Category: Kingston Society for Playing Catch

The big news at the outset of the third season for the Kingston St. Lawrence Base Ball Club in 1874 is that they settle their unhappy relations with the local cricket club to a certain degree. An announcement in the Daily News on 20 May 1874 declares:

The base ball club have changed their ground to the end of the town nearest the town. This change will prevent any re-occurance of the quarrels with the cricketers, will give both parties plenty of room and will utilize the whole of the Cricket Field.

A couple of interesting notes including the base ball club didn’t need naming in the article. Also it pretty clearly identifies the location of the baseball field as the Cricket Ground still exists, as clickably illustrated. It may be that the baseball was played facing westish while the cricket ran north south. In the 9 June 1874 edition of the British Whig, an article appears that states that the “portion of the Cricket Field apportioned to the Base Ball Club is very rough still, not withstanding the work bestowed on it this spring. It has a monster hollow in it which will ever make it a poor field for playing on.” The paper makes a plea for the sending of the street scrapings to fill in the hole for the good of the “base ballers”

On June 10th, 1874 the Daily News reports on a grand base ball tournament to be played at Watertown NY on the 29th. It is to be held under the auspices of the Base Ball Association, the members of which are among the leading citizens of Watertown. A little more detail is in the notice in the British Whig on the same date. Apparently Watertown had a smaller tournament in 1873 and that the best games were being reserved for the Fourth of July. In the Daily News on 6 July, 1874, it is stated that the Guelph Maple Leaf were coming to play KSL at the Cricket Ground on the next day after traveling from the Watertown contest. As the 10 June article stated that the tournament was expected to last a couple of weeks, it may well be a reference to that event. In the 30 June 1874 edition of the British Whig it states that both the Maple Leaf club of Guelph and the Kingston St. Lawrence were leaving at 7 am for Watertown. “The great base ball tournament at Watertown is drawing large numbers from Kingston and the surrounding country to witness the match between the Canada and United States Clubs.” The Maud was also sailing in the afternoon for Cape Vincent NY with spectators. A notice is posted in the Whig dated 7 July 1874 with the headline “The Base Ball Tournament – Guelph Wins The $500 Prize” states that the Maple Leaf of Guelph won the Watertown tournament beating the Eastons of Philadelphia this forenoon by a score of 13 to 10.

Here is a listing of the games played by the St.L BBC in 1874:

3A: KSL v. Maple Leaf club. Report in the 20 June 1874 British Whig has no box score and it a little fuzzy on whether it is Picton or not playing but KSL wins 26 to 15 in a game played on the Picton fair grounds. 250 travelled from Kingston on the ship Maud, leaving in the morning, arriving at one pm, leaving for the return trip at 7 pm arriving in Kingston at 11:30 pm. Mr. J McCammon “retained the medal for base hits after a close close struggle.” The Whig‘s article on the 23rd of June has a box score and says the recent match was between the leading Kingston clubs, the Maple Leaf and St. Lawrence, but it was played in Picton. Umpire was W. H. Smith. McCammon had four base hits while six other players in the game had three.
3B: Tuesday, June 23, 1874. KSL v. Newcastle Beavers. The Daily News reported on 24 June 1874 hat it was not really a game as ‘ the game was stopped and declared “no game” “owing to the many mishaps which occurred to the Beaver Club of Newcastle.” It was to be made up. Interestingly, when the game was canceled, the score was 14 to 10 for Newcastle over the St. Lawrence. The identity of the umpire was not noted. As the Beavers had 9 outs and the St. Lawrence 12, it looks like it was called after 3 1/2 innings. But that would mean that the visitors were batting in the bottom of the innings. No indication it was a game with Kingston on tour. The report of the same day in the Whig confirms it was played in Kingston but that Newcastle batted first. The mystery of the mishaps is explained as “as one of the Beavers was going to the bat in the fifth inning he fell a fainting fit, and have to be carried off as much dead as alive”. That was after their catcher got a “bad hit” from the ball in the face. The Beavers were on a tour and had to go on to play Ogdensburg the next day then on to Prescott and Ottawa.
3C: KSL v. Guelph Maple Leaf, 7 July 1874. Referenced in previous day’s Daily News.
3D: KSL, First Nine v. KSL, Second Nine, Friday 17 July 1874. Score is 15 to 8 for the First Nine with the Second Nine scoring five in the eighth inning. Umpire was P. Nolan. Game took 1 hour and 50 minutes.
3E: KSL v. Napanee, Monday 20 July 1874. Reference in the 18 July 1874 edition of the Whig. Also referenced as having been played in the 25 July 1874 edition of the Whig with Eilbeck winning the medal for most base hits. As it is referenced again in the following Ogdensburg game as being retained by Eilbeck, it must have been a medal that was for the KSL player with the most hits, a club prize.
3F: KSL v. Ogdensburg, 24 July 1874. 29 to 24 for Ogdensburg. Note is made of two things in the Daily News article. Kingston was stated to have no professionals and this seems to result in “the members playing much better themselves than they used to and “whatever success may attend their efforts, they can claim it fairly as their own.” The other thing is that the KSL complained about the American umpire who was not at all the impartial individual that an umpire should be.” He was replaced in the seventh inning but only one umpire, P. Nolan, is named by both players. We see that Nolan umped the 17 July club game so he must be the replacement as it is unlikely an American would be brought in to umpire a game between KSL 1 v. KSL 2. Oddly, Ogdensburg got 14 of their runs in the eighth and ninth innings which the Whig on 25 July 1874 described as they “went up in lemons in the last innings, ran up live high figures and squeezed out a victory.” Ogdensburg is also not called the Pastimes as it was in 1873. Game took 2 hours and 40 minutes.
3G: KSL, second team v. The Beaver Club of Kingston, Monday July 27, 1874. The score was 22 to 16 for the second team of KSL. The Beaver Club is said in the Daily News to be a new club, recently organized. The game is referenced as upcoming in the 25 July 1874 edition of the Whig.
3H: KSL, second team v. the Stars, Wednesday, 27 July 1874. Score was 35 to 17 for the KSL2 as reported in the Whig, 30 July. Not sure why the team is called the “second nine” for KSL as Elibeck and most others who were in 3F against Ogdensburg played.
3I: KSL v. Ogdensburg Dauntless. Played Friday 8 August 1874 in Ogdensburg. Referenced in the 28 July 1874 edition of the British Whig. The team is well off enough to have chartered the tug Falcon and anyone who wished “to join them were to send their names to the Secretary, Mr. Eilback.”
3J:KSL v. Montreal Caledonia Base Ball Club, Friday 22 August 1874. Referenced in Whig of 19 August 1874. Played in Kingston. KSL wins 69 to 17.
3K:KSL v. Cobourg Travellers, Saturday 23 August 1874. for “the championship game”. KSL won 25 to 18. Played in Kingston starting at 4 pm “giving everybody a chance to witness it. Referenced in Whig of 19 August 1874. Played in Kingston. The Whig of 5 August stated the date of the game to be Monday August 24th so I have to check all these dates. Also, it stated the game was for the championship of eastern Ontario and that the winner would win a flag. The results are reported in the Whig of Tuesday August 25th and the game was played on the previous day, a Monday civic holiday. Kingston was behind until they switched pitchers and put in Wilson, a leftie. The crowd apparently was large and rude. Game called at 7 pm in the ninth.
3L:KSL v. Bowmanville Live Oaks, Friday, 18 September 1875. KSL loses 4 to 7. Bowmanville is also referred to as the “Royal Oaks” in the article in the Whig. Nolan was the umpire. Game was called early so Bowmanville could catch the boat so Kingston retains championship.

Here are the stats for 1872 and 1873.

The big second season for the Kingston St. Lawrence was held in the summer of 1873. The 1872 stats are here. In 1873, there are reports in both the Kingston British Whig and the Kingston Daily News. In the Monday, 23 June 1873 issue of the Kingston British Whig, it asked:

Such is the mania for base ball just now. Will it be like lacrosse – up like a rocket and down like a stick?

It was called “a mania” by the KBW again on 30 August 1873. It was also a year of controversy as letters and articles in the KBW in June set out complaints about the base ball players taking over the Cricket Grounds which City Council had given the use of to the city’s cricket club some years before. Also, the Whig on 30 June states that the game has “ridden rapidly into popularity since its introduction last year by Dr. Jarvis and Mr. Eilbeck. Both men are listed as playing in the published box scores.

