. The two pitches should also vary dramatically, one being a swift pitcher and the other being a “slow” pitcher.

THE TITLE BELT OF BASE BALL

Before we move on to the 1868 championship season, we must re-define one last fundamental concept: what it meant to be the champion of baseball. The “championship,” despite being the fixation of the ball player fraternity, the press and the fans, was unrecognized by the NABBP.8 They did not handle scheduling, there were no regular season standings and the title was not held in abeyance until the last game of the season.

It may be helpful to think of the championship like it was an unsanctioned boxing title. The championship could change hands multiple times during a season, as it did in 1868. Any club was allowed to challenge the champion club, who then chose which challenges they accepted. Only the social norms of the era served as oversight. Championship matches were determined in a best-of-three series colloquially known as “home-and-home” series, so named because each club hosted one of the first two matches (and decided how to split the gate receipts). A third match, if necessary, was to be held at a neutral ballfield. The championship could change clubs at any point during a season, with some home-and-home series even beginning late in one season and ending early in the next.

Baseball was still a hyper-regional game concentrated almost entirely within the greater New York City area. The best clubs were all located in New York City and Brooklyn—they being two separate cities in the NABBP era. A rivalry naturally developed between the two neighbors, but both cities’ clubs also conspired with one another to keep the championship away from clubs outside of the greater New York City area. Because of this, any game that the Union Club played on their 1868 road trip is not relevant to the purpose of this article; no club outside of New York City was given the opportunity to play a complete home-and-home series. In 1868 this mainly affected the Athletic Club of Philadelphia, whose home-and-home challenges were not accepted.

Here were the self-selected major contenders for the 1868 title and how they managed the change pitching revolution:

The Union Club of Morrisania

The Union Club of Morrisania (located in the modern-day Bronx) were the champions to begin the 1868 season. They defeated the Atlantic Club of Brooklyn 14–13 on October 10, 1867, to claim their first championship. Their battery was left-hander Charlie Pabor as pitcher and Dave Birdsall as catcher. Birdsall and Pabor were a true battery. “We never saw a couple work together so well as Pabor and Birdsall,” the Clipper wrote about them in 1870. Pabor was “wild and erratic,” but Birdsall’s “courageous endurance” and willingness to “work like a Trojan to save a score of passed balls” limited the consequences of Pabor’s erraticism.9 Pabor and Birdsall also had an “Odd Couple”-style personal dynamic: Birdsall was a notorious grouch, while Pabor was considered among the most affable men in baseball. “Charley would put on the pace when he found the score increasing,” wrote the Clipper, “and consequently David would have hard word. Then it was that every growl from Dave would be met with a smile and a joke from Charley.”10

The Union chose not to add a dedicated change pitcher in 1868. The New York Tribune wrote on March 25, “[The Union] nine, unlike the Atlantic nine, has but one regular pitcher in it, and therefore is weaker to that extent.”11

With the Union as defending champions entering the 1868 season, the title could only be gained by playing them. Due to a long road trip, that ended up being difficult to accomplish early in the season. The other three championship caliber teams jockeyed for positioning and superiority among themselves by playing home-and-home series against each other, but the championship race didn’t really begin until the Union arrived home.

 

The Atlantic Club of Brooklyn, shown here in the bottom row with the Philadelphia Athletics in the top row, had been champions nine times between 1857 and 1867, including undefeated seasons in 1864 and 1865. (LIBRARY OF CONGRESS)

 

The Atlantic Club of Brooklyn

The Atlantic Club of Bedford, Brooklyn had been the champions from 1857–61 and 1864–67, including undefeated seasons in 1864 and 1865. Tom Pratt was the club’s starting pitcher during those two years, and he was regarded as one of the smartest pitchers in the game. Writers praised Pratt’s “head work,” meaning his ability to strategize against batters and induce weak contact.12 In 1866, the Atlantics signed a new pitcher named George Zettlein from their Brooklyn rivals, the Eckford Club. Zettlein was very swift, he had outstanding control, and his arm was extremely durable.13 But he lacked the “judgment,” in the words of the Brooklyn Union, that Pratt possessed. “[Pratt], therefore, cannot be improved upon or even equaled, Zettlein ranking No. 2 in comparison.”14 Pratt left the Atlantic Club shortly after Zettlein’s arrival for a club in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia club dissolved at the end of 1867, so Pratt agreed to return and serve at Zettlein’s change pitcher for the 1868 season.

Their catcher was Charley Mills, who caught Zettlein first with the Eckford Club in 1865 and then jumped with him to the Atlantic in 1866. Mills was considered one of the best at handling swift pitchers. He set up closer to home plate than any of his contemporaries, which gave him an advantage when attempting to put out base stealers. Despite his proximity to the plate, Mills was still one of the best at catching foul tips, with the Clipper saying, “the way he picks up hot grounders is a marvel.”15 Mills also had a pickoff move of sorts: he could throw to first base while making it appear like he was throwing the ball back to the pitcher.16

The Eckford Club of Brooklyn

The Eckford Club had been the champions of 1862 and 1863, after which time bigger clubs raided their talent. Second baseman Al Reach left for the Athletics of Philadelphia, starting pitcher Joe Sprague went to the Atlantics, and shortstops Tom Devyr and Ed Duffy joined the Mutuals. The Eckford Club continued losing their top talent throughout the mid-1860s, including the previously mentioned George Zettlein. Their record in 1867 was a dismal 6–16–1 and, after losing pitcher/ catcher Marty Swandell to the Mutual Club, there was no reason to believe 1868 would be any better. Martin Malone was set to be their regular starting pitcher. Courtney, first name unknown, was their default catcher after Swandell left. Their battery lacked stability all season.

