Yet this supposed juggernaut had lost three straight exhibition games to the upstart Quakers, of whom very little was expected in their first season in the National League, before rallying to take the final three contests.3 Perhaps even the Athletics themselves weren’t sure what to expect as they headed for the train station for the long ride to Pittsburgh for the 1883 season opener against the Alleghenys at Exposition Park.4

Since the Athletics spent the evening hours on the train, the players were not tempted to test management’s 11:30 P.M. curfew designed to curtail carousing. Even without such a restriction, however, the Philadelphia team was probably in better condition than the Alleghenys, who were “reputed to be the hardest drinking team of all-time.”5 Nor were the Pittsburgh club’s concerns limited to the condition of their players because there was so much water on the field from spring rains that the game was at risk. But Exposition Park had two fields and the upper one was sufficiently water-free to allow the game to be played. An estimated crowd of between 1,500 and 2,500, a fairly good crowd by Allegheny standards, turned out to watch the game played under mostly cloudy skies with temperatures in the low to mid-60s.6 Hung over or not, the Allegheny players had to face the Athletics’ new ace pitcher, 31-year-old veteran right-hander Bobby Mathews. Entering his 11th major-league season, Mathews was coming off a bounce-back season in 1882 with the Boston Red Stockings. Mathews went 19-15 with a 2.87 ERA as he overcame arm trouble that had plagued him for five seasons. Although he was only 5-feet-5 and 140 pounds, Mathews effectively changed pitches and speeds to confuse batters whose weaknesses he knew all too well.7 Mathews’ repertoire included a curveball and a spitball, both of which he used to hold the home team scoreless for the first four innings.8

The Athletics were equally stymied by southpaw Denny Driscoll of Pittsburgh. Driscoll, who had posted a 13-9 season with a league-leading 1.21 ERA in 1882, held the Athletics scoreless through four innings. Philadelphia’s fortunes changed for the better in the fifth, however, aided by some sloppy fielding by the home team. Fred Corey reached first base on a throwing error by third baseman Joe Battin and that miscue was followed by a wild pitch by Driscoll and a bad throw to second by Jackie Hayes, the Pittsburgh catcher. With the door to home plate thus set ajar, consecutive singles by Ed Rowen, Bob Blakiston, and Mathews himself sent three runs across the plate.9 The Athletics added another run in the eighth when Jack O’Brien doubled to drive in Mike Moynahan, who had singled.10 In fact, all, but one of Philadelphia’s runs were superfluous as Mathews shut out the Alleghenies on four hits. Hayes, Pittsburgh’s catcher, had two of those hits, including a double that made him the only Allegheny to reach second. (He advanced no farther.)11 Mathews did walk one opposing batter (he may have been helped by the fact that it took seven balls for a walk at this time in baseball history), but struck out seven while benefiting from one double play behind him.12 Mathews also collected two hits, as did Moynahan, O’Brien, and Blakiston. Stovey, who reportedly “could do everything on a ball field, and do it better than almost anyone else,” was held hitless, but on this day, at least, he wasn’t needed.13

Mathews received accolades from the Philadelphia Inquirer, which noted that the “Alleghenies could not understand Mathews’ manipulation of the sheep skin,”14 while the Times (of Philadelphia) called it a “walk-over” because Pittsburgh didn’t have “the ghost of a chance against Matthews’ pitching.”15 Apparently when the home team did have a baserunner, he ran the bases poorly, which both papers cited as an additional reason for Philadelphia’s victory, although they provided no details.

The shutout was the 15th of Mathews’ long career (he would have five more), but his Opening Day whitewash of the Alleghenys was the only one the Athletics recorded in 1883. Back home in Philadelphia, the result must have made those worried about the team’s prospects feel somewhat more confident, at least for one day. And those inclined to bet on their local heroes could take additional comfort from the Times’s conclusion that unless Pittsburgh improved, “Philadelphia people can bet on a certainty in the remaining games on their own club.”16 This proved to be sage advice as the Athletics dominated the Alleghenys and won 12 of the 14 games between the two teams.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 “The Athletics Third Victory,” Philadelphia Inquirer, May 1, 1883: 3.

2 “The Home Team: Sketch of the Men who Constitute the Local Teams,” Sporting Life, April 15, 1883: 2.

3 David Nemec, The Beer and Whiskey League: The Illustrated History of the American Association – Baseball’s Renegade League (Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press, 2004), 44-46.

4 Philadelphia Inquirer, May 1, 1883: 3.

5 Nemec, 48-49.

6 Philip J. Lowry, Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebration of Major League and Negro League Ballparks (New York: Walker Publishing Company, 2006), 184; New York Clipper, May 12, 1883: 117; National Republican (Washington, DC), May 2, 1883: 1; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 2, 1883: 4A.

7 John Shiffert, Baseball in Philadelphia: A History of the Early Game, 1831-1900 (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co, 2006), 108; Brian McKenna, “Bobby Mathews,” SABR BioProject. sabr.org/bioproj/person/e7ad641f.

8 McKenna; Pittsburgh Daily Post, May 2, 1883: 4.

9 Pittsburgh Daily Post; New York Clipper.

10 New York Clipper.

11 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 2, 1883: 2.

12 Cincinnati Enquirer, May 2, 1883: 2.

13 Shiffert, 107.

14 Philadelphia Inquirer, May 2, 1883: 8.

15 Times (Philadelphia), May 2, 1883: 1.

16 Times (Philadelphia).

 “United! Brooklyn and New York by the Great Bridge. The Mighty Structure Completed,” loudly proclaimed the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on May 24, 1883.1 Extensive accounts of the history of the formation of the New York Bridge Company on April 16, 1867, including the peaks and valleys of the massive project, were detailed for three days by the Eagle. Upon the Brooklyn Bridge’s opening, it was reported that over 150,000 people crossed over the East River.2 While the celebration over the bridge continued, so did the business of baseball.

Major-league baseball had been absent from America’s largest city since 1876, when the Mutual Club was suspended from the National League for failing to complete its final Western road trip in September. New York rejoined the fray when the Metropolitans entered the American Association in 1883 and the Gothams joined the NL the same year.

Philadelphia, America’s second largest city, had its 1876 NL club suspended for the same reason as the Mutuals; however, when the American Association began operations in 1882, the Athletics reemerged, and in 1883 Philadelphia placed a second club in the National League.

Baseball had survived and expanded without the money and influence of the nation’s two largest cities for over five seasons. The exposure New York and Philadelphia each offered could only strengthen the business of baseball.

In 1882, the Athletics finished second to Cincinnati in the American Association, 11½ games out of first. The city of Cincinnati was also returning from a one-year hiatus from major-league baseball, when it joined the American Association. Upon the Athletics’ return, they employed 24 players in 1882; however, the club retained only four for the 1883 campaign. They allowed 26-game winner Sam Weaver to seek employment elsewhere and replaced him with legend Bobby Mathews, a career 191-game winner. Mathews’ résumé included four consecutive seasons of 25 wins. He was the winning pitcher in the first professional league game played in the National Association, in 1871. Mathews and his Kekiongas of Fort Wayne shut out the Forest Cities of Cleveland, 2-0. 

Philadelphia, with its rebuilt roster, started the 1883 season very strong, jumping out to a 13-1 record, which easily led the American Association. Cincinnati, which started out 4-0, was second at 8-5, followed by Louisville at 7-6 and New York at 8-7, 5½ games out of first place. Philadelphia’s one setback was a 15-7 loss to Baltimore on May 9 in the final game of their series. Since then, the Athletics were undefeated in nine games. On the 24th, in victory number 10, it was the contributions of two holdovers from the 1882 roster, catcher Jack O’Brien and second baseman Cub Sticker, that led the way offensively

Temperatures were in the low 70s with fair skies the afternoon the Great Bridge opened and more than 10,000 spectators3 turned up north of the historic festivities at the Polo Grounds I4 to see if the Metropolitans of New York could end Philadelphia’s good fortune.

The first game of the series featured the pitching matchup of future Hall of Famer Tim Keefe of New York and Philadelphia’s Bobby Mathews. It was the third time in the young season that Keefe and Mathews faced each other, with Mathews winning both of the first two games. The right-handed Keefe, in his fourth major-league season and first in New York, entered the game with a record of 6-5. While with Troy of the NL, Keefe was a sub-500 pitcher. Mathews, a veteran right-hander, had an early-season record of 7-1. 

According to the Times of Philadelphia, “The game was one of the poorest played here this season and was one-sided from the beginning to end.”5 Philadelphia scored a run in the second inning and three in the third inning, while holding the Metropolitans scoreless. After both teams failed to score in the fourth inning, the Athletics, aided by sloppy fielding by the Metropolitans, unloaded on Keefe and scored seven runs to open up an 11-0 lead. The Mets committed 10 errors, five of them by rookie second baseman Sam Crane.

