1905.

Maurice Daly’s Class B Amateur Championship. Begun January 23d, N. Y. City, and won by H. A. Coleman.—In playing off tie for second and third, February 3d, Wm. Gershel averaged 11.11, defeating Albert Lewenberg by 300 to 119. Other contestants were Chas. E. White, Louis A. Servatius, and James Vantine. Games were 14:2, 300 up.

Fifth Annual Gold Cup Championship Tourney. Held in Chicago January 30th to February 11th, under the auspices and at the clubhouse of the Chicago Athletic Association. Known as the “Diamond Tournament.” Games, 300 points, 14:2. The day before play began, H. A. Wright, of San Francisco, was summoned home, his father having been mortally stricken by paralysis; after playing one game, defeating Edward Rein, of Chicago, J. Ferdinand Poggenburg was called to New York by the death of his mother; and Rein, having won from Ed. W. Gardner and lost to Chas. S. Schmitt and Wilson H. Sigourney, was forced by illness to forfeit to Chas. F. Conklin, Chas. S. Norris, Byron Stark, and Charles Threshie. The C. A. A. threw out the games of Poggenburg and Rein, but the subjoined table retains them, inclusive of the 51 to 1 score by Conklin and Rein as a factor in their general averages, as well as Poggenburg’s run of 79, which was actually the highest of the tournament, although Conklin’s 78 was awarded the special prize in consequence of the canceling of games.

Stark has no winning average because the two games credited to him were won by forfeiture only, and Poggenburg lacks a general average because of having played but one game.

Averaging 8.33, Norris won the play-off for fourth and fifth prizes by 300 to 256. The championship tie was won by 300 to 231, Conklin averaging 6.52; and Conklin averaged 9.09 in winning from Gardner, by 300 to 263, the special prize for high single average.

Mussey’s 14:2 Handicap, Chicago. Held in February, and won by Dr. Harley C. Parker, who was at “scratch” with C. F. Conklin, whom he defeated by 300 to 228, losing to George Kent alone. Kent, Walker, Edwards, and A. J. Brown tied for second, third, fourth, and fifth prizes, and agreed to divide.

A Shortstop Championship. McLaughlin’s Room, N. Y. City, February 27th to March 10th.—Tournament for the 14:2 shortstop championship of Greater New York and vicinity. Frank Hoppe won his whole four games, Louis M. Crane and Walter Aborn tied for second and third prizes (Crane won play-off by 250 to 227), and Wm. Cox and Fred. Harer tied for last two places, Cox winning by 250 to 160. Crane made highest run and best single average, 45 and 6.94, and Hoppe the best general average, 4.85. This was meant to be a challenge championship for an emblem given by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co., but there have been no matches.

Philadelphia Clubmen’s 14:2 Handicap. Tournament under auspices of the Schuylkill Navy’s Athletic Club, February 20th to March 20th.—Every man played in nine games. Dr. Uffenheimer, of the Pennsylvania University Club, won his every game but one, and that the opening one, in which Hovey defeated him by 20.

Alcorn, who made the highest run in the tourney proper, was defeated in the play-offs by both Rolls and Morton. In defeating Alcorn, Morton surpassed his tournamental average by making 5.98, and Rolls made 7.22, surpassed only by his 9.56 in beating Moon by 325 to 82. Also defeating Rolls in the play-off (275 to 292, with 5.73 for winning average), Morton secured second prize.

French Championship of the World at 14:2. Classes A and B were both determined in March. The Class B tourney, held first, was won by Roudil, of Montpellier, who lost but one of his six games, and tied Nélys, of Fontainebleau, as to highest run (51), but was second in winning average (6.81) to Rose, of Paris (7.89), who lost four games. Roudil’s general average was 4.79, which was second to Nélys’ 4.99. The winner of second prize was Pleindoux, of Beziers, who won four games, and yet was the only one of the seven whose general average (3.72) failed to pass 4.

Lucien Rérolle won Class A, although he lost one game to Letellier by 400 to 259, the winning average being 16.

