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Haystacks · 10-13-2025, 05:59 PM

Season of 1889
The National Association of Professional Base Ball Clubs

Off-Season Summary
Amongst the rule changes at the winter meeting, this off-season saw more tinkering to the base-on-balls rule — another adjustment brought the number of balls to 4 for a base-on-balls.

Discussions around further league expansion began, with the possibility of expanding ahead of schedule by 1890. Locations mentioned within these debates focused primarily on Buffalo and Pittsburgh for the Eastern League, whilst the Western League looked at petitions from as far west as Omaha, Minneapolis, and Kentucky. Indianapolis was also in contention, preferred by the Cleveland, Detroit, and Cincinnati organizations as it would not add mileage to the league’s road trips, though its lower population drew concern.

A shortlist was agreed, and the investors or existing organizations behind the petitions were invited to the 1889 Winter Meeting to put forward their cases and a final decision would be made by the Association’s current members.

The National Association’s constitution was amended to limit each league to 10 clubs at most; any change to this rule would require a three-quarters majority.

The Cleveland club signed two highly rated young amateurs — Sidney Powers (2B) and Henry Gilmore (P). Together they were referred to by the Cleveland press as “Cleveland’s new colts.” Within weeks of the new season Cleveland were more commonly called the Cleveland Colts by rooters and writers.

Season Summary
The Eastern League would prove impossible to call right up until the final couple of weeks of the season. First place in the standings would consistently change hands between Washington, Philadelphia Quakers, and Boston. The Whalers would twice sweep the Senators in the final month of the season, knocking them out of the race. The Quakers would finish strong, going 9–1 in their final ten games, but defeats at Baltimore and Washington in September would prove decisive as they were unable to catch the Whalers, who confirmed their fourth pennant with an extra innings 5–4 win at local rivals New York Union.

At the other end of the Eastern League, Baltimorehad their worst season ever — both in record and position — finishing tied with New York Union, who for the fifth season in a row finished in the bottom two.

The Colonels returned to dominant form in the West, leading from June. For a couple of months they were followed closely by the Browns and Originals, but the surprise challenge came from Cleveland. The Colts had their best ever year — best record and highest finish — with David Young’s appointment now appearing a masterstroke. In their final 20 games of the year, the Colts lost only 6, though 4 of those came against the Colonels, which proved decisive as Louisville raised their sixth pennant with a four-game lead in the final standings.

Detroit finished bottom again, this time with an even worse record than in 1888, whilst the Packers recorded their lowest win percentage since 1882.

League Standings

Eastern League Standings

Code:

Team W L PCT GB
Boston Whalers 72 40 .643 -
Philadelphia Quakers 69 43 .616 3.0
Washington Senators 61 51 .545 11.0
New York Empire 59 53 .527 13.0
Brooklyn Atlantics 49 63 .438 23.0
Philidelphia Olympics 48 64 .429 24.0
New York Union 45 67 .402 27.0
Baltimore Blue Sox 45 67 .402 27.0

Western League Standings

Code:

Team W L PCT GB
Louisville Colonels 68 44 .607 -
Cleveland Colts 64 48 .571 4.0
Cincinnati Originals 63 49 .563 5.0
Chicago Red Caps 59 53 .527 9.0
St. Louis Browns 55 57 .491 13.0
Milwaukee Creams 52 60 .464 16.0
Chicago Packers 48 64 .429 20.0
Detroit Wolverines 39 73 .348 29.0

National Championship Series
Eastern Pennant: Boston Whalers
Western Pennant: Louisville Colonels
Result: Louisville win the series, 4–0.
Series Silver Ball: Jasper Carson, P, Louisville

If the 1886 series, featuring a spectacular Louisville comeback, broke the hearts of Whaler faithful, this 1889 series would rip them out and stamp on them. Louisville swept Boston — the first such instance in National Championship Series history. Game one was a high-scoring back-and-forth affair, but from that point the Boston bats went cold. Only Ernie Morales and Thomas Francis hit over .250 for the Whalers. Superb pitching, particularly from mid-season acquisition Jasper Carson, ensured Louisville’s dominance. Carson became the first pitcher to win the Series Silver Ball.

