The Brooklyn Atlantics and the New York Gothams decided that they would need a neutral site to play their matches this weekend so as to afford neither club an unfair advantage given by a large crowd of spectators. So they met in the middle of the harbor or as close as they could get on Governor's Island.
The Gothams brought with them a 15 match winning streak on the field at Governor's Island and had earlier this year bested the Atlantics out in Smithtown on Long Island. The Atlantics brought their famed defense to settle the score. The first match showed off the speed at the top of the Gothams lineup as they scored six aces in their first two innings. However the Atlantics fought back and finally went ahead late by the score of 10-7. The Gothams threatened in the ninth but their fate was sealed as the final out was notched via the old hidden ball trick.
Anthony 'Dirty Pirate' Cannino, George 'Wildhorse' Ferchland, Frank 'Hammy' Obidienzo, and Dean 'Dreambucket' Emma each stroked two hits for the Atlantic offense in the first match as Hammy picked up the victory.
The second match began after a short break and the Gothams came out swinging scoring a couple runs in the first inning. This back and forth match left the Atlantics lacking in hits, as only the Dirty Pirate, Dreambucket and Ed 'Pigtail' Elmore could manage more than one. The Gothams took the second game to the score of 8-5 leaving Pigtail with his first loss of the year.
The second match did see some solid defensive work by both squads and even included a triple play. With the bases loaded a seemingly innocuous pop-up to Atlantic shortstop Dreambucket turned into three outs by his purposeful non-catching of the ball, tagging the Gotham runner at second, stepping on second base and then throwing out the runner on third who had waywardly wandered off the bag. Modern players should be reminded that there was no 'infield fly' rule in this era.
The Atlantics next venture to the Catskill Mountains to play the Roxbury Nine at Kirkside Park on Saturday September 1st.
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