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Old 06-02-2019, 04:40 PM   #2
mjj55409
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History of the Saints -- The Border Association Years

During the 10 year span of the Border Association, Montreal was for the most part a 2nd division club. Their high water mark was 86-52 in 1886, which was good for 2nd place, 1.5 games behind the Pittsburgh Quarries. They won over 80 games the next two seasons (86-57 in 1887 and 80-55 in 1888) before bottoming out in 1889, finishing just 40-100.

A key piece of the 1886 season was the incredible debut of a New York amateur pitcher named Edmond Bryant. Pitching for the Saints in 1886, Bryant went 31-6 in 367 innings, leading the Border Association in wins, ERA (2.14), and strikeouts (336). Bryant then won 29 games in 1887 and 22 games in 1888, also leading the league in ERA (2.44) and strikeouts (261) in 1887. Bryant's Montreal career was over after he fashioned an 8-22 record with an ERA of 4.41 during the dismal 100 loss season of 1889. Bryant was a bit of a vagabond after leaving the Saints, ending up pitching for a total of 9 FABL clubs (including Montreal) over a 12 year career. His career line: 206-164, 3.14 ERA.

The premier bat for the Saints during the Border Association years was OF Gustav Gray. Gray debuted as a 20 year-old for the Toronto club, leading the Border Association in hits (123) and runs (91). In the off season of 1882, Gray was enticed to jump to the Montreal club. He enjoyed his best season in 1884, again leading the league in hits (151) while also finishing as the batting champion with a .404 average. The .404 average stills stands as the best single season batting average in Montreal history. Gray had a 12 year career, finishing with 1966 hits and a .328 career batting average.


l-to-r, Gustav Gray, Edmund Bryant
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Last edited by mjj55409; 06-05-2019 at 05:09 PM.
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