Batting Leaders (Combined)

Code:

AVG

Reuben Holmes - LOU .370

Johannes Beekhof - LOU .357

Thomas Francis - BOS .357

Edward Green - NYU .355

George Peterson - BAL .346

HR

Heinrich White - BOS 19

Moses Fleetwood - WAS 16

Robert Wright - PHI 14

James Varney - CHI 13

2 tied with 12

RBI

Heinrich White - BOS 104

Reid Hopkins - NYE 100

Joseph McGuire - MIL 98

Franz Ewing - CHI 93

James Varney - CHI 93

Pitching Leaders (Combined)

Code:

W

Henry Gilmore - CLE 26

Abraham Joyce - PHI 25

Willie King - CIN 23

William Rossi - LOU 23

James Wright - BOS 23

ERA

Abraham Joyce - PHI 2.22

Harris Page - WAS 2.63

Henry Gilmore - CLE 2.77

Willie King - CIN 2.82

Caleb White - CHI 2.82

K

James Hall - NYE 277

James Wright - BOS 226

Henry Hall - CHI 203

Ivan Ibarra - CHP 187

Edward Moore - WAS 185

Awards & Honors

Eastern League
Most Distinguished Player Medal: Heinrich White, Boston – .339/.398/.520, 19 HR, 104 RBI, 3.9 WAR
Most Distinguished Hurler Medal: Abraham Joyce, Philadelphia – 25–11, 2.22 ERA, 324.1 IP, 7.7 WAR
Most Distinguished Freshman Medal: George Peterson, Baltimore – .346/.396/.467, 3 HR, 32 SB, 2.5 WAR

Western League
Most Distinguished Player Medal: Johannes Beekhof, Louisville – .357/.424/.455, 2 HR, 129 SB, 7.7 WAR
Most Distinguished Hurler Medal: Henry Gilmore, Cleveland – 26–15, 2.77 ERA, 332 IP, 8.1 WAR
Most Distinguished Freshman Medal: Sidney Powers, Cleveland – .324/.438/.541, 76 SB, 5.9 WAR

Season Notes
09/14/1889 – Edward Moore struck out 16 in 14.0 innings versus Brooklyn while playing for Washington.

