New-York tribune., 1900-07-29

and from the Shore Road overlooking the Bay
70 First-ave
The country clubhouse Of the Crescent Ath-
letic Club, OF Brooklyn, is regularly open from
May IS to October 20. but is partially open all
the year round The season begins with lacrosse
This year the club lost two games 10 the Cana
dian team. The club is in the baseball league
with the New-York Athletic Montclair Athletic
and MorTistown Athletic clubs, and the Engle-
wood Field Club II has seven games lost
one and has two games play, and will win
the championship in the new league this year.
There are golf contests every Saturday in Class
A or Class B or for special cups. The boathouse
is we'll equipped with all kinds Of boats. It is
impossible, however to shells in New-York
Bay, the swell from the steamers would sink
them. There are, however six and eight cared
barges. gigs and singles and doubles. A popular
diversion on Sundays is for parties to go out in
six and eight cared boats on trips to Staten ISL
and or StllweITs at Grayesend Bay. Among
the various sports which may be enjoyed the
fifteen acres Of club grounds is the Scotch
game OF bowls. The grounds are easily reached
from New-York by two boats. which make fire.
quent trips, morning, afternoon and evening,
from the Battery. They are hired Jointly with
the Atlantic Yacht Club and the Nortons Point
Land Company, ard also to the Atlantic
Yacht Club at Nortons Point.
There dining facilities in the clubhouse for
four hundred people and Memorial Day
nearly twelve hundred dinners in all were
served. Other attractions are billiard and pool
tables. cardrooms and bowling alleys. There
are LOO members in the club, and there is
waiting list OF 80. The resident members num-
her 1900. The city clubhouse is at Nos. %, 27
and % Clinton-st. Brooklyn.
= prominent member Of the Crescent Athletic
Club is DR. A. c. Brush. Of No. II Lafayette
ave- who talked in interesting way yesterday
about the organization 10 a Tribune reporter.
The doctor, who is expert amateur oars
man and never sat in a losing eight explained
how the Hiram crew got their name. It hap
pened one summers day. about ten years ago.
that their barge was driven ashore Staten
Island by heavy southeast gale. They put
UP at & nearby inn and the spokesman Of the
party not knowing the Christian names Of all
his comrades. registered every man Of them as
Hiram. This bit Of pleasantly led TO calling the
crew the Hirams ever after. Later, the crew
made 4 sensation by adopting as a uniform a
bright Turkish red coat on which were two
oars in miniature crossed on crescent. and
white duck trousers.
DR.. Brush told the story OF the Douglass tree,
already mentioned which stood in front of the
old Van Brunt house It was several years be-
fore II was occupied by the Crescent Club and
The building at the time was closed. but was
connected by a burglar alarm with the present
Van Brunt house ct the right OF the clubhouse.
One evening the burglar alarm went off, and a
member OF the Van Brunt family with hired
men and shotguns hurried over to the old home
stead anpfound two men trying 10 open one Of
the windows. gun fired, and instantly
one OF the men dropped the piazza. The
other man ran 70 the foot Of the tree, and. being
fired on. dropped some of the shot penetrating
the tree. The the piazza, feeling mat
he was dying, declared that he knew where
Charley Ross was but that he wouldn't tell un-
less the other man. who. he said. was Doug
lass would also confess Douglass was found
when the party returned TO the piazza the man
there was dead also. These men sald Dr.
Brush, river pirates The Shore Itoau a'
that time was cut through.
DR. Brush declared that the CLUB was pros
porous 1t was retiring its bonds, and was the
only club in Brooklyn in the days OF lo7t anu anu
1885 that made any money. II did NOT go lht0 G
track athletics and there no professional
athletes in the organization. Ihey went iHto
athletics simply for the enjoyment or the sPoIt.
In the football league 1t discovered that anolheI
club was playing for money, and then the CIeS-
cent Club at once dropped out 90, o,
The origin Of the Crescent Athletlc CIuD 5 Wa5
In football organization whlcn was stai t1
IN 1884 by William H. Ford. at that time a
recent graduate Of Yale, and was mace up
mostly OF college men The membership IN TWO
Years increased 10 ifty-1ye. A plan was a.
once carried out 10 organize regular hthettS
club, and grounds were leased at Nlnth-st. ano
Einth-ave Three years later the trustees OF tils
club became the owners Of ell the properI,iy, %
the Eere.d Boat Club and assumed it's liabilities
Shortly afterward negotiations were CLOSED WIZ"