A GRAND EXHIBITION
SPLENDID BATTING BY THE ATLANTIC NINE
Twenty-Six Runs in a Single Inning
Seventeen Scored Before a Single Hand Was Lost
By Henry Chadwick, Sunday Mercury, October 20, 1861 (game of October 16, 1861)
ATLANTIC (of Bedford) vs. MUTUAL (of New York)--
The return match between these well-known clubs, which was played on Wednesday last, at Bedford, L.I., in
the presence of an immense gathering of spectators, proved to be a tremendous "big thing on Snyder," if Snyder
may be supposed to represent the Mutual Club. The Atlantics were present, on the occasion, in all their
force and glory; played with all their pristine vigor and excellence, and so far exceeded their brightest
anticipations of success, that they astonished their "oldest inhabitant"-- which is "Peter."
The Atlantics have always had a reputation for superior batting; but never have they before displayed, nor,
in fact, has there ever been witnessed on any field, in all our base ball experience-- which covers a period
of ten years-- such a grand exhibition of splendid batting as was shown by them in the third inning of the
match played on Wednesday last. It was a sight to see and to remember; for, we imagine, it will be a long
time before its like is seen again. The nearest approach to their style of batting on Wednesday last, that we
can now recall to mind, was that which they "gave vent to" in the second match with the Excelsior Club, last
year, when their streak of good batting in the seventh inning (in which they made nine runs) secured them
the game, which before seemed dead against them.
The Mutual nine were by no means slow in batting. They struck hard and heavy, "right from the shoulder," but
they only occasionally indulged in these 19-inch Howitzer shots which characterized the Atlantic's third
inning. In the sixth and last inning, the Mutuals got off some of their "biggest licks," and Brown, we think,
succeeded in making the longest hit of the game, crediting himself with a very clean and handsome home run;
while Mott evidently used the most powder. A ball hit by him in the sixth inning struck M. O'Brien, the pitcher,
with such force on the shin, as to completely underpin him, taking him flatly off his feet. Altogether, the game
exhibited the tallest batting, and more of it, than has ever before been witnessed.
Dicky Pearce, Peter O'Brien
It is unnecessary to occupy our space with the details of this game, the interest in which, as a contest, was
destroyed by the remarkable results of the third inning; but it may be interesting to those of our readers, who
were not present at the match, to know something of the details of that inning, and, therefore, we shall indulge
in a brief review of that particular inning.
The game stood at 8 to 7, the Mutuals having the lead. Matty O'Brien then took the bat to open the third inning.
He hit the ball in good style, but it was well fielded, and he could get no further than the first base. Price
then came up to the bull-ring, and before he struck, Matty took a run for the second base, McMahon making a pretty
throw to Brown to head him off. It was a sort of "nip and tuck" affair between Matty and the ball; but the umpire
said Matty had the best of it, and that was enough, although Brown's underjaw was seen to drop about a foot or a
foot and a half. Price then put in a "big lick" and brought Matty home, while he got to the third base, from
which he got home on a pass ball. Boerum followed with another splendid crack, and also made the third base. Then
came "Peter," who felt the pride of the Atlantics was at stake, and that "'eavy 'its" was the programme to save
the country, and he sent a whizzer away "over the fence," which, according to the rule adopted, entitled him to
only one base. F. Seinsoth hit a fine grounder, and carried Peter to the second and himself to the first base.
Pearce then put in a good shoulder hit, which H.B. Taylor made extraordinary exertions to catch, but missed and
Peter and Seinsoth came in with a hurrah, while "Dicky" safely reached the second. John Oliver followed with a fine
hit, and made second base; and was driven home by Smith, who made a clean home run for himself, and was congratulated
with a round of applause. Joe Oliver got to the first base on his strike. Matty O'Brien then came up to take
part in round No. 2; and when he struck, Brown rather muffed the ball, and Joe got to the second base, and Matty
to the first. Each ran and made a base. Price then "whistled" them both home, and took command of the second base.
Boerum sent him orders to "come in," and placed himself on the first base. "Peter" drove him home, and did picket
duty on the second base. Seinsoth signalled Peter by a skyrocket to leave his post; but Peter didn't "see it," and
neither did Burns (the pitcher) for that matter; and Frank got to the first base. Pearce then discharged a big
gun, and Peter rushed in to see what was the matter, and found that Pearce had taken his place on the second
base, and Seinsoth had toddled round to the third. John Oliver sent a messenger, which called home both Pearce and
Seinsoth, and he acted as an advance guard on the second base. Smith brought Johnny in in a very leisurely manner,
and made the third base himself. Joe Oliver then followed with a good crack, but brought up on the first base.
Matty O'Brien then came up for the third round in this inning-- seventeen runs had been made without the
loss of a single man. Matty made a good attempt to keep the ball rolling, but Brown, on the second base, stuck a
pin in the score, by stopping and passing the ball to the first base in time to head off the striker. He then
served Price (who followed Matty) in the same way.
