June 1, 1872
The defending champion Philadelphia Athletics opened their season on May 1 in Baltimore against the league rookie Canaries. Baltimore jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the 1st, and looked to put the champs down 0-1 in the standings with and 8-6 lead heading into the 9th. However, a triple by 2B George Barkley sparked a 3-run rally that gave the Athletics a 9-8 lead, their first of the game. However, a pair of costly errors allowed Baltimore to tie the game in the bottom half of the inning, and the game went to the 10th inning. Philadelphia would go on to score 2 in the 10th and wound up with an 11-9 victory.
Early standings leader Middletown and the Washington Olympics both struggled through the month of May, dropping several spots in the standings. Taking their place at the top were the Boston Red Stockings and New York Mutuals. While Middletown will get a shot to redeem themselves in June and beyond, the Olympics have run out of money to pay players and for travel expenses, and have canceled all of the remaining games on their schedule. At this point, it seems unlikely that the team will be able to return to the league at any point in the future, and they appear to be done.
In Other News
Washington Olympics catcher Josh Croyle saw his hitting streak snapped at 30 games after being held hitless by Charlie Champ and the Cleveland Forest Citys.
On May 10, Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for President of the United States, despite being a year too young to appear on the ballot.
On May 22, President Grant signs the Amnesty Act of 1872, restoring full civil rights to almost all confederate sympathizers.
Standings
Code:
W L PCT GB
Boston Red Stockings 7 3 .700 -
New York Mutuals 7 4 .636 .5
Troy Haymakers 9 6 .600 .5
Brooklyn Atlantics 3 2 .600 1.5
Middletown Mansfields 5 4 .556 1.5
Philadelphia Athletics 4 3 .571 1.5
Washington Olympics 5 4 .556 1.5
Washington Nationals 5 4 .556 1.5
Cleveland Forest Citys 5 5 .500 2.0
Brooklyn Eckfords 0 4 .000 4.0
Baltimore Canaries 2 13 .133 7.5
League Leaders
Average
.479 Dick Livermore (CLE)
.462 John Arend (WSH)
.450 Billy Horace (ECK)
Total Bases
42 Bob Brose (TRO)
30 Harry Bowling (TRO)
30 John Lyle (NY)
30 Bill Shew (BAL)
Stolen Bases
5 John Arend (WSH)
5 Joe Bonetti (CLE)
4 Nat Alsop (CLE), Bob Brose (TRO), Nat Kuhlmann (CLE), Jack Masterson (BAL)
ERA
1.25 Jim Carlos (NY)
1.86 Charlie Champ (CLE)
2.39 Al Allen (TRO)
Wins
6 Pete Jackson (TRO)
5 Jim Carlos (NY)
4 Charlie Bickley (BOS), Charlie Champ (CLE), Al Newbold (OLY)
Strikeouts
7 Al Allen (TRO)
7 Jake Lindsey (MID)
6 Charlie Champ (CLE)