 

The Mutual Club were seen as the strongest in New York City. Shown here in 1870, pitcher Phonney Martin is in the top row, second from the left. Third baseman Marty Swandell is to Martin’s left. Pitcher Rynie Wolters is in the bottom row, second from the right. (LIBRARY OF CONGRESS)

 

The Mutual Club of New York City

The Mutuals were viewed as the strongest club in New York City, with their matches against the Atlantics always the most anticipated of the season. Much of their perception was derived from the reputation of pitcher Alphonse “Phonney” Martin and catcher Nathaniel “Nat” Jewett. Both men started together with the Empire Club in 1865. After one season with the Empires, both joined the Mutual Club.

Martin earned the admiration of every New York baseball writer because he did not throw swift pitches. He threw slow pitches (or medium pitches, depending on the writer) that had a lot of spin and were difficult to hit squarely. The Brooklyn Eagle wrote after one 1867 victory, “It can truly be said that Martin won the game yesterday by his superior pitching, and the disciples of the two different schools of pitching, fast and slow, had yesterday a chance to form their estimate of which was the most effective…the continued fouls and balls hit in the air, resulting from Martin’s slow twisters, offered chance after chance for catches and base play.”17 To put it in modern terms, Martin was seen as a genuine “pitcher” whereas swift pitchers were mere “throwers.”

Martin’s style required a catcher who could catch hot foul tips for bound outs while also managing pop flies. These two traits defined the play of Nat Jewett. The New York Clipper wrote about him in 1869, “For covering an immense space he is unapproachable; and as a judge of fouls, unsurpassed…Indeed, so closely allied have been their names [Martin and Jewett] that one scarce thinks of one without also associating the other with him. Martin undoubtedly owes a great share of his present renown to the fine support he gained from Jewett.”18 Another Clipper article from January 28, 1871, estimated that Jewett lead all catchers in outs made during each season that he played with Martin.19 The press were fiercely defensive of Martin’s ability, but the Mutuals decided that a swift pitcher was also necessary for the 1868 season. They set their sights on the best there was outside of New York: a flame-throwing Dutchman named Rynie Wolters.

WOLTERS IN, MARTIN OUT, AND VAN ALST’S NO-HITTER

In 1868, Reinder Albertus “Rynie” Wolters was rated by the Brooklyn Eagle as one of the three best swift pitchers in the entire country.20 He had become an overnight sensation early in the 1866 season when he pitched for the fledging Irvington Club of New Jersey, based just outside of Newark, to a 23–17 victory against the Atlantics. It was the latter club’s first loss in more than two years, a run that featured multiple home-and-home sweeps against their strongest competition.

In March of 1868, the newspapers began to link Wolters to the Mutuals. These rumors sparked a lot of intense discussion. For one, who was going to be the regular starting pitcher and who would be the change between Wolters and Phonney Martin? The Brooklyn Union reported on March 24 that the majority of the Mutuals favored Wolters in the starting role. The newspaper, unsurprisingly, argued that Martin should instead be the regular starter. The Union framed their argument as a tactical one. They argued that it was easier to hit a slow pitcher after seeing a swift pitcher than vice versa. “[T]he change of pitching from swift to slow, with confident men at the bat, would lose half the effect that a reverse change would have under the circumstance of a change from slow to swift.”21

The other issue with starting Wolters, the Union claimed, was that his swifts required the Mutuals to get a new catcher. Jewett’s only experience with swift pitching occurred in 1867, when Martin missed over a month after injuring his arm.22 The Mutuals relied on a swift pitcher named Peters during his recovery. Peters and Jewett worked well enough together, even defeating the Athletics in late August, but Jewett’s hands had been ravaged by Peters’ velocity.23 Patsy Dockney was rumored for the swift catcher role opposite Wolters, but then it was reported that Dockney had been stabbed during a brawl in late April.24 It was assumed that even a tough catcher like Dockney would be forced to miss the 1868 season due to his wounds.

