Account of Baseball Game Played in Pelham on June 9, 1884: The Country Club Beat the Knickerbockers, 42 to 22

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I long have researched the history of baseball in the Town of Pelham. For references to the many previous postings and articles I have written about the subject, see the end of this posting, below.  Today's posting to the Historic Pelham Blog transcribes a fascinating article published in 1884 describing an important baseball game.

"The Country Club Victory.

A special train left the Grand Central Depot on Monday [June 9, 1884] at three o'clock for Bartow on-the-Sound, having on board the friends and members of the Knickerbocker and Country clubs.  The much talked of match game of baseball between the picked nines of these clubs was to take place at four o'clock on the grounds of the Country club and in consequence of the interest it created, a large number of the residents of Westchester County drove over to witness the contest.  The afternoon was singularly fine, and although the sun beat down upon the field a light breeze blew making the heat, at least, tolerable.  The spectators, who were largely composed of the sisters, the cousins, the aunts and the wives of the players, watched the progress of the game with keen interest, applauding every good play and shouting with evident enjoyment as player after player clutched the air wildly in the vain attempt to catch a flying ball.  The heroes of the bat were not always complimented upon their appearance, for it was apparent that in many instances the tailor made the man.  The fat men, of whom there were many, afforded an amusing spectacle as they ran puffing after well hit balls.

The gentlemen who played in the Knickerbocker nine were Messrs. W. Bininger, captain; Spotswood D. Schenck, pitcher; Stephen Peabody, catcher; Gerald Hoyt, Henry Hoyt, M. Ward, R. Rives, H.P. Rogers and P. Allen.

Country Club:  -- George Adee, captain; William Sands, pitcher; S. H. Furman, catcher; F. Adee, H.L. Stevens, James Waterbury, Oliver Iselin, William Kent and E. Adee.

Mr. Deming, of Yale, '72, a veteran ball player, officiated as umpire and Mr. Howard Potter kept the score.

The Knickerbockers won the toss and went to the bat.  The score was as follows:

Knickerbockers......8....1.....6...3...4 -- 22
Country Club.........8...10...14...4...6 -- 42

The kindly shades of night fell on the field at the end of the fifth inning, enveloping the players in the darkness, so the game was called closed, the other innings being indefinitely postponed.

Mr. James Waterbury presented the silver challenge to the Country club, and the wearied players retired to the club house, where a dinner for twenty was served.  Mr. Hadden drove over from Yonkers in his brake, with Mrs. Hadden, Miss Lansing and Mr. Isaac Iselin.  Mr. Waterbury on his brake, with Mrs. William Jay, the Misses Bulkley and Mr. Rives.  Among others present were Mr. Gerald Hoyt, Mrs. Oliver Iselin, Mr. and Mrs. Lorillard Spencer, Mr. Cantor, Mr. and Mrs. Newbold Edgar, Mr. and Mrs. William Hoyt, Mrs. Richard Irvin, Mrs. Howard Cotter, Mr. Ray Miller, Mr. Bartow, Mr. Alfred Conkling, Mr. Howard Conkling, Mr. and Mrs. F. Lorillard, Jr., Mrs. Louis Lorillard, Mrs. Williams Sands, Mrs. Kent, Miss LeRoy and Mrs. Jacob Lorillard."

Source:  The Country Club Victory, The New Rochelle Pioneer, Jun. 14, 1884, p. ?, col. 5 (no page number printed on newspaper page).

Tuesday, March 9, 2010:  Earliest Reference Yet to Organized Baseball Played in Pelham.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010:  Photograph of Only Known 19th Century Women's Baseball Team in Pelham, New York.

Thursday, January 28, 2010:  News About Pelham Manor and Pelhamville in 1895 - Lighting Districts, Gas for the Village, Baseball and More.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009:  Baseball Games Played by the City Island Beldenites and the City Island Rivals in 1884. 

Monday, December 14, 2009:  Baseball Games Played by the City Island Shamrocks in 1889. 

Friday, December 11, 2009:  Earliest Reference Yet to Baseball Played in Pelham. 

Thursday, December 10, 2009:  More 19th Century Baseball and Firefighting References.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009:  City Island Shamrocks Base Ball Club Changed its Name to the Minnefords in 1888.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009:  Even More Early References to Baseball Played in Pelham.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009:  Yet Another Reference to Early Baseball in Pelham.

Monday, November 23, 2009:  Additional Brief Accounts of Baseball Played in Pelham in the 19th Century.

Friday, November 20, 2009:  More Accounts of Early Baseball Played in Pelham.

Friday, November 13, 2009:  1894 Account of Developments in Pelham Including a Reference to a Baseball Game Played that Year.