New York was held to two hits until the sixth inning, when it got two more, including right fielder Chief Roseman’s second double of the game. This brief success led to the home team scoring its only two runs of the day. Mathews allowed only two more hits over the final three innings in the 11-2 victory. The Athletics totaled 13 hits against Keefe. O’Brien and Stricker led the way with three hits each, with O’Brien collecting a triple. Harry Stovey and player-manager Lon Knight both added a pair of hits.

Mathews went the distance and earned the victory, improving his record to 8-1. Keefe, who struck out seven Athletics, took the loss, dropping his record to 6-6. Charlie Daniels was the umpire and time of the game was 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Mathews, who struggled during the second half of the season, went on to finish with a record of 30-13. Keefe, who led the league with 68 starts, 68 complete games, and 619 innings pitched, finished the season with a record of 41-27.

Philadelphia’s 10-game winning streak was the team’s longest of the season. The St. Louis Browns would closely chase the Athletics for the entire season, allowing Philadelphia little chance to relax. The Athletics put together three more significant winning streaks during the season. They won six games in row twice, June 21-30 and July 28-August 4, and seven in a row September 4-13.

Philadelphia stumbled in the final week of the season but recovered to win the pennant by one game over St. Louis in what was the closest finish to that point in a major-league pennant race. New York finished in fourth place with 54 wins.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author relied on Baseball-reference.com and Retrosheet.org, and articles in the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, Philadelphia City Item, Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette, and Sporting Life.

Notes

1 “United! Brooklyn and New York by the Great Bridge,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 24, 1883: 1.

2 Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

3 “Athletic vs. Metropolitan,” New York Clipper, June 2, 1883: 173.

4 David Nemec, The Great Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Base Ball, 2nd Edition (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2006): 272.

5 “The Ball Field: The Athletics Win a Sweeping Victory of the Metropolitans in New York,” the Times (Philadelphia), May 25, 1883: 3.

Philadelphia was in its second season as an American Association franchise. In 1882, the Athletics had never lost more than four games in a row en route to a second-place finish. They had started the 1883 season by winning their first four games, 14 of their first 15, and 17 of their first 19. They were 18-3 in the month of May, but that month had ended. Suddenly, the Athletics pitching staff was allowing more runs, their offense wasn’t scoring, and Philadelphia started the month of June by suffering defeat in five of eight games. Its lead in the American Association evaporated, and after losing the first three games of a four-game series with the Red Stockings, Philadelphia was tied with Louisville for second place, both a half-game behind the St. Louis Browns.

The defending champion Cincinnati squad, meanwhile, had also won its first four contests in 1883, but had won only 13 of 24 leading up to this series. By taking the first three games, the Red Stockings had climbed into fourth place, but they were only a game out of first. The race for the pennant was tight.

Philadelphia and Cincinnati faced off on a Thursday afternoon in the final game of the series. The New York Tribune wrote, “The Athletic nine, after playing in wretched form the past week, rallied here today in their game with the champions.”1 Philadelphia’s Times started its account of the game with, “The tables were turned this afternoon.”2 Cincinnati manager Pop Snyder sent right-hander Harry McCormick to the mound. The Red Stockings’ top starter was Will White,3 and White had started and won the previous four games for Cincinnati, so Snyder decided to rest his ace. McCormick was making just his 10th start of the year. Philadelphia’s skipper, Lon Knight, countered with righty Fred Corey, a utility player who occasionally pitched. This was only his third start of the season, as Bobby Mathews was the usual workhorse on the mound for the Athletics.

Before a crowd of 3,200 at Cincinnati’s Bank Street Grounds, Snyder won the toss and opted to bat first. The Red Stockings jumped on Corey in the first inning, scoring four runs. Hick Carpenter rolled a grounder to third base, but third baseman George Bradley missed it. Carpenter moved to second on a passed ball. Charley Jones walked and both runners advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored when Corey made a fielding error. John Reilly reached on Cub Stricker’s miscue at second base and scored when Bradley dropped a pop fly by Joe Sommer. Phil Powers followed with an RBI triple to deep center, the only true hit of the inning. Powers kept going, trying for an inside-the-park home run, but he was tagged out at the plate. The fans were cheering, as their team was ahead, 4-0. After this frame, Bradley was moved to center field, switching positions with Jack O’Brien, prompting the Times to report, “Both men played faultlessly from that point on.”4

In the bottom of the first inning, Jones misjudged Harry Stovey’s fly ball to center. The ball bounded over Jones’s head and Stovey raced around the bases all the way to third. The Athletics scored two runs on two hits and a Cincinnati error.

Three Philadelphia runners reached in the second (two hits and a walk), but none of them scored, as two were caught trying to steal second. In the third, though, Stovey again started things with a single to left. He moved to second when Sommer made a high throw back to the infield. Knight lined a pitch to Sommer in left and the outfielder misplayed it, plating Stovey. Knight reached second on a passed ball and then scored when shortstop Chick Fulmer couldn’t cleanly play a grounder by O’Brien. O’Brien later came around to score. In the fourth inning, three errors and one hit (Stovey’s third of the game) led to two more Philadelphia tallies, and the score was 7-4, Philadelphia.

In the top of the fifth, Cincinnati’s McCormick and Jones stroked back-to-back three-baggers, getting one of the runs back, but in the bottom half, the Athletics scored twice more on Mike Moynahan’s triple, a double by O’Brien, and a single by the pitcher Corey.

The Red Stockings threatened in both the sixth and seventh innings without success. For the game, they left four runners on base. Philadelphia added a solo run in the sixth (on “two hits and a couple of errors”5), but in the seventh, the wheels came off the Cincinnati defense. Four runs came across the plate on several more errors and just four base hits. The final two frames were scoreless. When the game ended, Cincinnati was “most serenely drubbed by the Philadelphians by a score of 14 to 5.”6

McCormick had trouble as the Cincinnati twirler. Too often he grooved the ball where the Athletics could hit it, and “the result was the boys in the field were kept busy chasing the sphere. The visitors pounded the cover off of one ball and badly damaged another.”7 Corey held the Red Stockings to just four hits, although three of them were triples. Otherwise, he was effective as he “sent in the balls with gun-shot speed.”8 Together, the two pitchers made four wild pitches and their batterymates allowed three passed balls.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, only three of Philadelphia’s 14 hits “were gained by good work. The rest were gifts from an accumulation of muffed flies, passed balls, wild pitches, fumbled grounders and wild throws.”9 Of the Red Stockings players, only Bid McPhee was solid in his defense, “the only one of the Cincinnatis who played up to the standard throughout.”10 Five Athletics players reached first on errors, either on fumbled grounders or bad throws.

Philly’s Bradley was branded by the Cincinnati Enquirer as a dirty player. (“There is no more unpopular tosser in either association.”11) While running to first on a grounder, Bradley hit Cincy first baseman Reilly in the mouth. It might have been an accident, but from the Cincinnati viewpoint, Bradley “can play ball, but he can’t play the gentleman.”12

When the day’s other games had ended, Philadelphia found itself once again in first place. The Browns had been defeated by the New York Metropolitans. After this victory, the Athletics won their final five games in June, and they went 39-21 during the final three months, never losing more than three games in a row. Philadelphia (66-32) held on to win the pennant by one game over St. Louis (65-33), while Cincinnati finished third (61-37).

Sources

In addition to the sources mentioned in the Notes, the author consulted baseball-reference.com, retrosheet.org, and sabr.org.

Notes

1 “Baseball News,” New York Tribune, June 22, 1883: 2.

2 “Game for the Athletics,” Philadelphia Times, June 22, 1883: 4.

3 Cincinnati’s White led the American Association in wins (43), shutouts (6), and earned-run average (2.09) in 1883. Two of those shutouts came in this series against Philadelphia.

4 “Game for the Athletics.”

5 “An Off Day,” Cincinnati Enquirer, June 22, 1883: 5.

6 “An Off Day.”

7 “An Off Day.”

8 “An Off Day.”

9 “An Off Day.”

10 “A Victory for the Athletics,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, June 22, 1883: 6.

11 “An Off Day.”

12 “An Off Day.”

The Athletics had charged out of the gate with an 18-3 record during the month of May but had dropped off the pace. Standing at 38-18, the Athletics were second in the American Association standings, 1½ games behind the St. Louis Browns and 4½ games ahead of third-place Cincinnati.

