October 1, 1872
Philadelphia and New York faced off with two games at the start of September, giving the Mutuals a chance to catch up with the Athletics, but Philly came out ahead in both contests, pushing their lead in the standings to 4 games. They then faced off against Boston for a pair, winning the first game to extend their winning streak to 8 games. Boston won a 15-11 slugfest in the second game to stay within 6 in the standings. Philadelphia would get revenge later in the month, as well as dropping the Mutuals one more time, and ultimately extended their league to a seemingly insurmountable 8.5 games. Their 12-2 record in September puts them in excellent position to repeat as champions.
At the other end of the standings, Baltimore actually played fairly well, going 5-3, while the Eckfords struggled to a 2-5 record. The Atlantics did not cope well with the loss of their starting shortstop (see below), and went 2-7 to drop to 13 back.
In Other News
Sept 1: Brooklyn Atlantics shortstop Tommy Bise drowns in New York harbor after falling from a fishing boat.
Sept 7: Joe Dimond becomes the first pitcher in NA history to win 20 games in a single season. Dimond shuts down the Eckford offense to the tune of just 4 hits and 2 runs in a complete game performance. He’s supported by a superb defense that commits just 4 errors in the game,
Sept 26: The first Shriners Temple is established, in New York City.
Standings
Code:
W L PCT GB
Philadelphia Athletics 34 10 .773 -
Boston Red Stockings 24 17 .585 8.5
New York Mutuals 26 23 .531 10.5
Troy Haymakers 13 12 .520 11.5
Washington Olympics 5 4 .556 11.5
Washington Nationals 5 6 .455 12.5
Brooklyn Atlantics 15 17 .469 13.0
Middletown Mansfields 10 14 .417 14.0
Brooklyn Eckfords 9 17 .346 16.0
Cleveland Forest Citys 7 15 .318 16.0
Baltimore Canaries 18 31 .367 18.5
League Leaders
Average
.462 John Arend (WSH)
.419 Billy Horace (ECK)
.412 Frank Hogge (NAT)
Total Bases
112 Joe Holleran (PHA)
108 John Nero (NY)
103 Tom Hedgepeth (NY), Bill Shew (BAL)
Stolen Bases
19 John Nero (NY)
17 Tom Hedgepeth (NY)
12 Fred Mannion (BOS)
ERA
1.93 Charlie Champ (CLE)
2.60 Jim Carlos (NY)
2.80 Al Allen (ECK)
Wins
23 Joe Dimond (PHA)
14 Gid Washer (BAL)
13 Charlie Bickley (BOS)
Strikeouts
32 Joe Dimond (PHA)
18 Gid Washer (BAL)
14 Pete Jackson (ECK)