Thursday, November 12, 2009:  More Early References to Baseball Played in Pelham.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009:  Score of June 1, 1887 Baseball Game Between the Country Club and The Knickerbocker Club.

Friday, March 20, 2009:  Another Reference to 19th Century Baseball in Pelham.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008:  Another Brief Reference to 19th Century Baseball in Pelham.

Monday, November 26, 2007: Box Score of a Baseball Game Played on Travers Island in Pelham Manor in July 1896.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007: Baseball on Travers Island During the Summer of 1897.

Friday, July 20, 2007: Account of Early Baseball in Pelham: Pelham vs. the New York Athletic Club on Travers Island in 1897

Friday, November 10, 2006: The Location of Another Early Baseball Field in Pelham

Monday, October 9, 2006: Reminiscences of Val Miller Shed Light on Late 19th Century Baseball in Pelham and the Early Development of the Village of North Pelham

Thursday, March 23, 2006: Baseball Fields Opened on the Grounds of the Westchester Country Club in Pelham on April 4, 1884

Tuesday, January 31, 2006: Another Account of Baseball Played in Pelham in the 1880s Is Uncovered

Thursday, October 6, 2005: Does This Photograph Show Members of the "Pelham Manor Junior Base Ball Team"?

Thursday, September 15, 2005: Newspaper Item Published in 1942 Sheds Light on Baseball in 19th Century Pelham

Thursday, February 10, 2005: New Discoveries Regarding Baseball in 19th Century Pelham

Bell, Blake A., Baseball in Late 19th Century Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 17, Apr. 23, 2004, p. 8, col. 2.

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Even More Early References to Baseball Played in Pelham

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I continue to locate even more references to early baseball played in Pelham.  Today's posting collects a couple of references published in 1886.  One contained in the Society column of The Evening Telegram [New York City] erroneously refers to the Country Club Giants (referenced in the item as the Country Club nine) as a cricket team.  The references are transcribed below, each followed by a citation to its source.

"SOCIETY . . . . .

Yesterday the Knickerbocker Club nine were to play the Country Club nine their third annual match of baseball for the challenge cup.  The Tantivy coach to Pelham has been doing fairly well, but the rush is over and seats can be had without much trouble.  Of course on Tuesday, what with the Paulding-Freeman wedding and the Tuxedo entertainment, the coach would have gone empty had not Mr. Roosevelt filled it with a large delegation of nurses and children, Mrs. Roosevelt being on the box seat."

Source:  Society, The Evening Telegram - New York, Jun. 5, 1886, p. 4, col. 6.


"SOCIETY . . . . . .

The cricket clubs have made great strides during the last few years, although the game has never been very popular in this country, and is justly claimed by Britishers as their own national hobby.  The defeat of the Country Club nine by the Rockaway Hunt Club, about a week since, by a score of 17 to 14, has caused some wry faces at Pelham and New Rochelle, where not a doubt was entertained of their success.  The Country Club is so unused to discouragement in any of its ventures or undertakings that it has yet to learn to bear defeat with equanimity."

Source:  Society, The Evening Telegram - New York, Jul. 17, 1886, p. 4, col. 6.

"PELHAM AND CITY ISLAND.

The Essex Club, of Orange, N.J., beat the Country Club nine last Saturday [July 9, 1886], at baseball.

Quite extensive alterations, and improvements have been and are being made, around the depot at Bartow.

Messrs. A. B. Wood & Son, are very busy constructing small yachts and row boats.  The latter is their specialty. 

There is probably no one on City Island, who is reaping a richer harvest now that the yachting season has set in, than Mr. Wm. Darling.  His reputation as a sail-maker is known all over the country, and yachtsmen come from far and near, to have sails made for their craft.

They are beginning to spin fish stories at City Island.  A few weeks ago quantities of large bass were being caught at Pelham Bridge, and now word comes that blue fish are being caught in great abundance in the bay.  Those old fishermen can spin good yarns, but you must not question them too closely. 

Grand concert at Gurney's Hall, Pelhamville to-night, under the management of Mrs. and Mr. I. C. Hill, for the benefit of the band.  The performers will include besides residents of Pelhamville, Mrs. Hatfield, Miss Logan, Prof. Praeger and Mr. Lamb, of Mt. Vernon.  Misses Patterson and Metz, of New Rochelle and Prof. Hunt, of Portchester.  The concert promises to be an exceptionally good one."

Source:  Pelham and City Island, Mount Vernon Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jul. 15, 1886, p. ?, col. 2 (the newspaper page has no date or page number, but contains a reference making certain that it was published on Friday, July 15, 1886).