The Brooklyn Union confirmed that Wolters had been signed by the Mutuals on May 18.25 NABBP rules stated that a player could not appear for their new club within the first 30 days of signing, so in consequence, Wolters was deemed unavailable for the Mutuals’ first match of the season against the Mohawk Club nine days later, and Martin was named the starting pitcher. He held the Mohawks to five runs, a pittance for this era. “The Mohawk boys are skilled in batting against swift pitching,” wrote the next day’s Brooklyn Union, perhaps to help Martin secure the regular job, “(but) they found Martin’s medium paced balls so difficult to hit.” The paper continued, “We feel confident that (the Mohawks) would have punished Walters (sp) for three times the score they made by Martin.”26 Martin received top-flight support from Jewett, who made an eye-popping 13 putouts, all of them foul tips and pop flies.27

Twenty-four hours later, the Union reported that Martin had resigned from the Mutuals.28 It was a sudden and possibly impulsive resignation. Publicly, Martin gave no reason for his departure. It is fair to assume that Wolters was going to start the season as the Mutuals’ regular pitcher and that Martin, who had an ego and was known to make boastful comments from the pitcher’s box mid-game, did not want to be a designated change pitcher.29

The following news was even more of a surprise. On June 3 the Brooklyn Daily Times reported that Martin had joined the Eckford Club. After having their talent raided, Eckford had been the club to lure a star rival. Martin’s acquisition gave the Eckfords the perception of being serious title contenders for the first time since the 1863 season. “[Martin] is one of the most successful pitchers of all the pitchists,” wrote the Daily Times, “and will be a power in building up the Eckfords.”30

Two days later, on June 5, the Eckford season opened with a match against the Athletic Club of South Brooklyn. Of course, Martin was still within his 30-day acquisition window. In his stead, the Eckford Club put out George Van Alst to pitch. Van Alst is a truly obscure historical figure. He was a 19-year-old firefighter who lived with his widowed mother and seven siblings.31 His first club, the Ravenswood of Astoria, Queens, was so unheralded that Marshall Wright did not include them in his comprehensive reference book, The National Association of Base Ball Players, 1857–1870.

If you relied solely on the tone of the next day’s newspapers, the Eckford-Athletic game was a dud. The New York Daily Herald dedicated only one paragraph to the game and concluded by writing, “The score of the game was 60 to 3 in favor of the Eckford. That’s all.”32 Thankfully, the Brooklyn Union provided a full account of the game, and because of their story, we know that Van Alst achieved something special: George Van Alst, the anonymous hurler from Queens, threw the first no-hitter in the history of organized baseball. “The Athletics were not entitled to a single run in the game, and did not score a single base on a hit.”33 The box score confirmed.

What immediately followed was even more extra-ordinary. The beaten Athletic Club filed a complaint with the NABBP disciplinary committee, claiming that Van Alst had also been acquired by the Eckfords within 30 days of playing his first match, and therefore he was ineligible to pitch, and the Eckford win should be vacated. The committee agreed with the Athletics.34 The Eckford win was vacated, and George Van Alst was forced to return to the Ravenswood Club.35 Van Alst never made another appearance for a first-rate club.

EARLY SEASON UPSETS AND CHAMPIONSHIP MOVEMENT

More early season surprises were in store for the contenders. The Unions agreed to a tune-up match with Yale University’s baseball club on June 6 and came perilously close to an embarrassing loss, needing 10 innings to escape with a 16–14 win. The Atlantic Club were not as lucky. On June 16, they lost to the unknown Niagara Club of Buffalo, 19–15. Catcher Charley Mills did not have an impact on the game, as most of the work fell to Joe Start and his 14 putouts at first base.36 If there was any consolation, it was that the Atlantics’ change pitching theory succeeded in practice. Most of the runs were scored off Zettlein early on. Once Pratt came in, he was able to stop the bleeding and give the Atlantic Club a chance for a comeback. “Pratt pitched splendidly,” said the June 17 Daily Herald.37

Meanwhile, the Eckford Club’s starting catcher, Ward (first name unknown), was poached by the Nationals of Washington, DC.38 Eckford then called up Charlie Hodes from their second nine to replace him. Hodes debuted in the rematch against the Athletics of South Brooklyn on June 23 and earned a complimentary review from the Brooklyn Union. Paired with Malone, Hodes “did credit both to the position of catcher and the club.”39 The Eckfords won the rematch, 29–11, with Malone holding the Athletics hitless for five innings.

While the Unions and Atlantics went on their western tours of the country, the Mutual and Eckford clubs had stayed in New York to begin their home-and-home series. The June 28 New York Daily Herald billed it “The most important game of the season, thus far.”40 Adding to the excitement, Phonney Martin was now eligible to pitch for his new club. “Martin will pitch for the Eckfords and their nine will be very strong and well posted,” the paper continued, “[t]he Mutuals can put their nine men in the field that should ‘rake’ everything.”41 The Mutual Club had their own new signing to show off. Mahlon Stockman had earned a reputation as the best fielding shortstop in the country.42 He joined the Mutuals in time to be eligible for the Eckford match.

