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It is a matter of public rumor and is also a fact which has come to our knowledge that men identified with clubs, members of the national agreement, have been co-operating in the formation of clubs or organizations whose purpose is to conflict with the national agreement. In view of this knowledge, the National League and American Association of Professional Clubs in convention assembled respectfully suggests to and requests the National Board to declare A. C. Buckenberger, William Barnie and Fred Pfeffer ineligible to be employed either as manager or player or in any capacity whatever, by any club or organization operating under the national agreement, and they be forthwith suspended. Such suspension to remain in force until such time as they or either of them can satisfy the National Board that they have in no way been engaged directly or indirectly in the organization of any club, league or association formed or to be formed in conflict with the principles of the national agreement. And in the event of their failure to relieve themselves from this suspension within such time as your Board may direct, they shall be expelled and forever debarred from any connection with clubs or organizations identified with the National Agreement of Professional Base Ball Clubs.

We furthermore request that your Board take like action in the case of any player, manager, umpire or club official who in the future identifies himself with a similar movement.

C. H. BYRNE, J. T. BRUSH, JAMES A. HART, H. R. VON DER HORST, N. E. YOUNG.

The above address was submitted to the National League at its annual meeting, fully discussed and unanimously adopted.

Appended is the decision of the National Board:

To all National Agreement Clubs, Leagues, and Associations:

At a meeting of the National Board of Professional Base Ball Clubs, held in New York city November 16, 1894, a communication was received from the National League and American Association of Professional Base Ball Clubs, in convention assembled, requesting this Board to take action in the case of certain individuals heretofore identified with clubs operating under the national agreement who have been charged with treachery to their employers and the organizations with which they have been identified. The request, so presented, was supplemented by an appeal from the executive officers of the Eastern League of Base Ball Clubs and the Western League of Base Ball Clubs to take such action as was proper to protect said leagues in the rights assured them under the national agreement.

After mature consideration, and governed absolutely by a desire to comply with the letter and spirit of the requests made to this Board, and having reasonable and substantial evidence upon which to base our action.

This Board has decided to announce, and it does declare that A. C, Buckenberger, William Barnie and Fred Pfeffer are ineligible to be employed either as manager, player or in any other capacity by any club or organization identified with the national agreement, and said persons are hereby declared suspended.

This Board further declares that such suspension shall remain in force up to and including December 31, 1894, and in the event of the failure of the above named persons, or either of them, on or before the above named date, to show to this Board that he or they have been in no manner, directly or indirectly, engaged in any attempt to promote the organization of clubs, leagues or associations antagonistic to the national agreement, they shall be expelled and forever debarred from any connection with clubs or organized bodies operating under the national agreement.

N.E. YOUNG, A.H. SODEN, C.H. BYRNE,

The foregoing action was partially caused by the following communication:

NEW YORK, November 15, 1894. TO THE NATIONAL LEAGUE AND AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL BASE BALL CLUBS.

It has been made known to us, and we have good and substantial reasons for believing that such knowledge is correct, that a new organization of base ball clubs is contemplated, which, of necessity, must operate without the pale of the national agreement. It appears also that it is the purpose of the new association, if it materializes, to attempt to take from our respective organizations and clubs players now held by us under the right of reservation accorded us by the national agreement. We therefore request that you, as a body, take some action to protect us, so far as possible, against all outside organizations. We trust you will give this immediate attention, and we await your action.

Respectfully,

B.B. JOHNSON, Sec. Western League, P.B.B.C. P.T. POWERS, Pres. Eastern League.

