BROOKLYN WIN STIRS POETIC RHAPSODY
BROOKLYN, N.Y.– (Oct. 4, 1889) The first place Brooklyn Bridegrooms swung back into action in the hot American Association pennant race by drubbing the Philadelpia Athletic 17 to 0 as Bob Caruthers pitched his 37th win of the season. In St. Louis, the Browns kept pace by downing the Kansas City Cowboys 7 to 5 as “Happy Jack” Stivetts pitched his fourth straight win.
After playing meaningless exhibition games for three days, the Bridegroomss showed they are ready to go all out to nail down the team’s first pennant by knocking pitcher Sadie McMahon all over Washington Park. Brooklyn racked up 23 hits, led by George Pinkney and George “Germany” Smith, who had three hits apiece.
The Brooklyn boys no doubt were inspired by the presence of many spectators of the fair sex in the final Ladies’ day game of the season. Indeed, Brooklyn hasn’t lost a single Ladies day game all year, when, as the Brooklyn Eagle put it, “the bright eyes of their lady guests shone on them from the grand stand.”
Brooklyn went up 3 to 0 in the very first inning. Captain Darby O’Brien walked, stole second base and went to third on bad throw by the catcher. Then Hub Collins bunted O’Brien home with the game’s first run. Dave “Needles” Foutz bounded a single to left, and both he and Collins scored on Pinkney’s low liner hit to short center field.
Brooklyn put the game away in the third inning by pummeling McMahon for seven runs to go up 11 to 0 as five straight Brooklyn batters slammed hits. The big event of the inning, however, was the arrival of the lovely Corinne and her dramatic troupe who arrived at Washington Park in four carriages. The crowd applauded as the ladies went to their seats in the grand stand as guests of Brooklyn’s bachelor president Charley Byrne.
Caruthers meantime held Philadelphia to just four hits to nail down the win. With only a few games to go , some Brooklyn enthusiasts are prematurely celebrating Brooklyn’s first pennant. One admirer has written this poem.
CHAMPIONS OF THE WORLD
It now becomes all Brooklynites, especially “base ball cranks,”
To call a meeting and to give the Grooms a vote of thanks,
For they have done so nobly, I’m sure we can’t refrain
From giving them a “blow off” and fill them with champagne
There’s Darby out in left field, a whole team in himself
And with Bobby in the pitcher’s box, he never once gets left
Bob Clark there up behind the bat, the base stealers he downs
Especially when they’re playing Comiskey’s tricky Browns
George Smith plays short stop splendidly, and Collins second base
And with Pinkney playing at the third why it’s a settled case;
Our own Dave Foutz on first base takes all that comes his way,
And with Honest John in center field makes many a double play.
No matter who is in the box, be it Lovett, Hughes or Terry,
The way the visitors fan the air – it makes us all feel merry.
There’s Tommy Burns in the coacher’s box, to us he’s
also dear;
He rattles opposing batters till they fan the atmosphere
Reynolds, Visner and Bushong, their catching is quite great,
The way they stick to all foul flies has settled many a fate.
We never bluff the umpire nor call him out of place,
And now we claim with pleasure tto be leaders in the race.
If Boston wins the other flag it’s settled that she’ll die,
And if New York should win it – why, we don’t want better pie.
Before the end of the mnth our flags will be unfurled,
And we will prove to you that we are Champions of the World
American Association Standings
Team W L Pct. GB
Brooklyn 87 41 .680
St. Louis 83 44 .654 3 l/2
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