The much-anticipated battle between Martin and the Mutuals was nearly called off on the day of the game. Martin received word that a close friend had died unexpectedly, and he considered not playing due to bereavement. The crowd had to encourage Martin to stand in the pitcher’s box, which he finally agreed to.43 Martin pitched well in the early frames and the Eckford led 9–3 after three innings. In the fourth and fifth innings, however, the Mutuals began to hit him heavily. They put together a 13-run outburst that chased Martin out of the pitcher’s box after the conclusion of the fifth. The Eckfords brought in pitcher Martin Malone from right field, who held the Mutuals to three runs the rest of the way, but the Mutuals had already done enough to earn their 19–14 victory. Nat Jewett caught for Wolters and performed well, making nine total putouts on four foul bounds and five pop flies.44

Malone’s change appearance was strong enough that the Eckfords started him for their first home-and-home match against the Atlantics on July 16. The Atlantics had just returned from their western tour, where they had shaken off the upset loss from the Niagara Club and won every other game on their trip. Now well-practiced, the Atlantic Club jumped all over Malone in the first inning and scored 16 runs. Martin came in to pitch the rest of the game for the Eckfords, “and by the deceptive slows” he was able to hold the Atlantic Club to single digit run totals until the ninth inning, when he allowed 14 more for a final score of 55–11.45 Hodes was unavailable due to an unspecified “accident,” so Courtney caught for the Eckfords. It was the first time Martin and Courtney had worked together.46 “Courtney did remarkably well,” wrote the Daily Times on June 17, but continued “Hodes’ absence was missed [sic], as balls were muffed by the former that the latter would have secured.”47 In contrast, George Zettlein had an excellent game for the Atlantics. The only Eckford batter who managed his velocity was shortstop Jack Nelson, who hit safely in his every at-bat.

Meanwhile, Wolters and Jewett of the Mutuals combined to have one of the greatest games a battery had on record in the NABBP era in a decisive 41–14 win over the Irvington Club on July 24. Wolters recorded 12 strikeouts, an astronomical number for the period. It’s such a large number that a modern historian might be tempted to dismiss it as a reporting error, except the New York Tribune provided a full breakdown: William Lewis, Hugh Campbell, and George Eaton each struck out once. Thomas Buckley struck out twice, Alexander Bailey three times, and Beanes, the Irvington’s second baseman, struck out four times in what was possibly the first “golden sombrero” in competitive baseball history.48 Jewett caught nine strikeouts cleanly and put out two more men as they ran to first. Only Lewis managed to get to first base on a dropped third strike. Jewett also recorded three more outs on foul bound catches. The Wolters-Jewett combo combined for 14 of the Mutuals’ 27 putouts.49

Despite this excellent showing, the Wolters-Jewett battery were still getting comfortable with one another. After a 27–5 victory against the Olympic Club of Philadelphia on July 29, with Jewett recording 11 foul putouts, the Brooklyn Daily Times noted that Wolters did not pitch at his ”full speed” until the late innings.50 This suggests that Jewett was still adjusting to swift velocity; it also suggests that Wolters may have been holding something back in his incredible outing against the Irvington Club.

If Wolters had indeed waited until the end of July to throw at full speed, the Mutuals’ early August proved that his trepidation was warranted. On August 4 the Mutuals lost 22–12 to the Haymakers of Troy, NY. Wolters and Jewett had their worst game as a battery, with 13 passed balls charged to them.51 They collected themselves and won their return match with the Irvington Club, 12–7, on August 5; Wolters struck out six and Jewett caught three fouls on the bound.

On August 10, the Mutuals played the Active Club of New York at the Capitoline Grounds. The Mutuals expected an easy victory; in fact, they were so flippant that they arrived at the grounds without their playing uniforms.52 Their hubris cost them an embarrassing 30–16 defeat. The Daily Herald noted that the Wolters-Jewett battery had continued their poor play from the Troy match. “[Wolters] did not deliver the ball with as much vim as usual, and seemed to feel little or no confidence in Jewett’s catching, and with good reason, for the latter’s services behind the bat were poor in the extreme.”53 It seemed that Jewett was having the same issues he had with Peters the previous season. He was fine catching a swift pitcher for a game or two, but the cumulative damage to his hands quickly eroded his skills in the field. It also showed itself at the plate—Jewett had not scored any of the Mutuals last 40 runs. The much-celebrated catcher of slows was unceremoniously demoted from the Mutuals’ first team for his inability to form a productive battery with Wolters.

On August 14 the Mutual and Eckford clubs came together for the second game of their home-and-home, with the Eckfords hoping to even the series after their 19–14 loss from July 3. The Mutuals had recruited a new catcher for their starting nine and, by God, it was Patsy Dockney, who had been stabbed in a bar fight but recovered faster than anybody had anticipated. The atmosphere at the Union Grounds was tense for the contest. The Mutuals cracked under the pressure in the field. “Fly balls were missed…grounders muffed and poor throws, fearfully and wonderfully wild, were made in number,” reported the next day’s Daily Herald, going on to call the Mutuals’ fielding “a display of first class muffinism,” resulting in a 18–12 defeat.54 The Eckford Club, in contrast, played a great game behind Martin. He matched the intensity of the moment, “send[ing] his heart with the ball at each delivery.”55 The Mutual-Eckford home-and-home series required a deciding third match, which was scheduled for September 12.

There was no rest for the weary Mutuals, however. Their next game was three days later against the Atlantic Club. As many as 16,000 were estimated in attendance for the first match in their big home-and-home series.56 It was a low-scoring game with the Atlantics leading 10–3 after six innings. In the seventh inning, catcher Charley Mills snuffed out the embers of a fledgling Mutuals rally by throwing out would-be base stealer Billy McMahon.

