Friday, October 20, 2023

Early California Leagues

    Calls Billy Incell first great California-bred pitcher - Fred McKenzie first African-American CA pro

1881-11-05 pic + profile of L.N. David
1882-10-13 obit of L.N. David's wife

1878 Pacific Coast League

batting averages

1879 California League

5-25 California 3, Mutual 2. 
6-01 Oakland 10, Mutual 6. 

1880 California League
Carlos Bauer-compiled stats

1880-3-16 uniforms
1880-4-07  Bay Cities are costliest team in league -  McVey relegated to first base - Preble & Stewart replaced by eastern pros 
7-01 "League formed with agreement that Saturday afternoon games should be played at the Oakland grounds, corner of Center and 14th Streets, and Sunday games at the San Francisco Recreation Grounds." Bay Cities have left league for Pacific League because agreement broken - clubs were trying to get all games played in San Francisco. 
7-03 down to two clubs

1880-4-06 double play made. 

1880 Pacific League
1880 PACL on Stats Crew

1880-4-07 battery arrives from east
6-20 Clubs are bad - public opinion agrees
7-01  Pacific League plays at Oakland grounds

1881 New California League

on BR guy spelled Rowan in news actually Rowen
all games played at Oakland Baseball Grounds on Sundays  location of park
        4-12 field being greatly improved
note: California League - w/ Athletics, Renos, Knickerbockers - diff league
3-20 field sustained damage over winter due to unauthorized gypsy usage
3-24 to use Spaulding balls and Wallace scorebooks - before each game, $10 to be put into championship fund

I have boxes for 25 games

MG California Wallace
4-3 Mystics 9, Californias 1 - Californias make 20 errors - bad game
    Wallace is a Sunday school scholar - played last year as Russell
    "Of the Mystics, Megan, the pitcher, appeared to be the most promising player, and, though not at all brilliant in delivery, even appearing awkward at times, he possesses a knack of puzzling the batter that will make him a valuable acquisition to any nine should he improve with practice.
4-10 no game - only CASL
A no game
4-24 large crowd - fans in trees etc. - as game progressed began to leave bc of badness - wanted $ back
        Wallace, "the young gentleman who fears maternal chastisement for Sabbath-breaking so much that he players under an assumed name." played well today - has good club - listed w/ 3 doubles but only 1 hit
paragraph heading: "Absolute Irredeemable Badness" : on the fielding of Lamb (see 6-05)
    Californias slay Mystics, 15-9 
        "Cullen played an excellent game behind the bat, though from lack of practice his hands swelled AS LARGE AS A LEG OF MUTTON. 
5-1 not more than 350 in crowd - even outside watchers small in #
        "the sinewy arms of Moore" Rowan, c, may be one of top players on coast
        Moore good til he gets tired; then he can fall apart. Box score correctly kept by new scorer of California club; the newspaper could not vouch for the previous box scores.
5-8 Oaklands beats Mystics 12-4
        Rowan made some fine catches but foul tips are beyond his ken
        Incell, p, flustered by some umpiring decisions and did worse for it
5-15 Mystics, 7; Californias, 6
    good attendance & crowd was engaged
    scorer listed for 1st time: W.S. O'Brien
5-22 Oaklands 13; Californias 3
    failure of Californias due to ever-changing roster - Moore taken to outfield in 6th inning - but it doesn't say who replaced him - box has no extras
     Oaklands win 8-7 v.  Mystics. Willey makes wonderful play in 7th - game goes to 12 innings - some confusion in box - Gagus listed as playing for Mystics in box, but for Oaklands in comments at one point. Tuttle listed in comments - not in box - it's clear from the batting tho that Tuttle was "Turner"  
6-05 Californias win, 14-8, v. Mystics.
    "Incell has a bad habit of getting nervous, and he allows the, perhaps, too-frequent comments of the small boys among the spectators to irritate him." 
    "Lamb, shortstop, was simply impotent, letting balls pass without even stooping to attempt to stop them." 
6-12 CALL played at Recreation Grounds - diff park
     Oaklands beat Californias 5-4; no extra score; Rowen makes homer
6-19 Oaklands beat Mystics, 6-5
high wind makes game less enjoyable - Mystics listed as having only 15 PO and 2 A - & the score adds up to even less - again - uses Tuttle & Turner interchangeably for same pitcher - BR lists BOTH
6-26 Mystics beat Californias, 23-11
    small attendance - general inattention of players to game. Murray hits two triples and a HR
7-03 Californias beat Oaklands, 15-12
    Rube Levy debuts, plays cf, goes 4-5 with double
7-10 Mystics beat Oaklands, 9-1
    "The change of pitchers from Incell to Meegan is not very much of a gain, if at all." Uh - Meegan allowed one run, the best pitching performance of anyone in the league since the first game of the season, when MEEGAN won 9-1. This was his first start since - wth. 
    Also - incredibly - Mystics did not make a single error. 
7-17 Mystics 10, Californias 4.
    +added game+ Lamb made good play (!) - only two errors per team
7-24  Oaklands 10, Californias 5. above average defense 
7-31 Mystics 6, Oaklands 2. Incell pitches effective game. Sandy Nava makes debut. 
8-07 Californias 11, Mystics 9. Says bc Mystics lost, championship given to Oaklands. 
8-14 Oaklands 5, Californias 1. Redmond pitches good game. 
8-21 Mystics 13, Oaklands 11. Meegan wins - but allows a bit more runs than prev. attempts. 
    the Mystics went to bat with the "best wishes of the fair sex present." Mystics were down 8-1 after two innings - stormed back. Oakland's championship chances jeopardized by loss. 
8-28 Mystics 7, Californias 5. Carroll best player in the game. "Meegan, pitcher of the Mystics, is developing good method in his works, his specialty being curves and deceptive soft snaps." Creegan has little experience behind plate but is reliable, though he can never be trusted on for long throws to 2nd. Umpire makes terrible call on big convoluted rundown play. 
    standings listed
9-4 Oaklands 8, Californias 1. Redmond allows but one run v. Californias - for 2nd time
    paltry attendance - Oaklands only make one error - w/ pitch count
        I think "strikes called" doesn't include outs. Some Chinese students watched part of game, attracting interest - they even applauded a double play. 
9-11 no game
9-18  Mystics 10, Californias 8. 
little interest in game by spectators or players until 6th inning when things livened up. 
9-25 good ATT "Redmond pitched fine but his habit of asking judgement on every ball pitched is annoying both to spectators and to players." 
10-02 Mystics 10, Oaklands 6. 
    "Incell's deceptive curves were very puzzling to the Oaklands" Scorer is Wally Wallace - I think that's why BR identifies Wallace as Wally Wallace, but I doubt they were the same. 
10-09 Mystics 4, Oaklands 3. 
Meegan k's 13