It was an ideal day for baseball. Afternoon temperatures were in the mid-70s under fair/clear skies and an unseasonably low humidity of 60 percent. The game featured “fine fielding and heavy batting” by Philadelphia.2 There is no play-by-play available for the game, but according to newspaper accounts and the box scores, the home-team Athletics batted first, as they won the coin toss and elected to bat.3 Approximately 6,000 spectators packed the Jefferson Street Grounds to watch the match, and “the enthusiasm was kept up throughout the game.”4 Starting for St. Louis was right-handed rookie Bob Barr.5

Philadelphia wasted no time and put three runs across the plate in the first inning. With one out, Harry Stovey singled and stole second. Knight followed with an RBI single to center. Knight then stole second. Barr walked Mike Moynahan and Jack O’Brien, loading the bases. Fred Corey laced a double, plating two runners.6 Barr then worked out of the jam, holding the damage to three runs.

Right-hander Bobby Mathews pitched for the Athletics. The Athletics’ diminutive 31-year-old ace, who had come over from the National League’s Boston Red Stockings, was in the process of resurrecting his career, which had been sidetracked by a sore arm.7

The visitors put runners on base in each of the first two innings but did not capitalize. In the top of the third, Knight doubled to right field. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and came home when O’Brien tripled. The Athletics added two runs in the fourth, even though Knight popped out to Barr. In the bottom half, Joe Battin “sent the ball over [Bob] Blakiston’s head for a home run.”8 The score was now 6-1, Athletics.

In the top of the sixth, Mathews reached on an error by third baseman Battin. Barr threw another wild pitch, moving Mathews up a base. Stovey doubled to left, driving in his pitcher. Knight “followed with a hit to center field for three bases”9 and a run batted in, and then he scored on a fly out by Moynahan. Three more runs for the home team.

Stovey led off the top of the eighth with a single and trotted home on “Knight’s terrific line hit to extreme left center for a home run.”10 Knight had just hit for a natural cycle. O’Brien scored on a hit by Corey. The Allegheny club posted two runs in its half of the eighth, on two hits, a passed ball, a walk, and an error.

The game was out of reach in the ninth, but Philadelphia was not finished. Consecutive singles by George Bradley, Mathews, and Jud Birchall loaded the bases. Stovey lined a single to center, and two runners came home. Knight followed with his second two-bagger, adding two more runs batted in to his line for the day. For the visitors, Ed Swartwood and Billy Taylor singled to start the last of the ninth, and Swartwood scored the game’s final run on a passed ball. The game ended with a score of 17-4. Only 12 of Philadelphia’s runs were earned, and only two of Pittsburgh’s.

The Philadelphia Inquirer informed its readers that three Athletic players, Knight, Stovey, and O’Brien, starred on offense, and that Knight made “a total of eleven bases, on a home run, a three-bagger, and two doubles.”11 However, the paper’s box score listed him with five hits and 12 total bases (which accounted for the missing single). The Times, also a Philadelphia newspaper, gave its readers the straight scoop, noting that “Knight led for the home club in work with the willow, making a single, two two-baggers, a triple-bagger and a home run.”12 In addition to accomplishing the rare feat of hitting for the cycle, Knight had scored five runs and had driven in six.

Further, “the heavy batting of the home club really demoralized the visitors and their fielding was not first-class by any means.”13 The Athletics had six runners reach because of Pittsburgh errors. Every Philadelphia player except Blakiston got at least one hit. Mathews picked up the victory. By the end of the season, Mathews had pitched 381 innings and finished with a record of 30-13, the most victories he had posted in nine years. For the losers, Barr ended the 1883 campaign with a record of 6-18. One bright spot for the Alleghenys was that four batters – Swartwood, Taylor, Battin, and Frank McLaughlin – each collected two hits.

First baseman Stovey was was 5-for-6 with a double in this contest. Although he didn’t homer in this game, Stovey’s 14 round-trippers set a league record for the most home runs in a season, eclipsing Boston Red Stockings left fielder Charley Jones’s 1879 mark of 9.14 O’Brien, the team’s catcher, was 4-for-5 with a triple.

As of the end of the 2021 season, only 16 batters have hit for the cycle in natural order, an achievement rarer than a perfect game.15 The most recent was the Texas Rangers’ Gary Matthews Jr., who accomplished the feat on September 13, 2006, in a game against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Montreal’s Brad Wilkerson is the only player to accomplish a natural cycle in just four plate appearances.16

The 30-year-old Knight had been playing professional baseball since 1875, but this was his first season with Philadelphia’s Athletic Club.17 On a team that batted .262 for the season, Knight’s .252 average was only seventh-best among the regular players. This was his only home run of the season and just the second of his eight-year career, but it was enough to hit for the cycle.18

The umpire was listed as John O. “Kick” Kelley and the game lasted 2 hours and 10 minutes, prolonged by the 23 base hits and two or three bases on balls collected by the Athletics.19 The Allegheny club had nine hits. The win by the Athletic club, coupled with a 6-5 loss by the Browns to the Eclipse of Louisville, saw the Athletics take first place in the standings, by the narrowest of margins, .684 to .683.20 They were still two games behind the Browns in wins but had two fewer losses. By season’s end, the 66-32 Athletics edged the 65-33 Browns by exactly one game, five games ahead of third-place Cincinnati.

Sources

In addition to the sources mentioned in the notes, the authors consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 A good listing of cycles is available at baseball-almanac.com/hitting/Major_League_Baseball_Players_to_hit_for_the_cycle.shtml. Twenty-six players have hit for the cycle more than once. See a listing at mlb.com/news/players-who-hit-for-multiple-cycles-c295035814. Four are “tricyclists” – each with three cycles to his credit: John Reilly, Bob Meusel, Babe Herman, and Adrian Beltre. One cycle has been hit in postseason play – by Brock Holt of the Boston Red Sox on October 6, 2018. It was the second cycle for Holt – his first was on June 16, 2015. Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers hit for the cycle twice in a 20-day stretch (August 29 and September 17, 2018).

2 “Base Ball,” Philadelphia Inquirer, July 31, 1883: 2.

3 “Heavy Work at the Bat,” Philadelphia Times,  July 31, 1883: 4.

4 Philadelphia Inquirer.

5 The Alleghenys finished in seventh place in the eight-team league, with a record of 31-67.

6 The Inquirer says it was hit down the right-field foul line, but the Times said it was the left-field foul line.

7 Mathews was 5 feet 5½ inches tall and weighed about 140 pounds.

8 “Base Ball.”

9 “Base Ball.”

10 “Base Ball.”

11 “Base Ball.”

12 “Heavy Work at the Bat.”

13 “Heavy Work at the Bat.”

14 Stovey held the single-season home-run record for just one year. In 1884 Chicago White Stockings third baseman Ned Williamson socked 27 home runs, a single-season mark that stood for 35 years until 1919, when Boston Red Sox outfielder and pitcher Babe Ruth hit 29. Stovey was also the major leagues’ career home-run leader from 1889 through 1894, when he retired with 122.

15 Given the available play-by-play data. The 15 players who hit for a natural cycle are:

Lon Knight, Philadelphia (AA), July 30, 1883

Pete Browning, Louisville (AA), August 8, 1886

Bill Collins, Boston (NL), October 6, 1910

Bob Fothergill, Detroit (AL), September 26, 1926

Tony Lazzeri, New York (AL), June 3, 1932

Charlie Gehringer, Detroit (AL), May 27, 1939

Leon Culberson, Boston (AL), July 3, 1943

Jim Hickman, New York (NL), August 7, 1963

Ken Boyer, St. Louis (NL), June 16, 1964

Billy Williams, Chicago (NL), July 17, 1966

Tim Foli, Montreal (NL), April 21, 1976

Bob Watson, Boston (AL), September 15, 1979

John Mabry, St. Louis (NL), May 18, 1996

Jose Valentin, Chicago (AL), April 27, 2000

Brad Wilkerson, Montreal (NL), June 24, 2003

Gary Matthews Jr., Texas (AL), September 13, 2006

16 Mabry and Matthews had the four different hits in just four at-bats, but each also drew a walk in the game.

17 Knight played in 1875 and 1876, but then played on minor-league clubs in New England until he returned to the National League in 1880. He retired after the 1885 season.

18 Knight hit two home runs in a three-year American Association career and one in his five years in the National League.

19 Accounts differ.

20 retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1883/07301883.htm#1.

An estimated crowd of 3,000 turned out for the Wednesday afternoon game played at Jefferson Street Grounds under clear skies with afternoon temperatures hovering in the mid-80s. A gentle 10 MPH breeze blew out of the southwest toward Jefferson Street, which ran behind right field.