Zettlein cruised through eight innings, but the Mutuals staged a frantic ninth inning rally. The rally rattled Zettlein so badly that he fell over twice from the force of his pitching.57 With the tying run on third and two outs, Mutuals second baseman George Flanly hit a fly ball that Jack Chapman caught on a dead sprint to end the game. Both teams combined for only four bound outs and two strikeouts in a 12–11 Atlantic victory.58

The Atlantics and Eckfords met for the second game of their home-and-home series on August 25, with the Atlantics leading the series 1–0. On that occasion, the Atlantics put together a beautiful defensive game, shutting out Eckford Club through the first eight innings of a 14–2 win. Mills contributed two innings’ worth of foul bounds outs, but it was his passed ball that allowed the Eckford to score two runs in the ninth inning.59 Nonetheless, the Atlantics had claimed the first home-and-home series from amongst the four contenders.

 

The 1868 Atlantics believed they had a claim to the championship title despite not playing in the championship game. (WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

 

THE CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON

The Unions of Morrisania, the defending champions throughout our entire narrative to this point, had been out of town on their two-month western excursion. Their tour was far longer than any of their other opponents. (Especially the Eckford Club, which did not tour at all in 1868.) When the Unions finally returned to New York in early September, the championship season finally began in earnest.

The Atlantic Club scheduled the first challenge match against the Unions on September 10. The crowd was packed tightly together like “sardines in a box or a Third avenue car at six o’clock in the evening.”60 Both pitchers—Pabor of the Unions and Zettlein of the Atlantics—both received good backing from their fielders early on. Birdsall picked off first baseman Joe Start to close out the bottom of the first inning, while Start got his revenge in the top of the second by way of “a pretty foul-bound catch.” (Any fielder could record a foul bound out, but catchers had the most opportunities and their plays required the most skill).61

The top of the sixth inning began with the Atlantics nursing a 7–4 lead. Union third baseman Ed Shelly led off the inning and struck Zettlein’s swift offering back from whence it came. The ball struck Zettlein in the forehead and ricocheted some sixty feet away.62 The Brooklyn Union, unable to resist a chance to critique Zettlein, commented that “many considered this a pretty harsh plan of knocking ‘head work’ into him.”63 However, that was exactly what happened. The now-groggy Zettlein, who stayed in the game after pausing a moment to take a drink, was forced to slow down his pitching.64 The Unions, who were unprepared for anything other than Zettlein’s swiftest throws, did not score a single run in the final three innings after Zettlein’s injury. A likely concussed Zettlein had pitched the Atlantics to a 31–7 victory and a 1–0 series lead against the defending champion Unions. The Brooklyn Eagle wrote a blurb on September 12, affectionally titled “The Hardest Headed Man in Brooklyn,” in which they wrote, “[Zettlein] thinks he has developed a new style of play, that is stopping balls with his head. He says when he has practiced it a little more he will be more successful.”65

ELIMINATING THE ECKFORDS

The Mutuals and Eckfords were the first clubs to complete their home-and-home series for 1868. Phonney Martin was unavailable due to illness. Eckford put in Sam Davenport, a pitcher they had acquired from the Mohawk Club. The Mutuals knocked Davenport around for 10 runs before the Eckfords changed to Malone. In a familiar pattern, the Eckfords change pitcher was able to slow the Mutuals offense, but the damage was done. The Mutuals won 23–16 to take the series. The Eagle credited Patsy Dockney with “the best catching that he has done since he has been in the Mutual Club.”66

The Eckfords were all but eliminated by late September. By losing their home-and-home series’ to the Atlantics and Mutuals, the Eckfords would not have claim to the championship even if they beat the Unions. The Union disposed of them easily in their first match on September 18, scoring 27 runs in the first two innings on their way to a 42–26 win. Phonney Martin gave up five home runs and Charlie Hodes only made three foul bound catches.67 Four days later the Atlantic Club defeated them for the third time, 48–11. The Eckford started yet another new catcher, named Holmes. The September 23 Daily Herald reported that he “acquitted himself creditably,” but he only managed a single foul bound catch before Eckford replaced him with their regular first baseman, Andy Allison.68

Even if the Eckford Club had rallied and won their next two matches with the Union, it would have been irrelevant; the Eckford lost their claim to the championship when they lost to the Mutuals and Atlantics. That was because 1860s baseball put a lot of faith in the transitive property. Since Atlantic and Mutual clubs both beat the Eckford, then had the Eckford beat the Union, that gave the Atlantic and Mutual clubs the strongest claim to the title. If it seems convoluted, that’s because it is. You’ll see another example of that later.