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Score of June 1, 1887 Baseball Game Between The Country Club and The Knickerbocker Club

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

Regular readers of the Historic Pelham Blog know that I have tried to document every reference I find about baseball played in Pelham during the 19th century.  For some of the postings, see:

Friday, March 20, 2009:  Another Reference to 19th Century Baseball in Pelham.

Monday, November 26, 2007: Box Score of a Baseball Game Played on Travers Island in Pelham Manor in July 1896.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007: Baseball on Travers Island During the Summer of 1897.

Friday, July 20, 2007: Account of Early Baseball in Pelham: Pelham vs. the New York Athletic Club on Travers Island in 1897

Friday, November 10, 2006: The Location of Another Early Baseball Field in Pelham

Monday, October 9, 2006: Reminiscences of Val Miller Shed Light on Late 19th Century Baseball in Pelham and the Early Development of the Village of North Pelham

Thursday, March 23, 2006: Baseball Fields Opened on the Grounds of the Westchester Country Club in Pelham on April 4, 1884

Tuesday, January 31, 2006: Another Account of Baseball Played in Pelham in the 1880s Is Uncovered

Thursday, October 6, 2005: Does This Photograph Show Members of the "Pelham Manor Junior Base Ball Team"?

Thursday, September 15, 2005: Newspaper Item Published in 1942 Sheds Light on Baseball in 19th Century Pelham

Thursday, February 10, 2005: New Discoveries Regarding Baseball in 19th Century Pelham

Bell, Blake A., Baseball in Late 19th Century Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 17, Apr. 23, 2004, p. 8, col. 2.

I have located another brief reference that reflects a baseball game played between the Country Club baseball team and the famed Knickerbocker Club on Wednesday, June 1, 1887.  The brief reference indicates that the Pelham-based team beat the Knickerbocker Club 37 to 34.  Here is the reference:

"The Country Club, at Bartow-on-the-Sound, is to have tennis tournaments on Monday and Tuesday, in which the Staten Island and New-Rochelle clubs will participate.  The Country Club defeated the Knickerbocker Club nine at baseball by a score of 37 to 34, on Wednesday."

Source:  The Week in Society, New-York Daily Tribune, Jun. 7, 1885, p. 2, col. 6.

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
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Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

Another Reference to 19th Century Baseball in Pelham

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.
Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.

Those who follow the Historic Pelham Blog know that I have posted numerous items regarding early organized baseball in Pelham. In fact, I have written extensively on the topic. Among the material I have prepared on the topic are the following:

Monday, November 26, 2007: Box Score of a Baseball Game Played on Travers Island in Pelham Manor in July 1896.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007: Baseball on Travers Island During the Summer of 1897.

Friday, July 20, 2007: Account of Early Baseball in Pelham: Pelham vs. the New York Athletic Club on Travers Island in 1897

Friday, November 10, 2006: The Location of Another Early Baseball Field in Pelham

Monday, October 9, 2006: Reminiscences of Val Miller Shed Light on Late 19th Century Baseball in Pelham and the Early Development of the Village of North Pelham

Thursday, March 23, 2006: Baseball Fields Opened on the Grounds of the Westchester Country Club in Pelham on April 4, 1884

Tuesday, January 31, 2006: Another Account of Baseball Played in Pelham in the 1880s Is Uncovered

Thursday, October 6, 2005: Does This Photograph Show Members of the "Pelham Manor Junior Base Ball Team"?

Thursday, September 15, 2005: Newspaper Item Published in 1942 Sheds Light on Baseball in 19th Century Pelham

Thursday, February 10, 2005: New Discoveries Regarding Baseball in 19th Century Pelham

Bell, Blake A., Baseball in Late 19th Century Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 17, Apr. 23, 2004, p. 8, col. 2.

Recently I ran across a snippet within an article on another topic that details a baseball game between the Knickerbockers and the Country Club team from Pelham on June 16, 1884. Below is the brief excerpt followed by a citation to its source.

"THE WEEK IN SOCIETY,

-----

BEGINNING OF THE WEDDING MONTH.

-----

MANY WEDDINGS OF NOTE--A GAME OF BASEBALL BETWEEN SOCIAL CLUBS.

* * * * * *

A good deal of sport is being anticipated in connection with the baseball match arranged between nines of the Knickerbocker and Country clubs, which will be played at the latter's grounds a week from to-morrow. William Binninger is to be the doughty captain of the Knickerbockers, and William Kent of the Country men. It is expected that big scores will be made by both sides. . . ."

Source: The Week in Society, New-York Tribune, Jun. 8, 1884, p. 7, col. 4.

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