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HUDSON RIVER CLUB OF NEWBURGH
CLUB HISTORY
Newburgh is located
about sixty miles north of New York City so it is not surprising that the New
York Game had arrived there by 1856. The village’s first club was known simply
as the Newburghs and it played on a field at the corner of South and Johnston
Streets, with home plate being located at the south corner under the shaded of a
willow tree. The Newburghs faced many clubs from Brooklyn and New York City,
but their main rivalry was with the Highlands of New Windsor. The two clubs
faced each other on numerous occasions, either on the grounds of the Newburgh
Club or on “the plateau west of the brickyards.” (Nutt)
According to John
Nutt, the Newburgh Club was composed of seventeen members: William C. Miller,
John Miller, L. S. Straw, S. B. Reeve, Stephen King, Robert Rogers, James W.
Miller, Eli Hasbrouck, Isaac M. Martin, George W. Powell, William H. Kelly, H.
S. Brewster, John C. Adams, Thomas Harris, Thomas C. Ring, John McDowell and
George H. Chandler. Having that many members must have created issues about who
would get to play, and perhaps that is why a second Newburgh club, the Hudson
Rivers, was formed in 1859.
The original
officers of the Hudson Rivers were William C. Miller as president, Henry
Robinson as vice president, and Abram Cassedy as secretary. Several facts
suggest that the new club was an offshoot of the village’s first baseball club.
The Hudson Rivers used the same playing field as the Newburghs, although a
second small club house was built to differentiate between the two (the club
house of the Newburghs was square, while that of the Hudson Rivers was
octagon-shaped). More notably, five of the nine men who represented the Hudson
Rivers in their first match had been members of the Newburghs. (Those men,
according to Nutt’s box score, were Straw, John Miller, King, Powell and Reeve.
At least two others, Kelly and William Miller, would later represent the Hudson
Rivers.)
The Hudson Rivers
played five games against the Highlands of New Windsor in 1859, including their
historic first match on June 23, winning three of them. Then on September 15,
1859, the Hudson Rivers faced the Newburghs and were beaten by the narrow margin
of 29-26.
The closely
contested games between the two Newburgh clubs continued in the spring of 1860,
with a 27-27 tie taking place on May 30 followed by a rematch a week later in
which the Hudson Rivers won by a 29-22 margin. For whatever reason, that was
the last known game of the Newburghs while the Hudson Rivers forged on. On July
5, the club hosted and eked out a win over the Independents of South Brooklyn.
Six days later, the Hudson Rivers had a much tougher opponent when the
Excelsiors of Brooklyn stopped in Newburgh on a tour of the state. To nobody’s
surprise, the Excelsiors beat the Hudson Rivers, 65-14.
That was the Hudson
River Club’s last recorded game in 1860 and with the outbreak of the Civil War
the club remained inactive in the spring of 1861. But when summer came, the
club reorganized and played two games against the Ulsters of Saugerties, losing
both. Then in September, the Hudson Rivers paid a visit to Poughkeepsie, and
they followed a win there with an October trip that saw them lose to the
champion Eckfords but beat the Eclipse Club of Kingston.
The activity
continued in 1862. The club’s first match was a return visit from the Eclipse
Club of Kingston. The contest resulted in another win for the Hudson Rivers and
also yielded a treasured souvenir. According to a 1915 article, “The oldest
baseball in existence is owned by the president of the East End Church Baseball
league of Pittsburgh. The ball is nearly fifty-three years old. It was used
first in a championship game between the Eclipse team of Kingston, N. Y., and
the Hudson team of Newburgh, N. Y. The game was played on June 20, 1862, and
ended 49 to 18 in favor of the Kingston team. The ball is made of one piece of
horsehide, sewed in the center. When it was used underhand pitching alone was
permissible. Curves were unknown. The ball carries $500 burglary insurance and
$500 fire insurance. It was given to its present owner by John Miller, who
played first base on the Eclipse team. Miller is 100 years old now and lives in
Cornwall-on-the-Hudson.” (“The Oldest Baseball Insured,” Baseball Magazine,
October 1915, p. 65)
The next challenge
for the Hudson Rivers came on Independence Day when the Eckfords came to
Newburgh for a match. To nobody’s surprise, the champions won by the lopsided
margin of 74-29. Nonetheless, Newburgh had had the opportunity to see the
nation’s best ball club and the Hudson Rivers had received a valuable lesson in
the finer points of the game. For the balance of the 1862 season the club
didn’t lose again, beating the Poughkeepsies twice and closing the campaign with
a Thanksgiving Day win over the Resolutes of Brooklyn.
