The 1884 Maroons: Between The Three Fires

A thousand people attended the game of base ball between the Cincinnati and St. Louis Clubs to-day.  The weather was very hot, the mercury ranging up in the 90s.  There was a good deal of dissatisfaction with Devinney as an umpire.  The spectators fell out with him early and hissed him unmercifully, and both clubs complained of him.  The St. Louis Club was displeased with his rulings on balls and hits, but the home club made the loudest complaints, accusing him of deciding against them at critical points when they had men on bases, and deciding in favor of the visitors when they had men on bases.  Devinney was between the three fires to-day, of the the spectators and the two clubs, which made it pretty hot for him.  The complaints against him are so serious that they are likely to take the shape of a protest.  The home club say that he made six unjust decisions against them to-day.  It has not been customary to complain of the umpire at games played here this season.  One of the salient features of the game to-day was a very brilliant left-hand catch, made on a dead run, by Whitehead, off hit by Swartz in the ninth inning.  The feat seemed impossible until Whitehead demonstrated the contrary.  Burns' long drive for a home run was one of the finest ever made on the grounds.  Crane and Dunlap challenged universal admiration by their splendid second base play, as well as by their brilliant batting.  An assist by Shaffer to first won merited applause.  The home club made the first score, in the second inning, after two men were out, ,when Jones made a single and Crane sent a fine three-bagger to left, which netted 1 earned run.  In the fifth, with one man out, Hawes hit a grounder too hot for Dunlap to hold, and Burns made his long centerfield drive for a home run, which netted 2 more runs, one of them earned, and tied the score.  In the seventh, after one man was out, Kenedy hit safe to left, Hawes hit to right, and it was here that Shafer made his splendid assist to first, which but Hawes out.  Meantime Kennedy got to third, from which a single by Burns brought him home, giving the home club an earned run and rounding up their total score of 4.  The St. Louis Club made goose eggs in the first two innings, but in the third scored 3 runs, two of them earned.  Dunlap made a scratch hit, Shaffer, Rowe and Gleason struck singles, and Burns made a wild pitch.  They skipped two innings without scoring, and then, in the seventh, made 2 runs in the following fashion: After Ryder was out Whitehead and Dunlap struck singles and Harbidge fumbled a grounder.  Here the home club claimed Dunlap had been put out at the home plate, but the umpire decided otherwise.  In the ninth inning they added 3 to their score, two of them earned, bringing it up to 8, on a fumble and wild throw by Jones, a single by Whitehead, a long drive for home by Dunlap and a single by Rowe.  Here again the home club claimed that Dunlap was put out at the home plate, but the umpire decided to the contrary.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 25, 1884