1881 California League

3-27 Knickerbockers 7, Athletics 6. 
    500 or 600 ATT - Athletics are nearly all new players. On C. Sweeney : " His delivery is remarkably rapid, and comprises curves of all descriptions, from a plain half-circle to the letter S."  T. Sweeney, at 3rd base, is "one of the finest throwers on the coast." J. Fitzhenry is a "delegate from the New York City Hall." On Athletic players: "one or two, unless considerable improvement is made, would do well to conclude that they are not predestined ball-tossers and pursue some other avocation for which they are better fitted." 
    "The Athletics appeared in whites, with green belts and blue clocked stockings, while the Knicks loomed up in bluish gray flannel suits with cardinal hose and canvas shoes." 
    "On the toss, the Athletics elected to go to bat"
    Sweeney threw 263 pitches? 
4-3 
    "When the Athletics went to the willow the mighty Reardon, speaking weightily, pitched in rather a wild, careless fashion, and seemed more occupied in keeping his immense stomach from bursting the confines of his blue shirt than watching the game." 


1881-1882 Winter

11-27 Mystics 9, California 4.  w/ Jerry Denny
    Californias described as Wallace's pets - he must have still been managing even after he stopped playing
1882-1-08 Reno 10, California 8. w/ John Ward & Jerry Denny
        

1882 
1882 CALL on BR

1882-3-24 Delegates present at first meeting & schedule for first quarter

1882-4-16 National 7, California 4. 
1882-6-18 California 13, Niantic 6. 
1882-9-17 Niantic 6, Reno 5. 

1882-8-27 "John Cullen, an old ball-tosser and catcher of prominence, arrived from Marysville yesterday to take part in the benefit to be given to the veteran L.N. David at the Recreation Grounds this afternoon."
1882-8-27 box Haverlys 10, Athletics of '78 6.