In August of 1863,
the Hudson Rivers paid a visit to Brooklyn to again test themselves against the
country’s best clubs. The trip yielded a win over the Resolutes, narrow losses
to the Stars and Excelsiors and another drubbing at the hands of the Eckfords.
The 1863 season closed in October, where the club lost an 8-7 thriller to the
Resolutes at the Orange County Fair in Goshen (where a silver belt had been
offered as first prize).
The two clubs
reprised the showdown at the same site in 1864 and this time the Hudson Rivers
came out ahead, earning a silver ball for their efforts. The season also saw
Newburgh’s representatives manage wins over the Empire State Club of New York
and the Enterprise Club of Brooklyn, while losing close games to the Mutuals of
New York and the Stars of Brooklyn.
1865 finally brought
an end to the Civil War and the Hudson Rivers celebrated with a trips to
Poughkeepsie (where they beat the up-and-coming Unions of Lansingburgh) and a
swing through New York that include a loss to the Enterprise Club at Brooklyn’s
famed Capitoline Grounds, a victory over the Mystics in New York City, and
defeats in Hoboken at the hands of the Mutuals and Gothams. After returning
home, the Hudson Rivers hosted several more matches
against clubs, including wins over the Olympics of Paterson and the
Poughkeepsies and a loss to the Mutuals. The eventful season concluded with the
Hudson River club defeating the Lorillards of Rhinebeck to capture a silver ball
that became the emblem of the “championship of the Hudson River,” then beating
the Knickerbockers of Albany in November to retain the championship. (Poughkeepsie
Eagle, October 16, 1865)
In the spring of
1866, club secretary Lewis B. Halsey reported, “We have played in Albany,
Saugerties, Kingston, Poughkeepsie, New York and Brooklyn. We have not been
defeated in a return game by any club outside of New York and Brooklyn. In
those cities we have lost games with the Excelsior, Star, Eckford, Mutual, and
Gotham; which clubs we have never defeated in any game. The Unions, of
Morrisania, have won a home-and-home match. We have won from the Empire, Eagle,
Enterprise, Resolute, and Mystic Clubs. … Our grounds are situated at the corner
of South and Johnson streets, in Newburgh, Orange county, New York. We practice
every Tuesday and Friday of each week. Uniform–white shirt and cap; blue
pants. We frequently receive clubs from the cities of New York and Brooklyn,
and we cordially extend a general invitation to all clubs in good standing to
visit our beautiful city in the future. In 1865, we were the guests of the
Enterprise, Mystic, Gotham, and Mutual Clubs, respectively. We have forty
active members, ten honorary. The organization has always commanded the respect
and esteem of our citizens, and now stands, very high in this community.” (Peverelly)
Befitting that
optimism, the Hudson Rivers embarked that year on an ambitious tour of upstate
New York. According to a later account, “Their tour across the State in 1866
was a continued ovation, and the days of their visit were holidays in the towns
where they were received. Banquets were given in their honor at hotels, and
receptions at private residences.” (Nutt)
But while the tour
was a success on that count, the club that had prided itself on being
competitive with the best clubs in New York City and better than any other club
in the state suffered a significant setback when it reached Buffalo. Prior to
the match, bettors offered three to one odds on a win by the Hudson Rivers but
instead the hometown Niagaras won by the lopsided score of 40-17. (Buffalo
Courier and Republic, undated clipping, c. August 19, 1866)
Intriguingly, an
1886 reminiscence of the 1866 tour described almost every match the club played
except the one in Buffalo. The piece recounted wins over the Binghamton Club,
the Alerts of Elmira, and the Monitors of Corning before concluding that “the
most curshing defeat suffered by any club was that of the Unions of Elmira. The
game was played on the return trip of the Hudson Rivers, and was witnessed by
nearly 7,000 persons, who fairly went wild over the game. It lasted nearly all
the afternoon, and at the close of the ninth inning it was found that the Hudson
Rivers had scored 120 runs to the Unions 17. A banquet followed at which David
S. Hill, our present governor, delivered a speech. On the return of the victors
they were received with as much enthusiasm as was ever accorded a base ball
club.” (Newburg Journal, reprinted in the Oswego Times-Express,
May 21, 1886)
So were the members
of the Hudson River Club treated as conquering heroes on their return home? Or
did the loss in Buffalo cast a pale over the local baseball scene?
