September 4, 1891: Beaneaters fall to Colts in a meeting with ‘Grampa’ Anson

As the calendar turned to September in 1891, the Beaneaters headed to Chicago for a series with the Colts. This matchup between the league’s top two teams produced one of the most memorable games of the season thanks to Chicago’s legendary captain. Boston arrived trailing the Colts in the standings by six games and with other concerns as well. Herman Long would play the first game against the advice of his physician, having been diagnosed with bronchitis just days before in Cincinnati.1 Mike Kelly also entered the series with an injured right hand. He attempted to play through it. However, the first ball hit to him in game one caused him to reinjure the hand and miss the rest of the contest as well as the entirety of game two.2

After falling to the Colts in the first game of the series thanks to some poor pitching by John Clarkson, the teams met again on September 4 in front of 3,500 fans at West Side Park.3 The Boston Globe described the weather as “entirely too cold for comfort.”4 However, it was the antics of Cap Anson that made this contest of particular note. Anson played the entire game dressed as an old man complete with “pale horse-tail whiskers and bald wig.”5 The Globe wrote, “Anson created a sensation by appearing on the field with flowing whiskers of snowy whiteness and long hair. He played the game throughout in this disguise and the crowd seemed to enjoy the sight.”6

It’s not as if baseball’s all-time leader in hits, runs, and RBIs since 1886 would need to go out of his way to draw attention to himself. Rather, Anson’s behavior was in reaction to the press coverage he would routinely get. For some time, newspapers had been focusing on Anson’s long experience when referring to his play. As Leonard Washburne noted in the Daily Inter-Ocean, “It seems that some of the newspapers have fallen into the habit of calling Mr. Anson “Old Anse” and “Uncle” and “Grampa.”7 The newspaper went on to add that the press had even gone so far as to “have printed pictures of him that look like the Santa Claus in a dry goods window.”8 Anson decided to have some fun with the idea. Washburne described the scene at West Side Park that day:

“It was a day off for that merry rogue Mr. Anson. He did not make a hit. He just fooled around and fondled his whiskers and conversed laughingly with the people on the bleachers. He pranced up and down in the box and dared Mr. Nichols to wipe off his beard. His eyes twinkled like stars in the frosty night and when there was no one else handy to talk to he prattled to himself.”9

The game itself pitted Kid Nichols, who had never beaten the Colts, against Vinegar Tom Vickery, and although Anson did not get a hit, he did figure prominently in several key plays. Both pitchers prevented any scoring until Chicago broke through in the eighth inning.

Boston was unable to capitalize on two scoring opportunities early in the game. The first of these occurred in the third. With one out, Herman Long doubled off the left-field wall. Harry Stovey then hit a ball to Fred Pfeffer at second base that was mishandled. Stovey was able to reach first safely on the play. Both Stovey and Long were thrown out in a botched double-steal attempt. Schriver threw out Stovey at second and an alert Pfeffer then threw home to get Long at the plate for the second out, and essentially ended the threat.

The fourth inning provided another opportunity for Boston to break through. Bobby Lowe led off by doubling along the left-field foul line. Billy Nash attempted a sacrifice back toward Vickery, whose throw to third was late and both runners were safe. Nash later took second on a passed ball. This set up one of the pivotal plays of the game which involved Chicago’s disguised captain. Tommy Tucker came to the plate with one out and runners at second and third. He hit a grounder “toward Grampa’s waving beard”10 at first base. Old Man Anson was able to tag out Tucker and throw home in time to get Lowe at the plate for a double play. A second chance had been squandered.

Boston, having failed to take advantage of a pair of doubles in the third and fourth innings, depended upon Nichols to hold Chicago in check. He was successful up until the eighth. The Colts’ bats came to life in the top of that inning. Fred Pfeffer started off with a single past Joe Quinn. Vickery then sacrificed him to second. Pop Schriver drove a ball to right field that was handled by Steve Brodie for the second out. Jimmy Ryan then stepped to the plate and drew a walk, giving the Colts their second baserunner. This brought up Walt Wilmot, who took the first pitch from Nichols for a strike and missed the second. Things looked manageable for Boston with two outs and two strikes on the batter. However, Wilmot smacked the third offering over the South Wall in left field. The Colts now led 3-0 and weren’t done yet. Bill Dahlen followed Wilmot’s blast with a single past Tucker at first and proceeded to steal second base. The whiskered Anson then came up and flied to center for what should have been the third out. However, Bobby Lowe “got sun in his eyes” 11 and muffed the play, allowing Dahlen to come around and score another run for Chicago to make it 4-0. Nichols then got Cliff Carroll to fly out to Stovey in left field to end the threat.

The Colts added to their lead when they returned to bat in the ninth. Jimmy Cooney led off by hitting a ball to Stovey in left field that was muffed. He was able to make it to second before the ball made it back in. Pfeffer sacrificed Cooney to third and Vickery struck out to make two outs. Schriver came up next and hit a ball into center field that scored Cooney and made the score 5-0. Nichols then struck out Ryan for the third out.

The Beaneaters came to the plate in the ninth needing five runs. Bobby Lowe got them off to a good start by singling up the middle. Billy Nash followed suit with single to left. Steve Brodie then came up and was able to force Pfeffer to take an out at first and allow the baserunners to advance one bag. Tucker then hit a triple to center field scoring both Lowe and Nash. Boston now trailed 5-2. Joe Quinn then grounded to Cooney which allowed Tucker to come home from third. It was now 5-3. However, Kid Nichols struck out to end the game, and Boston’s rally fell short by a whisker … or two.

The Beaneaters were ultimately undone by their failure to take advantage of early opportunities and timely hitting on the part of the Colts. The Boston Globe summarized that “Chicago won by opportune batting and two damaging muffs by Stovey.”12 And as important as the result would prove to the pennant chase, Washburne was correct to observe that “Mr. Anson’s whiskers dwarfed the game.”13

Sources

In addition to sources listed in the Notes, the author also used the following for background information:

Fleitz, David. “Cap Anson,” SABR BioProject. sabr.org/bioproj/person/9b42f875.

“Hits Were Scarce: Boston Wins From Chicago by Narrow Margin,” Boston Globe, September 6, 1891: 4.

“Kelly’s Popcorn: Presented to Him on the Field of Battle,” Boston Globe, September 1, 1891: 5.

“Bostons Couldn’t Win; Cincinnati Reds Left Them Far Behind,” Boston Globe, September 2, 1891: 5.

“In McGinty’s Class: As He of Song, so Bostons Went Down,” Boston Globe, September 3, 1891: 5.

Spatz, Lyle. Bad Bill Dahlen: The Rollicking Life and Times of an Early Baseball Star (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co., 2004).

Notes

1 “Downed Again: Boston Leaguers Fall Easy Prey to Colts,” Boston Globe, September 4, 1891: 5.

2 Ibid.

3 “Bostons Not in It: Anson’s ‘Colt’s’ Easily Down Them,” Boston Globe, September 5, 1891: 5.

4 Ibid.

5 “His White Whiskers. Grampa Looking Young Again,” Chicago Herald, September 5, 1891: 7.

6 “Downed Again.”

7 Leonard Washburne, “Boston Falls Again. Another Victory Securely Packed and Labeled by Uncle,” Daily Inter-Ocean, September 5, 1891: 2.

8 Ibid.

9 Ibid.

10 “His White Whiskers.”

11 “Boston Falls Again.”

12 “Bostons Not in It.”

13 “Boston Falls Again.”