The Brooklyn Eagle called it “(A) travesty on the National Pastime.” The Associated Press said it was “A comedy in Brooklyn.”
1915 home opener between the Federal League’s Brooklyn Tip-Tops and the Buffalo Blues.
The 1915 Federal League opener between the Brooklyn Tip-Tops and Buffalo Blues resulted in 13 to 9 Brooklyn victory, slogged on for three hours and ten minutes, and Brooklyn Manager Lee Magee was ejected from his first game as a manager in the first inning.
Lee Magee
None of those things were the cause of the headlines.
The Washington Times said:
“Of all the offenses committed against the fair name of baseball none has loomed up so ludicrously as the prize ‘bone’ play perpetrated in the opening game.”
In the seventh inning, catcher Grover Land pinch hit for pitcher Bill Upham. Land singled and was then removed for pinch runner Dave Howard.
The Eagle said, in the following inning:
“Land donned the windpad and mitt in the eighth and proceeded to catch the balance of the game in place of (Mike) Simon, whose sore arm caused his retirement.
“Land’s return to the game after having once been replaced was a distinct violation of the rules, but Acting Manager (Jim) Delahanty wotted not of such things, Umpire Jimmy Johnstone gave it not a thought and Leader (Larry) Schlafly of Buffalo ignored it entirely, either from lack of observation or with a view of future action in the way of a protest. The re-advent of Land caused a mix-up in the scoring, which turned the press box into a bedlam of protest, but there was no redress. Later, the humor of the situation dawned on the scribes and they gurgled with glee at the monumental piece of stupidity perpetrated by the home management.”
Grover Land
The following day, Schlafly filed a formal protest with Federal League President James Gilmore, and told The Buffalo News he was aware of the mistake and “Knew as soon as Land went in to catch the Brookfeds could not win the ball game.”
The Eagle later apologized to Delahanty for claiming he was responsible for the “bone play:”
“An injustice was done Jimmy Delahanty when it was stated that he was acting manager of the Brookfeds when Grover Land did the in again, out again, and in again stunt…The truth must be told. Lee Magee was on the bench at the time, despite the fact that he had long before been chased off the field. The Boy Manager had slipped into a long ulster, and, as he thought, disguised himself so the umps would not recognize him. Then he slipped behind the water cooler and directed things.”
The paper concluded that Magee pulled the “bone” and chided him for allowing his players to take the blame.
Magee was fined $50 and suspended for two games for returning to the bench after the ejection. The protest was rejected and the game remained in the record books as a 13 to 9 Brooklyn victory.
The Blues were 13-28 in June when Schlafly was fired. Magee was replaced as manager by Brooklyn with a 53-64 record in August. The teams finished sixth and seventh during the league’s second and final season.
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