June 19. 1876

“On Saturday evening the Standards returned home from their visit to Guelph and Toronto.”

                                        Hamilton Spectator.               June 19, 1876

It was the first road trip of the season for the Hamilton Standards, a trip both Guelph and Toronto. The Spectator carried coverage of the games involved from the local newspapers in each city:

“On account of the rain on Saturday, the game with the Torontos was not finished, only five innings being played. When play was stopped the Torontos were 2 runs ahead. The Standards speak in the highest terms of the treatment which they received in Guelph, both from the President (Mr. Sleeman) and members of the Maple Leaf Club, and the citizens generally.

The Guelph Herald gives the following account of the match in that town on Friday :

The match between the Standards of Hamilton and the Maple Leafs of Guelph, played on Friday on the Maple Leaf grounds, being the first match for the championship played in Guelph this season, exited considerable interest, and there was consequently a good number of people on the ground, many of them being ladies. When the Standard boys came on the field , they were received with vociferous cheering, those present being evidently being disposed to wish them well in the pending contest, and when, during the game, the Standards made good play, which they did in most instances, if not throughout the game, the spectators applauded them heartily, which was but just, for we have seldom seen a young club, after showing such pluck as to play with such clubs as London and Guelph, sustain the fight so creditably and persistently, in the face of evident defeat, as the Hamilton boys did, and though we cannot say that we wish they had been the victors, we do say that their gallant play deserved a better return than we made, and but for the heavy batting of the Maple Leafs, the score might have stood differently. Altogether we are bound to say that it was a well-contested game, and we wish the Standards every success in the future, believing as we do that the club has in it the material to give some of the older clubs some hard rubs before very long. Considering the circumstances, some very fine play was made on both sides, and had it not been for the high wind, which at times would have been termed by nautical men  a gale, preventing the fielders from judging where the balls would fall, there would not have been as many errors as there were.

 (Final score Guelph 12, Standards 2)

In the evening, Mr. Geo. Sleeman and the members of the Maple Leaf club, entertained the Standards at the Royal Hotel, and the Guelph brass band entertained them during the evening. Altogether a most agreeable time was spent, and the Standards carry with them the warmest wishes of the people of Guelph, on account of their gentlemanly demeanor and the plucky manner in which they took their defeat.

The following account of the playing at Toronto is from this morning’s Mail :

“A more unsatisfactory day for outdoor sports than Saturday could not well have been, raining as it did from early morning till late in the evening. The match, therefore, between the Standards of Hamilton and the Torontos was but a very partial success. Some four or five hundred people were present, who sturdily sat out the whole match, in spite of the atmospheric dampness. The two teams were known to be pretty evenly matched, and under other circumstances, there would have been a good muster of lovers of the ball and the bat to see an interesting game. The time appointed was three o’clock, at which hour, with commendable punctuality the Hamilton nine were on the field, but owing partly to the weather and the wet condition of the grass, but more to the dilatoriness of the Torontos, the game was not called until 4:15. When play did commence, however, both clubs showed a praiseworthy desire to compete the contest, at the risk, it is to be feared, of some severe colds. The grass in the southwest corner being least in want of the mowing machine, that portion was chosen, the result being more balls knocked over the field than into the field.
The Torontos commenced their sixth innings, but the rain, which had been falli8ng almost without intermission, came on so heavily that the umpire wisely decided to catch the match, leaving the Torontos the winners be five to three.

The fielding of both teams, with one or two exceptions, was very weak; the pitching, of Smith, for the Torontos was excellent, and the catchers of both nines left nothing to be desired; but the pitching for the Hamiltons was rather shay. The Standard nine are an active, light set of young men, who should, in the course of time prove formidable antagonists. The Torontos who only made their debut  on Saturday week, contain the material for a first class nine; but they require to play more together, and must practise incessantly. Mr. Powers, of the Tecumseh club, of London, made a most satisfactory umpire.”

The militia unit of Hamilton which dealt with artillery, the Hamilton Field Battery, announced on June 19, 1876 its intentions for a training locations ::

“We understand that the Battery goes into Camp on June 26^th. Application has been made for the Crystal Palace grounds, where the Battery will be in camp for ten days, when they will move to the Beach for practise for a similar period. “

Sometimes, there was space available in the Spectator of 1876 for even the smallest of matters, as the following two items from the June 19, 1876 issue indicates:

“The lady who took a purse from street car No. 14 on east King street this morning stating that she would return it to the owner, is requested to leave it either at the Spectator office or at the office of the Street Railway Company. “

“Will the person who took the wrong hat in a mistake from Mr. Peace’s barber shop, Hughson street, between five and six o’clock on Saturday, return it to Mr. Peace’s or 46 Hunter street west, and get the right one.”