John Clapp and Club Base Ball in Ithaca

Catcher John Clapp jumped the Philadelphia Athletics on July 17, 1875 to play for his home town Ithaca team. They were playing the famous Binghamton Cricket Base Ball Club for the championship of central New York. Ithaca won 8-5 as Clapp was fined $200 by the Athletics for leaving his team. At the end of the season when his final appeal was rejected, he resigned from the Philadelphia club. In a bidding war the St. Louis Browns National League club hired catcher Clapp for $3,000 a season.

John Clapp had initially left the Ithaca Athletic Club (IAC) in 1870 to become a professional ballplayer. His obituary claims that he learned his skills from the IAC. He played into shape each spring with the local club before joining his professional team. Clapp’s letter to Harry Wright asking for a tryout evoked a classic reply that gives one an intimate window through which one can see early 19th century baseball. Wright remarked that Clapp seemed very confident of holding his own in any position with the best of them — “the kind of player I want” — but that he wished to ask a few more questions.

He wanted to know what kind of pitching Clapp caught the previous year and how fast it was; what other position did he play; did Clapp think he could play third base; was he confident he could “catch a swift pitcher” like Spalding “up to or close behind” the batter; was he able to fill in satisfactorily for any of the infielders who might be injured; could he bat swift pitching with confidence; was he prepared to come at his own risk and show what he could do? Wright added dryly that he was taking it for granted that “you are gentlemanly and temperate at all times.”

In the early days of baseball, a team issued a challenge by correspondence or public notice. Once the gauntlet let was picked up, the two managers negotiated the ground rules, which included game site, gate division, and a banquet. When the two teams met at the selected site, a mutually agreeable ball and umpire were chosen. The dignified Professor Horatio S. White of Cornell University was frequently called on to umpire. He was the arbitrator for a game in 1877 between the Syracuse Stars and St. Louis Browns p1ayed in Ithaca.

After the 3 p.m. starting time, the game took one to one and a half hours to play. Then the two squads would meet in the club’s house or local dining tavern to enjoy the tale-swapping companionship. The most memorable occasion of the Ithaca’s 1875 season was the banquet held for the Norwich Comet Club at the IAC’s gymnasium. John Clapp resided as the master of ceremonies and baseball wit. Norwich responded with a public letter of gratitude that was published in the Ithaca Journal.

The Ithaca Athletics or Ithacas, played the 1875 season at the Willow Avenue Fairgrounds, East and West Railroad avenues between Willow Avenue and North Cayuga. Today, Short Street dissects the old Fairgrounds.

The 1875 opening day lineup was Jillett, SS; Sandy Burns, CF; Smith, C; Aaron Clapp, RF (John’s younger brother); Finch, P; Denmead, LF; Treman, 2B; John Vant Jr., 3B; and William Ireland, 1B. Substitutes during the 1875 season included Spencer, Frawley and John Clapp.

Late September found Ithaca hosting the professional Athletics from Philadelphia. The visitors, sparked by catcher John Clapp, routed the Ithacans, 12-0. Hall of Famer Cap Anon played first base for Philly and scored three runs on four hits. Three days later in a return match, Ithaca lost, 8-4. John Clapp, suffering from Puffy hands, did not play. The great Anson drew the collar.

In October, the citizens of Richford offered a $60 purse for a contest between the Ithacas and the Oswego Amaterus. The Amateurs consisted primarily of Binghamton players, and Ithaca again called on home-grown John Clapp. Ithaca’s Frawley hurled for Oswego and defeated his home team, 11-6. The purse was split $40 to the winners and $20 to the losers. Each member of the winning team got four bucks. Ithaca later won a return engagement, but no purse was offered. The rubber game was canceled due to snow.

By now the enthusiasm for baseball ran so high high that the directors of the Ithaca Athletic Club undertook a campaign to collect $2,500 by selling $100 allotments to raise the standard of baseball in Ithaca. The next year saw the short-lived professional era in Ithaca baseball.

Professional Base Ball

Since the town’s businessmen had subscribed to the IAC’s fund-raising drive during the winter, the beginning of the spring was eagerly awaited. April saw youngsters playing ball in the streets, the Ithacas practicing on the Willow Avenue grounds, and a convocation of central New York baseballists in Syracuse, N.Y.

Early in the summer of 1876, Driving Park was built in an area now occupied by Topps Supermarket. Admission to the new park was 25 cents with 15 cents extra for a covered grandstand seat. Ladies were admitted free of charge.

