On October 6, 1884, the Providence Grays found themselves in Buffalo without a healthy pitcher. Rather than pull someone out of the stands or ask Charlie Radbourn to pitch left-handed, they limped through the game by using their right fielder, shortstop, and center fielder in the box. Buffalo beat them, 13-7.
On September 15, 2007, the Grays repeated this experiment in Woonsocket, R.I., with better results. The team's three regular pitchers, S. Olson, Dryer, and Lucas, were all unavailable. Nor were the star catcher Gilligan Faria, or other regular players such as E. Bratt and E. Olson. "Old Reliable" Travers, once considered the best pitcher in base ball until his golden left arm went lame two years ago, was assigned to umpire. The opponents were the Cornish Game Hens of Providence, no easy competition even with a full complement of Grays on hand. Four pitchers were thrown into the fray for the double-header: Bogosian (who has pitched on rare occasions in the past), and then McClellan, Stattler, and Duggan (none of whom ever expressed any previous ambitions as a pitcher). Catching this assortment were Captain Dryer (not a catcher by trade, and hobbled by numerous injuries even before the fusilade started) and Grist, who had not appeared in a game in months. "Sauerkraut" Watson, a veteran of the Grays' first campaign way back in 1998, was also pressed into duty. He was a fine infielder "back in the day" but was making his first appearance of the season.
The Grays fell quickly behind in the first game by a score of 8 to 1. Bogosian threw a speedy ball and had good control of it, but he needed a Gilligan to catch him. After catcher Dryer limped after one too many balls to the backstop, a change was made, with McClellan, the newest nember of the team, sent in to pitch. McClellan did not look like a pitcher in the box, but he pitched like a pitcher. Dryer was able to handle his soft tosses, but the Game Hens were not able to solve his delivery. The game was halted by a brief scare when Hens catcher V. Torilli took a foul ball to his throat. He was able to walk off the field on his own power (accompanied by a round of champion's applause) and was taken to a local physician, who removed Torilli's damaged neck, re-attached his head, and sent him back to the field to lead his troops from the bench. Meanwhile the Grays remembered their hitting strokes and mounted a furious sustained rally, finally taking the lead in the eighth inning and winning by a score of 16-13.
After the game, Captain Dryer was removed from the field in a wheelbarrow and taken to the glue factory like a worn-out old hoss. In his battered delerium, he gasped out instructions that Stattler was to pitch the second game, and that Stattler was also to serve as acting captain. As Stattler had never pitched an overhand game in his ten-year base ball career, expressions of alarm were heard throughout the Grays camp. Stattler took the box in accordance with Dryer's wishes, and made his best attempt to imitate the motions of other pitchers he had observed from his customary perch in right field over the years. In three innings of work, he struck out one Hen and walked none, but recused himself from further box work after the Grays fell to a 10-0 deficit. Duggan took the ball and looked much more like a pitcher, keeping catcher Grist on the hop. Grist is one of the liveliest catchers in base ball. Although he sees only limited playing time, he still leads the league in running into fences at full speed. He somehow got through the game with his limbs and skull intact. Hens hurler Blue Reilly proved a puzzler as always, and was nearly unhittable except for the fifth inning, when he allowed the Grays to score nine runs. Then he grew serious once again. He relies upon guile and has a "hat trick" which the Grays fell for again and again. He is also to be commended for pitching an entire game, which none of the day's other pitchers were able to accomplish. The game ended with score Hens 19, Grays 10, which given the personnel at hand, was a closer score than the Grays had any right to expect.
Noted in passing:
The games were played at Renauld Field in Woonsocket, site of the semi-legendary "Old Hoss Cup" tourneys of 1999, 2000, and 2001. Thanks to Ray Bacon, the cheerful co-proprietor of the Museum of Work and Culture, for his gracious hospitality, and to the proprietors of the Cracovia restaurant for supplying the teams with kielbasa sausages between games.
Before the games, several of the Grays, including Hoffman, Dryer, and Duggan, spent an hour teaching local youths how to play base ball. Karl Allaire, a veteran professional of the gloved base ball circuit, also taught the children his variant of the game. The Grays have been seeing more and more of these leathern gloves of late, and suspect they may be more than a passing trend.
The games of the 15th ended the long season's series between the Hens and Grays. The Hens won four official games, and the Grays won three in addition to a four-inning exhibition game. We would declare the Hens the official Rhode Island champions except for the Bristol Blues, who have beaten both the Hens (twice) and Grays (once) this season. The Blues and Hens will face off on September 29. If Bristol wins, they must be regarded as state champions. If the Hens win two games on the 29th, the picture will be more cloudy, so the Coventry Citizens will probably be declared champions, as they have not won or lost all season long.
How did the Grays acquit themselves so well on the 15th without any of their famous veteran stars? The secret of this year's team is the strong play of its younger regular players. Outfielders B. Bratt, Bogosian, and Hoffman are all fluent in every aspect of the game, though they rarely get the opportunity to patrol the outer garden simultaneously. What team can boast three fly-catchers of that caliber? B. Bratt in particular should hardly be a secret at this point, as he has been the regular center-fielder since 2003, but opponents seem to remember him only as "that fellow in the ragged pants who beat us last year." Bogosian is oft-injured but is perhaps the swiftest player on the club when well, and is blessed with a powerful throwing arm. Hoffman has undertaken a rigorous training program, and has this year become a fearsome batsman as well as a steady left fielder. Moving to the infield, few teams can boast a slugging third baseman who can smack the ball as far as Dusel; his double to the center field fence in Game Two was a thing of beauty. And the team's two remaining first-year players are both great successes. The Grays have tried "Tony" McClellan at almost every position this season, hoping he will prove a failure so they may sign him for a lower contract. However, he excels at them all with cheerful efficiency and grace. Pitcher, catcher, outfield, infield are all the same to him. The other youngster, "Mike" Duggan, has been asked to show less versatility, as he established himself as the king shortstop during his first practice back in April. He may be the smoothest shortstop in the team's long history, and makes his presence known with the Burlingame bat in his hands as well.
Stattler has apparently played his last game with the Grays. He is said to be leaving for New York at the end of the month. He had hoped to boost his negotiating power with a strong pitching performance, but would be advised to leave that effort off his base ball resume. At the end of the second game, Umpire Travers presented him with the official scorecard and the game ball as mementos.
