1915 Vancouver, Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley
1915 BC Interior
1915 Vancouver Island
VICTORIA AMATEUR BASEBALL
Players from three known amateur loops filled the diamonds of Victoria during the 1915 campaign. With the professional Maple Leafs getting almost all of the newspaper attention, coverage within the Daily Colonist was limited for the Senior and Intermediate leagues early in the season and virtually disappeared for over a month from mid-July until late August when it reappeared, only briefly, and solely for the Senior Amateur circuit. A third association of teams, collectively known as the Niagara Baseball League, was also operational in Victoria in 1915 although it had the least coverage of all and no official designation as to its level of play ever appeared in publication.
After the long gap in coverage of the Senior Amateur League in the Capital City, a surprising announcement appeared in the Victoria Daily Colonist that the Hawkins Cubs of Victoria would be locking horns with the Snider & Brethour aggregation of the of the Vancouver Commercial Baseball League for the provincial senior amateur title. This seemed odd in that the Snider & Brethour club, merely an also-ran during the regular season, was not even a finalist for the Vancouver Commercial League crown in 1915 and raised the possibility that this was not a sanctioned playoff, especially since the so-called B.C. final was not even mentioned in the Vancouver Daily World. Another, and more likely, explanation is that it was simply an exhibition, challenge event, over-hyped by the Victorians as to what was at stake. At any rate, the Hawkins Cubs defeated the Lower Mainland squad in the Victoria clash, their only confirmed meeting, but nothing was found in either the Daily Colonist or Daily World that a proposed second game in Vancouver ever took place.
VICTORIA SENIOR AMATEUR BASEBALL LEAGUE
(July 3) The Hawkins Cubs took the first of a three-game series for the Victoria Senior Amateur championship from the Bapcos by a score of 12 to 1. Balcolm, on the mound for the Cubs, was a puzzle to the opposing batters, holding them to five hits. He struck out twelve and walked but one. Second baseman Frank Moore of the Cubs handled six chances flawlessly and secured three base hits.
Balcolm (W) and Straith
Rafferty (L), McGregor (3) and Thoransen, Mackie
Victoria had a team composed of select players from the Senior Amateur loop which participated in inter-city competition infrequently. The Hawkins Cubs, considered the strongest squad in the Senior circuit, also arranged inter-city matches.
(June 13) The Nanaimo seniors overcame an eighth-inning 4 to 2 deficit and rallied in the ninth for a quartet of counters to defeat the visiting Victoria senior amateurs 6 to 4. Up until the ninth, losing twirler McGregor had held the Hub City nine to just two safeties. Catcher Phil Piper smashed a home run for the victors.
McGregor (L) and Mackie
Shepherd (W) and Piper
(July 11) Balcolm, pitching ace of the Hawkins Cubs, starred in two weekend games in a home-and-home series with the Nanaimo Federals. The Cubs won 13 to 1 at Royal Athletic Park on Saturday and stung another one-sided defeat on the Mining Towners, 16 to 3, on Sunday on the home lot of the Feds.
B. C. Senior Amateur Baseball finals
Vancouver Snider & Brethour vs Victoria Hawkins Cubs (best-of-three series)
(August 21) The Hawkins Cubs of Victoria drew first blood in their home-and-home series with the Snider & Brethour contingent from Vancouver for what the Victoria Daily Colonist claimed was the provincial senior amateur baseball title when they disposed of the Mainlanders 6 to 1 at Royal Athletic Park. The Victoria Daily Colonist was vague when it came to a date for a scheduled second encounter, mentioning that it would take place in about two weeks time in Vancouver.
Brethour (L) and Jackson
Balcolm (W) and Townsley
Nothing was found in either the aforementioned publication or the Vancouver Daily World relative to any further games in this series.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
VICTORIA INTERMEDIATE LEAGUE
(July 3) Beacon Hills practically clinched the Victoria Intermediate League pennant for 1915 by beating the North Wards 5 to 2. Winning pitcher P. Slater had a shutout until the eighth frame when he weakened and allowed two runs. McClusky gave the Hills aggregation an early lead when he launched a two-run homer in the third inning.
P. Slater (W) and xxx
xxx (L) and xxx
(July 16) With a 15 to 2 loss by the Victorias to North Ward, the Beacon Hill baseballers sewed up the Intermediate League pennant for 1915.
Parfitt (L), Gillingham and Hopkins
Curtis (W) and Quinn
NIAGARA LEAGUE
The Beavers and Maple Leafs were the cream of the crop in the 1915 Niagara Baseball League.
Beavers, Maple Leafs, Outer Wharfs, Senators
UPPER ISLAND BASEBALL
It appears that there was a four-team baseball league in the Upper Island in 1915 involving the following Comox Valley teams:
Bevan
Courtenay
Cumberland
Union Bay
Cumberland and Courtenay battled most of the way for league supremacy with Cumberland winning the Stewart Cup on the final weekend of league play.
Brief notes from 1915 editions of the Courtenay Review
(June 6) Courtenay defeated Union Bay 9 o 7 at the Courtenay grounds.
(June 13) Courtenay travelled to Bevan and played an 11-inning game which they won 9 to 7. Union Bay lost to Cumberland leaving Courtenay and Cumberland tied for first place.
(July 1) The Courtenay baseball team won two games at Bevan. Leo Anderton of the Courtneyites had his jaw broken by a pitched ball.
(July 1) Union Bay defeated Cumberland 12 to 7 at the Shipping Point on Dominion Day.
(July 4) The Nanaimo baseballers motored to Cumberland and hung a 14 to 12 defeat upon their hosts.
(August 1) The Courtenay pastimers defeated the Cumberland aggregation by a score of 6 to 2.
(August 8) Cumberland defeated Courtenay 7 to 5 leaving both teams tied in their quest for the Stewart Cup.
(August 15) Cumberland defeated Courtenay 11 to 3 to capture the Stewart Cup for 1915. Winning pitcher LeClaire struck out seven.
LeClaire (W) and Westfield
Bailo (L) and Downing
(August 29) Powell River hammered Courtenay 11 to 3 before the largest crowd of the season at Athletic Park.
A Japanese team from Victoria copped the All-Nippon provincial title.
(Sept 5, 1915) Victoria Nippons, champions of Island baseball, added the provincial championship to their honours when they downed the Vancouver Braves 8 to 3 Sunday
Kasahara (W) and Fujimori
Hojo (L) and Nuyajaki