See you in spring 2010

Hope you had as much fun as we did. We'll see you in the spring of 2010 for our 5th year.

Thanks for coming out.

This Date In Kingston Baseball History: 1925 Ponies Default Series

We rewind the baseball history machine to Friday, October 2, 1925...

Game one between the Ponies and Niagara Falls was scheduled for Friday, October 2, 1925 in the ‘Falls but was cancelled due to wet grounds and the Ontario Baseball Amateur Association rescheduled the game for Wednesday, October 7 in Kingston with game two in Niagara on Saturday, October 10.

The Ponies management, according to the Toronto Globe, applied for “a revision of the arrangement, pleading for a sudden-death game”, a proposal dismissed by the Niagara Falls Nine, which prompted Kingston’s statement that “playing ball in chilly October weather on soggy grounds does not appeal to them” and forfeited the series.

The decision to default the series may not have been entirely based on the unappealing prospect of playing baseball in October, but to allow third baseman Batstone to play in the Queen’s Gaels season opener versus the University of Toronto at Richardson Stadium on the day the Ponies were scheduled to play in Niagara Falls. Batstone’s absence from the Ponies and the Gaels would seriously weaken both clubs.

The Gaels were victorious on Saturday, September 10, defeating U of T by a score of 8-5 and Harry Batstone provided a lackluster performance on the gridiron that day.

Meanwhile on the baseball diamond, Niagara Falls and Copper Cliff decided on a sudden-death game to be played October 10 in Niagara Falls to determine the Provincial Senior Championship. The game was played in below freezing (32F) temperatures and in front of only three hundred spectators. The Copper Cliff Miners won the provincial Championship by a score of 2-1.

This Date In Kingston Baseball History

We set the wayback machine for Wednesday, September 30, 1925...

The third and deciding game was played in front of 3,000 fans, an attendance record for the Oshawa baseball park, as most spectators made the trip from Toronto in hundreds of motorcars while a few supporters of the Kingston Nine travelled to witness the match. With a cold wind blowing off Lake Ontario and across the diamond, cold hands resulted in infield miscues but the teams remained scoreless through the first two innings. The Oslers put together some offence in the third inning when pitcher Joe Spring drew a walk and advanced to second base on Fleming’s single that eluded Ponies’ shortstop Red Halbert. The next batter, Hughes, nubbed a roller to pitcher Cairns, who held the ball a bit too long to force Spring at third base. With the bases loaded, Egan drove a grounder up the middle that was snagged by Cairns who threw out Spring at the plate for the first out of the inning. Cleanup hitter Burt hit a sacrifice fly to Cherry in centerfield, scoring Fleming on the out, but the Oslers could do no more damage as Breen also flied out to Cherry to end the inning.

Toronto’s lead was short lived as the Ponies sent all their batters to the plate in the fourth inning. Herbie Teeple drove a ball to deep left field for a lead off double and advanced to third base when Halbert’s line drive was booted by second baseman Fleming. First baseman Breen recovered the errant ball and overthrew catcher Hoose guarding the plate as Teeple scampered home to tie the game. Meanwhile, Halbert kept running on the play and was standing on third base when the dust settled. Harry Batstone followed with a fly to centerfield that was not deep enough to score Halbert from third. Beef Somerville then hit a ball to second baseman Fleming, who fielded the ball cleanly and threw to the plate to nab Halbert, running on contact, but catcher Hoose dropped the ball and the Kingston run counted. Del Cherry, the fifth batter of the inning, hit a fly to left fielder Burt for the second out. Somerville then advanced from first to home on singles by Lonie Purvis, Scotty Scott and Jimmy Arniel. Batting ninth, Bruce Cairns grounded to shortstop Breen who flipped the ball to Fleming to force Arniel at second base to end the inning.

The Ponies led 3-1 and held the favourites off the scoreboard for the rest of the game to defeat the Inter-County League champions and handed pitcher Joe Spring his second consecutive loss, the only blemishes on his 23 win season record. The Oslers left 15 runners on base with the bases loaded three times over the nine innings, while the big city daily newspapers proclaimed Ponies pitcher Bruce Cairns and outfielder Del Cherry the stars of the game.

Del Cherry

Harry Batstone announced before the game that he would continue playing with the Ponies instead of the Queen’s Golden Gaels football club, as long as the Kingston nine were in the hunt. The Ponies were one of three teams left in Ontario to challenge for the OBAA senior title and would meet Niagara Falls to determine which team would face Copper Cliff of the Northern Ontario district for the provincial pennant.

While the Oslers defeat was considered an upset in the Queen City, the folks in the Garden City, London, Ontario, were equally surprised as their team was eliminated by Niagara Falls in a game also played on neutral ground. An article in the October 1, 1925 edition of the Toronto Globe indicates that both teams “were jostled aside by better teams” and “neither team can offer alibis or excuses, because not all good amateur baseball is played in Toronto and Hamilton.” The Toronto Star offered an opinion that the better team beat the Oslers, but beating Joe Spring and the Oslers was “an almost unbelievable feat.”