Milestones

04/23/1889 – Joseph Wells – 200 Wins (Louisville)
04/29/1889 – Robert Price – 500 Runs Scored (Washington)
05/09/1889 – Edward Denny – 500 Stolen Bases (Washington)
05/10/1889 – Robert Wright – 500 RBI (Philadelphia)
05/13/1889 – Robert Olson – 400 SB (Detroit)
05/14/1889 – Caleb White – 100 Wins (Chicago)
05/14/1889 – Henry Wharton – 1000 SB (New York)
05/16/1889 – Henry Green – 300 SB (Louisville)
05/28/1889 – Patrick Cassidy – 500 RBI (Philadelphia)
05/31/1889 – William Rossi – 200 Wins (Louisville)
05/31/1889 – Patrick Cassidy – 500 Runs (Philadelphia)
06/03/1889 – David Thomas – 1000 Hits (Chicago)
06/03/1889 – David Thomas – 500 RBI (Chicago)
06/07/1889 – David Thomas – 400 SB (Cincinnati)
06/13/1889 – James Thompson – 300 SB (Milwaukee)
06/17/1889 – James Thompson – 300 SB (Milwaukee)
06/18/1889 – Frank Rodriguez – 500 RBI (Cleveland)
06/22/1889 – Frank Rodriguez – 500 Runs (Cleveland)
06/24/1889 – Charles White – 500 RBI (Boston)
06/25/1889 – Levi Ryder – 400 SB (New York)
06/28/1889 – Johannes Beekhof – 1000 Runs (Louisville)
07/02/1889 – James Wright – 150 Wins (Boston)
07/03/1889 – Sincere McTizic – 100 HR (Cincinnati)
07/05/1889 – Henry Wharton – 500 RBI (New York)
07/05/1889 – Heinrich White – 500 Runs (Boston)
07/09/1889 – Vincent O'Toole – 1500 Hits (Detroit)
07/11/1889 – Heinrich White – 1000 Hits (Boston)
07/15/1889 – Heinrich White – 500 RBI (Boston)
07/16/1889 – Johannes Beekhof – 1000 SB (Louisville)
07/18/1889 – Al Ellis – 150 Wins (Chicago)
07/26/1889 – Henry O'Brien – 200 SB (Milwaukee)
07/27/1889 – James Wright – 1500 K (Boston)
07/27/1889 – Thomas O'Steen – 600 SB (Milwaukee)
07/29/1889 – John Robinson – 500 RBI (Philadelphia)
08/01/1889 – Cyrus Anderson – 300 SB (Cincinnati)
08/08/1889 – James Hall – 3000 K (New York)
08/08/1889 – Ezekiel Bell – 500 Runs (Cleveland)
08/09/1889 – Henry Leach – 200 SB (St. Louis)
08/09/1889 – Juan Gallegos – 1000 Hits (Cleveland)
08/20/1889 – Patrick Cassidy – 1000 Hits (Philadelphia)
08/27/1889 – Clayton Clark – 500 RBI (Chicago)
08/27/1889 – Juan Castro – 400 SB (New York)
08/31/1889 – Ezekiel Bell – 300 SB (Cleveland)
09/06/1889 – Joseph Wells – 1000 K (Louisville)
09/12/1889 – John Robinson – 1000 Hits (Philadelphia)
09/12/1889 – James Green – 1000 Hits (Chicago)
09/12/1889 – Levi Ryder – 1000 Hits (New York)
09/14/1889 – Edward Denny – 600 SB (Washington)
09/20/1889 – Jack McGeachey – 200 SB (Washington)
09/21/1889 – Frank Brown – 1500 Hits (Chicago)
10/01/1889 – Frank Brown – 1000 Runs (Chicago)
10/07/1889 – William Rossi – 1500 K (Louisville)
10/08/1889 – Charles Jones – 700 SB (St. Louis)
10/11/1889 – Vincent O'Toole – 1200 SB (Detroit)
10/11/1889 – Henry Plymouth – 1000 Hits (Philadelphia)
10/17/1889 – Edward Schmidt – 1000 Runs (Cincinnati)
10/19/1889 – Peter Ellsworth – 200 SB (Chicago)

