1886-05-29 Baseball Rivalry

For Hamilton baseball fans in the spring of 1886, it was a new season in a new league. The International league had been formed via the merger of two leagues, the New York League and the Ontario League.

Consisting of teams from Syracuse, Utica, Rochester, Oswego, Binghamton and Buffalo, the only Canadian cities represented in the International League were Hamilton and Toronto. The passion for the sport of baseball was high as High in the Canadian cities represented as it was among the American communities. The deep-seated rivalry between Hamilton and Toronto was certainly seen to be a plus for the new league.

As the end of May, 1886, the Hamiltons had a won-lost record of 3-10, while the Torontos had fared better with a record of 8-11.

The 1885 champions of the National League, the Detroit Wolverines, were barnstorming in May 1886, and an exhibition game against the Torontos had resulted in a Toronto victory.

The Torontos were scheduled to play a home game against the Hamiltons soon after their victory over the major league champions. The Toronto newspapers were boastful that the Hamiltons were sure to be humiliated.

The players with the Hamilton were not impressed with that victory over the Detroit Wolverines, aware that the team fielded was not the complete major roster.

The Hamilton Spectator coverage of the May 28, 1886 game in Toronto was extensive beginning as follows :

“”Hamilton’s team of baseball players took a run to Toronto yesterday to see what sort of stuff Toronto had scraped together into her team, and to find out just what sort of team had beaten Detroit’s sub-second nine.

“Toronto had made splendid preparations for the meeting. Her strongest team was decked out in its very prettiest uniform, the coon mascot had an extra polish on his face and had rubbed his head on all the Toronto bats for good luck in hitting.”

¹“The World of Sport : The Hamiltons Give the Torontos a Few Pointers on How to Play Ball”

Hamilton Spectator     May 29, 1886.

The game proved to be an embarrassment to the Torontos and their fans, with Hamilton dominating and winning with a score of 13-2:

““The Hamiltons made no superfluous show and didn’t say much, but started to play when the umpire called play. They played so well that the Torontos soon began to feel sorry that they had ever run up against Hamilton. The Hamiltons commenced by hitting Veach, Toronto’s pet pitcher, very hard, but, for four innings they, unluckily, hit straight to the fielders. In the fifth inning, they began to place the ball – to line it out for singles, two-baggers, three-baggers and the like.

“The heads of the Torontos began to shrink about that time. The swelling went down suddenly. The reaction was so great that the Torontos became rattled. The Hamiltons kept on batting, and the Torontos kept on making errors until seven men had travelled the circuit of the bases. Realizing that this was likely to give the Toronto scorers more than they could handle, the boys stopped and gave the Torontos a chance to catch up. But Toronto could not strike a fast enough clip, and had to content herself with shuffling through the game in a half-spirited sort of way.

“The Hamiltons fielded splendidly. Outside of the battery’s four errors, there was only one error made. The Torontos could not bat Morrison to any alarming extent, and could not play a fielding games like that of Hamilton.”¹

It was a triumphant victory for the underdogs from the Ambitious City, and the Spectator reporter took great glee in touting the Hamiltons in his notes to the game: “Toronto should have kept last year’s team.

           The Hamilton team is just getting into working shape.

           Thirteen long runs ! How tired our poor boys must be.

           There will probably been a few people at Dundurn park today.

           A game like yesterday’s counts as double. Hamilton wins – Toronto loses.

           The Torontos should have died immediately after the game with the Detriots.

          The person who told the Torontos that they could play ball deserves to be severely thought of.

          The team that beat the team that beat all the world has changed its name to the Muddy Yorks.

          The soreheads that have been croaking around Hamilton for the last week or so are respectfully invited to go away somewhere and kick themselves.

Toronto’s committee appointed for the purpose of making that city attractive for visitors is considering how it may keep the Hamiltons away from the place.

It is to be hoped that no Toronto person, influenced by the things he read in the Toronto papers, was foolish enough to put Toronto money on the Toronto team.

If the Toronto papers will humbly apologize for the manner in which they have slandered the Hamiltons, the latter will let the Torontos win a game sometime this summer.”¹

The reporter also penned a satirical poem to celebrate the victory. The traveler in the poem was a well-known Toronto ‘sport’ named Lem Fletcher, a saloon owner known to attend baseball games, betting heavily on the Toronto side:

“THE RIME OF THE DISAPPOINTED SPORT”

          And the traveler stoppeth he,

            ‘By thy diamonds and high silk hat

          Now wherefore stoppeth thou me?