Turnover hamstrung the Eckfords all season. Martin, who had one catcher for three straight seasons, went through four in his first Eckford season. These catchers could not support Martin with the defensive plays he needed to be effective. The Eagle prescribed the Eckford Club “with that habit they have of failing when everybody expects them to do well.”69

DOWN TO THE WIRE

On September 15 the Unions and Mutuals began their home-and-home series. Mutuals pitcher Rynie Wolters struck out four to Charlie Pabor’s zero and Mutuals catcher Patsy Dockney caught seven bound outs to Dave Birdsall’s three. The star of the game was not either battery, however, but Union shortstop George Wright. Wright hit three home runs, two of them in the seventh inning, to pace the Union offense in a 28–12 victory.70 The Unions were still on the back foot against the Atlantic Club but they now had control of the Mutual series. The Mutuals, meanwhile, could not lose another game against either club or, by the transitive property, they would no longer have a claim to the title.

The Union and Atlantic clubs played their second match on October 5. The Unions held a 5–0 lead after two innings, but the champions were then whitewashed from innings three through seven while the Atlantic Club tallied 18 runs. Both batteries were highlighted in coverage of the game. “The pitching and catching of Zettlein and Mills was a modest display,” wrote the Brooklyn Union, “Mills’ play being tip-top throughout, while [Zettlein] showed more judgment and skill in his position than in any previous game this year.”71 The Union battery, meanwhile, were taken to task by the Daily Herald. “Pabor’s pitching was very weak, and the Atlantics batted well and freely,” they wrote, then went on to also charge Dave Birdsall with “a number of passed balls.”72 George Wright came on to pitch the final three innings but fared no better than Pabor. Birdsall was charged with 10 errors compared to Mills’s five.73 By the final score of 24–8, the Atlantic Club reclaimed the championship in just two games.

The focus was now on second match in the Atlantic-Mutual series, scheduled for October 12. In the days before the match, Nat Jewett began to work his way back into the starting nine. He featured in right field, with Dockney at catcher, for a tune-up match against the Oriental Club of New York on October 10 and hit a home run.74 Jewett’s performance earned him the start in right field on October 12.

Tom Pratt, meanwhile, had again abandoned the Atlantics like he had in 1866. This time, he joined up with the Tri-Mountain Club in Massachusetts as their second baseman.75 Zettlein’s change pitcher was now outfielder Jack Chapman, who was a change pitcher in the traditional sense and thus not well-practiced. Worse yet, Chapman was a slow pitcher whereas both Zettlein and Pratt were swifts. Mills did not have any notable experience as a catcher of slows.

The first batter of the game, Dickey Pearce, hit a comebacker that struck Wolters in the leg.76 The incident paled in comparison to Zettlein’s against the Unions, but Wolters admirably shook off his injury regardless. The third inning started with the Mutuals ahead 7–2. Two wild pitches from Wolters and a passed ball by Dockney allowed three Atlantic runs to score, while Zettlein shut out the Mutuals in the bottom half to put the score at 7–5.77

In the fourth, Wolters struck out the first batter, Dan McDonald, but a dropped third strike and an error from Dockney on the throw allowed McDonald to reach first, and he eventually came around to score. The Atlantics scored two more runs before Dockney ended the inning on a caught foul tip, stranding a runner on third. Dockney had the favor repaid to him in the bottom half of the inning, when he made the third out on a foul tip caught by Charley Mills. Mills caught another foul tip to end the fifth inning, this time with the bases loaded. The top of the sixth ended with yet another foul tip out, Dockney putting out Ferguson.

In the top of the eighth, with the Mutuals guarding a 22–16 lead, Dockney and Jewett switched positions. Jewett did not have much of an effect on the game, but his return to catcher in the biggest moment of the Mutuals’ season showed that the club still held him in high esteem despite his rocky August. The Mutuals held on for a 25–22 win. Mills only recorded two foul tip outs, but they both ended innings and stranded four runners total. Dockney caught four foul tips but those plays only stranded two runners. Wolters recorded three strikeouts and Zettlein had none.78

The third match was originally scheduled for October 19, but the match was canceled because of rain.79 Instead the two clubs met on the following Monday, October 26, to determine the championship. The Mutuals decided to start Jewett at catcher and moved Dockney to right field. The game was 7–3 to the Mutuals after four innings, with no putouts recorded by either battery.80 In the top of the fifth Wolters and Jewett were charged with four passed balls, two walks, and a wild pitch; all conspired to allow four runs, tying the game at 7–7. The Mutuals scored one run in the bottom of the inning, but Jewett stranded a runner on third when he foul tipped to Mills for the third out.

Jewett opened the sixth by putting out Joe Start on a foul tip, then got a measure of revenge on Mills by putting him out on a foul tip for the second out. The next batter, Ferguson, hit a high pop up behind the plate. “Everyone was sure [Jewett] would catch it,” the Clipper wrote, “but he missed it.”81 Ferguson took advantage of the extra chance and hit a double. Jewett was directed by the Mutuals captain (presumably Billy McMahon) to play close to the plate as Zettlein took his turn at bat.82 Zettlein struck two foul tips, both plays that the Clipper believed Jewett would have made had he been standing further back, but he was unable to hold either.83 Jewett was then told to move back. Ferguson promptly stole third base. Zettlein drove Ferguson home with a double, and McDonald drove both Zettlein and himself home via a home run partially credited to a misplay by Dockney in right field.84 The three extra runs put the score at 12–8.