The Athletics, who had won the first three games of the current series by outscoring the Alleghenys 44-18, started the day in first place in the American Association with a 40-18 record and a half-game lead over the St. Louis Browns (41-20). The Alleghenys were mired in sixth place with a 20-40 record, a distant 21 games behind the Athletics.

But the series finale began with question marks for both teams. Athletics pitcher Bobby Mathews, who had started and won the first two games of the series and had started 37 of the Athletics’ first 58 games, was injured in their 16-12 victory over the Alleghenys the day before.

“In the second inning, while Mathews (who had started the game in right field) was trying to steal second, he sprained his ankle badly and had to be carried off the field,” the Philadelphia Times reported.1 Athletics infielder Cub Stricker was apparently battling injuries as well and was “in a crippled condition covering second base,” according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.2

The Pittsburgh pitching staff had to adjust when its ace left-hander Denny Driscoll, who had started 30 of the Alleghenys’ first 60 games, left the team the previous day after “being called home at noon on account of the dangerous illness of his wife.”3

Driscoll’s replacement was right-hander Jack Neagle, who was with his third major-league team of the season after being released by Philadelphia of the National League and Baltimore of the AA. Neagle’s last start with Baltimore was a 7-3 loss to the Athletics on July 20.

Neagle had started two of the first three games of this series – an 11-2 loss to the Athletics on July 28 and the 16-12 loss the day before this game. The start the day before was brief – he was pulled in the second inning after he “was hit hard in the first inning.”4

Stovey, who had doubled and hit a home run the previous day, got the carnage started in this game.

The Athletics won the toss and elected to bat first. After Jud Birchall walked to lead off the A’s first inning, Stovey “electrified the audience by hitting the ball over the left-field fence, about four feet inside the foul line.”5 According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, “Stovey made the longest hit ever seen on the ground, sending the ball twelve feet over the left field fence, completing the circuit of the bases long before the ball was returned.”6

Stovey, who had hit a total of 13 home runs in his first three major-league seasons with Worcester of the National League, made history with his majestic blast by becoming the first major leaguer to hit at least 10 home runs in a season. The previous record was held by Charley Jones, who hit nine home runs in 1879 while playing left field for the Boston Red Stockings of the National League. Stovey finished the 1883 season with 14 home runs, 66 RBIs, and a .304 batting average.

After Stovey’s home run, the Athletics added three more runs in the top of the first. Lon Knight doubled and scored on a single by Mike Moynahan. Jack O’Brien followed with another double to score Moynahan and eventually scored on an error by shortstop Frank McLaughlin. At the end of a half-inning, the Athletics led 5-0.

The Athletics added a run in the second when Birchall singled, took third when center fielder Bob Barr let the ball get past him, and scored on a passed ball by Billy Taylor.

Leading 6-0 in the third inning, the Athletics broke the game open with six runs, aided by three errors by the Alleghenys. With two down the Athletics began to parade around the bases. George Bradley reached on an error. Stricker followed with a double, Birchall singled, Stovey walked, Knight singled, Moynahan walked, and O’Brien reached on an error.

Down 12-0, the Alleghenys scored in their half of the third when, with two out, Ed Swartwood doubled, moved to third on a passed ball, and scored on Taylor’s single to center. 

The Athletics added two more runs in the fourth. Bradley reached on an error by second baseman George Creamer, went to second on a bad throw by McLaughlin, and scored on a single by Stricker, who scored on another Alleghenys error to increase the Athletics’ lead to 14-1.

The two teams exchanged runs in the fifth. Moynahan singled and came around to score on a wild pitch and two passed balls. The Alleghenys scored their final run of the game when Barr, Neagle, Swartwood, and Taylor put together four successive hits.

In the top of the sixth, McLaughlin relieved Neagle, who allowed 10 hits and 15 runs while throwing four wild pitches. The right-handed-throwing McLaughlin mopped up the mess and limited the Athletics to single runs in the sixth and seventh innings and two in the ninth.  

Knight, Moynahan, and O’Brien each had three hits and Stricker, healthy enough to play, had two hits for the Athletics, who had 16 hits and took advantage of five walks, six passed balls, and eight Alleghenys errors. Stovey, who drew a walk in the six-run third, also singled in Philadelphia’s two-run ninth. Only six of the Athletics’ runs were earned. Athletics starter Bradley earned the victory by going the distance and allowing just seven hits.7

The loss went to Neagle, who was 3-12 with a 5.84 ERA in 16 starts for the Alleghenys. His combined season record with the three teams was 5-23 with a 5.94 ERA in 30 appearances. His 1884 season (11-26 in 38 starts with the Alleghenys), was his last.

Taylor had three hits and Swartwood had two hits for the Alleghenys. Swartwood went on to lead the Association in batting average (.357).

With the win, the Athletics increased their lead to a full game over the idle St. Louis Browns.  For the Alleghenys, the 19-2 drubbing was a fitting end to the season series, which saw them defeat the Athletics, 15-2, in the third game of the season, only to have the victory not count in the standings and classified as an exhibition.8

Sources 

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com, Newspapers.com, and Retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 “Some More Big Batting,” Philadelphia Times, August 1, 1883: 4.

2 “19 to 2,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, August 2, 1883: 8.

3 “Some More Big Batting,” Philadelphia Times, August 1, 1883: 4.

4 “Some More Big Batting.”

5 “One Added to the Score,” Philadelphia Times, August 2, 1883: 4.

6 “Batting for Runs,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 2, 1883: 2.

7 The box score in the Times gave Philadelphia 14 hits while the box score in the Inquirer gave 16. The newspaper accounts also differ on errors and earned runs — giving Allegheny 10 or 11 errors. One newspaper account has 8 earned runs, the other 6.

8 According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, “Under the rules of the American Association all championship games must be umpired by an official umpire, and as Mr. (Charles) Daniels was alleged to be sick yesterday, an exhibition game was played. It was far from satisfactory and had a suspicious look all through. …” “If It Only Counted,” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 4, 1883: 2.

Along with the addition of the New York Metropolitans, Columbus brought the American Association in 1883 to eight teams. This would be the Buckeyes’ second trip to Philadelphia. Between May 30 and June 4 they had played three games against the Athletics, dropping two. Included on the team roster was the major leagues’ first deaf mute, pitcher Ed Dundon. Dubbed “Dummy,” he had learned the game while at the Ohio Institute for Education of the Deaf and Dumb. Among other things, the school was known for its exceptional baseball program, which developed numerous professional players. While there, Dundon became the school’s star pitcher.

With a crowd of 8,000 to 10,000 watching, the Philadelphias came to the plate first and put two runners on base but were unable to push either across the plate.1 In the bottom of the inning, Columbus did a bit better. With one out, shortstop John Richmond singled and went to second when Philadelphia left fielder Jud Birchall let the ball get past him. Known as an outstanding fielder, Birchall later redeemed himself with the Athletics’ play of the game, a running, over-the-shoulder catch. A passed ball and a single by former Athletic Pop Smith put the Buckeyes on the board. During the previous season Smith had played 20 games for Philadelphia but his .092 batting average didn’t warrant a return. Instead, he headed for Columbus and was having a fine season, leading the league in triples. His RBI gave the Columbus nine its only lead of the day.

In the top of the second inning, the Philadelphias went ahead with three runs. Third baseman Fred Corey led off with a single. Catcher Ed Rowen and second baseman Cub Stricker followed with doubles, scoring two runs. With one out, first baseman Harry Stovey, the team’s most dangerous hitter and one of the best in the American Association, smacked a single to center, scoring Stricker with the Athletics’ third run.

Philadelphia native Stovey had played the previous three seasons for the Worcester (Massachusetts) Ruby Legs in the National League. Born Harry Stowe, he changed his name to Stovey so that his mother, who abhorred baseball, wouldn’t know he was playing professionally.2 In 1880, his rookie season, Stovey led the league in extra-base hits, and tied for the home-run lead. A power hitter, he was also a fleet and daring baserunner who was always among the league’s top basestealers. When the Ruby Legs folded after the 1882 season, Stovey moved back home and joined the Athletics. It was a move that suited him well. His first season in Philadelphia was the best of his 14-year career at bat. In 1883 he led the league in runs scored, doubles, home runs, and extra-base hits, and finished with a .304 batting average.

The Buckeyes clawed back in the bottom of the third. Right fielder Tom Brown opened with a single but was forced at second by Pop Smith. An error by first baseman Stovey got Smith to second and a wild pitch moved him to third. He came home on a groundball to second baseman Stricker.