In the play-offs, Darantière scored 400 to 213 and averaged 14.29 against Letellier, and 400 to 218, with an average of 16.67, against De Drée; and Letellier, in defeating De Drée, averaged 11.11, making the ninth winning average above 10 in thirteen games. The play-off high runs were: Darantière, 82; Letellier, 72; De Drée, 60.

The average of the tournament may be roundly expressed as 10.35, exclusive of the three tie-games.

Bensinger 14:2 Handicap, Chicago. Ed. Rein won by defeating C. F. Conklin in the final game, about March 15th, leaving Conklin tied for minor prizes with Thos. J. Nolan and Dr. Harley Parker. Conklin and Nolan defeated Parker in the play-offs.

Amateur 14:2 Handicap in Brooklyn, N. Y. Frank A. Keeney’s Room, February, March, and April.—Won by J. M. Millette (225), who lost but one game out of seven. Chas. E. White (scratch, 260) and Wm. A. Leonard (200) tied on 5—2, and no one else did better than 3—4, which was the tally of Louis A. Servatius (230), Frank A. Boyd (225), and John A. Keane (220). The other two were Geo. C. Seeley (200) and Henry Hoxie (190). The best winning averages were White’s 7.03 and Leonard’s 4.76, the best general averages White’s 5.72 and Millette’s 3.89, and the best runs Leonard’s 43 and Servatius and White’s 41 each.

Jacob Schaefer vs. W. F. Hoppe. Three nights of 18:2, John Miller’s Room, New Orleans, April 18th, 19th, 20th.—S., 1500—16.85—117; H., 1467—118.

French “Championship of the World” at 18:2. Paris held a tournament in April and May.—The winner was Van Duppen, of Antwerp. Totals were made public, but not averages and runs.

Maurice Daly’s Class B. N. Y. City, May 22–26th.—“Even up” at 14:2. Neither having won a game, Wm. Gershel and Albert Lewenberg did not play the scheduled sixth and last.

Foley’s Summer Class B Handicap, 14:2. Chicago, Ill., May 15th to October 13th.—Twelve entries, J. M. Miller (scratch, 200) tieing Roney (145) and C. L. Jackson (200) for first, second, and third. Harris (200) made the highest run, 41, and Jackson, new to tournaments, the best winning average, 6.90. Playing off the ties put Jackson, Miller, and Roney from first to third.

Summer 14:2 Tourney at Daly’s. N. Y. City, June 12–21st.—Won by Eddie Foy, beaten only by W. Wefers, who made the highest run (31), which was duplicated by M. Conly, whose winning average (4.65) was second only to R. Dittman’s 6.45, and whose general average, 3.42, was highest of all. Games were 200 up, L. Wormser winning none, and S. B. De Young, Dittman, and Wefers tied on 3—2 for second, third, and fourth prizes, play-offs resulting as those players are named.

Al Taylor’s Stunt at 18:2. Wagered that he could not average 15 in six sessions at Foley’s Room, Chicago, week ending June 24th, Taylor to choose his opponent and selecting George Wheeler, he failed by 20 per cent. T., 2500—12.14—104; W., 1683—74.

Three-handed 18:2. Louis Bensinger’s Room, Chicago, week ending September 2d.—Games played in double sessions. Clem E. Ellison won, defeating both George Wheeler and Frank Maggioli, who came out even. Wheeler made highest run (120) and average (21.40), but it was against Maggioli. Against the safer Ellison, who won by 600 to 523, he could not reach 9.50. Maggioli lost to Ellison by 449 to 600.

Amateur Championship at 14:2. Challenge match, 4½ × 9 table, West Hotel, Minneapolis, about September 7th.—Ed. Huyck (champion), 200—5.26—30; W. F. Thayer, 142—26.