          ‘The Railway train waiteth near

             And I am fain to go,

          Hold off, hold off, thy jeweled hand –

             Dost hear the whistle blow?’

          He holds him with deadly grip –

            He cannot choose but hear,

          And thus spoke that wild-eyed sport

            Into the travellere;

          ‘Lem Fletcher, traveler, is my name,

            Thou mayest have heard of me;

          The foamy beer I am won to serve

            To thirtsy companie.

          ‘O listen while I tell to you

            The troubles that befall

          All weak confiding sporting men

            Who monkey with baseball.

          “I thought our team invincible

            When but two days ago

          They met the champion Wolverines

            And pulverized them so.

          ‘The Rochesters and Buffalos

            For them have proved by pie,

          And we have been all up on them,

            And no one more than I.

          ‘And now – and now, O traveler,

            Down comes our dearest foe –

          At whom we laughed with lofty scorn,

            For whom we’ve laid full low –

          “This very day that hated nine –

            (O pardon if I cuss)

          From Hamilton comes gaily down

            And paralyzes us.

          ‘Like one insane I walk the streets

            To cool my fevered brain;

          The boodle I had thought to rake

            I ne’er shall see again.

          ‘O traveler, traveler, tell to me,

            Dost thou not understand

          The pain of one who holds a flush

            Against a well-filled hand?’

          The sporting man with diamonds bright

            And face beckoning pain

          Is gone; and now the traveler hastes

            In time to miss the train.”

The much-lauded victory was the first game of a home and home series, between the Hamiltons and the Torontos, the second tilt to take place in the ball yard in Hamilton’s Dundurn Park.

There was much interest in the game and the grandstand at Dundurn was full, in addition to a large crowd surround the field, often crowding into the outfield.

The hometown fans were not disappointed :

“Yesterday was the sort of game which all those who understand baseball like to see, and as all Hamilton people understand the game, it was one which pleased them very much. The Hamiltons, by superior fielding and batting, got a small early in the game and maintained it throughout.”²

² “The World of Sport : Toronto Downed Again by Hamiltons”

Hamilton Spectator     May 30, 1886.

The Spectator reprinted the following comments from the Toronto press concerning Hamilton’s baseball dominant performances :

“WHAT THE TORONTO PAPERS SAY

          World

“The Toronto nine received no presents yesterday.

“Manager Humphries and the Mascot fell out yesterday, and they sat at opposite ends of the bench.

“Hamilton has the big head today. This is the first increase in size that Hamilton has experienced for a long time.

“The proverb that ‘pride goes before a fall’ has been amended by the Toronto club so as to read that pride goes before a ball. At least their pride vanished yesterday before the ball of the Hamilton pitcher.

          MAIL.

 “The statement that Captain Collins, of the Hamilton team, is a kicker must have very little foundation. He never disputed the umpire after the fifth inning in yesterday’s Toronto-Hamilton game, and was altogether a very genial and amiable gentleman.”

The Toronto team’s mascot, a raccoon, was the focus of the Spectator sports writer’s poetic summation of the second game of the May, 1886 home and home series between the nines from Hamilton and Toronto:

THE MANAGER AND THE MASCOT

‘Twas on a warm May evening,

          The baseball game was done,

And Humphreys at the tavern door,

          Gazed sadly  at the sun,

And near him, whistling low a tune,

Nestled the dusky mascot, coon.

The mascot said, in wistful voice,

          ‘O manager, I pray,

How came these blokes of Hamilton

          To win the game today?

Was it our errors settled it,

Or cause our fellers couldn’t hit?

“ ‘Twas not my fault; I stayed right through

          And didn’t stir at all,

And every time I got a chance

          I spit upon the ball.

But after all, do what I may,

The luck don’t seem to come my way.

“ Was it your fault, or was it mine,

          That we’ve been left so bad?”

Then Humphreys sadly gazed at him,

          This dusky mascot lad –

“Nay, boy, I cannot tell,’ said he,

“But ‘twas a famous victory.”²