With the help of numerous Columbus errors, the Athletics responded with a pair of runs in the fourth and four more in the fifth. Singles by Bradley, Stricker, and Birchall and a bad throw by the Buckeyes’ catcher, Rudy Kemmler, accounted for the two fourth-inning runs. The fifth-inning tallies were aided by a slew of Columbus miscues. Kemmler let a third strike get past him, enabling the Athletics’ leadoff hitter, center fielder Jack O’Brien, to hustle to second. He scored when Corey singled to left. Rowen’s single scored Corey; aided by “a terrible wild throw,” the Philadelphia catcher ended up on third.3 He scored a batter later when the Buckeyes’ second baseman made another bad throw to the plate on Stricker’s groundball. One batter later, Stricker scored after “a spectacular over his head catch” by the Buckeyes’ center fielder, Fred Mann.4 Stovey then delivered his third single of the game and ended up on third base as a result of two more errant throws. Mercifully for Columbus, the inning ended with Stovey still at third, but the Athletics led 9-2.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Buckeyes scored twice. Left fielder Harry Wheeler opened with “a rattling hit past shortstop.”5 Richmond dropped a single to right and Wheeler scored on a bad throw to second. Richmond followed him home on a two-out single by Mann. Columbus had closed the deficit to five runs, but the worst was yet to come for the Buckeyes.

As they came to the plate in the sixth, the Philadelphia Times reported, the Buckeyes “appeared very tired and played the game through in a listless manner.”6 One Buckeye who should have been particularly tired was pitcher Frank Mountain. He had been on the mound through the entire 11-1 drubbing the previous day and was the recipient of the current pounding. Mountain was a well-traveled pitcher by the time he took the mound against the Athletics. Since becoming a professional in 1880 he had been with five teams, including Worcester, where he had finished the previous season alongside Harry Stovey, Fred Corey, and Fred Mann. Though he won 26 games in 1883, he also led the American Association with 33 losses and gave up more hits, walks, and runs than any other Association pitcher.

The Athletics tacked on another run in the seventh when Birchall singled to right, stole second, and scored on Stovey’s fourth hit. In the eighth inning Philadelphia further demonstrated that on this afternoon “the Athletics had their batting clothes on.”7 Twelve men came to the plate and eight of them scored. The first four hitters – O’Brien, Corey, Rowen, and Bradley – all singled and all scored. With one out Birchall doubled to left, driving in two more. He was followed by Stovey, who tripled. One hitter later, shortstop Mike Moynahan also tripled. The final run of the inning scored when Corey blasted a double, his second hit of the inning, that bounced off the left-field fence.

With the game well out of hand, the Buckeyes mounted one last effort in the bottom of the eighth inning. Not known for his hitting, Mountain drilled his second home run in two days over the left-field fence. He hit three home runs during the entire 1883 season. Mountain’s shot closed the Columbus attack for the day. The Athletics finished their scoring in the top of the ninth when right fielder and team manager Lon Knight singled, went to third on another Columbus error, and scored on a long fly ball to left field.

At the end of the day the Philadelphia fans left the Jefferson Street Grounds satisfied that they had seen their hometown nine at its best. The 19-run outburst matched the Athletics’ highest run output of the season. Two weeks earlier the Philadelphias had scored 19 runs against Pittsburgh. The team also solidified its league lead in runs scored. For the season the Athletics averaged 7.35 runs per game, almost two runs more than the league average. More importantly, the win kept the Athletics in first place, two games ahead of the St. Louis Browns.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, and SABR.org.

Notes

1 “Another Easy Victory,” The Times (Philadelphia), August 19, 1883: 2. See also “Sports of the Field,” Philadelphia Inquirer, August 20, 1883: 2. The Times reported, “The crowd numbered nearly ten thousand,” while the Inquirer claimed that “about 8000 persons witnessed” the game.

2 Matt Kelly, “19th Century Star Harry Covey” Pre-Industrial Series (2016), National Baseball Hall of Fame.

3 “Another Easy Victory.”

4 “Another Easy Victory.”

5 “Another Easy Victory.”

6 “Another Easy Victory.”

7 “An Easy Time,” Cincinnati Enquirer, August 19, 1883: 2.

The pitching matchup featured two of the American Association’s greatest hurlers. Will White drew the starting assignment for the Red Stockings. The bespectacled right-hander was on his way to a winning a league-leading 43 games and leading the circuit with a 2.09 earned-run average. He was opposed by arm-weary Bobby Mathews. The Athletics reluctantly turned to the right-hander after having lost faith in Jumping Jack Jones, who had been knocked around for 11 runs and 13 hits in the series opener, and fear of overworking George Washington Bradley.1 The Athletics’ pitching staff was simply depleted by this point in the season.

The Red Stockings won the coin toss and elected to bat first. With one out in the top of the first, first baseman John Reilly tripled to left and scored on a passed ball. The Athletics responded in a “business-like manner” with five runs in their half of the frame.2 Jud Birchall led off with a single past shortstop and moved to second on a passed ball. Harry Stovey followed with a single to left to score Birchall. Stovey stole second and scored when Lon Knight hit a ball past shortstop that Jimmy Macullar, who was playing in place of sore-armed Chick Fulmer, was too slow to reach. Mike Moynahan followed with a hot liner to second that Bid McPhee only managed to knock down as Knight advanced to second. Jack O’Brien flied out to right, allowing Knight and Moynahan to advance a base. Fred Corey sent an easy fly ball to left that Joe Sommer muffed, allowing another two runs cross the plate. One out later, Cub Stricker singled to drive in the Athletics’ fifth run of the inning.

The score remained 5-1 until the top of third, when Corey sent a long drive to left-center and circled the bases for the first major-league home run of his career. This made the score 6-1 and it stayed that way until the top of the sixth.

The Red Stockings’ White led the sixth off with a single that “curved out of Corey’s reach” at third. The pitcher came around to score when Hick Carpenter sent a fly ball over the head of Birchall in left for a triple. “Reilly next tapped the ball down in front of the plate, but Rowen threw wildly to Stovey, and Stricker in turn fired the ball over Corey’s head, and both ‘Hick’ and Long John came home,” the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.3 This cut the Athletics’ lead to 6-4.

The Athletics answered with four runs in their half of the sixth. Rowan opened the inning with “a tap to Macullar, who, after fumbling it awhile threw wildly to Reilly,” allowing Rowan to reach second.4 Stricker followed with a home run to left-center that was “assisted by slow fielding.”5 After Mathews fouled out to Pop Snyder behind the plate, Macullar failed to come up with Birchall’s hit and was sent to play right field, “where he had the pleasure of chasing Stovey’s hit for a home-run.”6 It was the 14th and final home run of the season for 26-year-old first baseman, who earlier in the year became the first major-league player to hit 10 home runs in a season. The previous record was held by Charley Jones, who hit nine four-baggers in 1879 while playing left field for the Boston Red Stockings of the National League.

Entering the seventh inning, the Athletics appeared to have a safe 10-4 lead. However, with Mathews tiring and some shoddy Athletics defense, Cincinnati mounted a ferocious comeback. McPhee opened with a single to short center and took second on a passed ball. Macullar plated McPhee with a single past shortstop and White, who was given a second and third opportunity after Corey and Birchall missed pop fouls, singled to put runners on first and second. After Carpenter was called out on strikes, on a couple of questionable strike calls by umpire John Kelly, Knight dropped Reilly’s pop fly to right field to load the bases. Jones followed with a bases-clearing triple to right to trim the deficit to 10-8. One out later, Pop Corkhill singled to right to drive in Jones. Corkhill then stole second and scored the tying run when Snyder singled and Moynahan threw wildly to the plate.

With the crowd yelling and cheering wildly, “McPhee brought the spectators up to the highest pitch of enthusiasm by a long hit to left over Birchall’s head on which he made the circuit, bringing Snyder in before him.”7 The inning came to a merciful end when Macullar was retired at first after a dropped third strike. The Red Stockings sent 11 men to the plate and when the dust settled, eight runs crossed the plate and the Red Stockings held a 12-10 lead.

Cincinnati returned the favor with subpar defense of their own in the bottom of the eighth. Mathews reached on an error by Carpenter and hits by Birchall and Moynahan loaded the bases with two outs. O’Brien, who started the game in center field and finished it behind the plate after Rowen’s hands gave out, lofted “an easy fly” to right that Macullar failed to handle, allowing two runs to score. After eight innings the score was tied, 12-12.

