In Defense Of Nichols

For the benefit of certain foolish friends of the Brown Stockings, who think that the club must necessarily suffer by the loss of Bradley, the following extracts in regard to his successor, picked at random from a few old exchanges, will show that Nichols, backed by such a magnificent fielding team as he will have to support his pitching, is fully capable of winning the championship:

The Boston Herald says: "Nichols is credited with winning the game by his remarkable pitching and batting. No runs were earned off him, and four of the professionals failed to hit safely in a single instance."

The Fall River News says: "Nichols, of the New Havens, is probably one of the best pitchers living; he has a variety of styles (making the catcher lots of work), a hard-hitter, fast-runner, and full of vim when pushed."

The New York Clipper says: "Of the many professional clubs who have met the Resolutes this year, there was none who played the game so sharply and well as did the New Havens. Their pitcher, Nichols, is the best, all points considered, the Resolute Club ever faced."

The Cincinnati Enquirer says: "Much of their strength is due to Nichols, their pitcher. This little fellow is, in our mind, without a peer in his position, except it be Bond. In him the Browns have won a treasure for the next year's nine, and one they can well afford to swap for Bradley. Besides being a good pitcher, he is a good general player, and one of the best-natured and jolliest men we have ever seen on the ball-field."

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, December 20, 1876

A Few Lines Of Explanation From Manager Jewett

Sir-As there are several false rumors afloat regarding the non-appearance of Mr. Nichols in his position as pitcher yesterday, allow me a few lines in explanation.

Mr. Nichols has been suffering for some little time with a lame side and shoulder, and, as I was anxious that he should make as favorable an impression as possible, I decided to let him rest one day. He was not reserved for the game with the "Reds," as your paper...states, but did not pitch for the very reason that he was not in condition. Very truly, etc.,

T.B. Jewett,

Manager N.H.B.B.C.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 19, 1876

Nichols did pitch against the Reds, although not well. The Reds scored nine runs in winning the game handily 9-3, aided by fourteen errors by the New Haven fielders.

The 1876 Brown Stockings: Giving The Field A Presentable Appearance

Two or three hundred people assembled at Grand Avenue Park yesterday afternoon to witness the contest between the New Havens and Browns, most of the interest, of course, centering in Nichols, the New Haven pitcher, who is to supplant Bradley in the Brown stocking team next year. George Seward, who was always, and justly so, a great favorite in St. Louis, as well as Waitt and Fleet, who played with the Browns last season, were recognized and warmly welcomed by those in attendance. Shortly before 4 o'clock a thunder-storm came up, and the rain fell in torrents just long enough to make the grounds unfit for playing purposes. Mr. Solari and his assistants, aided by the irrepressible Battin, Dicky Pearce and one or two other industrious experts, went to work with a will, and, by means of sawdust and brooms, gave the field a presentable appearance, although the diamond looked more like a circus ring than anything else. Play was not called until 5 o'clock, and a conclusion was not reached until nearly dark. Mr. Burtis having returned from Chicago, where he gave great satisfaction to the Bostons and Whites, occupied the umpire's position, and acquitted himself with is usual accuracy. Nichols did not pitch, his place being supplied by Cassidy, the center fielder, Manager Jewett holding the former in reserve for the game with the St. Louis Red Stockings this afternoon. Loud cries were heard for "Nick," but he was really not in a condition to occupy the "six by six," and the disappointment could not well be avoided. For the Browns Blong pitched seven innings and Bradley two-the seventh and eighth. The in-fielding on both sides was very fine, especially the work of Pearce and young Sam. Wright at short.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 18, 1876

It appears that Bradley gave up a run in the seventh but since this was a non-League game, it doesn't count against his consecutive shutout innings streak. Also, this gives us a nice account of Solari getting the grounds ready after a rain delay. Don't think I've ever come across anything like that before. Peter Morris sees Solari as one of the pioneers of grounds keeping and this gives us a rare look at the kind of work he was doing.

The 1876 Brown Stockings: The Mystery Deepens

Formal notices have been received of the engagement of Devlin and Snyder by the Louisville Club for 1877, and of Battin and Bradley by the Athletic Club for the same period.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 11, 1876

We have reports in the Globe on July 7 that the Brown Stockings signed Tricky Nichols for the 1877 season and here we have reports of George Washington Bradley and Joe Battin signing elsewhere for 1877. Leaving out the Battin signing for the moment, one would have to assume that the signings of Nichols and Bradley are related. Obviously, Bradley did not pitch for Philadelphia in 1877 (and Battin didn't play with them either, for that matter) but he did leave the Brown Stockings to pitch for Chicago. So it looks like Bradley was looking to leave St. Louis.

The timing of all of this is interesting. I don't think it's likely that Bradley's signing was a reaction to the Brown Stocking's signing of Nichols. There simply wasn't enough time between July 6 and July 10 for Bradley to get angry or upset over the Nichols signing, evaluate his situation and then engage in negotiations with the Athletics. Both the Nichols signing and the Bradley signing must have been in the works for a couple of weeks. It may be that Bradley was aware of the Brown Stockings interest in Nichols and reacted accordingly but I think it's more likely that the Brown Stockings were reacting to a desire by Bradley to leave the Brown Stockings.

Now, as I mentioned, neither Bradley nor Battin played with the Athletics in 1877 so it's possible that this was all rumor. I have a bit more work to do to run this down and the research is not complete. However, even if it is rumor (or something happened between the parties to nullify the agreement they made), it still is significant when looking at the 1876 season and the events that transpired to breakup the 1875/1876 Brown Stockings. It's also relevant to the events surrounding the 1877 Brown Stockings (and I think that's a nice euphemism).

But what this is telling me is that Bradley wanted out. And the question is why?

While I think I have enough evidence to answer the question, that is going to have to wait a few days. First, we have a great series between the Brown Stockings and Hartford to take a look at. Then I'll return to the question and talk about some rumors that were swirling around, show other players that were looking to leave St. Louis and present a rather shocking statement by Lip Pike that, I believe, ties everything together.

The Brown Stockings Sign Tricky Nichols

Nichols, the New Haven pitcher, has signed a contract to play with the Browns next season.

-St. Louis Globe-Democrat, July 7, 1876

You have George Washington Bradley on your team and he's having a fantastic season. You know it's not a fluke because he had a nice year for you in 1875. He's twenty-three years old and you figure he has a nice future in front of him. So what are you doing signing Tricky Nichols? There are a few different possible answers to this question but I think I'm just going to leave it for now and revisit the question in a few days. Let's just note that the Brown Stockings signed Tricky Nichols early in July of 1876.