Saturday, February 2, 2013

The 1884 Maroons: October!


The St. Louis Unions shut out the Baltimores yesterday and the game was the neatest and prettiest of their series.  Quick throws and returns, good pick-ups and lightning stops and throws were the order of the day from the start.  Runs, however, were very scarce and in the first seven innings only 1 run was scored and that by the St. Louis.  For the Baltimores twelve men went to the bat and retired in succession, and it was not until the fifth inning when Shoeneck got in a safe stroke past Whitehead that one of their men reached first base.  In the second inning Gleason got in a straight drive to left field on which he easily reached second and a clean line hit to center by Baker earned the run.  The Baltimores tried hard to cut down this short lead, and for several innings they worked like beavers.  In their half of the sixth, Sweeney and Battin reached first on good, clean hits, and a passed ball advanced them respectively to second and third bases.  There was but one out, and with Seery at the bat matters loomed up very bright for the visitors.  He sent a slow grounder to Whitehead, and had Sweeny ran home he would have got there, as Whitehead fumbled the ball.  Sweeny faltered, however, and Whitehead not only threw his man out at first, but Quinn sent the ball home like a flash and caught Sweeny at the plate.  The Baltimores were never given a chance to score afterwards.  In the eighth Dunlap, Shaffer, Boyle and Sweeney batted safe and this and errors by Shoeneck and Wheeler gave the home team 4 more runs, making them 5 in all to the visitors nothing.  Jack Gleason carried off the batting honors, while Boyle, Shoeneck and Ellick did the best fielding...
-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, October 2, 1884


The end is nigh.  We've finally reached October in our coverage of the Maroons' 1884 season and there's only eleven games left of this nonsense. 

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