Neither team scored in the ninth and the Red Stockings failed to push a run across in their half of the 10th. In the bottom of the inning, Stovey pushed an infield single past White and took second on a passed ball. He moved to third on a fly ball by Moynahan. When a pitch ticked off the hands of Snyder, “Stovey daringly broke for home” and outraced the catcher to the plate with the winning run.8

The slugfest, witnessed by a crowd estimated at 2,000, was, like many games during the era, marred by sloppy defensive work. The Red Stockings got 15 hits off Mathews and the Athletics collected 14 hits.9 The time of the game was 3 hours.10

The loss all but mathematically eliminated the defending champions. With eight games remaining for the Athletics and seven for the third-place Red Stockings, the best Cincinnati fans could hope for was an improbable tie with the Athletics. The Browns edged the New York Metropolitans, 3-2, and remained three games behind the Athletics, setting up a showdown between the Athletics and the Browns in St. Louis. Meanwhile, back in Philadelphia, a mass meeting of citizens was held at the Athletics’ headquarters to begin organizing a reception parade as the city prepared for a much-anticipated championship.11

Stovey’s reign as the single-season home-run leader was short-lived. The next season Ned Williamson, shortstop for the Chicago White Stockings of the National League, slugged 27 home runs to become the new major-league single-season home-run king.12

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author relied on Baseball-reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 Edward Achorn, The Summer of Beer and Whiskey (New York: Public Affairs Press, 2006), 201.

2 “Stubbornly Fought,” Cincinnati Enquirer, September 19, 1883: 2.

3 “Stubbornly Fought.”

4 “Stubbornly Fought.”

5 “Stubbornly Fought.”

6 “Stubbornly Fought.”

7 “Stubbornly Fought.”

8 Achorn, 201.

9 The box score in the Times (Philadelphia) credits the Athletics with 13 hits.

10 The box score in the Times (states the time of the game was 2 hours and 20 minutes.

11 “The Champions: A Grand Reception to Be Given to the Victorious Athletics,” Philadelphia Inquirer, September 19, 1883: 8.

12 Williamson’s 27 home runs in 1884 were largely attributed to the dimensions of Chicago’s home ballpark, White Stocking Park (a.k.a. Lake Front Park). In 1884 the distances were 180 feet down the line to left, 280 feet to left-center, 300 feet to dead center field, 252 feet to right-center, and 196 feet down the line to right. The right-handed-hitting Williamson hit 25 of his 27 home runs at White Stocking Park and never hit more than nine home runs in any other season.

Baseball fans flocked to Sportsman’s Park on the city’s north side to take in a Friday afternoon of baseball. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that there were at least 8,000 spectators at the game,3 while the (Philadelphia) Times described it as the “largest week-day gathering in the history of the home association” and estimated the crowd at 12,000.4 The City of Brotherly Love was also baseball-mad. The score was shown in Recreation Park, the Athletics’ home ballpark, while “bulletin boards around newspaper offices were besieged” by fans.5

The game pitted two of the league’s best right-handed hurlers. Scheduled to start for the A’s was rookie Jack Jones, but skipper Lon Knight made a last-minute change, sending his ace, Bobby Mathews, to the rubber because he “always proved to be a terror” to the Browns, reported the Times.6 Just 5-feet-5 and 140 pounds, he was in search of his 30st victory of the season and the 221st of his career, which would tie Tommy Bond for the most wins by an active player.7The Browns skipper, Charles Comiskey, called on emerging star Tony Mullane, who had already reached the 30-win plateau for the second consecutive season.8

Despite the marquee pitching matchup, the game was sloppy as “both sides exhibited great nervousness,” the Times wrote.9 An average of nearly 10 errors was committed in an American Association game in 1883; this game had 31, including 14 by the Browns, who had the league’s best fielding percentage.10 Only four of the game’s 31 runs were earned, all of them for St. Louis.11

The Browns won the coin toss and chose to take the field. The game commenced at 3:13 and the A’s jumped out to a 6-0 lead.12 Jud Birchall led off with a “corking hit” through shortstop and scored three batters later on shortstop Bill Gleason’s throwing error to home.13 The A’s tacked on four more runs in an error-laden third, highlighted by the league’s most formidable slugger, Harry Stovey, who smacked one of his league-most 31 doubles.14 Birchall made it 2-0 when he scored after being caught in a rundown at third. With the bases loaded, Jack O’Brien sent one to left field to plate Stovey; catcher Pat Deasley muffed George Strief’s infield relay, enabling Knight and Mike Moynahan to score. In the top of the fourth, Birchall’s double to left drove in Cub Stricker for a 6-0 lead. The league’s most potent offense, averaging 7.35 runs per game, was cruising.

The Browns revived the “drooping spirits” of the spectators, wrote the Globe-Democrat, by scoring three runs in the bottom of the fourth.15 A turning point came when first baseman Stovey sprained his knee chasing a foul ball by Strief with two men on. Moments later, Stovey attempted to complete an inning-ending double-play but his throw home to nab Hugh Nicol on Strief’s grounder was late, giving the Browns their first run.16 Unable to walk, Stovey exited the game, replaced by George Bradley, a former pitcher and third baseman. Two batters later, Bradley muffed Mullane’s high popup, allowing Fred Lewis and Deasley to score. Bradley made four errors in the game, but would emerge as one of the day’s heroes.

Each team scored three runs in an action-packed fifth. The A’s managed just one hit (O’Brien’s double to deep left), but Mullane’s “delivery became very unsteady,” wrote the Globe-Democrat.17 He walked one and threw two wild pitches, one resulting in a run. The other two were tallied on a fly ball and first baseman Comiskey’s wild throw to third attempting to complete a double play. The Browns answered with their heaviest hitting of the game. Comiskey singled, stole second, moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Nicol’s single. The Browns hit only seven home runs all season, one of which was Lewis’s two-run blast over the right-field fence to pull the Browns to within three, 9-6.

The Browns tacked on two more in the seventh inning, which also produced the game’s first brouhaha. Nicol began the frame by reaching first on an error. He stole second, but suddenly three A’s players, “yelling like Comanches,” surrounded umpire Charles Daniels, reported the Post-Dispatch.18 Daniels reversed his decision and called Nicol out, prompting the Browns bench to erupt. It looked as if Nicol and Daniels might brawl. The entire “circus” delayed the game five minutes, continued the newspaper, and Daniels stood by his second call. Joe Quest accounted for both runs, tripling to left-center to drive in Lewis, and scoring on a passed ball to make it 9-8.

With the game’s momentum shifting, the Athletics exploded for four runs in the eighth. Birchall led off with his game-high fourth hit, progressed stations on a passed ball and Mullane’s wild pitch, and scored on Knight’s grounder that shortstop Gleason fumbled. Run-scoring singles by O’Brien and Fred Corey and another wild pitch by Mullane resulting in a run accounted for the other three tallies to give the Athletics a 13-9 lead.

The Browns answered in the bottom of the frame with three runs. Gleason reached when Bradley (who “could not catch anything,” wrote the Times)19 muffed a relay throw. He moved to third on Comiskey’s single and scored on Arlie Latham’s sacrifice. Nicol’s double plated Comiskey, then he stole third and came home when catcher Ed Rowen (who “threw the ball in all directions,” lamented the Times),20 fired the ball into left field, committing one of his eight errors.

With the Athletics leading 13-11 to start the ninth, a cold front moved in, dropping the temperature from around 70 at game time to the high 50s.21 Mullane set down the visitors one-two-three. The skies grew even darker and according to the Times, “a regular hurricane had possession of the park and clouds of dust at times hid players from sight.”22 Several A’s players surrounded the umpire and asked that the game be called. Daniels, reported the Times, “acquiesced and walked to the bench, as through to get his coat at leave the grounds,” setting off another brouhaha.23 The Browns’ German-born owner and president, Chris von der Ahe, who had been sitting with his players on the bench, jumped up and ordered Daniels to continue the game. Players began “gesticulating” at one another while spectators were “hooting and hollering” to play ball.24 Perhaps concerned about a possible riot, Daniels ordered the Athletics to the field, after which the club said it would play the game under protest.

Hit hard in the previous two innings, Mathews took the mound for the final inning. He “proved as invulnerable as ever,” gushed the Times, and “by his generalship he outwitted the home team and at critical moments his cool head prevented a rattling of his forces.”25 Strief led off with a fly to right field, but the “ball was scarcely distinguishable.”26 Knight muffed the catch and Strief reached second. Mullane popped high to Moynahan at short. Gleason followed with what “seemed like best hit of the day,” a blast to deep center field where the much-maligned George Bradley had been moved to start the inning.27 According to the Times, Bradley “lost [the ball] in a great cloud of dust,” then caught it.28Gleason stayed on first, claiming that he had dropped it. Daniels seemed confused, but called Gleason out. “To the surprise of all,” acknowledged the Globe-Democrat,” Bradley saved the game.”29 Comiskey hit to O’Brien to end the contest in 2 hours and 45 minutes.

