The1876 Brown Stockings: A Signal Victory

In the presence of about two thousand people, the St. Louis Club opened their Eastern series of games with a signal victory over the Mutual Club, of Brooklyn. Mathews and Hicks made their reappearance for the Mutes, after an absence of about ten days. The game was remarkable for heavy batting and brilliant fielding. The weak spot in the Mutuals was in the pitching department, Mathews not having had any practice since his sickness.

The game opened with the Browns at the bat. Cuthbert took first on called balls, and scored on Pike's hit. Clapp earned first, and was sent home by a safe hit of Blong to center. Pike was put out at the home plate trying to score on the same hit. The other outs were McGeary and Battin on the fly to Tracy and Matthews. The Mutuals opened in splendid style, Holdsworth, Start and Tracy filling the bases immediately by hard, safe hits. Hallinan, the big batter, disappointed every one by tipping out to Clapp. A passed wild pitch let Big Jim in. Craver struck out, and Hicks retired at first. Thus a very dangerous looking inning ended very luckily for St. Louis

The Browns' second inning decided the game. Battin opened with a fly to Tracy and retired. Blong earned first and Bradley struck out. Dehlman, after being given a life by Tracy on a foul fly, took first on called balls. Mack reached first the same way. Cuthy hit safe. Clapp was sent to first on called balls. McGeary, Pike and Battin followed with clean hard line hits, and before Blong forced Pike out at third base six runs were scored. The Mutuals being blanked, all doubt as to the result of the game was over.

In the third inning Battin and Blong led off with safe hits, but the latter, with Bradley, were victimized in a double play by Hallinan, Craver and Start. Dehlman making the third hand out, left Battin on third. Start, Tracy and Hallinan went out in the order named. The Browns added three runs to their score in the fourth inning, Mack and Cuthbert getting first on wild throws by Hallinan and Matthews, and with McGeary scoring, on the safe hits of Clapp, McGeary, Pike and Battin, Clapp being put out at the home plate by Holdsworth and Hicks. Pike was run out between third and home, and Bradley at first base. For the Mutuals, Craver hit safe, Hicks got one past Mack. Booth tried one to the same player, but was doubled up with Hicks by Dennis, McGeary and Dehlman. Craver, going to third on the play, scored on Clapp's high throw to Battin to catch him napping.

One, two, three was the order of retirement for both sides in the fifth inning. After retiring the Browns for a blank in the sixth inning, the Mutuals made a desperate rally, Hallinan, Craver and Hicks following each other with safe hits, the former scoring. A good running catch by Pike disposed of Booth, and by Bradley's assistance a double play was made. Craver having run to third on the hit, and Pike overthrowing to second. Matthews ended the inning by hitting to Mack. The remainder of the game was remarkable for nothing of moment in the way of scoring. Base hits by Dehlman and Mack yielded the former a run in the eighth inning. Only one of the Mutuals reached first, Booth earning that base in the ninth inning.

A feature of the game was the number of times an inning was ended by one player, Nichols, putting the Browns out by himself in the fifth inning, Dehlman doing the same for the Mutuals in the seventh, and Mack fielding the three batsman all out at first base in the eighth inning. The play of Mack, Hallinan, Nichols, Dehlman and Start was remarkably fine. But one fly ball was hit to the St. Louis out-field during the game. To-morrow the St. Louis Club plays in Elizabeth, N.J.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, May 24, 1876