Having read Mark’s recent well written article on Mr. Mack, we thought we would cover the other half of the “Shadow” battery.
Gilmore, 22 years old, is one of several players recently acquired from Hartford. Washington beset by ownership troubles, lack of talent and gambling issues struggles in their first season in the League. But the arrival of new talent stiffens the team and they make a second late season surge.
Gilmore is not a household name among District baseball fans. He came to Washington with great promise. This game might have been his finest hour.
Tuesday 28 September. The Nationals host the visiting St. Louis Maroons. In the box are, 19 year old, “Egyptian” Healy and Frank “Shadow” Gilmore.
“The St. Louis nine defeated the Nationals by a score of 5 to 2 in a contest that was essentially a pitchers game as both Frank Gilmore and Egyptian Healy were on their mettle, and the
shadow twirler of the Nationals accomplished the great record of striking out sixteen men of
the visitors a feat that has been achieved but once previously during the present season. Had
the Nationals batted with any vim at opportune moments the game would have been theirs but when a base hit was needed there was no one who hit the ball safely, and in consequence the local boys were left. Neither side scored in the first inning, but in the second St. Louts on a two bagger, two singles and Walt Goldsby’s error earned two runs. In the fourth the home boys scored a tally on George Shoch’s force out and Goldsby’s two bagger. From this point neither side succeeded in getting a man round the bases although there were many opportunities, until the seventh inning when the boys from the Mound City made two runs on Jack McGeachey’s three bagger and two errors by Bill Krieg. The Statesmen added another score to their total in the eighth inning on hits by Paul Hines and Cliff Carroll and Emmett Seery’s muff of Jack Farrell’s long fly to left field. In the ninth inning Jerry Denny who had struck out the three previous times he had been at the bat knocked the ball over the left field fence for a home run and thus the game closed with the visitors three in the load. Never have the Nationals lost a game that was so hard to lose as that of today but as fate seemed to be against them no fault can be found with the home team and the fair hits that the visitors are credited with were made at opportune times when there were no men on bases. Decidedly the feature of the game on the part of the Statesmen was the battery work of Frank Gilmore and Connie Mack and Egyptian Healy and Frank Graves were not far behind for the St Louis. Jack Glasscock, Jack McGeachey and Jack Farrell did some fine fielding and Mack and McGeachey led the batting for their respective nines.”
St. Louis 5
Washington 2
Did You Know? Frank Gilmore had an odd delivery. Gilmore would twist himself almost like a pretzel, and then come out of it to shoot the ball with terrific force to Mack. He also had a pretty good curve ball. Mack has a little trick he learned. He makes the sound of a foul tip by slapping his bare hand in his buckskin glove. Often the umpire would call the batsman out.
We think Gilmore literally pitched himself out of the game. The numbers below tell the tale. He struggled in 1887. During spring training in 1888 Gilmore had a lame arm. He played poorly in the regular season and was soon released.
Innings Pitched Strikeouts
1885 Minors 305 249
1886 Hartford 331 247
1886 Washington 75 75
1887 Washington 234.2 114