The 13-11 victory moved the Athletics to within two games of the title, but the quest for those victories was tension-filled. They split the final two in St. Louis, then traveled to Louisville for a season-ending four-game series with the Eclipse. After losing the first two games, they won the third to claim the title.

Mathews’ 30th victory of the season marked a stunning change of fortunes for the Baltimore native. After winning 131 games in the National Association (1871-1875), he bounced around in various independent leagues and for four teams in the National League, winning just 60 big-league games in his next seven seasons (1876-1882). He reclaimed his ace status with the Athletics in 1883, and won exactly 30 games each of the next two seasons. In 1885 Mathews set a big-league record with his 252nd victory and extended the mark until Pud Galvin overtook him in 1888.30 Mathews retired with 297 victories (and 248 losses), the most in big-league history of anyone not inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author accessed Retrosheet.org, Baseball-Reference.com, and SABR.org.

Notes

1 “A Loose Exciting Game and a Victory for the Athletics,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 22, 1883: 4.

2 “A Loose Exciting Game and a Victory for the Athletics,”

3 “The Athletics Win a Victory and the Pennant, Also,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 22, 1883: 9.

4 “The Athletics’ Victory,” (Philadelphia) Times, September 22, 1883: 2.

5 “The Coming Champions,” (Philadelphia) Times, September 22, 1883: 2. Without radio or television, the scores of baseball games were often displayed inning by inning at many kinds of venues, from newspaper offices to stores. The Times noted also that “enterprising news dealers and cigar men in all portions of the city had bulletin boards up.”

6 “The Athletics’ Victory.”

7 This claim deserves a caveat: Bond effectively stopped pitching after the 1880 season and had a record of 221-145. He made only five appearances in 1881 and 1882, losing four decisions. Technically not retired in 1883, Bond did not play big-league baseball. He returned in 1884, going 13-9 in the Union Association and 0-5 in the American Association.

8 The 24-year-old Tony Mullane finished the season with a 35-15 slate in 1883 after a 30-24 record in his first full big-league season. Bobby Mathews was a former star for the Baltimore Canaries and New York Mutuals in the National Association.

9 “The Athletics’ Victory.”

10 An average of 9.97 errors was committed in American Association games in 1883. The Browns made the fewest (3.96); while the A’s (5.95) were ranked seventh in the eight-team league.

11 All of the play-by-play information for this game is from three sources: “A Loose Exciting Game and a Victory for the Athletics,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 22, 1883: 4; “The Athletics Win a Victory and the Pennant, Also,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 22, 1883: 9; and “The Athletics’ Victory,” (Philadelphia) Times.

12 Information about the coin toss and the game’s starting time from “A Loose Exciting Game and a Victory for the Athletics.”

13 “The Athletics’ Victory.”

14 Harry Stovey also led the AA with 14 home runs, 110 runs scored, and a .506 slugging percentage in 1883.

15 “A Loose Exciting Game and a Victory for the Athletics.”

16 According to the Globe-Democrat, as Strief grounded to back to the mound, Nicol broke from second to steal third. Mullane’s throw to Stovey dispatched Strief, but Stovey’s throw to Rowen at the plate was late.

17 “A Loose Exciting Game and a Victory for the Athletics.”

18 “The Athletics Win a Victory and the Pennant, Also.”

19 “The Athletics’ Victory.”

20 “The Athletics’ Victory.”

21 “The Weather,” St. Louis Globe-Democrat, September 22, 1883: 5.

22 “The Athletics’ Victory.”

23 “The Athletics’ Victory.”

24 “The Athletics’ Victory.”

25 “The Athletics’ Victory.”

26 “The Athletics’ Victory.”

27 “The Athletics’ Victory.”

28 “The Athletics’ Victory.”

29 “A Loose Exciting Game and a Victory for the Athletics.”

30 In the history of major-league baseball, beginning with the conclusion of the first season in the National Association in 1871, only four pitchers have been the career leader in victories at the end of each subsequent season: Al Spalding (1871-1884), Bobby Mathews (1885-1887), Pud Galvin (1888-1902), and Cy Young since 1903.

Unseasonably cool temperatures greeted the record-breaking overflow crowd of 16,800 fans who jammed Sportsman’s Park that day.2 The morning low in St. Louis was a record 43 degrees and temperatures warmed up only to the mid-60s by game time, approximately 15 degrees cooler than the average temperature in St. Louis for that time of year.

Sportsman’s Park was one of the finest facilities in the American Association. The renovated former Grand Avenue Grounds opened in 1881 and was an innovative multipurpose entertainment facility. It included “a cricket field … a baseball diamond, cinder paths for ‘sprinters,’ a handball court, bowling alleys and everything of that sort.”3 Complete with a beer garden in right field and a newly constructed Bulletin Board (out-of-town scoreboard) that owner Chris Van der Ahe had installed in spring of 1883, Sportsman’s Park was an oasis enjoyed by St. Louis working class and immigrant populations.

The Athletics’ captain, Harry Stovey, won the coin toss and elected to send St. Louis to bat while his team took the field. After the Browns were held scoreless in the top of the first, the Athletics quickly took a 2-0 lead in the bottom half of the inning. Left fielder Jud Birchall led off with a single to right field. Stovey then smashed one into the crowd standing in right-center field. Under normal circumstances, the hit surely would have scored the speedy Birchall. However the ad hoc grounds rule in effect for the game awarded Stovey a double and forced Birchall to stop at third. With runners on second and third and no one down, right fielder Lon Knight grounded out to Arlie Latham at third to score Birchall as Stovey advanced to third. A wild pitch by Mullane allowed Stovey to score. The last two batters went out quietly and neither team scored over the next two innings; Fred Corey of the Athletics was the only player to reach base, with a second-inning single.

St. Louis threatened in the top of the fourth when little Hugh Nicol, considered a nineteenth-century forerunner of Ozzie Smith because of his showmanship and acrobatic antics on the field, lined a single to left-center with two out. 4 A passed ball allowed him to advance to second before he stole third. However, Joe Quest watched a third strike go by to end the inning.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Athletics added three runs. Second baseman Cub Stricker singled, stole second, and went to third on a wild pitch. Birchall followed with a slow grounder to first that St. Louis captain Charles Comiskey fielded. He attempted to throw Stricker out at the plate, but Comiskey’s throw was late and catcher Dolan foolishly threw to first to get Birchall while Comiskey was out of position. The ball sailed into right field and Birchall took second. Stovey followed with a single scoring Birchall and continued to second when Dolan mishandled the throw. The Athletics plated their third run of the inning when center fielder Fred Lewis, recently reinstated after an alcohol-related suspension, dropped a fly ball off the bat of Knight.5 At the end of five innings, the Athletics had a commanding 5-0 lead.

The Athletics tacked on another run in the sixth on Corey’s walk and, belying his ninth spot in the batting order, a double by Stricker. They kept piling on in the seventh when Stovey hit another grounds-rule double and scored on two more wild pitches by Mullane. The Browns right-hander was charged with five wild pitches in the game.

The Browns, who had been silenced by Bradley on only two hits through the first seven innings, finally managed to push a run across the plate in the eighth thanks to errors by Stricker and shortstop Mike Moynahan. With one out, Mullane reached safely on Stricker’s miscue at second. After the Browns pitcher stole second, Dolan sent a grounder to shortstop that was mishandled by Moynahan. Dolan also stole second to put runners at second and third. Moynahan atoned for his error on the very next play when Bill Gleason drove the ball hard up the middle. Moynahan made a “splendid stop” and threw Gleason out at first as Mullane scored the Browns’ first run of the game.6 Comiskey ended the inning when he grounded out to Corey at third, stranding Dolan.

The Athletics increased their lead to eight runs by scoring twice more in the bottom of the inning. Corey singled past shortstop to lead off the inning and center fielder Bob Blakiston followed with a single to center. Three batters later, Birchall sent a two-out double over the head of the left fielder that plated two more runs. After eight innings the Athletics lead was 9-1.

The Athletics appeared to be ready to wrap the game up and celebrate a share of the Association title when the first two Browns batters were retired to start the ninth. A hush fell over Sportsman’s Park and the crowd started heading for the exits. However, true to the grit they had shown all season, the Browns failed to go quietly.

Quest singled to center field and advanced to second on a passed ball. Latham followed with what appeared to be a game-ending grounder to Corey at third, but as the remaining crowd rushed onto the diamond, Stovey dropped Corey’s throw, and Quest came around to score amid the confusion. The Athletics claimed he hadn’t touched third, but umpire Charley Daniels, watching the play at first, hadn’t seen it and allowed the run. By this time the crowd covered the whole field in a march to the exits, and it took several minutes to clear the field so play could continue. Once play resumed, left fielder George Strief grounded out to Stricker at second to end the game, which had lasted an hour and 40 minutes.           

