monster crowd
Game Date: August 26, 1914            Bill’s Age: 23
 

 

According to official attendance figures, slightly more than 26,000 persons saw the Cardinals win a game, 1 to 0, from New York at Robison Field yesterday, and lose another game to the same New Yorkers, 4 to 0. The crowd filled all the stands to repletion. Some 4000 persons stood and sat around the playing field. About 2000 others stood in the aisles of the stands. Save, possibly, the great crowd that saw the Browns play Detroit at Sportsman’s Park in 1908, and another crowd that saw the Browns and Cardinals play a tied spring series in 1909, it was the largest crowd that ever saw a baseball game in St. Louis.

When It is considered that play began at 2 p. m. and that the cars serving the parks were laden past entering as early as 12:30, the attendance must be considered remarkable. The park owners were surprised and were caught without having made adequate preparations to handle such an enormous outpour.


So there was some confusion and delay when, about the first Inning of the first game, the field gates were opened and the spectators surged to the very base lines.


But order was immediately restored. The crowd was amiable, and when ordered to recede by the police did so with the utmost good humor.


The fact that the spectators were on the field in no-wise affected the result of either game. In fact, only one ball, double by Wilson, was hit into the crowd. Still, the Cardinals scored their only, and it proved to be the winning, run in the first inning of the first game when a wild pitch made by Marquard rolled into the spectators standing back of the catcher.

Withal It Is probable that Huggins, who was on second base at the time, would have scored had the field been clear of people.

United Railways Caught Napping.

The United Railways Company was caught napping and failed to make provision for such an immense traffic. The congestion was particularly heavy on Vandeventer avenue, between Market street and Natural Bridge road.
As early as 12:30 the Vandeventer avenue cars were crowded to capacity by the time they reached Market street, thirty blocks from Robison Field.

At Laclede avenue and Olive street. Franklin, Page, Easton avenues and other points of intersection with the east and west lines, great crowds stood, many individuals for two hours, while cars loaded beyond capacity, people on roofs, fenders, etc.. rolled past them.

After waiting for several hours, many persons were compelled to walk to the park or to return home. The United Railways people said last night they had not expected any such volume of traffic and that they would make special efforts to handle all surface travel In the eight games that the Cardinals have to play before they leave St. Louis for the East.

Some 2000 automobiles were parked all about Robison Field. The games were played in almost record time. Though twice delayed by the incursion of the crowds upon the field, the first game employed but 1:51:00 In the playing. the second but 1:25:00. It is doubtful that the actual play in the first game extended over a period of more than 1:20:00. Thus, it may be said that both games were played in 2:45:00, a period often attained by the playing of a single contest.

The fact that the hitting was extremely light and that the pitchers wasted as few balls as possible, explains the unwonted rapidity of play. Doak. who won the first game, 1 to O, was never in the hole, pitched comparatively few balls and was hit safely but four times. Marquard, who opposed him, was hit but four times. Mathewson must have made a low record for number of balls pitched in the second game. He was using about five pitched balls to the Inning or forty-five to the entire game. Mathewson holds a record of having pitched but sixty-four balls in a nine-inning game. He must have broken that record yesterday. He could not have pitched more than seven balls In an Inning. and at best that would give him a record of sixty-three balls. He must have done better than that. But one base on balls was given in each game, one by Doak and one by Sallee. Marquard, Demaree and Mathewson and Griner did not give a base on balls.

 Doak pitched a marvelous game.  Never in the hole, tight in one or two tight places, but one base on balls, and but three hits made off him.  J. Miller made three errors back of him.  Marquared pitched almost as good a game, his wild waft being his only mistake.

In the second game Mathewson eclipsed Doak’s record.  The champion of all pitchers let the Cardinals have but two hits, one past third by Huggins and one between first and second by Wingo.  Big Six did not give a base on balls, and, as said herein above, pitched about as few balls as any pitcher ever threw in a  nine-inning game.  The Cardinals did not get a man to third base.

Cards Second Awhile.Cardinals did not Improve their percentage appreciably, but they moved Into second place, thanks to Chicago’s defeat of Boston. Then they moved back to third when they lost the second game. A candid review of the twin bill yesterday must Inevitably lead to the conclusion that the home team was not hitting, and that it was fortunate to win. or rather to be presented with one game. It was Marquard’s wild pitch that gave the Cardinals the first game, not their own hitting.