#The Base Ball Season of 1894.#

To professional base ball, as governed by the existing National League, is mainly due the great popularity our national game has achieved within the past twenty years. Of course the amateur class of the fraternity greatly outnumber the professionals; but the game could never have reached its present point of excellence in field work but for the time and attention the professional clubs were enabled to devote to its thorough development from the year of Harry Wright's famous "Red Stocking" nine of Cincinnati, in 1869, to the existing period of model professional ball playing. In the first place, the amateur clubs could never have given the game the time and labor required for its evolution which the professional clubs were enabled to do; and, moreover, not one club in a thousand could have spared the money required to fit up and keep in serviceable condition such finely equipped ball grounds as those now owned by the leading professional clubs of the National League. To these facts, too, are to be added the statement that to the National League's government of the professional class of the fraternity is due the lasting credit of sustaining the integrity of play in the game up to the highest standard; so much so, indeed, that it has reached the point of surpassing, in this most important respect, every other sport in vogue in which professional exemplars are employed. Take it for all in all, no season since the inauguration of the National League in 1876, has approached that of 1894 in the number of clubs which took part in the season's games, both in the amateur as well as the professional arena; and certainly no previous season ever saw the professional clubs of the country so well patronized as they were in 1894. Moreover, it was the most brilliant and successful season in every respect known in the annals of the college clubs of the country. In fact, there was but one drawback to the creditable success of the entire championship campaigns of 1894, and that was the unwonted degree of "hoodlumism" which disgraced the season in the professional arena, and this, we regret to say, was painfully conspicuous among the players of the National League clubs, this organization having been noted, prior to its absorption of the old American Association element in its ranks in 1892, for the reputable character of its annual struggles for championship honors. One result of the rowdy ball playing indulged in by a minority of each club team in the League was a decided falling off in the attendance of the best class of patrons of the professional clubs.

Since the reconstructed National League began its new life, blundering management of teams has characterized the running of a majority of its twelve clubs, and it will continue to do so while the system of engaging players for their records merely and not for their ability in doing team work and in playing harmoniously together, is continued. Especially, too, is the plan of engaging players whose daily habits of life are at war with their ability to do first-class work in the field. Year after year are drinking offenses condoned by the club officials who run the club, and old time drunkards re-engaged for the coming season, while steady, sober players are left out in the cold. Besides this blunder, there is that of engaging half worn out stars in the place of rising young players ambitious of distinguishing themselves in the League arena. This mistake in team management was as conspicuous in 1894 as it was in 1893.

A feature of the professional base ball season of 1894 was the almost phenomenal success of the clubs--alike of the minor leagues as of the great major league itself--in battling against the serious drawback of the "hard times" of the year, which prevailed throughout the entire season. Experience shows that in the sports in vogue which have innate attractions for public patronage in times of great financial difficulties in the commercial centres of the union, the national game stands conspicuous; and the past season in this respect presented a most notable record, no such crowds of spectators ever having been seen at the leading contests of the season as in 1894.

Another feature of the past season was the interest taken in the college club contests of the spring and early summer campaign, the leading club teams giving a superior exhibition of team work play in the field to that of 1893. In fact, the national game flourished as a whole throughout the entire country in 1894 as it never had done before in the history of the game.

#The League Championship Campaign of 1894.#

The struggle for the League's championship pennant in 1894 was the most noteworthy one on record in one particular respect, and that was in the exciting struggle by the three leaders of the first division for the championship, which struggle began on June 20th with the Baltimores first and Boston second, and was continued on that line until New York became one of the trio on July 5th, after which date these three clubs occupied the position of first three in the race to the finish, the other nine clubs not being "in it" after July 5th. In all other respects the race for the pennant of 1894 was far from being up to the standard that should characterize the League's championship season, no less than three of the minor league pennant races being more evenly contested than was that of the great major league. From the following record of the difference in percentage points each season between the leader and tail ender it will be seen that in no less than seven of the seasons from 1881 to 1894, inclusive, were the pennant races of past seasons superior in this respect to that of 1894, that of 1891 being the smallest in difference of points on record.

Here is the record in question:

Judging by the percentage figures of the twelve clubs, recorded at the end of each month's campaign of the season, the race was a one-sided one almost from the start, the Baltimore and Boston clubs being in the leading positions from the very outset of the race, the remaining ten clubs fighting for third place from April 19th to June 20th, when New York took the lead of the other nine, joining Baltimore and Boston in the struggle for the leading position.