In addition to the second reference to KBW 30 July reference to “the silver ball” as the trophy of the Canadian championship (after the earlier reference in KBW 21 August 1872), one most interesting notes in the papers is in the Kingston Daily News of 24 July 1873 which reads:

The St. Lawrence Club has received a challenge to play from the Red Stockings of Boston. It has not been decided to accept this challenge yet.

The Boston Red Stockings of 1873 won the national Association championship and, in August, were on a tour of Canada winning all 14 games and outscoring their opponents 524-48. They became the Boston Braves, then the Milwaukee Braves and the Atlanta Braves. Al Spalding, shown in 1871, pitched for them. He later when on to found the sporting good company.

The team also had its own western Ontario tour in August 1873. Here is a listing of the games played by the St.L BBC in 1873:

2A: Saturday, 30 May – St. Lawrence (90) v. Locomotive Club (14). Played on the Cricket Ground. No umpire named in the KDN report.
2B: Saturday, 7 June – St. Lawrence (8) v. Ottawa Club (54). Game played at Ottawa. Ottawa had 4 US professionals. St. Lawrence served a written protest but played (KBW, 9 June 1873). Game mentioned. (KDN, 2 June 1873)
2C: Monday, 23 June – St. Lawrence (70) v. Stars (12). Umpire Dr. McCammon. Reported in both the KBW and KDN as part of a three match day. Only 2 hours despite the score.
2D: Thursday, 1 July. St. Lawrence (10) v. Silver Star, Port Hope (25). Played at 2 pm on the Cricket Field on Dominion Day 1873 (KBW, 30 June). Long report in KBW 2 July. Ten cents paid to watch, betting reported, sidelines crowded and ladies filled the cricket stand and benches. Umpire was named “Shibley” and was a nephew of a Port Hope player. Protests at his biased calls, defends himself by addressing the crowd, saying he is from New York and “was a success as an umpire”. Crowd takes the field in second inning and Dr. McCammon replaces Shibley as umpire. Game ends after seven innings at 5:15 pm as Port Hope needed to travel home on 6 pm boat for Ottawa game the next day. “Shibley” appears to have returned to the field to declare this as a “no game”. Much drama.
2E: Friday, 4 July – St. Lawrence (70) v. B’hoys, Cape Vincent, NY (9). (KBW, 3 July 1873). Box score in KBW 7 July.
2F: Wednesday, 16 July – St. Lawrence (26) v. “Union” Club (13). St. Lawrence had issued a practice challenge against best of rest of city. Practice is for upcoming game against Guelph Maple Leafs. St. L. states it is willing to play 9 to 18 players or give other side 6 outs per inning.(KBW 14 July; KDN, 15 July 1873). Game played at Cricket Ground as a “union” of the Union Club and the Stars Club. Umpire was Dr. G. W. Oliver of Cape Vincent, NY. Five innings with St. L allowed 15 outs and the Union team getting 30. Report in the KBW on 17 July states
2G: Friday, 18 July – St. Lawrence. first nine v. St. Lawrence second nine. No further reference than the advance notice is found in papers.
2H: Monday, 21 July – St. Lawrence (35) v. Guelph (27) Maple Leaf. Anticipated as “the great game of the season” in KBW 17 July 1873. Kingston defeats Guelph – headline in the KBW 22 July reads “The St. Lawrence Boys Astonish Guelphites and Every Body Else”. Game started 2 pm (2:15, KDN, 22 July) at the Cricket Field. Dr. McCammon umpired. Described as very gentlemanly – compared to recent Port Hope experience no doubt. 16 to 7 for Kingston after first inning. “Their backers at home would not believe the news of the defeat and telegraphed again and again in hope of a contradiction.” 700 to 1,000 watched (KDN, 22 July). KBW 23 July: Excellent supper afterward at the American Hotel. Fifty attended. No liquors were introduced to the table “out of respect to the temperance members of the Clubs”. Gathering ended at 11: 30 pm.
2I: Tuesday, 29 July – St. Lawrence (23) v. Cobourg (14). Game ends at 4:45 pm and score makes that day’s KBW. Full reports the next day in both the KBW and KDN. Played at Cricket Field. Mr. Salisbury of Cobourg umpired and judged to have done so very fairly.
2J: Thursday, 7 August – St. Lawrence (12) v. Newcastle Beaver(s) (5).
2K: Friday, 8 August – St. Lawrence (25) v. Victorias of Bowmanville (12)
2L: Saturday, 9 August – St. Lawrence (2) v. Dauntless, Toronto (7)
2M: Monday, 11 August – St. Lawrence (3) v. Maple Leaf, Guelph (36)
2N: Monday, 25 August – St. Lawrence (?) v. Boston Red Stockings (55?). Report in KBW of 26 August indicates a pounding.
2O: Monday, 25 August – St. Lawrence Second Nine (23) v.Maple Leafs, Kingston (31).
2P: Monday, 1 September – St. Lawrence (24) v. Mutuals Ottawa (31). Originally was to be against London Tecumseh Club but they canceled or were late. Good report in KDN 2 September 1873.
2Q: Monday, 2 September – St. Lawrence (19) v. Tecumseh Club, London (1). Played on Cricket Field on short notice after rescheduling. Inning in which no score is made as called “whitewash.”
2R: Monday, 25 August – St. Lawrence Second Nine (49) v. Harvesters, Kingston Twp (32). Mr. J McCammon was umpire. Played at Welburn’s Farm on Front Road. St. Lawrence traveled by wagon. “Wielding the willow” is description of batting. Cold with a strong west wind. Montgomery’s Quadrille Band was present.
2S: Monday, 25 August – St. Lawrence (57) v. Black Rivers, Watertown NY. (49). Game took 3 1/2 hours with team coming by Cape Vincent boat. St. Lawrence “batted themselves out” to get the game in before darkness. Black Rivers stayed in Kingston and took the morning boat back to Cape Vincent for game there. Last game of the year. Umpire was Mr. E. Nolan.