The Mutuals opened their half of the sixth with five straight hits, forcing the Atlantics to change pitchers. Jack Chapman came in from left field and allowed an additional four runs, aided in part by Zettlein’s error on a fly ball to his new post in left field.85 The change to Chapman also put Mills at a disadvantage, for he had difficulty with Chapman’s slows.86 The Mutuals were now up 17–12. Would the inning have gone better had Pratt been available instead of Chapman? It’s impossible to say, but Chapman’s turn went poorly enough that he and Zettlein changed places again for the remainder of the game. The Atlantics went out one-two-three in the seventh, the final out being made on “a foul fly near the scoring table [that] was taken beautifully by Jewett.”87 The Atlantic whitewash effectively ended the game. The Mutuals cruised to a 28–17 final score. For the first time ever, the pennant was headed to New York. “After years of vain endeavors, after lavish expenditures of money to no purpose, after the formation of nine after nine,” wrote the Eagle, “after the employment of every means in their power only to be disappointed as the cold season drew nigh, the Mutuals have attained the end and purpose of their organization.”88

Alas, it was a law of nature that the NABBP championship season must end in controversy, and so it went on October 28, when the Mutuals lost their rubber match to the Union Club, 27–21. The Mutuals and their supporters claimed that their championship series’s reset after they won the title, and so they had only lost the first match of a new best-of-three. The Unions pointed out that they had won two-out-of-three within the season, and so they should be considered champions. The Atlantics then issued their own claim to the title, reasoning that since they had already defeated the Union Club twice, then by the transitive property, they should be declared champions.89 “[A]s the season is now so far advanced, the settlement [of the championship] will probably have to go until next season,” concluded the Eagle.90 The National Association was founded in part due to a similar controversy that ended the 1870 season.

DAVID RADER is an amateur writer, fledgling historian, and volunteer booster for Joe Start’s Hall of Fame candidacy. He invites you to follow him on Bluesky, @JoeStart4HoF.bksy.social. Go Go White Sox.

 

Notes

1. John Thorn, “Jim Creighton,” SABR BioProject. Accessed May 5, 2025. http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jim-creighton/.

2. Thorn, “Jim Creighton.”

3. “The Veterans of Our National Game,” New York Clipper, May 1, 1869, 29.

4. “Delivering the Ball to the Bat,” New York Clipper, April 20, 1872, 21.

5. “Grand Match at Williamsburg—Mutual of New York vs. Eckford of Brooklyn—The Eckford Again Victorious,” Brooklyn Eagle, October 7, 1863, 2.

6. “The Star Grounds—The Working of the New Rules,” Brooklyn Eagle, April 19, 1864, 2.

7. “The National Game,” Brooklyn Union, May 31, 1867, 4.

8. “Gotham Club,” The Book of American Pastimes: Containing a History of the Principal Base Ball, Cricket, Rowing, and Yachting Clubs of the United States (American News Co., 1868), 357.

9. “The Professionals of 1870. Review No. 2,” New York Clipper, January 28, 1871, 341.

10. “The Professionals of 1870. Review, No. 4,” New York Clipper, February 11, 1871, 357.

11. “The Ball Season of 1868,” New York Tribune, March 25, 1868, 2.

12. “Atlantic vs. Eureka,” Brooklyn Union, August 15, 1866, 4.

13. “The Sporting World—An Eastern Estimate of Zettlein as Pitcher,” Chicago Tribune, February 10, 1871, 4.

14. “Our National Game,” Brooklyn Union, August 20, 1866, 4.

15. “The Approaching Season—Sketches of Noted Players,” New York Clipper, March 27, 1869, 403.

16. “The Professionals of 1870. Review No. 1,” New York Clipper, January 21, 1871, 333.

17. “Another Great Base Ball Match,” Brooklyn Eagle, September 19, 1867, 2.

18. “The Approaching Season—Sketches of Noted Players,” 403.

19. “The Professionals of 1870, Review No. 2,” 341.

20. “Atlantic vs. Mutual—Statistics Concerning the Nines Which Are to Play at Monday Next,” Brooklyn Eagle, August 15, 1868, 2.

21. “The Mutual Club and Their Nine for 1868,” Brooklyn Union, March 24, 1868, 4.

22. Martin sprained his arm in a match against the Eckford club on July 3, 1867. “Mutual vs. Eckford,” Brooklyn Union, July 6, 1867, 4.

23. “Mutual vs. Irvington,” New York Daily Herald, September 5, 1867, 5.

24. “A Base Ball Player Stabbed,” Brooklyn Union, May 1, 1868, 1.

25. “The Mutual Club,” Brooklyn Union, May 18, 1868, 1.

26. “Mutual vs. Mohawk,” Brooklyn Union, May 28, 1868, 4.

27. “Base Ball Items,” Brooklyn Daily Times, May 28, 1868, 2.

28. Untitled, Brooklyn Union, May 29, 1868, 1.

29. “The Professionals of 1870, Review No. 3,” New York Clipper, February 4, 1870, 348.

30. “Base Ball Items,” Brooklyn Daily Times, June 3, 1868, 3.