A League pennant race--or that of a minor league, for that matter--to be up to the regulation standard, should at least show a difference in percentage figures varying, on the average, not far from 250 points; a model race, in these figures, not exceeding 200 points. But this standard has not been reached in League records for fifteen years, the best being over 223 points. Then, too, comes the record of the occupancy of the several positions of the two divisions, this, to a certain extent, showing the character of the pennant race of the season. In this regard, an evenly contested race should show a weekly change of position in each division, for one thing, and also a change from first division to second division at least once a month. A model race should see the first three positions changed weekly, the first six places at least fortnightly, and the tail end positions once a month at farthest. But what does the figures of the pennant race of the League for 1894 show? Let us glance at the; records of the occupancy of the first and second divisions in last year's pennant race. From the 22d of April to the close of the season, the Baltimore and Boston clubs were never out of the ranks of the first division clubs; nor were the Chicago, Washington and Louisville clubs ever out of those of the second division. This alone was a one-sided condition of affairs in the race. From May 1st to July 17th the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh clubs occupied positions in the first division, and the Cleveland club was in the first division from April 22d to June 27th and from July 17th to the finish, while New York was in the same division from June 29th to the close and Brooklyn from August 27th to the end of the season. On the other hand, Chicago, St. Louis and Cincinnati, together with Washington and Louisville, were practically out of the race from May to September.

The April campaign finished with St. Louis, Cleveland and Boston tied for first place in the race, with Philadelphia, Baltimore and Cincinnati following. Boston and Baltimore's occupancy of fourth and fifth places being the lowest each occupied during the entire season's campaign, while Cincinnati's position, tied for that of first in the race on April 20th, was the highest that club reached from April 19th to September 30th; St. Louis, as tied for first place, together with Louisville on April 20th, was the highest these three clubs reached. Baltimore was the first to reach the leading place in the race, that club being first, with the percentage figures of 1.000, on April 24th; St. Louis occupying the lead on April 28th; Cleveland on May 2d, that club occupying the leading place from that date to May 28th, when Pittsburgh jumped into first place for a short time. Boston occupied the lead for the first time on April 26th. The nearest New York got to the leading position was on April 19th, when the club was tied for first place with Boston, St. Louis and Washington. The highest position the "Phillies" reached in the pennant campaign was second place, which they occupied on May 23d. Brooklyn's highest position was reached on June 22d, when that club occupied third place. Chicago's highest was eighth place, and the only clubs which stood in the last ditch were Chicago, up to May 10th; Washington, from May to August 15th, and afterwards Louisville up to the finish of the season.

For the first time in the annals of the League, but one western club occupied a position in the first division as early in the season as July 2d, when the Pittsburgh club stood fourth in the race, following Baltimore, Boston and Brooklyn, being followed by Philadelphia and New York, Cleveland at that date being in the second division. On July 17th Cleveland replaced Brooklyn in the first division, and remained there to the finish of the race. Pittsburgh was driven into the ranks of the second division on August 21st, and failed to get back again. Baltimore had the pennant virtually in hand in August, and New York drove Boston out of the second place on September 6th, the percentage figures of the three leaders on that day showing Baltimore to be in the van with .676, New York .652, and Boston .646; with the "Phillies" fourth, the Brooklyns fifth and the Clevelands sixth, these relative positions not afterwards being changed. Neither were those of the clubs in the second division at that date, except in the case of the Cincinnati and St. Louis clubs, the team under the Boss Manager, Chris Von der Ahe beating the Brush-Comiskey combination team of Cincinnati out the very last day of the race, greatly to the disgust of the Cincinnati cranks.

A great disappointment to the Louisville cranks, whose pet club started the season with a picked team of star players, containing three ex-captains of League teams, in Pfeffer, D. Richardson and Tom Brown--was the sad falling off of that club from the position of being tied for first place with Baltimore and Boston in April, to a permanent place in the last ditch in August, a result which relieved Manager Schmelz considerably, as up to August 22nd Washington had occupied the tail end position in the race from July 9th to August 23d. Similar bad management of a club team had retired Pittsburgh from second position, on June 8th, to seventh place, on July 2d, and it was only through a wise change of managers that the club was able to retain the lead in the second division to the end of the campaign.

An incident of the campaign of 1894 was the disastrous start in the race made by the Chicago club, which occupied the tail end position in the race at the close of the April campaign and remained in the last ditch up to May 11th, after which the club gradually passed the Washington, Louisville, Cincinnati and St, Louis teams, finally occupying eighth position the last of September. The pennant race of 1894, as a whole, was a decided failure as far as an evenly contested race was concerned, the only exception in the way of an exciting struggle for the lead being that between the three leaders from July 5th to September 30th, this being the one redeeming feature of the League championship campaign of 1894.