10-13-2025, 05:59 PM	#25
Haystacks Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jan 2022 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 170	1889 Season Summary Season of 1889 The National Association of Professional Base Ball Clubs Off-Season Summary Amongst the rule changes at the winter meeting, this off-season saw more tinkering to the base-on-balls rule — another adjustment brought the number of balls to 4 for a base-on-balls. Discussions around further league expansion began, with the possibility of expanding ahead of schedule by 1890. Locations mentioned within these debates focused primarily on Buffalo and Pittsburgh for the Eastern League, whilst the Western League looked at petitions from as far west as Omaha, Minneapolis, and Kentucky. Indianapolis was also in contention, preferred by the Cleveland, Detroit, and Cincinnati organizations as it would not add mileage to the league’s road trips, though its lower population drew concern. A shortlist was agreed, and the investors or existing organizations behind the petitions were invited to the 1889 Winter Meeting to put forward their cases and a final decision would be made by the Association’s current members. The National Association’s constitution was amended to limit each league to 10 clubs at most; any change to this rule would require a three-quarters majority. The Cleveland club signed two highly rated young amateurs — Sidney Powers (2B) and Henry Gilmore (P). Together they were referred to by the Cleveland press as “Cleveland’s new colts.” Within weeks of the new season Cleveland were more commonly called the Cleveland Colts by rooters and writers. Season Summary The Eastern League would prove impossible to call right up until the final couple of weeks of the season. First place in the standings would consistently change hands between Washington, Philadelphia Quakers, and Boston. The Whalers would twice sweep the Senators in the final month of the season, knocking them out of the race. The Quakers would finish strong, going 9–1 in their final ten games, but defeats at Baltimore and Washington in September would prove decisive as they were unable to catch the Whalers, who confirmed their fourth pennant with an extra innings 5–4 win at local rivals New York Union. At the other end of the Eastern League, Baltimorehad their worst season ever — both in record and position — finishing tied with New York Union, who for the fifth season in a row finished in the bottom two. The Colonels returned to dominant form in the West, leading from June. For a couple of months they were followed closely by the Browns and Originals, but the surprise challenge came from Cleveland. The Colts had their best ever year — best record and highest finish — with David Young’s appointment now appearing a masterstroke. In their final 20 games of the year, the Colts lost only 6, though 4 of those came against the Colonels, which proved decisive as Louisville raised their sixth pennant with a four-game lead in the final standings. Detroit finished bottom again, this time with an even worse record than in 1888, whilst the Packers recorded their lowest win percentage since 1882. League Standings Eastern League Standings Code: Team W L PCT GB Boston Whalers 72 40 .643 - Philadelphia Quakers 69 43 .616 3.0 Washington Senators 61 51 .545 11.0 New York Empire 59 53 .527 13.0 Brooklyn Atlantics 49 63 .438 23.0 Philidelphia Olympics 48 64 .429 24.0 New York Union 45 67 .402 27.0 Baltimore Blue Sox 45 67 .402 27.0 Western League Standings Code: Team W L PCT GB Louisville Colonels 68 44 .607 - Cleveland Colts 64 48 .571 4.0 Cincinnati Originals 63 49 .563 5.0 Chicago Red Caps 59 53 .527 9.0 St. Louis Browns 55 57 .491 13.0 Milwaukee Creams 52 60 .464 16.0 Chicago Packers 48 64 .429 20.0 Detroit Wolverines 39 73 .348 29.0 National Championship Series Eastern Pennant: Boston Whalers Western Pennant: Louisville Colonels Result: Louisville win the series, 4–0. Series Silver Ball: Jasper Carson, P, Louisville If the 1886 series, featuring a spectacular Louisville comeback, broke the hearts of Whaler faithful, this 1889 series would rip them out and stamp on them. Louisville swept Boston — the first such instance in National Championship Series history. Game one was a high-scoring back-and-forth affair, but from that point the Boston bats went cold. Only Ernie Morales and Thomas Francis hit over .250 for the Whalers. Superb pitching, particularly from mid-season