August 1, 1872
Philadelphia continued their torrid pace in a bid to repeat as champions of the National Association, and made a big statement against their closest challengers at the end of the month. On July 27, the Athletics traveled to Boston to play the Red Stockings at South End Grounds. Third baseman Sandy Flaugher led a Philly barrage of 18 runs against Charlie Bickley and the Boston pitching staff. Meanwhile, Joe Dimond shut down the league’s highest scoring offense, earning an easy 18-1 victory.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Eckfords end their season early on July 9 after being unable to stay competitive, winning just 4 games out of 13 and having few fans show up to their games. Cleveland and Baltimore, despite their poor showing in the standings.
Despite being a first division team, the Troy Haymakers drop out of the NA midseason, disbanding amidst financial woes. Several of the Haymakers head to Brooklyn to join the Eckfords, including pitchers Al Allen and Pete Jackson, as well as LF Bob Brose, SS Harry Bowling, and 2B Oscar Williams. The influx of players allows the Eckfords to make plans to continue their season, and the team schedules their next game for August 9 against Baltimore. Meanwhile, 3B Frank Stuart went to the Canaries, and will have several games before facing off against his former teammates.
Standings
Code:
W L PCT GB
Philadelphia Athletics 15 6 .714 -
Boston Red Stockings 16 10 .615 1.5
New York Mutuals 16 11 .593 2.0
Brooklyn Atlantics 7 6 .538 4.0
Troy Haymakers 13 12 .520 4.0
Washington Olympics 5 4 .556 4.0
Middletown Mansfields 9 9 .500 4.5
Washington Nationals 5 6 .455 5.0
Brooklyn Eckfords 4 7 .364 6.0
Cleveland Forest Citys 6 14 .300 8.5
Baltimore Canaries 8 19 .296 10.0
League Leaders
Average
.482 Billy Horace (ECK)
.462 John Arend (WSH)
.424 Bob Polansky (MID)
Total Bases
62 Fred Mannion (BOS)
61 Bob Brose (TRO)
61 Tom Hedgepeth (NY)
61 John Nero (NY)
Stolen Bases
11 Tom Hedgepeth (NY)
10 Jack Masterson (BAL)
8 Fred Mannion (BOS), John Nero (NY)
ERA
1.98 Charlie Champ (CLE)
2.47 Jim Carlos (NY)
2.56 Al Allen (TRO)
Wins
12 Joe Dimond (PHA)
11 Charlie Bickley (BOS)
9 Jim Carlos (NY), Pete Jackson (TRO)
Strikeouts
20 Joe Dimond (PHA)
10 Jake Lindsey (MID)
9 Al Allen (TRO), Jim Carlos (NY), Pete Jackson (TRO)