Two hands were thus put out, and it was believed that the business of that inning was about ended. But Boerum
renewed the long and vigorous batting by a telling hit to the right field, and made the third base. He was
followed by Peter and a home run. F. Seinsoth made the second base on his bat. Pearce only succeeded in reaching
the first base; but John Oliver again brought them both home and made second base. Smith followed with a
"sock-dollager," which carried him to the second base, and John Oliver home. Joe Oliver made another good effort,
and reached first base safely, and Smith came home. Matty O'Brien took the bat for the fourth time in this
inning, and got off a good hit, on which he made the second, sending "Joe" to the scorer's table to take a drink.
Price indulged in another heavy crack, but only reached the first base, though Matty went along home. Boerum
knocked a fine ball, but it was rather too airy to be safe; and H.B. Taylor, who began to think that if the
Atlantics kept on batting there wouldn't be ball enough left to finish the game, made a determined stand, grabbed
Boerum's ball, and dropped the curtain on the Atlantic's performance in the third act. The number of runs scored
in this inning by the Atlantics was twenty-six; and this, as we have shown, was not in consequence of
misplays or indifferent fielding on the part of their adversaries-- as is usually the case when so large a score
is made in a single inning-- but by long, heavy, and superior batting, which baffled all the exertions of three
good fielders.
The playing on both sides was generally good, and all hands tried to do their best. The Mutuals made several
changes in position after the third inning; but the Atlantics kept all their original places. Boerum played as
catcher, and Price played the first base in good, old-fashioned style; and Smith, John Oliver, Pearce, and the
rest, kept up to their business in a vigilant and attentive manner. Six balls passed Boerum in the five innings
he played as catcher, and one passed F. Seinsoth in the sixth inning. Three balls passed McMahon in the first
three innings, and five passed Brown in the last three. Home runs were made during the game by Brown, Mott,
Harris, H.B. Taylor, P. O'Brien, Joe Oliver and Smith. Harris and Burns struck out once each. Brown, McMahon,
H.B. Taylor, Mott, Powell, Bogart, Joe Oliver, F. Seinsoth and P. O'Brien each missed a ball on the fly; and
Pearce, McMahon, and Bogart, one each on the bound.
The umpire had some very close decisions to make, and filled his post impartially.
The best of order was preserved on the ground by an extensive police force, and everything passed off well.
The following is the score:
MUTUAL O. R. ATLANTIC O. R.
Brown (2d b.).............1 5 Pearce (s.s.)..............3 6
A.B. Taylor (l.f.)........2 3 Oliver (2d b.).............3 5
Powell (s.s.).............4 2 Smith (3d b.)..............2 6
H.B. Taylor (c.f.)........3 2 Joe Oliver (r.f)...........3 5
McMahon (C.)..............1 3 M. O'Brien (P.)............2 6
Harris (P.)...............2 2 Price (1st b.).............2 5
Burns (1st b.)............1 4 Boerum (C.)................1 6
Bogart (3d b.)............2 3 P. O'Brien (l.f.)..........1 6
Mott (r.f.)...............2 3 F. Seinsoth (c.f.).........1 7
INNINGS.............................1 2 3 4 5 6
---------------------------
Atlantic............................1 6 26 6 10 3 -- 52
Mutual..............................4 4 5 4 3 7 -- 27
Scorers-- Atlantic, Mr. Moore; Mutual, Mr. McConnell.
Umpire-- Mr. Bixby, of the Eagle Club.
ANALYSIS OF FIELDING--HOW PUT OUT
MUTUAL Fly Bound Bases Total ATLANTIC Fly Bound Bases Total
------------------------ ------------------------
By Pearce.......0 1 0 1 By Brown........1 1 0 2
Oliver.......0 0 1 1 A.B. Taylor..0 0 0 0
Smith........0 1 1 2 Powell.......0 1 0 1
Joe Oliver...0 0 0 0 H.B. Taylor..0 2 0 2
M. O'Brien...0 0 1 1 McMahon......0 1 1 2
Price........0 0 3 3 Harris.......1 0 0 1
Boerum.......1 6 1 8 Burns........1 0 1 2
P. O'Brien...0 0 0 0 Bogart.......0 4 4 8
Seinsoth.....0 0 0 0 Mott.........0 0 0 0
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Total......1 8 7 16* Total......3 9 6 18
ANALYSIS OF BATTING--HOW PUT OUT
1st 2d 3d 1st 2d 3d
ATLANTIC Fly Bound Base Base Base Foul MUTUAL Fly Bound Base Base Base Foul
----------------------------- -----------------------------
Pearce.......1 1 0 0 1 0 Brown........0 1 0 0 0 0
Oliver.......0 1 0 0 0 0 A.B. Taylor..0 1 1 0 0 0
Smith........0 1 0 0 0 1 Powell.......0 0 1 0 0 3
Joe Oliver...0 0 0 0 1 2 H.B. Taylor..0 0 1 0 0 2
M. O'Brien...0 1 1 0 0 0 McMahon......0 0 0 0 0 1
Price........0 1 1 0 0 0 Harris.......0 0 0 1 0 0
Boerum.......1 0 0 0 0 0 Burns........0 0 0 0 0 0*
P. O'Brien...0 1 0 0 0 0 Bogart.......0 0 0 0 1 1*
Seinsoth.....0 1 0 0 0 0 Mott.........0 0 1 0 0 0*
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
Total......2 7 2 0 2 3 Total......0 2 4 1 1 7
* -- Not fully recorded for sixth inning
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