31. The National Archives of Washington D.C.; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census; Record Group Number: 29; Series Number: M653; Residence Date: 1860; Home in 1860: Newtown, Queens, New York; Roll: M653_843; 779; Family History Library Film: 803843.

32. “Eckford vs. Athletic, of Brooklyn,” New York Daily Herald, June 6, 1868, 7.

33. “Eckford vs. Athletic,” Brooklyn Union, June 6, 1868, 1.

34. “Base Ball,” Brooklyn Union, June 24, 1868, 2.

35. “Base Ball Items,” Brooklyn Daily Times, June 29, 1868, 3.

36. “Base Ball Items,” Brooklyn Daily Times, June 18, 1868, 2.

37. “Base Ball Notes,” New York Daily Herald, June 17, 1868, 7.

38. “Base Ball Items,” Brooklyn Daily Times, June 24, 1868, 3.

39. “Base Ball,” Brooklyn Union, June 24, 1868, 2.

40. “Base Ball Notes,” New York Daily Herald, June 28, 1868, 3.

41. “Base Ball Notes,” New York Daily Herald, June 28, 1868, 3.

42. “Atlantic vs. Mutual—Statistics Concerning the Nines Which Are to Play at Monday Next,” 2.

43. “Mutual vs. Eckford,” New York Tribune, July 4, 1868, 3.

44. “Mutual vs. Eckford,” 3.

45. “Eckford vs. Atlantic,” Brooklyn Eagle, July 17, 1868, 3.

46. “The Grand Match Yesterday,” Brooklyn Union, July 17, 1868, 1.

47. “Base Ball Item.,” Brooklyn Daily Times, July 17, 1868, 3.

48. “Mutual vs. Irvington,” New York Tribune, July 25, 1868, 8.

49. “Mutual vs. Irvington,” 8.

50. “Base Ball Items,” Brooklyn Daily Times, July 30, 1868, 3.

51. “The Game of Base Ball Yesterday—Haymakers vs. Mutual,” Troy Daily Times, August 5, 1868, 3.

52. “Active vs. Mutual—Defeat of the Mutuals,” Brooklyn Eagle, August 11, 1868, 2.

53. “Active vs. Mutual,” New York Daily Herald, August 11, 1868, 9.

54. “Mutual vs. Eckford,” New York Daily Herald, August 15, 1868, 8.

55. “Mutual vs. Eckford,” 8.

56. “Mutual vs. Atlantic,” Spirit of the Times, August 22, 1868, 7.

57. “Mutual vs. Atlantic,” 7.

58. “Mutual vs. Atlantic,” 7.

59. “Atlantic vs. Eckford,” Brooklyn Eagle, August 26, 1868, 2.

60. “Atlantic vs. Union—First Grand Match for the Championship—The Champions Defeated.,” New York Daily Herald, September 11, 1868, 10.

61. “The Grand Contest Yesterday,” Brooklyn Union, September 11, 1868, 1.

62. “The Sporting World—An Eastern Estimate of Zettlein as Pitcher,” 4.

63. “The Grand Contest Yesterday,” Brooklyn Union, September 11, 1868, 1.

64. “The Sporting World—An Eastern Estimate of Zettlein as Pitcher,” 4.

65. “The Hardest Headed Man in Brooklyn,” Brooklyn Eagle, September 12, 1868, 2.

66. “Mutual vs. Eckford,” Brooklyn Eagle, September 14, 1868, 2.

67. “Eckford vs. Union,” Brooklyn Eagle, September 19, 1868, 2.

68. “Eckford vs. Atlantic,” New York Daily Herald, September 23, 1868, 3.

69. “Eckford vs. Union,” Brooklyn Eagle, September 19, 1868, 2.

70. “Mutual vs. Union,” New York Clipper, September 26, 1868, 197.

71. “The Grand Match at Tremont.,” Brooklyn Union, October 7, 1868, 1.

72. “Atlantic vs. Union—Grand Match for the Championship—The Champions Defeated,” New York Daily Herald, October 7, 1868, 7.

73. “Atlantic vs. Union—Grand Match for the Championship—The Champions Defeated,” 7.

74. “Mutual vs. Oriental, of New York,” New York Daily Herald, October 11, 1868, 8.

75. “Sketches of Noted Players,” New York Clipper, April 3, 1869, 413.

76. “The Championship,” New York Clipper, October 17, 1868, 218.

77. “The Championship,” 218.

78. “The Championship,” 218.

79. “Base Ball,” Brooklyn Daily Times, October 20, 1868, 2.

80. “The Championship,” New York Clipper, October 31, 1868, 234.

81. “The Championship,” 234.

82. “The Championship,” 234.

83. “The Championship,” 234.

84. “The Championship,” 234.

85. “The Championship,” 234.

86. “The Approaching Season—Sketches of Noted Players,” 403.

87. “The Championship,” 234.

88. “Atlantic vs. Mutual,” Brooklyn Eagle, October 27, 1868, 3.

89. There was precedent for the “transitive property” argument. The Atlantics were declared champions in 1864 by virtue of defeating the Mutuals, who had defeated the champion Eckfords.

90. “Base Ball.,” Brooklyn Eagle, October 30, 1868, 2.