In any rate, the
Hudson River Club seemed to lose their enthusiasm for baseball shortly
afterward, although that could just have been a case of the players getting
older and moving on to more pressing concerns than baseball. The club played
only one more recorded game in 1867 and relatively few in 1868 (although a split
– CHECK! – with the Unions of Lansingburgh showed that the Hudson Rivers were
still a strong nine.)
Around 1869, the
Hudson River Base Ball Club of Newburgh finally disbanded. An effort was made
to revive the club in 1873, but most of the original members had retired. On
September 23, 1886, however, a reunion game was staged on the grounds of the
Newburgh Base Ball Association and men like John C. Adams, A. F. Lindley, J. E.
Wilson, William H. Kelly, James Boyd, C. F. Brown, E. Farrington, C. S. Gibb and
A. Wilson got one last chance to disport themselves on the baseball diamond.
CLUB MEMBERS
John C. Adams: John
C. Adams was born around 1836 and played for the first nine from 1861 to 1866.
He served as an Alderman, Supervisor and Postmaster of Newburg and as a Harbor
Master of the Port. He was also president of the club during the brief attempt
to revive it in 1873, though by then his playing days were over. A couple years
later he was described as “one of the best umpires and one of the best posted
men on base ball in the country.” His death in Newburgh on January 12, 1900,
warranted a brief notice in Sporting Life on the 27th that
recalled his days with the Hudson Rivers.
James Boyd: James
Boyd was the club’s catcher from 1862 to 1867 and played in the 1886 reunion
game. His identity cannot be determined with certainty, but he was probably a
plasterer who was born in Ireland around 1836.
Charles F. Brown:
Charles F. Brown became the club’s pitcher in 1867. He was born in New York
state around 1844 and became the law partner of Cassedy and later a judge.
After Cassedy’s death, the practice was disbanded and Brown began a new
partnership with Cassedy’s son.
Abram S. Cassedy:
Abram S. Cassedy was born on November 29, 1833, in Ramapo, New York. He
graduated from the State Normal School, then studied law in Clarkstown and
Goshen, before being admitted to the bar in 1857. He settled in Newburgh in
1859 and served as club secretary for the next four years, though he never
played on the first nine. He became one of the city’s most distinguished
lawyers, serving the city as district attorney, judge and mayor. He took his
own life in Newburgh on April 29, 1896. He had been unwell and was believed to
be insane at the time.
James Watson Fisher:
James Watson Fisher played for both the Hudson Rivers of Newburg and the
Eclectic Club of New York. His death in Elizabeth, New Jersey, on March 12,
1881, warranted a death notice in the New York Clipper on the 19th.
Cornelius S. Gibb:
Cornelius S. Gibb born in Newburgh on November 19, 1846 and played shortstop for
the first nine in 1867. The son of an undertaker, he continued the family
business and also served as an alderman from 1887 until his untimely death on
April 19, 1891.
Lewis B. Halsey:
Lewis B. Halsey was born in Newburgh on January 31, 1841, and graduated from
Princeton. He was the club’s shortstop from 1864 to 1866 and took over as
secretary after the death of Mapes. He became a lawyer and was active in
Newburgh civic affairs. He died in New York City on June 30, 1911.
William H. Kelly:
William H. Kelly was the name of one of the original members of the Newburgh
Club and he remained with that club until at least 1860. He joined the Hudson
Rivers in 1862 and remained a starter for the rest of the club’s existence, also
serving as vice president and secretary. He was again a regular during the 1873
revival and also took part in the 1886 reunion game. While his common name
makes positive identification difficult, his long tenure means that he pretty
much has to be a man by that name who was born in Glen Falls, New York, on June
13, 1839. He graduated from Syracuse University and settled in Newburgh, where
he was a schoolteacher as well as an assessor, alderman and president of the
common council.
Stephen King: The
only Stephen King who fits the known facts about the man who played from the
Hudson Rivers from 1859 to 1863 was a coal dealer who was born in New York State
around 1831.
Colonel Alfred F.
Lindley: A. F. Lindley was born in Yorkshire, England, around 1836, and came to
New York when he was fourteen. He learned the tailoring trade and moved to
Wappinger’s Falls, then moved to Poughkeepsie around 1861 to play for that
city’s cricket eleven. He served as a lieutenant in Ellsworth’s Greys during
the war, and later became a colonel in the 21st Regiment. He played
for the Hudson River Club from 1864 to 1867 and an obituary in the Poughkeepsie
Eagle on January 23, 1894, described him as “one of its most zealous
supporters.” He died in Brooklyn in 1894.