Game one between the Ponies and Niagara Falls was scheduled for Friday, October 2, 1925 in the ‘Falls.

...to be continued

This Date In Kingston Baseball History

We set the wayback machine for Friday, September 25, 1925...

Game two of the COBL best of three championship series between the Kingston Ponies and the Toronto Oslers, scheduled for Kingston on Thursday, September 24 at the Fairgrounds, was rained out. The sky opened up a quarter hour before game time, soaking both teams and spectators. When the game was called off, Kingston hospitality took over, ensuring the Torontonians experienced a pleasant evening of entertainment during their overnight stay.

On the field the next day(September 25), the Ponies were less hospitable, attacking the Oslers with four runs in the first inning. Herbie Teeple drew a walk, was thrown out at second before Red Halbert singled and Harry Batstone was awarded a base on balls. “Beef” Somerville pounded an rbi double, scoring Halbert and advancing Batstone to third. Del Cherry then connected for a two-run double, cashing in Batstone and Somerville. Baldy Quinn, getting the start in left field went down on strikes with Cherry reaching home on Lonie Purvis’ single. Catcher Jimmy Arniel ended the inning by striking out.

The visitors countered in the second frame, closing to within a run off Ponies’ starter Bruce Cairns. Breen singled, swiped second while Buchanan walked and both runners advanced on Reid’s ground out at first. Crilly followed with a walk to load the bases, Spring singled, scoring Breen and Buchanan; Crilly scored on Fleming’s single. Spring was the second out of the inning, caught between third base and home on a sharp grounder fielded by 1st baseman Purvis and Somerville threw out Egan at first base to end the threat with the Ponies leading 4-3.

The Oslers pulled even with the Kingston nine in the third inning with Breen scoring after reaching base on Batstone’s error, stealing second and advancing to third and home on consecutive singles by Buchanan and Reid. With one out and runners at first and second, Crilly grounded to shortstop Red Halbert, who threw out Buchanan at third base. On the next play Halbert bobbled the ball, allowing Spring to reach base and the inning ended tied at four when Fleming flied out to Cherry in centerfield.

After Quinn struck out to lead off the bottom of the fourth, the home side responded with a double by Purvis but Arniel went down swinging for the second time, both Quinn and Arniel mesmerized by pitcher Spring, accounting for four K’s between them. With the go ahead run at second with two out, Bruce Cairns delivered Purvis to the plate with a single and the inning ended with Cairns forced at second on a ball batted by Teeple.

The Ponies added another run in the seventh inning with Halbert leading off with a single, only to be forced out at second by Batstone, who reached on a fielder’s choice. Somerville singled, advancing Batstone and Cherry reached first on an error by the left fielder Burt to load the bases. Lonie Purvis smashed a double to centre, scoring Batstone as Somerville, trying to score from second base, was thrown out at the plate by Osler center fielder Crilly.

Leading 6-4 in the eighth, Kingston scored again, with two out, Herbie Teeple drove a ball over Breen’s head at short and moved to second on Halbert’s base on balls. Teeple scored to put the game away at 7-4 on Batstone’s base hit. The Toronto team produced a pair of hits in the last frame, leaving runners in scoring position when Cherry grabbed Hoose’s long fly ball to centerfield to end the game and tie the series at a game apiece. The loss was the first of the season for Toronto pitcher Joe Spring.

The Kingston victory appeared to take a lot of folks off guard, including the Ontario Baseball Amateur Association who had not made provisions for a third and deciding game. With no OBAA officers attending the game in the Limestone City, Osler manager Hamilton worked the long distance phone lines in a frantic effort to have league officials make a decision regarding date and location of the third game. The Oslers wanted a game the next afternoon (Saturday) and the OBA suggested that if Kingston agreed, it would be played in Toronto at Ossington Field, due in part to the financial failure of gate receipts in Kingston.

The Ponies agreed to play Saturday until it was determined some of their players had other plans for Saturday, so the game was postponed until Wednesday, September 30, in Oshawa, Ontario.

...to be continued

Kingston Players In Fall Ball

Kingston baseball player Josh Leavitt, playing outfield for Genesee Community College in Batavia, NY, contributed a single in a 10-4 loss to Monroe Community College on September 6.

The Genesee Cougars compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region III, Division III level and are a member of the Western New York Athletic Conference.

Meanwhile, north of the world's longest undefended(for now)border, Jed Vallier went 1-3 with an rbi in Durham College's 5-1 victory over York on September 19. The Lords swept the double header with an 11-2 game two victory over the Lions. On Sunday, September 20 the Lords were not so fortunate as they were swept for the second consecutive time by St.Clair, losing 14-9 and 15-3.

Durham's record is 2 wins 6 losses.

Durham will host the Queen’s Gaels on Saturday, September 26 at Kinsmen Memorial Stadium in Oshawa beginning at 1 p.m.