acquisition Jasper Carson, ensured Louisville’s dominance. Carson became the first pitcher to win the Series Silver Ball. Batting Leaders (Combined) Code: AVG Reuben Holmes - LOU .370 Johannes Beekhof - LOU .357 Thomas Francis - BOS .357 Edward Green - NYU .355 George Peterson - BAL .346 HR Heinrich White - BOS 19 Moses Fleetwood - WAS 16 Robert Wright - PHI 14 James Varney - CHI 13 2 tied with 12 RBI Heinrich White - BOS 104 Reid Hopkins - NYE 100 Joseph McGuire - MIL 98 Franz Ewing - CHI 93 James Varney - CHI 93 Pitching Leaders (Combined) Code: W Henry Gilmore - CLE 26 Abraham Joyce - PHI 25 Willie King - CIN 23 William Rossi - LOU 23 James Wright - BOS 23 ERA Abraham Joyce - PHI 2.22 Harris Page - WAS 2.63 Henry Gilmore - CLE 2.77 Willie King - CIN 2.82 Caleb White - CHI 2.82 K James Hall - NYE 277 James Wright - BOS 226 Henry Hall - CHI 203 Ivan Ibarra - CHP 187 Edward Moore - WAS 185 Awards & Honors Eastern League Most Distinguished Player Medal: Heinrich White, Boston – .339/.398/.520, 19 HR, 104 RBI, 3.9 WAR Most Distinguished Hurler Medal: Abraham Joyce, Philadelphia – 25–11, 2.22 ERA, 324.1 IP, 7.7 WAR Most Distinguished Freshman Medal: George Peterson, Baltimore – .346/.396/.467, 3 HR, 32 SB, 2.5 WAR Western League Most Distinguished Player Medal: Johannes Beekhof, Louisville – .357/.424/.455, 2 HR, 129 SB, 7.7 WAR Most Distinguished Hurler Medal: Henry Gilmore, Cleveland – 26–15, 2.77 ERA, 332 IP, 8.1 WAR Most Distinguished Freshman Medal: Sidney Powers, Cleveland – .324/.438/.541, 76 SB, 5.9 WAR Season Notes 09/14/1889 – Edward Moore struck out 16 in 14.0 innings versus Brooklyn while playing for Washington. Milestones 04/23/1889 – Joseph Wells – 200 Wins (Louisville) 04/29/1889 – Robert Price – 500 Runs Scored (Washington) 05/09/1889 – Edward Denny – 500 Stolen Bases (Washington) 05/10/1889 – Robert Wright – 500 RBI (Philadelphia) 05/13/1889 – Robert Olson – 400 SB (Detroit) 05/14/1889 – Caleb White – 100 Wins (Chicago) 05/14/1889 – Henry Wharton – 1000 SB (New York) 05/16/1889 – Henry Green – 300 SB (Louisville) 05/28/1889 – Patrick Cassidy – 500 RBI (Philadelphia) 05/31/1889 – William Rossi – 200 Wins (Louisville) 05/31/1889 – Patrick Cassidy – 500 Runs (Philadelphia) 06/03/1889 – David Thomas – 1000 Hits (Chicago) 06/03/1889 – David Thomas – 500 RBI (Chicago) 06/07/1889 – David Thomas – 400 SB (Cincinnati) 06/13/1889 – James Thompson – 300 SB (Milwaukee) 06/17/1889 – James Thompson – 300 SB (Milwaukee) 06/18/1889 – Frank Rodriguez – 500 RBI (Cleveland) 06/22/1889 – Frank Rodriguez – 500 Runs (Cleveland) 06/24/1889 – Charles White – 500 RBI (Boston) 06/25/1889 – Levi Ryder – 400 SB (New York) 06/28/1889 – Johannes Beekhof – 1000 Runs (Louisville) 07/02/1889 – James Wright – 150 Wins (Boston) 07/03/1889 – Sincere McTizic – 100 HR (Cincinnati) 07/05/1889 – Henry Wharton – 500 RBI (New York) 07/05/1889 – Heinrich White – 500 Runs (Boston) 07/09/1889 – Vincent O'Toole – 1500 Hits (Detroit) 07/11/1889 – Heinrich White – 1000 Hits (Boston) 07/15/1889 – Heinrich White – 500 RBI (Boston) 07/16/1889 – Johannes Beekhof – 1000 SB (Louisville) 07/18/1889 – Al Ellis – 150 Wins (Chicago) 07/26/1889 – Henry O'Brien – 200 SB (Milwaukee) 07/27/1889 – James Wright – 1500 K (Boston) 07/27/1889 – Thomas O'Steen – 600 SB (Milwaukee) 07/29/1889 – John Robinson – 500 RBI (Philadelphia) 08/01/1889 – Cyrus Anderson – 300 SB (Cincinnati) 08/08/1889 – James Hall – 3000 K (New York) 08/08/1889 – Ezekiel Bell – 500 Runs (Cleveland) 08/09/1889 – Henry Leach – 200 SB (St. Louis) 08/09/1889 – Juan Gallegos – 1000 Hits (Cleveland) 08/20/1889 – Patrick Cassidy – 1000 Hits (Philadelphia) 08/27/1889 – Clayton Clark – 500 RBI (Chicago) 08/27/1889 – Juan Castro – 400 SB (New York) 08/31/1889 – Ezekiel Bell – 300 SB (Cleveland) 09/06/1889 – Joseph Wells – 1000 K (Louisville) 09/12/1889 – John Robinson – 1000 Hits (Philadelphia) 09/12/1889 – James Green – 1000 Hits (Chicago) 09/12/1889 – Levi Ryder – 1000 Hits (New York) 09/14/1889 – Edward Denny – 600 SB (Washington) 09/20/1889 – Jack McGeachey – 200 SB (Washington) 09/21/1889 – Frank Brown – 1500 Hits (Chicago) 10/01/1889 – Frank Brown – 1000 Runs (Chicago) 10/07/1889 – William Rossi – 1500 K (Louisville) 10/08/1889 – Charles Jones – 700 SB (St. Louis) 10/11/1889 – Vincent O'Toole – 1200 SB (Detroit) 10/11/1889 – Henry Plymouth – 1000 Hits (Philadelphia) 10/17/1889 – Edward Schmidt – 1000 Runs (Cincinnati) 10/19/1889 – Peter Ellsworth – 200 SB (Chicago)