A. S. Mapes: A. S.
Mapes was the pitcher of the Hudson Rivers from 1861 to 1864. He became the
club’s secretary and starting left fielder in 1865 but died that winter. The
club’s new secretary wrote that, “Mapes was a great loss, both to efficiency of
the nine, and to the welfare of the club. He was widely known as a ball-player,
and was not to be excelled in his position by any one.”
Charles Mapes:
Charles H. Mapes was a partner in a Newburgh dry goods firm until his partner
bought him out. He later worked as a bookkeeper and in the auction and
commission business, while also serving on the county board of health.
According to an online family genealogy, he was born on September 19, 1837, and
died on November 6, 1920.
I. McDowell: A man
by this name played for the Hudson Rivers in their first game in 1859. The only
candidate was Isaac McDowell, a butcher who had been born around 1841.
John Miller: John
Miller was one of the club’s mainstays from its first game until 1864, but his
name is too common to identify him.
Samuel W. Miller:
Samuel W. Miller was the only original club member to remain on the first nine
after the war. His identity has been difficult to pin down, but there was a man
by that name in the city directory who was associated with James W. Miller &
Co., a Newburgh carpet and oil cloth firm
William C. Miller:
William C. Miller was club president from 1859 to 1863. The only man by that
name was born around 1817 and died in Newburgh on April 14, 1896.
H. C. Millspaugh:
Henry C. Millspaugh joined the club in 1862 and remained a regular until at
least 1867. He was born around 1845 in New York state and became an attorney
and a justice of the peace. He was still in Newburgh in 1880 but seems to have
left or died soon afterward.
George W. Powell:
George Powell was the original catcher of the club, but didn’t play for it after
1860. He has not been identified.
S. B. Reeve: S. B.
Reeve played for the Hudson River Club from its inception until 1863. He was a
jeweler who was born around 1831.
Captain Henry
Robinson: Captain Henry Robinson was born around 1782 and was a sea captain who
became a large Newburgh land owner after his retirement. He is credited with
introducing the carp to America around 1831 – he brought them over from France,
bred them in his pond, and released them into the Hudson River. Robinson was
also prominent in Newburgh’s boating scene. In addition, he served as vice
president of the Hudson River Base Ball Club in 1859 and 1860, though of course
he did not play the game. He died on March 9, 1866, and part of his estate
became the site of the county fair and of a Newburgh baseball club.
David A. Scott: Born
around 1827 in New York, David A. Scott served as club president from 1864 to
1866 was did not play in any match games. He was a lawyer who was also
Surrogate of Orange County. He died in Newburgh on August 24, 1890.
Eldrige Gerry
Stevens: E. Gerry Stevens was born in New Hampshire around 1836 and played for
the first nine in 1859 and 1860. He followed his father into the lumber
business and became a well known Newburgh merchant. He died in June of 1893.
Dr. Lendone S.
Straw: L. S. Straw was born on January 22, 1825, in Hopkinton, New Hampshire.
His father was a dentist and surgeon, but Lendone initially tried to make his
fortune by going to California for the gold rush. He soon returned to the east,
however, and followed his father into dentistry. He settled in Newburgh and
played for the Hudson Rivers from 1859 to 1861. He died in Newburgh on October
9, 1899.
Charles G. Waring:
Early club member Charles Waring was born in New York around 1833 and worked as
a painter.
Others: Fred Banks,
Conklin, Garrison, B. Hanmore, Lansing, Leonard, Moore, Phillips, William L.
Smith (played for the club in 180 and was vice president in 1863 and 1864), B.
Verplanck (also with the Highlands of New Windsor), A. Wilson, J. E. Wilson, I.
Wood, James Young
Sources: This
article is primarily based on a detailed history on pp. 328-329 of John J.
Nutt’s Newburgh, Her Institutions, Industries and Leading Citizens:
Historical, Descriptive and Biographical (Newburgh, N.Y.: Ritchie & Hull,
1891). Also very helpful was an entry in Charles A. Peverelly’s Book of
American Pastimes, which in turn was based upon a letter dated April 23,
1866, from club secretary Lewis B. Halsey and a history by Patrick Mondout at
the baseballchronology.com website. Other sources are cited in the source
notes.
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