Maurice Daly’s Class A Handicap at 18:2. N. Y. City, October 2–7th.—H. A. Coleman (240) was first; J. Ferd. Poggenburg (300), second; Wm. Gershel (240), third; and Dr. Walter G. Douglas (240), fourth. Poggenburg, whom Coleman defeated by 240 to 232 in the opening game, made the highest three runs of the tourney, 60, 73, and 54, and also the highest average, 12, first against Douglas, and again in defeating Gershel. Coleman’s 44 was the fourth highest run, and his 8.57 the highest average next to Poggenburg’s 12. Gershel’s winning average was 5.33. The general averages were: Poggenburg, 8.95; Coleman, 6.05; Gershel, 5.72; Douglas, 4.88.

Class B 14:2 in San Francisco. “The Savoy,” September and October.—Won by George Kennedy. High average, 10, was made by Wm. Maguire. Within a few days, these two played 1,000 up at Jas. F. Morley’s Rooms, Kennedy winning by 31 and averaging 6.90.

Handicap 14:2 in Portland, Ore. J. G. Reddick’s Room, September and October.—W. F. Lowry, A. Clark, W. R. Cody, and J. Mayer played 250 to C. B. Hansen’s 160. When last heard from here, Lowry or Clark should have been winner-in-chief.

Début of Calvin Demarest in Tournament. W. P. Mussey’s Room, Chicago, October 2d to November 9th.—Handicap at 14:2, Demarest and C. F. Conklin being the “scratchmen” at 300. Four of the competitors—Conklin, Collins, Huntley, and A. J. Brown—were at the same time playing in the tournament at Bensinger’s, recorded below. Walker was another competitor. Demarest won Mussey’s, winning every game and making the highest run, single average, and general average, viz., 79, 13.04, and 9.95.

Handicap 14:2 at Bensinger’s, Chicago. October 2d to December 13th.—C. F. Conklin and Ed. Rein at “scratch” (300), and other contestants being Messrs. Huntley, May, Barrett, Collins, Dr. Harley Parker, T. J. Nolan, and A. J. Brown. Opening with Collins, Rein made his best average, 11.11; in early defeating May, Conklin ran 92, the best of the tourney; and in the final game, in which he defeated Rein by 300 to 109, he made the best average, 17.67. This tied Conklin, Parker, and Huntley (and the play-off placed them in that succession), put Rein fourth, and tied Brown and Nolan for fifth and sixth, and May and Barrett for eighth and ninth.

Final Contest for the Gold Cup. By agreement of those chiefly concerned, it was decided to end this series of annual amateur competitions, begun in 1901, by holding a tournament of the Cup’s five winners. Two, Arthur R. Townsend and Wilson P. Foss, did not play. This proffered the other three an opportunity for two 300–point games apiece, November 27th to December 2d, at the rooms of the German Liederkranz Society, N. Y. City, and with these results:

The Gold Cup thereupon became the personal property of Poggenburg, who lost no game, while Gardner and Conklin lost one to each other.

Phenomenally Close and Uniform Play. Maurice Daly’s, N. Y. City, December 11–22d.—Six games apiece, 300 up, 14:2.

Every general average was in the 5 block but Van Vleck’s 4.99. Six of the high winning averages were only 20 per cent. apart in their extremes, 5.66 and 7.14. Gershel’s 82 apart, the extremes of the high runs, too, were at only 20 per cent. variance. Nearly one-fifth of the twenty-one games (ties were not played off) were won by fewer than 10 points, and about one-half by fewer than 30.

Professional Tournaments at 18:2. Beginning at Frank A. Keeney’s Room, Brooklyn, December 11–16th, going thence to Maurice Daly’s, Manhattan, January 1–6, 1906, and from there to Splaine & Cutler’s, Boston, January 15–20th, Thomas J. Gallagher, Edward McLaughlin, and Albert G. Cutler took part in doubled games, or 400 points separately, twice around. McLaughlin won in Brooklyn, and Cutler in Manhattan and Boston. The striking features of the whole play were Cutler’s run of 193 and average of 40 in Boston, where Charles F. Campbell was added; and it was in his second game with Campbell that Cutler made both run and average.