[fhomess]

August 1, 1871
Philadelphia continues to pace the league, although Chicago finally got their number on July 14th with a 16-3 win in Chicago. The Athletics bounced back to beat Rockford on the 17th, but have since dropped three in a row including a pair of losses to Cleveland. The Mutuals took advantage of poor months by Fort Wayne and Cleveland to move up into second place. Meanwhile, Washington was the team of the month, going 6-1 to pull to an even .500 record after struggling mightily in the first part of the season.

In Other News
Washington's rise from the doldrums of the league has come on the hot bat of John Arend. Arend is hitting .333 on the season and has a 21 game hitting streak going for him.

The Independence Day game in Chicago saw Rockford pummel the White Stockings 29-19. LF Jim Smith and SS Harry Holmes each had 6 hits for the Forest Citys, with Holmes driving in 8 of his team's runs.

Troy is involved in another ball scandal when, on July 3rd, they played host to New York. Despite the fact that it is customary to allow the visiting team to choose the ball, Troy insists on using their own ball. Troy then proceeds to win the game 9-8. The two teams meet again on July 13 in Brooklyn, where police are required to calm fans intent on attacking the Troy ballplayers. Troy took an early 1-0 lead in the 2nd, and Haymakers pitcher John Fortenberry shuts out the Mutuals through 8 innings. New York then rallied for 2 in the bottom of the 9th to win.

Standings

                            W      L      PCT      GB
Philadelphia Athletics     14      4     .778       -
New York Mutuals           11      9     .550     4.0
Cleveland Forest Citys      9      8     .529     4.5
Fort Wayne Kekiongas        8      7     .533     4.5
Boston Red Stockings        9      9     .500     5.0
Washington Olympics        12     12     .500     5.0
Rockford Forest Citys       7     10     .412     6.5
Troy Haymakers              5     10     .333     7.5
Chicago White Stockings     5     11     .313     8.0

League Leaders
Average
.438 Bob Polansky (CHW)
.419 Bob Brose (TRO)
.417 Harry Lebeau (NY)

Total Bases

62 John Boles (WSH)
57 Joe Bonetti (CLE)
55 John Arend (WSH)

Stolen Bases
19 Joe Bonetti (CLE)
17 John Arend (WSH)
17 Tom Gerheauser (CLE)

ERA

1.14 Jake Lindsey (FW)
2.45 Charlie Champ (CLE)
2.51 Joe Dimond (PHA)

Wins
11 Joe Dimond (PHI)
8 Charlie Champ (CLE)
6 Mart Lemelle (WSH), Bobby Thrasher (BOS)

Strikeouts
20 Joe Dimond (PHA)
13 Charlie Champ (CLE)
9 Denny Klusman (ROC)