And here is a list of all the base ball teams mentioned listed in the KBW and KDN during 1873:

• St. Lawrence Club, Kingston.
• Locomotive Club, Kingston. Played in 2A. Played the Stars at 7 am (!) on Monday 30 June at the Cricket Field.
• Ottawa Club. Played in 2B. Played Guelph on July tour on 23 July 1873, losing 16 to 2. Called the Ottawa “Mutuals” in KDN, 2 September 1873.
• Foundry Club, Kingston. (KBW); Victoria Club of the Victoria Foundry
• the Piano Forte Club, Kingston.
• the “Stars”, Kingston. Played in 2C.
• the employees of Messers Chown and Cunningham, Kingston.
• the employees of Mr. R. M. Horsey, Kingston.(KBW/KDN). Played Foundry and beat them 41 to 30 on 23 June 1873.
• “Union matches”(?), Kingston (KBW); the Unions Club (KDN). Beat Locomotive 26 to 14 on 23 June 1873. Played the Stars Wednesday 16 July 1873. (KDN).
• Maple Leaf Club, Kingston (?). Played the Stars on Monday 14 July 1873, losing by 4 runs (KDN). Box score in KBW, 15 July. Score was 23 to 19 for Stars with Stars getting 29 outs(?) to Maple Leaf getting 27. Mr. J. Carson was the umpire.
• Silver Stars, Port Hope. Played in 2D. Had a new base ball song composed by Mr. Fred Lockwood (KBW, 30 June). Played Guelph on July tour on 24 July 1873. losing 33 to 0.
• The Maple Leaf Club of Guelph. Played late July tour. Swift, pitcher, and Maddock, catcher, noted in KBW 15 July 1873. Stated to have held the Canadian championship for four years (KBW, 17 and 22 July 1873).
• Cobourg “Travellers”. Played in 2I. Played Guelph on July tour on 19 July 1873, lost 36 to 6.
• Ogdensburg Pastimes. Played Guelph on July tour on 22 July 1873. Named in KBW and KDN 22 July. Played the “Bostons” (ie the Red Stockings) on Friday 29 August and lost 37 to 6. Pastimes still playing in 1921 (pdf!).
• Newcastle Beaver(s), Ont. Called “Beaver” in the KBW but “Beavers” in the KDN.
• Victorias of Bowmanville, Ont.
• The Dauntless Club, Toronto, Ont.
• Tecumseh Club, London, Ont. Played Cob(o)urg on 1 September 1873 (KBW 2 Sept)
• Wolves, Kingston (?) KBW, 30 August 1873.
• Bears, Kingston (?) KBW, 30 August 1873.
• Dockmen, Kingston (?) KBW, 30 August 1873.
• Dockmen, Brockville (?) KBW, 30 August 1873.
• Volunteers of the 14th P.O. Rifles, Kingston
• Barriefield Club. Played and lost to the Volunteers of the 14th P.O. Rifles on 19 September 1873 (KBW, 22 Sept).
• Harvesters, Kingston Township. Played the St. Lawrence Seconds on 20 September 1873.
• The Black Rivers, Watertown NY.