This Date In Kingston Baseball History

We set the wayback machine to Saturday, September 19, 1925...

In 1920 the Kingston Ponies, playing in the St. Lawrence League, had a nucleus of players on its roster that would lay the foundation for baseball excellence in the Limestone City for the next decade. The Kingston Nine joined the Central Ontario Baseball League in 1923, and two years later challenged for the league pennant and defeated Peterborough in a best of three series to advance to the Ontario Baseball Amateur Association quarter-finals against the Inter-County League Champion Toronto Oslers.

The 1925 roster may have been one of the finest to ever grace Kingston’s diamond with the likes of Harry Batstone, an excellent two sport athlete also playing football at Queen’s University, who captured the COBL batting championship in ’25 and was widely regarded as the best 3rd baseman in the province. In the outfield, a trio of fleet footed fielders with Scotty Scott in left, Herbie Teeple in right and centerfield anchored by Del Cherry. Slugging 2nd baseman Red “Beef” Somerville batted cleanup with youngster Jimmy Arniel behind the plate backstopping a pair of southpaw aces – veteran pitcher Teddy Gallagher, who struck out eighteen Oswego, N.Y batters in a game once and Bruce Cairns, the leading pitcher in the COBL, with a 9-3 record. Covering the 6th infield position was shortstop Red Halbert and the right infield corner was protected by 1st baseman, Lonie Purvis. Skip Daly, Baldy Quinn and Tiner Young in reserve gave the team some depth off the bench.

The Ponies’ quest for the 1925 Ontario title began on the road, Saturday, September 19 at Hanlan’s Point Stadium located on Toronto Island, in the first match of a best-of-three game series against the Toronto Oslers. The Oslers, second fiddle to Toronto’s International team, the Maple Leafs, were, according to the Toronto Daily Star, a better team than the Ponies and the newspaper was cautiously optimistic about their chances of success. However, when the Oslers took game one by an 8-2 score, the Daily Globe declared the Torontos were on their way to another provincial pennant in two straight games while the Daily Star proclaimed the Ponies’ only chance at defeating the more powerful Big Smoke nine would be if the Oslers were wiped out in a disaster. After all, these were the Oslers, the Toronto, the Ontario, the Dominion and International champions.

The lads from the City of Rock, as described by the big city newspaper, were never in the hunt as their bats, six of nine swinging from the right side of the plate, were held in check for seven hits over eight scoreless innings by Toronto southpaw Charlie McCay, making his first start since July 19. On the field, however, the Ponies’ starter Teddy Gallagher scattered only five hits over the first six innings, allowing just a pair of runs, one in the second and third innings.

In the bottom of the seventh Gallagher was hit hard and often by the Osler batsmen as they produced five more runs during an offensive assault that strung together a triple, a base on balls followed by a stolen base, a single, a double, a home run before finally recording a foul out. Another base on balls issued to Jones by Gallagher forced Manager Joe Daly to remove his pitcher and bring in Bruce Cairns with the score 7-0. Jones promptly stole second and scored on Cairns’ wild pitch. Centerfielder Del Cherry made a couple of dazzling plays to save another run or two, with a fine sliding catch on his knees to record an out and another by running down a ball heading for the gap, holding Toronto’s Burt to a double.

The Ponies finally got on the scoreboard in the eighth inning with pitcher Cairns doubling against the bleachers in right centre field and Red Halbert hit a single to score Cairns. Halbert stole second base and advanced to third on a wild throw from catcher Hoose. Ponies’ Harry Batstone cashed in Halbert with a sacrifice fly to deep right field.

Attendance was estimated at about four thousand spectators and among the many were present and former citizens of the Limestone City, loyal to their hometown ballclub, although on this day there was not much to cheer. The Ponies entered the series after a long layoff with neither games nor practices since dispatching a very strong Peterborough team, their performance confirming that fact as they were ineffective at bat and uncertain in the field due to judgement mistakes.

...to be continued Friday, September 25.

Gatineau Defeat Ponies By Default

The Kingston Ponies season ended last night in Gatineau, Quebec after Derek Mack was ejected from the game and Marc Sports won the NCBL championship by default. Down 5-1 in the fifth inning, Mack seemed to take offence at a tag applied by the Gatineau first baseman and was given the heave-ho after a hard slide into a Gatineau player covering second base on a force play. The Kingston Nine were then the Kingston Eight and the Ponies improbable playoff run with just nine determined ball players came to an abrupt end.

Gatineau sent five batters to the plate in the first inning and battered Ponies starter Chris Garrison for three runs on three hits and two walks to take an early 3-0 lead that they never relinquished. Kingston’s Ryan Kerstens drove in the Ponies only run as he continued to hone his batting skills with a competent, workmanlike 3 for 3 at the plate.

All in all, the Limestone City Nine had a helluva playoff run this season and Kingston baseball fans and the community should be proud of their success.

The Ponies made baseball exciting again.