The 1885 Season

Opening Day Lineup
C Tom Daly
1B Thomas Gorman
2B Al Myers
3B Jumbo Davis
SS Dave Drew
LF Tommy McCarthy
CF Dick Johnston
RF Oyster Burns
SP Ed Cushman

Most Common Lineup:
C Barney Gilligan
1B Thomas Gorman
2B Al myers
3B Joe Mulvey
SS Dave Drew
LF Tommy McCarthy
CF Mike Slattery
RF Oyster Burns

Pitching Staff
SP Hugh Daily
SP Ed Cushman
SP The Only Nolan
SP Charlie Daniels
SP Henry Porter
RP John Henry
RP Fred Goldsmith
RP John Cattanach
RP Charie Cady

April

Going into the 1885 season, the Brooklyn Atlantics changed their name to the Brooklyn Grays, the Louisville Eclipse changed their name to the Louisville Colonels, and the New York Gothams became the New York Giants.

Brooklyn went into Spring Training as the overwhelming favorite in the National League. After a horrendous spring, the Grays wasted no time in making some moves to try to shore up some holes. On opening day, they finalized a move that sent Conny Doyle and John Firth over to the Philadelphia Quakers for pitcher John Henry. Two days later, after getting off to an 0-3 start, they engaged in two more deals. In the first, they sent third basemen Jumbo Davis and Billy Nash to the Chicago White Sox for third baseman Joe Mulvey. The second move sent Dick Johnston, George Fisher, Joe Werrick, Pit Gillman, and Jim Donnelly over to Cleveland for center fielder Mike Slattery.

These moves did seem to have an immediate effect, with Slattery and Mulvey immediately being plugged into the lineup. Brooklyn ended up finishing the month with a 14-11 mark, just a half game out of first place. They were led by the bat of Oyster Burns, who was voted the league “player of the month” for April. Burns sprained his ankle on April 30 and was moved to the 60-day disabled list.

May

In May, Ed Cushman’s control got away from him, and his ERA ballooned over 5. He was actually replaced for a start by Charlie Daniels before Henry Porter hurt his shoulder. The diagnosis that Porter would not return that year was a painful one for Brooklyn, but it did allow Cushman to move back into the rotation.

Daily also had a rough month bringing his ERA over 4 while Nolan missed two starts with a finger problem. Fred Goldsmith got a couple of starts during the month, but the Brooklyn pitching staff was extremely taxed.

Brooklyn finished filling their wish list from the off season’s winter meetings when they traded Paul Cook and Lefty Johnson to Pittsburgh for catcher Barney Gilligan.

They were able to turn in a winning month at 13-11 thanks in large part to stellar performances all month long by the bullpen. By the end of the month, though, Brooklyn had dropped to three games behind first place.

June
Brooklyn limped into the All Star break for the second straight season, losing 2 of 3 in the first week of June before the league broke. Henry Porter and Oyster Burns were the National League’s top two vote getters for the 1885 All-Star Game, but they were both on the disabled list over the break. The new rule in effect for 1885 stated that players who were voted to the game but were unable to perform would still be allowed to attend. Charlie Daniels and Dave Drew actually played in the game for the Grays.



Oyster Burns returned to the lineup shortly after the break, and that triggered a Brooklyn resurgence. Meanwhile, Dave Drew started going on a hitting tear that would spill over into July after he ended up hitting safely in 23 consecutive games. Brooklyn was 16-9 in June, and they found themselves in a dogfight for first place with the Philadelphia Quakers.

July

Brooklyn started July red hot. The pitching staff settled down, and the offense, behind Dave Drew and Oyster Burns, helped the Grays off to a 14-2 start in July, gaining a three game lead over Philadelphia. Brooklyn was scheduled a two games set with Philadelphia in late July, which would be the last time these two teams would meet. Brooklyn was hot, and they were looking at the series as a way to put Philadelphia out for good. In the weekend prior to the series, Brooklyn lost relief pitchers Frank Foreman and Phenomenal Smith for the remainder of the season. With little to no depth in the bullpen, Brooklyn couldn’t keep pace with Philadelphia in the 15 inning and 12 inning contests where the Quakers would end up sweeping the Grays to pull within a single game.

Things started falling apart for Brooklyn after that. They finished the month at 18-8 in a virtual tie with Philadelphia, but things were about to get worse.

August

The Only Nolan, Charlie Daniels, and Oyster Burns were all knocked out for the season within the first two games in August. Brooklyn only won 4 of their first 9 in August, and their only saving grace was the fact that Philadelphia only won 3 games during the same period. Brooklyn went into their final series of the season against Boston with a two game lead over Philadelphia. With their top starter Hugh Daily earning a one-run loss in the series opener, Philadelphia won to get a game closer. On the second game, Philadelphia was getting beat up by Pittsburgh. Brooklyn couldn't get the win to clinch because starter Charlie Daniels was rocked, only making it 4 2/3 on the way to a 12-4 loss.

Brooklyn went with Ed Cushman on the season finale. They were up a single game over Philadelphia. After Cushman’s monster performance in 1884, he really had a rough year in 1885. He went into the finale with a 7-11 record and a 4.09 ERA. Brooklyn had almost half of their pitchers on the disabled list, so their bullpen was stretched very thin. They needed a very strong outing from Cushman, and they got it. Cushman only gave up 4 hits in 9 innings leading the Grays to a 4-0 victory clinching the National League. Philadelphia would go on to lose as well, so the Grays ended up winning the National League by two games.

Brooklyn Team Batting Stats


Brooklyn Team Pitching Stats


World Series
The Detroit Wolverines were the American League representative in the 1885 World Series. They were a powerhouse team and a heavy favorite to win. They boasted a potent lineup featuring Buck Ewing, Charlie Bastian, Joe Quinn, Buster Hoover, and Fred Mann. Their pitching staff was ferocious featuring the likes of Jack Lynch, John Clarkson, Ed Daily, and Henry Boyle. They led the American League with a .267 team batting average and a 2.34 team ERA.

Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Grays never really had a chance. With three of the four Dodger starters on the DL, they had to resort to Frank Foreman as a starter in the most important series of the year.

Detroit crushed Brooklyn in the first game, but Charlie Daniels delivered a great performance in game two to tie the series at a game apiece. That would be the last hurrah for Brooklyn, as they would be outscored 36-4 in the next three games to relinquish the World Series title to the Detroit Wolverines. Jack Lynch gave up no earned runs in 15 innings to earn the World Series MVP.

Awards


First Year Player Draft
Brooklyn was very top heavy going into the 1885 first year player draft. With all of the wheeling and dealing they had done during the season, they ended up with six total picks. Two of them were in the first round, and four of them were in the second round. Brooklyn ended up taking the following players:

1. Lou Bierbauer 2B
2. Mike Smith P
3. Ice Box Chamberlin P
4. Dan Bickham P
5. Ed Fuller P
6. Ed Greer CF

Offseason Moves
The Grays did make one move in the offseason, sending Mortimer Hogan, Harry Decker, Nin Alexander, Charlie Kelly, and Frank Bell to the St. Louis Browns for pitcher Ed Bagley.