The 1884 Maroons: A Pitcher's Duel And A Walk-Off Hit

By all odds the most interesting game played on the Union grounds was yesterday's contest between the Chicago and St. Louis Unions.  Eleven innings were required to decide it, and the final score was 3 to 2 in favor of the home club.  It was to a great degree a pitcher's duel, Sweeney and Daily doing remarkable work.  Sweeney held the visitors down to four safe hits, and struck out seven men, while Daily, whose earnest and skillful efforts deserved a victory, limited the home team hits to six and retired ten men on strikes, only Rowe and Quinn avoiding the struck out list, and Dunlap, Boyle and Whitehead going out twice each on strikes.  A few rank errors were made on both sides, but the play as a whole was sharp, brilliant and exciting.  The home nine was without the services of Gleason, who was nursing a sore hand, and Whitehead covered third, Rowe short, and Werdon center.  Rowe played his position in fine form, making two excellent catches and a remarkably brilliant running, one-hand stop of a low grounder from Schoeneck's bat.  Whitehead made a fumble and an overthrow to first.  The work of both Krieg and Baker behind the bat was admirable, neither having a passed ball.  Baker made two wild throws to second.  In the eleventh inning he made a bad one that came near losing the game, but a moment later he retrieved it by going back after a foul from Gardner's bat, taking it while running at full speed within two yards of the stand, against which he dashed with sufficient force to have broken an ordinary person in pieces.  The crowd first looked to see if he was hurt, and then set up a deafening veil.

Daily's Popularity.

As usual whenever he appears in St. Louis, one-armed Daily was the favorite of the occasion.  Twice he received ovations; once in the third inning, when he caught a high fly sent up by Shafer, and again in the sixth, when Boyle and Sweeny struck out.  In the fourth inning he failed in an attempt to catch Quinn's fly.  In the eighth he struck out Dunlap in three balls, and that achievement was followed by shrieking enthusiasm.  In the first inning Dunlap retired the visitors, fielding Ellick and Gardner out at first and catching a high fly raised by Wheeler.  Going to the bat he popped up a very high ball, which Ellick squarely muffed, and by good base running he secured second.  On Shafer's safe hit to right he advanced to third.  After Shafer had taken second on sufferance, a wild pitch enabled Dunlap to score and Shafer to reach third.  Then Rowe hit to Berry, who held the ball and hesitated about throwing to the plate or first.  While Berry was deliberating, Shafer got under way and beat the ball to the plate.  Rowe reached first without obstruction.  Boyle hit safely to right, and Baker's sharp fielding held Rowe at second.  Then Sweeny, Quinn and Baker successively hit to Ellick, who fielded to Gardner, forcing Rowe, Boyle and Sweeny at third.  The Chicago team tied the score in the third inning.  McGarr led off with a bounder which Sweeny tipped and checked so that first was secured before either Sweeny or Dunlap could field the ball.  Berry followed with a two-bagger to left, advancing McGarr to third.  Daily's safe hit to left brought McGarr across the plate and gave Berry third.  Berry scored on Baker's wild throw to Dunlap when Daily ran for second.  After Ellick's fly was captured by Shafer, Wheeler's hit to Rowe and out at first gave Daily third, where he was left by Gardner flying out to Boyle.

First Hesitancy.

The visitors came very near winning in the eighth inning.  Berry reached third on Whitehead's fumble and wild throw to first and Shafer's throw over Dunlap's head.  Daily hit direct to Whitehead, who fumbled and then threw low to Quinn, from whose breast the ball bounded back about five yards.  Berry, who had moved away from third, got back on the bumble, started when the ball was forwarded to Quinn, stopped when the latter did not let it get by him, and then broke for home.  His hesitation destroyed a splendid opportunity, for it enabled Quinn to recover the ball and throw to Baker in time to score an out.  In the eleventh, Daily got first on Dunlap's fumble, and third on Baker's shocking throw to Dunlap, but was left by Ellick raising a foul fly that Quinn nipped, Wheeler foul tipping to Baker, and the latter's great catch of Gardner's foul.  For the local team, Shafer led off with a slashing drive to left center, which looked like a two-bagger, but, owing to Wheeler's sharp work, proved to be but a single.  Then Rowe fired a grounder to right, and Shafer attempted to make third, the ball going direct from deep in right field to Gardner's hands.  Rowe ran to second on the throw.  Boyle sent a fly to right center, and Baker not only took care of it, but threw to second so sharply that Rowe had a narrow escape from being doubled up.  As it was, the crowd manifested a disapproval of the umpire's decision that he was safe.  The final play occurred on Sweeny's low fly to center.  Wheeler made a dashing effort to intercept, and by very fast running got under it, only to fail to hold it, and let Rowe cross the plate and tally the winning run.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, August 18, 1884