#The Contests for the Pennant in 1894.#

Not since 1890 has a new candidate for League championship been successful in winning the pennant, but in 1894 another club was added to the list of League pennant winners, the interest in the annual races, of course, being thereby proportionately increased. In 1876, when the League was organized, Chicago was the first city to win League championship honors, and in 1877 Boston entered the arena of pennant winners. Next came Providence in 1879, after which a whole decade of League seasons passed without a new pennant winner being added to the above two, Detroit winning in 1887 for the first time. Next came New York in 1888, followed by Brooklyn in 1890, and now Baltimore has entered the contest arena of champion clubs, that city winning the honors in 1894. During the intervals of this period of nineteen years of League championship campaigns the Boston and Chicago clubs won the majority of pennant races; Boston carrying off the flag during the seasons of 1877, 1878, 1883, 1891, 1892 and 1893, and Chicago winning in 1876, 1880, 1881, 1882, 1885 and 1886, this latter club being the only one to win the pennant in three successive years, from 1876 to 1890 inclusive, the Bostons not being three time winners until the seasons of 1891, 1892 and 1893. That club, however, is the only one to win the championship in four successive seasons--outside of the League--since the professional championship was inaugurated in 1871, the Bostons afterwards winning in 1872, 1873, 1874 and 1875. There are now in the League eight clubs out of the twelve which have yet to win a single pennant race, viz., the Philadelphia and Washington clubs of the Eastern divisions, and all six of the Western clubs. There are also but four clubs now in the League which have never reached higher than second position since the League was organized, viz., Louisville, 1877--that club's earned title to first place having been lost by the crookedness of four of its team of that year--Cincinnati in 1878, Philadelphia in 1887 and Pittsburgh in 1893, while there are two clubs now in the League which have never reached higher than third place, viz., St. Louis in 1876, and Cleveland in 1880 and 1893. The only aspirant for a position in League pennant races higher than fourth place at the close of the season now in the League is the Washington club; so there is plenty of room to win honors in 1895 if only in getting in among the six leaders by October next.

#The Three Leading Clubs in the Pennant Race of 1894.#

#The Campaigns of the Three Leaders and of the First Division Clubs for 1894.#

#The New Champions of 1894.#

The Baltimore Club's Career.

We have the pleasure of greeting a new champion club in the League arena in the GUIDE of 1895, viz., the Baltimore club, and it is therefore a point of interest to give a brief resume of its career from the time it entered the defunct American Association in 1882 to the date of its being taken into the reconstructed National League in 1892. The Baltimore club's career in the late American Association was one thing; that of its progress since the club was taken into the National League is altogether quite a different matter. From 1882, the year of the organizing of the old American Association, up to the period of its secession from the National Agreement ranks in 1891, the Baltimore club occupied the position of being the occupant of the "last ditch" in the Association's pennant races for no less than four years, viz., in 1882, 1883, 1885 and 1886. In 1884, when twelve clubs were in the Association race of that year, the highest the Baltimore club reached was sixth position. In 1888, 1889 and 1890, the club got no higher than fifth place in the three races of those years; while the nearest it could get to first place during the decade of the eighties was in 1887, when it ended in third place, being led by St. Louis and Cincinnati. During all that period William Barnie was the club's manager. In 1892 he was superseded by Manager Hanlon; and from that date to the close of the past season, the club began to get out of its previous "slough of despond," induced by its repeated failures to win a pennant race.

Here is the club's record while in the American Association, from 1882 to 1890, inclusive, showing the positions occupied in the several pennant races of that period:

In 1891 the Cincinnati club was ahead of the Baltimores when the former was transferred to Milwaukee, after which the "Reds" broke badly, and the Baltimores were thus enabled to get into third place. The wretched management of the Association during the year was costly in demoralization to every club in the race. Up to the date of the Cincinnati transfer, that club stood with a percentage of .619, to Baltimore's .526. During the season of 1892 the Baltimore club occupied an experimental position in the race of that year, Manager Hanlon not joining the club in 1892 until too late to get a good team together. They began the campaign of 1893 low down in the race record, but they finally pulled up among the six leaders, beating out Brooklyn in the race by 10 games to 2, as well as St. Louis, Louisville and Cleveland; but they were so badly beaten by Boston-2 games to 10-and by Pittsburgh--1 game to 11-that they finished in eighth place only. That season's experience enabled Manager Hanlon to prepare for 1894 with a better chance of success than he had had since he took the club in hand, and the effect of the improved management was made apparent before the May campaign of 1894 had ended, his team closing that month one among the three leaders. From that position the club was not afterwards removed, the team first heading the Bostons and finally taking the lead in the race, the New Yorks coming in second, ahead of the previous three-time champion club of Boston.

THE BALTIMORE CLUB'S RECORD.

Under the heading of "The Three Leaders in the Race," will be found the record of the monthly campaigns of the Baltimores and the progress made by Hanlon's team from the start to the finish in the race of 1894. We now give the detailed record of the season's campaign of the Baltimores in full.

Here is the record of the club's victories, defeats, games played and drawn, and the percentage of victories made against each individual club, as well as the grand percentage against all of the eleven opposed to the Baltimores:

It will be seen that the "Orioles," under Hanlon, did the pennant winning business up in style in 1894. Of the six Eastern clubs in the race, they tied the New York "Giants," had the best of the unfinished series with the "Phillies," took the Brooklyns into camp without difficulty, had almost a walkover with the Washingtons, and found the Boston champions the only club that got the best of them in the five series played against their Eastern adversaries, their percentage of victories against the Bostons being only .333, while their figures against the Washingtons were as high as .917. Against their six Western opponents, the Baltimores almost wiped out the St. Louis, Cincinnati and Louisville teams, each of these clubs winning but two games out of the twelve played with the "Orioles," while the best each of the Cleveland and Chicago teams could do was to win three of the twelve, the Pittsburgh "Pirates" being the only Western team to trouble them, their series with that club being unfinished, with a credit of but four victories to Pittsburgh's six. Only one game was drawn, and that with the "Phillies."

The additional details of the record follows:

It will be seen that the Baltimores "shut out" but one Eastern team and not a single Western opponent, while they themselves were "Chicagoed" once by each, viz., by New York and Louisville, the tail ender's "shut out" being annoying. Only two of their contests with the Eastern teams were won by a single run, but they won three games against the Eastern teams by one run. They lost seven games by a single run, three of them in the East and four against Western adversaries. No less than forty of their games were won by single figure scores, viz., 12 against Eastern teams and 28 against Western opponents. They lost a total of but 18 single figure games. Their double figure victories were no less than 49, against but 21 double figure defeats. They won 57 home victories against 32 abroad, the defeats being 18 at home to 26 abroad. Take it all in all, the Baltimores did splendid work in the box, the field and at the bat, the only drawback to their creditable season's campaign being too much kicking and rowdy ball playing, in the latter of which McGraw was the principal offender.

#The Records of the New York and Boston Clubs of 1894.#

The record of the club for 1894 giving the victories and defeats scored, with the total of games played, and the percentage of victories against each club is as follows:

The above record shows that the "Giants" defeated Brooklyn and Washington in the Eastern series of games, and tied with Boston and Baltimore, they losing to the "Phillies" only. Against the Western clubs they won every series, excelling both Baltimore and Boston in this latter respect, as the Baltimores failed to get the best of the Pittsburghs, and the Bostons were tied with the St. Louis. Then, too, the "Giants" excelled the other two leading clubs in shutting out Louisville in no less than thirteen successive games, one game being thrown out. In addition they took Anson's "Colts" into camp in eleven out of twelve games, and defeated the Washingtons in ten games out of the twelve of the series.

The record of the series of games won, lost, tied and unfinished, together with that of the "Chicago" victories and defeats, and the single and double figure games of the New York and Boston clubs is as follows:

The foregoing table shows that the New York club won eight out of the eleven series, they losing but one--that with Philadelphia -and tieing two, one with Baltimore and one with Boston. In "Chicago" games they won five and lost four, and in single figure games they won 59 and lost but 25, while in double figure games they won 29 only and lost but 19.

THE BOSTON CLUB'S RECORD.

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