Now with a 3½-game lead and four games to play against the second-division Eclipse, who had fallen 15½ games off the pace in the season’s waning weeks, the Athletics appeared to be a shoo-in for the pennant. As it turned out, they earned it by the skin of their teeth, with only an extra-inning victory in the third game allowing them to capture the American Association flag.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the authors relied on Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet. Other sources included the St. Louis Globe-Democrat of September 24, 1883, and the New York Clipper.

Notes

1 “Sporting News: The Athletics Demolish the Local Team,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, September 24, 1883: 9.

2 David Nemec, The Illustrated History of the American Association – Baseball’s Renegade Major League (New York: Lyons & Buford, Publishers, 1994), 53.

3 Edward Achorn, The Summer of Beer and Whiskey (New York: Public Affairs, 2006), 13.

4 Charles F. Faber, “Hugh Nicol,” SABR BioProject. Retrieved from sabr.org/bioproj/person/9cdc28a3.

5 “Notes and Comments,” Sporting Life, September 24, 1883: 6.

6 “St. Louis Badly Beaten: The Champion Pennant About Won,” The Times (Philadelphia), September 24, 1883: 1.

On September 28 Philadelphia held a 1½-game lead over St. Louis. With the pennant in the balance, manager Lew Simmons sent the well-rested fan favorite Jumping Jack Jones to the pitcher’s box.1 The right-handed Jones was a late-season pickup by the Athletics, who needed to fortify their arm-weary pitching. He entered the game with a combined record of 10-7 and a mark of 4-2 with the Athletics.2 Jones was opposed by ace Eclipse right-hander Guy Hecker (28-22).

Louisville captain Joe Gerhardt lost the toss and the Athletics elected to bat last. Philadelphia’s Jones was working on five days’ rest and the paltry crowd of 500 at Eclipse Park hoped he might perform his famous leap. The Louisville Courier-Journal noted that he “caused the spectators much amusement by his antics in the box.”3 Pete Browning led off the affair with a weak fly to left fielder Jud Birchall. Jack Gleason singled to left but was doubled up when Hecker sliced a ball to Mike Moynahan at shortstop. The Athletics were also retired quickly; Birchall flied out to Leech Maskrey in the outfield, Harry Stovey struck out, and Lon Knight was retired by Gerhardt.

The contest remained scoreless until the fourth inning, when the Athletics took the lead. Jones retired Eclipse hitters Jack Gleason, Hecker, and Sleeper Sullivan in order. Knight led off for the Athletics in the bottom of the frame and hit a weak groundball to first base. Next, Moynahan singled to left field, then stole second. With Jack O’Brien at bat, Hecker uncorked a wild pitch and Moynahan scrambled home for the game’s first run. Hecker then walked O’Brien (seven balls were required for a walk in 1883). To make matters worse, O’Brien stole second and scored on Fred Corey’s single. Joe Gerhardt and Gleason were then retired to end the frame with the Athletics leading 2-0.

Not content to surrender the game without a fight, the Eclipse rallied to tie the game in the fifth inning. Jumbo Lathamreached base on an error and stole second. He scored on a double by Maskrey. Chicken Wolf was then fielded out by third baseman Fred Corey. Next, Tom McLaughlin fouled out to O’Brien. With two outs and one on, Gerhardt was safe at first on an error by Stovey at first base, and Maskrey scored to tie the game, 2-2.

In the Athletics’ sixth with one out, Moynahan and O’Brien reached base safely. Moynahan scored on a wild throw. Fred Corey then singled to left field. Both O’Brien and Corey scored on Bob Blakiston’s single to center field. Blakiston was caught off second base for the second out. Hecker walked Cub Stricker with two outs but got out of the inning when Jones hit into a fielder’s choice, with McLaughlin recording the third out at second base. At the end of six innings, with Hecker laboring to find the strike zone, the Athletics held a 5-2 lead.

The Eclipse took the lead in the top of the seventh inning as Jumping Jack began to falter. The Philadelphia Press noted that intense excitement abounded at Eclipse Park. Jones walked Latham to open the frame and he went to second on a single by Maskrey. Both runners scored on a double to right by Wolf. Knight fielded the ball in the outfield and the relay throw from Cub Stricker sailed over O’Brien’s head, allowing Wolf to score. Unsettled, Jones walked McLaughlin for the second base on balls of the inning. Gerhardt flied out to Knight and Browning flied to Birchall. With two out and McLaughlin on first, Jones surrendered a single to Gleason. McLaughlin scored when Hecker helped his own cause with a single. Sullivan grounded out to first to end the inning with the Eclipse in the lead, 6-5.

The thousands of fans outside the Philadelphia Press offices fell silent each time the game was deadlocked. Now, with the Athletics down by a run in the late innings, the throng were distraught.4 The Athletics were again on the brink of losing another opportunity to clinch the pennant as they had in the previous two games. Finally, the A’s tied the game in the bottom of the eighth inning. Moynahan hit a ball to third and reached second base on an errant throw by Gleason. He advanced to third on O’Brien’s fly out to Maskrey and scored on a hit by Corey that tied the game, 6-6.

Jones and Hecker made quick work of their opposition in the ninth inning and the contest moved into extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, Hecker walked the hobbling Stovey5, who limped to second when Hecker uncorked a wild pitch. Knight then ripped a ball to center, advancing Stovey to third. Moynahan strode to the plate with Philadelphia’s season and pennant on the line. “Hecker held the ball, stared at the plate, took a run, and fired. Moynahan swung and connected. At the crack of the bat, left fielder Pete Browning and center fielder Leech Maskrey dashed for the ball as it shot between them.” Stovey easily staggered home and plated his league-leading 110th run scored.6

The Athletics won, 7-6, and clinched the pennant. The Philadelphia Press updated the scoreboard outside its office at 6:30 P.M. to show the victorious tally. “The anxious crowd caught sight of it in a second, and when it was seen that the Athletics had won the game, such a shout as rent the heavens has seldom been heard before, round following round of cheers.”7 At the Athletic team headquarters a similar scene took place. A silk banner with the words “CHAMPION ATHLETIC” in large gold letters was hung across the street. Preparations for a victory parade were being made by the club brass as soon as the team returned home from Louisville three days later.

Philadelphia was electrified by the victory. “Upon receipt of the news of this victory in Philadelphia immense crowds blocked the streets in the vicinity of the bulletin boards displayed by the daily papers, and the excitement was similar to that with which the news of some great battle was greeted during war-time,” a contemporary report said.8 A reception committee of prominent city politicians was assembled and left Philadelphia to meet the champion Athletics in Harrisburg, where speeches were made on behalf of the club. The train stopped again in Lancaster, where excited fans cheered the wrong passenger car but stampeded to the players’ car when they realized the mistake. Two bold individuals boarded the car searching for Jack Jones. The train finally pulled into Philadelphia’s Broad Street Station at 7:45 P.M. and the team was met by a crush of people numbering in the thousands. “Fully ten thousand men and boys, several hundred horses and one mule … took part in the parade,” the Philadelphia Times reported.9 Admirers cheered until they were hoarse and the throng outside the station swarmed the city blocks surrounding the station. “So dense was the crowd that the officers for ten or fifteen minutes could not force an opening for the carriages in which the players embarked at the station door.”10

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the notes, the author consulted baseball-reference.com and retrosheet.org.

Notes

1 The term “manager” did not mean the same thing in the nineteenth century that it does today. Lon Knight was the Athletic captain, which roughly equated to a present-day field manager. Simmons entered into the club’s ownership group with Charlie Mason and Billy Sharsig late in 1881 and was made the business manager. The Philadelphia Times reported on September 28 issue that Mason told Knight to pitch Jones in the series’ first game but that the decision was overruled and Bobby Mathews instead pitched the first game.

2 Jones was 6-5 with a 3.50 ERA for the National League’s Detroit Wolverines before joining the Athletics.

3 “The Champions,” Courier-Journal, September 29, 1883: 8.

4 Edward Achorn, The Summer of Beer and Whiskey (New York: Public Affairs, 2013), 226.

5 Stovey sprained his ankle badly when he slipped on the turf chasing a foul ball in a game against St. Louis on September 21. Achorn, The Summer of Beer and Whiskey (New York: Public Affairs, 2013), 210.

6 Achorn, 227.

7 “At the Athletics’ Home,” Philadelphia Press, September 29, 1883: 1.

8 “Base-Ball Champions,” Harper’s Weekly, Vol. XXVIL, No. 1399 (1883): 654.

9 “The Base Ball Parade,” Philadelphia Times, October 2, 1883: 1.

10 “The Base Ball Parade.”