1883 California League

1883-3-17 League rules. Three umpires hired. 
1883-7-17 Pete Meegan went east on Friday to Actives of Philadelphia "at a liberal salary". Charley Gagus. Morris, recently of Haverlys, in east. California League down to three teams. 

1883-8-19 Series for championship of league between Redingtons and Eureka begun. 

1883 California State League

1883-7-17 Has formed - will first play on the 22nd at Recreation Park. 

1884 California League
1884 CALL on Stats Crew

1884-10-07 interest in pro ball steadily increasing in SF, partly as a result of the closeness of the games.
    Martin A. Mooney, player for Occidentals, killed in work-mishap. Has standings. 

1884-7-27 first game Haverly 9, San Francisco 8 
    Not able to agree with $ demands of park owner, so playing on a vacant lot at the corner of Sutter and Pierce. 4
1884-9-21 Haverly 1, Occidental 0.
    Incell throws no-hitter. About 500 in attendance. 

1885 California League
1885 CALL on Stats Crew

1885-1-20 Schedule drawn up: runs from Jan 25. to Dec. 27
1885-2-10 Fine young catcher of Haverlys, Lewis Hardie, has moved to the country. Movement to reinstate black-listed Lawton. 
1885-2-17 league is playing poorly so far - next week the eastern players in this city will play three games v. the California League prior to departure to east
1885-3-10 Occidental have two nines - Reds and Blues - Incell has wide reputation
1885-5-12 Last Sunday at picnic the Stars played the Enterprise club of the Central Park League for the prize of a "valuable rosewood baseball bat, silver mounted and appropriately inscribed." Enterprise won 6-2. 
1885-6-04 Oakland club is made of CALL players
1885-8-10 next Sunday the Haverlys will play the Pioneers under auspices of CALL for $100/side
        8-11 will count in CALL
1885-11-13 line-up for winter schedule determined

1885-3-01 Stars 9, San Francisco 3. Triple play. 
1885-3-16 Haverlys 6, Stars 4. A total of 36 k's - Incell throws no-hitter. 

1886 California League
 
1886 CALL on Stats Crew

1886-4-11 Pioneers 4, Stars 1.
    DOUBLE NO-HITTER, won by Finn by J. Mullee
1886-7-05 Pioneers 6, Greenhood & Morans 2. 
    Van Haltren loses no-hitter.
1886-7-18 Haverlys 4, Pioneers 0. Greenhood & Morans 2, Altas 1. 
    Incell throws no-hitter. 
1886-8-08 Haverlys 7, Altas 3. Greenhood & Morans 4, Pioneers 2.
    Incell K's 20 v. Altas. Huge attendance. Van Haltren wins DOUBLE NO-HITTER against McMullen in (?exhibition game?) inaugural Ladies
Day at Alameda baseball grounds. PLAY BY PLAY. Standings given. 
    Oakland Tribune has lovely coverage. 
    Borchers throws 6-inning no-hitter. 

1887 Pacific Coast League

4
1887-4-04 league founded Umpires etc. listed

1887 California  League

1887 CALL on Stats Crew

1887-6-25/6-26 
    Triple play. 
1887-7-03  Haverlys 11, G&M 10. 15 innings. 
    PLAY BY PLAY. "Opening of new baseball grounds at 28th and R streets last Sunday was a great success. Three special trains made the circuit of the city between 12 and 2 o'clock and conveyed thousands to the grounds. 
(Sacramento Bee)
1887-8-21 G&M's 7, Haverlys 0
    18000 in attendance. Borchers throws no-hitter. 


From John E Spalding

p. 14 - says it was common for the early 1880s players to be playing under false names
    "Most of the players in the 1880s were young men of Irish or western European extraction who made up the majority of the Bay Area's working class. Many were employed in unskilled jobs, such as teamsters and stevedores, or in semi-skilled and entry level white collar jobs. They couldn't get off work to perform on weekdays and Saturdays and most fans could only attend games on Sundays."
    "in some seasons, a Sunday morning game was played in Oakland along with the traditional afternoon contest in San Francisco. Many fans rode ferry boats across the bay to attend both games. 





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Western League

  1898-7-07 -  Columbus WL franchise will move to Denver