the top rung of the ladder was only gained by the hardest kind of fighting". Sporting Life indicated that Hogan was confident of the outcome early in the season. "After his return from the first trip around the circuit", wrote reporter G. H. Hartley, "Marty said to your correspondent that he saw nothing in the league that was better than his team". Hartley noted that, on the closing day of the season, Hogan accepted the Farnsworth Cup, "the Tri-State trophy", on behalf of his team. "Between the first and second innings the [Lancaster] players presented Manager Marty Hogan with a beautiful silver set and a silver loving cup", he added. The inscribed silver cup reportedly left Hogan "so surprised that he was unable to respond". On September 7, 1909, one day after the contest, the Reading Eagle stated, "A great crowd witnessed the final game, in which Hogan's gallant band trimmed the Trenton wanderers". The newspaper added, "The real enthusiasm was awakened, however, by the floating of the championship pennant, awarded by a Phila. [sic] paper". A key participant in the team's successful performance was a young pitcher named Stan Coveleski, who went on to post a record of 53 wins and 38 losses during his three seasons with Lancaster. He made his professional debut with the Philadelphia Athletics three seasons later. Indeed, the Ogden Standard had praised Hogan as a "live wire" back in February 1909, when he "grabbed up the three brothers of Harry Coveleski of the Phillies, and had them all sign contracts". Highlights of the season may have included an exhibition game with the Philadelphia Phillies, which was scheduled to be held in Lancaster on April 2, 1909. The following year, however, the Red Roses' performance fell short of the previous season when it placed second, with 63 wins and 47 losses. According to Spalding's Baseball Guide (1911), the Lancaster organization was one of several teams in the league caught off guard by a surprisingly strong new club from Altoona, Pennsylvania, which was "sent along at a clip that practically clinched the season". While the Red Roses pulled out of a mid-season slump, the "Altoonas" prevailed with a 72–38 record. In an article regarding this outcome, Sporting Life stated that "nothing can be found to cast discredit upon the Lancaster team or its popular manager, Marty Hogan". The paper added, "With a team that never stood