The Base Ball Intelligencer, Troy, NY, October 3, 1878:
INDIANAPOLIS COPS CHAMPIONSHIP
The surprise club of 1878 turned out to be the lightly regarded Indianapolis Blues. The favorites of Hoosiers everywhere, the Blues reeled off 47 victories this season, easily surpassing the totals of not only the Cincinnati Red Legs, but also the vaunted Boston Red Stockings. With outstanding efforts from chucker Clifford Langton (a new star on the rise?) and batsmen such as Claud Mackinson, whose .406 average was the League's best, the Blues proved too tough a foe for the other five League contenders. The biggest disappointment belonged to the White Stockings of Chicago - the former power of the League, Chicago could barely fashion a respectable finish to their 1878 campaign, winning fewer than half their contests and accruing more victories than only one other club, the lowly Milwaukees. For their part, the Red Legs tailed off in the dog days of summer, finishing second to Indianapolis, with Boston third, Providence fourth and the aforementioned Chicago and Milwaukee nines rounding out the standings table.
STANDINGS
Code:
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run Streak Last10
Indianapolis Blues 42 21 .667 - 38-25 4 20-8 22-13 4-1 12-6 W2 9-1
Cincinnati Red Legs 37 24 .607 4.0 34-27 3 21-13 16-11 3-3 11-9 L1 6-4
Boston Red Stockings 33 27 .550 7.5 35-25 -2 14-16 19-11 3-3 6-7 W1 5-5
Providence Grays 28 34 .452 13.5 28-34 0 14-18 14-16 2-1 10-7 L1 3-7
Chicago White Stockings 26 35 .426 15.0 29-32 -3 16-19 10-16 1-5 9-13 W1 5-5
Milwaukee Cream Citys 18 43 .295 23.0 19-42 -1 7-18 11-25 3-3 6-12 L1 2-8
MIRELES NAMED TOP PITCHER FOR 1878
One of the signal successes for freshman manager Rube Pitman was his retainment of pitcher Will Mireles for the Cincinnati club when other, more famous chuckers were available. Mireles repaid Pitman's trust by fashioning the top pitching performance in the League for 1878. In 61 contests, Mireles compiled a record of 34-23 with a 2.56 earned run average in over 500 innings of pitching for Pitman's Red Legs.
WILL MIRELES
YOUNG WINS SECOND CONSECUTIVE BAT AWARD
There were not many reasons to rejoice around Chicago's Lake Front Park this season, but the play of outfielder John Young was certainly one of them. The 28-year-old Young earned a second-straight Top Bat Award by wielding his club with ferocious effect. Young had 100 hits in 253 at-bats, which is a .395 batting average. He added 13 doubles, 3 triples and one circuit clout, and scored 53 runs for the White Stockings. Says Benjamin Harrell, team owner and manager - "If I had four more like him, we'd lose nary a game."
JOHN YOUNG
FINANCIAL WOES CONTINUE TO HAUNT THE LEAGUE
With players' contracted salaries rising each season as the League's magnates vie with one another to procure the upper echelon of talent, the club's finances continue to suffer. Even with a 50 cent-per-head admission charge, the six Clubs continue to lose money each season. Initial reports indicate that only Chicago among the so-called Silver Six managed to turn a profit in 1878. Even the champion Blues, who won fully two-thirds of their contests, lost money this season. "This situation can not continue," moans Uriah Kittridge, owner-operator of the Boston club. "The League will cease to be a viable venture for anyone unless we can find a way to slow the dramatic rise of player salaries." Kittridge, whose deep pockets enabled him to remake the Boston lineup this past winter, knows all too well how expensive a business base ball has become.
URIAH KITTRIDGE
BISON STAMPEDE TO INT'L TITLE
All summer long the Bison Club of Buffalo, New York simply wore out the opposition. Easily the best club outside the environs of the National League, the Buffalo nine won 36 of their 46 contests, with a victorious ledger against every club except the Allegheny club of Pittsburgh which managed to win two of three matches with Buffalo despite winning just 12 of 46 matches all season. The second-best club was the Star club of Syracuse, considered to have the most talented roster of players in the Int'l Association, Syracuse won 32 contests this year. Both Springfield and Hornellsville were strong as well, but unlike Buffalo and Syracuse, the latter pair have virtually no hope of moving into the National League should the premier loop add to its membership for 1879.
STANDINGS
Code:
Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run Streak Last10
Buffalo Bisons 36 10 .783 - 31-15 5 20-3 16-7 6-0 10-5 L1 8-2
Syracuse Stars 32 14 .696 4.0 31-15 1 17-6 15-8 1-1 6-4 L1 7-3
Springfield Club 27 19 .587 9.0 27-19 0 11-12 16-7 1-3 5-5 W4 6-4
Hornellsville Club 25 21 .543 11.0 24-22 1 15-8 10-13 1-3 5-8 L2 4-6
Lowell Ladies Men 25 21 .543 11.0 23-23 2 11-12 14-9 2-0 4-4 L2 6-4
Binghamton Crickets 24 22 .522 12.0 23-23 1 12-11 12-11 0-1 5-3 W1 6-4
London Tecumsehs 24 22 .522 12.0 28-18 -4 12-12 12-10 0-2 5-10 W2 5-5
Utica Franklins 23 24 .489 13.5 23-24 0 11-12 12-12 1-0 10-4 W1 6-4
Lynn Live Oaks 21 25 .457 15.0 21-25 0 12-11 9-14 2-3 6-7 W2 5-5
Rochester Flour Citys 21 25 .457 15.0 23-23 -2 13-10 8-15 2-1 8-8 W1 3-7
New Haven Cascades 18 29 .383 18.5 20-27 -2 10-13 8-16 1-1 2-7 W2 5-5
Manchester Reds 12 34 .261 24.0 11-35 1 6-17 6-17 1-3 6-7 L3 3-7
Pittsburgh Alleghenys 12 34 .261 24.0 12-34 0 4-19 8-15 1-1 4-4 L5 2-8
PONS IS INT'L BAT CHAMP
Alamazoo Pons, after spending two seasons north of the border with the Maple Leaf club of Guelph, Ontario, returned to the United States in 1878 to play with the Springfield (Mass) club. And just as he did in 1876 with Guelph, Pons put together a tremendous season and earned the Top Bat Award for the International Association. His .406 batting average was fourth-best in the Int'l, but he added seven doubles, three triples and three four-baggers as well. Another great season for the 29-year-old Pons.
ALAMAZOO PONS
HUNT OF UTICA IS THE TOPS IN THE BOX
The Top Pitcher Award for the 1878 International Association season went to Utica hurler Todd Hunt. In pitching for one of the weaker clubs in the Int'l, Hunt put up a very solid earned run average of 2.38, though his club's weakness among the batsmen saw his ledger stand at just 23-24 in 47 games pitched. Hunt's effervescent performance likely will mean a telegraph from one of the League clubs this winter.
TODD HUNT