You may recall the whole vintage base ball thing that came out of the Kingston Society for Playing Catch (KSPC) thing which came out of the whole community playing thing? Well, the season is now upon us and the Kingston St. Lawrence Brown Stockings Vintage Base Ball Club has two tournaments on already in the works, one in town and one over in Sackets Harbor, NY. Styled upon the “second nine” or the second-rate junior team from the main club that played in Kingston from 1872 to 1876, the KSLBSVBBC has a record of 0-1-1 with the tie coming in last year’s rain canceled game in Sacket’s Harbor, NY. The loss? Well, that was the year before.

Nutty yet based in history, we now have a team of crack researchers is now working on the actual heritage of the original St. Lawrence team, combing through articles like the one from 1873 shown here, in an effort to best replicate the details of uniform and play… and also to justify the effort to our spouses, bosses and bankers. Here are some stats arising from the games played by the Kingston St. Lawrence Base Ball Club in 1872 as reported in the Kingston British Whig. It is possible the list of games is not complete given the gap from 1 July to 21 August:

1A: Friday, 15 June – Married (39) v. Single (75). Umpire C. Van Arnam.
1B: Friday, 1 July – St. Lawrence (24) v. Cape Vincent, NY Ontario Club (26) – 1,000 in attendance at Cricket Grounds. Umpire: Mr. Cooper, Cape Vincent, NY.
1C: Monday, 21 August – Married (34) v. Single (54) – Eilbeck has switched sides having gotten married that summer. “Large attendance” at Cricket Ground. Singles called “the Benedicts” in the article. Umpire: J.M. Fo[r]te.
1D: Tuesday, 10 September – St. Lawrence (9) v. Clipper Club of Ilion, NY (70) – rain delay. Ilion were “masters of the Canadian bowling”. K’ton hosted Ilion at the “Anglo” in the evening. Umpired by T.L. Twiss of Ilion, NY

The list of all teams referenced in the Kingston British Whig in the summer of 1872:

• St. Lawrence Club, Kingston.
• Cape Vincent (NY) Ontario Club.
• Williamsville Club. Williamsville was then a neighbouring community to Kingston. Played a “return match” with Orange L[?]y’s on 20 August 1872 (KBW, 21 Aug. 1872).
• Orange L[?]y’s, Kingston. Played a “return match” with Orange L[?]y’s on 20 August 1872 (KBW, 21 Aug. 1872).
• Maple Leaf Club of Guelph. Champions and holders of the Silver Ball (KBW, 21 Aug. 1872); “recently” beat Ilion at Ilion, NY (KBW, 11 Sept. 1872).
• Dauntless Club, Toronto. Mentioned in the New York Times in 1872 but the Red Stockings toured Ontario in 1873.
• Clipper Club of Ilion, NY.
• Ogdensburg, NY.
• Port Hope, Ontario.

More information will be forthcoming. Lots of it. Brace yourself. Players lists. Details from the games. Notes on which hotels were the site of post-game libations. Notice, too, that of the four games reported in my Whig articles, two were played within the Club by teams composed of married men and single men. A “club” in that era was just that – a gathering for a common purpose, not just a team which took on other teams in a league schedule. In The June 15, 1872 article in the Whig, the club is stated to have 60 members.