The directors put together a strong team to compete for the championship in 1876. Their roster included J.H. Richmond, C; Nick Alcott, P; J.G. Smith, SS: Williams Ireland, 1B; R. Treman, 2B; J. Burns Jr., 3B; Hick Carpenter, inf/of; E. Spencer, CF; Aaron Clapp, RF; and McCaffery, LF.

Richmond was a seasoned slugger from the Philadelphia Athletics, where he had been a teammate of John Clapp. Nick Alcott had pitched previously with Shibe’s Base Ball Club in Philadelphia. Later in the same season, Lew Say, SS, John Piggott, 3B, A. Lawrence, P/inf, and Chub Sullivan, 1B, were added to the squad.

The Ithacas found their May schedule practically washed away. They played only five games between April 22 and June 8. By June 12 the team had seven wins and two loses. Both defeats, before large home crowds, were ate the hand of the Syracuse Stars. Failure to beat a close rival overshadowed sterling performances against Rochester and Binghamton in the eyes of the fans.

The local newspaper further misled supporters as to the strength of the local club with such statements as: “A very fine contest is anticipated and although there is, of course, no certainty as to the result, it is quite generally believed that the Ithacas will be successful.” The fans went to Driving Park expecting to defeat the Syracuse Stars, who were one of the finest ball clubs of the late 1870s. The populace wanted a team like the Stars, which beat National League nine.

The town’s newspaper, the Ithaca Journal, led what seemed to be a vendetta against the team. The directors were publicly admonished to present their ballplayers in top physical condition, reduce the team’s laziness, and deter its tendency toward dissipation. In a late season contest, several Ithacas played for Binghamton against the Syracuse Stars and it was trumpeted in Syracuse newspapers. The Ithaca Journal defended the team by stating, “Syracuse papers erred … there are no revolvers on Ithaca’s team. The Directors would not retain such, as they uphold the purity of the game.”

“Revolvers” were those who jumped contracts. Since the many clubs and leagues of the 1870s had no written agreements with each other, team officials pirated whomever they wished. Standard player contracts went from April 1 to Nov. 1. Players received pay at no other time. A club usually sounded out many baseballists before choosing their team. Players sought to protect themselves by initiating deals rather than waiting for the owners.

The Ithaca Journal also suggested that the captain should police the crowd and remove unruly spectators. Captain Hick Carpenter resigned after the appearance of that article. An unfortunate incident precipitated this public advice. On Sept. 15 at the Firemen’s Day game, the umpire called that game in the sixth inning in the anticipation of rain. Ithaca had scored six times, had two runners on base and had only one out at the time. The score reverted to the fifth inning, or 12-2 in favor of Auburn. The crowd turned ugly and several fights broke out.

The high point of the season came a few days later on Sept. 19 when Ithaca battled the National League Hartfords in 11 innings before losing 5-4 to Hall of Fame curveballer Candy Cummings. Two days later, Ithaca walloped a good Detroit ball club, 11-1. They followed with two victories over Binghamton, but once again failed to defeat the Star club of Syracuse.

Al Spalding of league champion Chicago called off a late date in October on short notice. When word of the Chicago postponement was received, the directors disbanded the team. Neither Captain Carpenter, the Ithaca Athletic Club, nor the Ithaca Journal could fill empty seats. Fans stayed away because of disappointments in club capabilities, uncertainties due to inclement weather, and last minute cancellations by League clubs. Little hope was given at the time for another season of IAC baseball.

Hick Carpenter went to Syracuse and later to the National League, where he was a left-handed third baseman for 12 years. He, Lew Say and John Clapp played for Cincinnati in 1880. John J. Richmond spent three years in the National League and four in the American Association. Aaron Clapp played for Troy and Hornell while Alcott went to Binghamton in 1877 and moved with the team en masse to Utica the following season. Smith shortstopped at Buffalo in 1877 and Piggott returned home to star for Lowell. McCaffery went to Detroit, Chub Sullivan spent the next two years at Cincinnati before heading east to finish his career, and the rest of the team became amateurs again.

Its one excursion into professional ball seemed to satisfy the IAC as it never again supported professional baseball. Club baseball was not sponsored for many years. Public support instead shifted to collegiate athletics.

The Ithacas compiled a 45-27 record including a combined 21-13 versus upstate rivals Auburn, Binghamton, Rochester and Syracuse. These stats were reported by J.G. Burns.