The Bay City Tribune - Sunday, June 23, 1895.
IT WAS EASY!
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DETROIT YALES FELL LIKE CHAFF BEFORE JOHN CLARKSON’S CURVES.
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SCORE STOOD 26 TO 2 WHEN THE END CAME.
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VISITORS PLAY THE YELLOWEST KIND OF IMITATION BASE BALL.
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AS BAD A SAMPLE AS EVER SEEN HERE.
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CLARKSON PITCHED A MAGNIFICENT GAME FROM THE START TO CLOSE.
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CASEY AT THE BAT WAS POUNDED HARD.
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George Andrew Black and his band of wild Irishmen came up from Detroit yesterday in order to instruct John Clarkson’s Bay City’s how the national game is played.
They came puffed up and vain over a few victories gained from Marine City, Ecorse, Podunk and other places where the only balls they seen are those passed over the bar in the saloons. Before the game began in the minds of the Detroit chaps it was odds of a million to one that Clarkson would be pounded for blocks outside of the lot and it was equally certain that the score would be 99 to 0 in favor of Yales.
But it transpired otherwise.
The Yales have a great name but that is the extent of their greatness. Their ability to play ball, as exemplified by yesterday’s attempt, is about fifty per cent worse than it would have been if nine wooden Indians had been stuck up in the field. Their fielding was something the color of La Chung’s silk skirt and their batting ability was about as successful as that of children trying to smash sun beams.
But the score itself is about as good a criterion to judge from as anything.
Bay City 26 runs, Yale 3 runs; Bay City, 17hits, Yale, 3 hits, Bay City, 5 errors, Yales, 11 errors.
But to the game. The cream of Bay City’s society was present in the grandstand and outside were to be heard several hundred of the crankiest sort of bleachers, just such a crowd as will rattle the opponents and cheer the home team to victory every time. When pitcher Clarkson entered the box and frowned down upon Baseman Twomey there were fully fifteen hundred people present.
There was no difficulty in retiring the Yales for the first inning. They had come to Bay City under the impression that John Clarkson by this time was at least ninety years old and that his speed was so bad a blind man could see the balls come with his eyes closed. The first ball over the plate astonished Mr. Twomey. He look at his fellows and his fellow looked at him and then nine Detroit hearts sunk as low as they could. It became a case of rattles which grew worse as the game progressed. The Yales struck at Clarkson’s balls like a last year’s chicken with its head off. For a while the balloon ascension pleased the spectators but after while they grew merciful and wished that the end would come. Detroit scored zero in the first. Then Craves stepped to the plate and basted the sphere a two-soaker to left scoring on Brown’s fly to right. Shepherd walked to first by virtue of Casey-at-bat sending four several from the plate and then Clarkson in response to an ovation slammed out a double sack to right, away in the weeds and later by Merrill’s out three runs were tallied.
The second was blank. Craves opened the third by strolling to the initial bag and then by a combination of hits and yellow fielding and even worse pitching the round was made and Craves came to bat the second time. Five runs. The fourth was still worse. Brown opened with a double and before the third man was out fifteen men had stepped to the plate and nine men crossed it.
This was too much and Girardin was substituted. It wasn’t much better and the runs continued to pour in.
As for the poor Yales they were only able to hit Clarkson safely three times and two of those were scratches. Clarkson toyed with them and just when they would begin to imagine they would reach first, three snakey ones would cross the plate and the batters would retire, weary and disconsolate.
For the Bay Citys Clarkson, of course, put up the star game both in fielding and batting. Craves batted well and covered his position almost faultlessly, Merrill on first did some clever work while Brown on the receivers end of the battery stood by Clarkson superbly.
The following shows how Clarkson frightened the Detroit youths:
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BAY CITY. | A.B. | R. | H. | P.O. | A. | E.
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Craves, 2b | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1
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Brown, c | 6 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 0
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Shepherd, 3b | 4 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0
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Clarkson, p | 6 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0
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Kelly, lf | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1
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Merrill, 1b | 5 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 2
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Meeker, ss | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1
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Kennedy, cf | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0
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Tierney, rf | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
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TOTALS | 48 | 26 | 17 | 27 | 12 | 5
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YALES. | A.B. | R. | H. | P.O. | A. | E.
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Twomey, rf | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0
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Carpenter, cf | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0
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O'Toole, c | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 0
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Thill, 1b | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 2
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Hudson, 2b | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2
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Broghlin, 3b | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1
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McCaffrey, ss | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2
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Girardin, lf, p | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1
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Casey, p, lf | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3
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TOTALS | 34 | 2 | 3 | 24 | 17 | 11
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
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Yales | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2
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Bay C. | 3 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | * | 26
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Earned runs – Bay City, 1. Two base hits - Craves; Brown; Clarkson 2; Meeker; Kennedy. Three base hits – Clarkson. Pass balls – O’Toole. Wild pitches – Casey 4; Guardin 5. Bases on balls – Off Casey, 6: off Guardin, 5; off Clarkson, 5. Hit by pitched balls – Meeker. Struck out – by Clarkson, 10; by Casey, 2; by Guardin, 3. Double plays – Hudson to Thill; Clarkson to Craves to Merrill. First base on errors – Bay City, 8; Yales, 5. Time – 2:20. Umpire – Johnson.
