History of Major League Base Ball (revised)

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CENTER FIELD

Gold Glove Award

1871 - Dave Eggler, New York Mutuals
1872 - Dave Eggler, New York Mutuals
1873 - Dave Eggler, New York Mutuals
1874 - Frank McCarton, Boston Red Stockings
1875 - Paul Hines, Chicago White Stockings
1876 - Frank McCarton, Boston Red Stockings

Silver Slugger Award

1871 - Count Sensenderfer, Philadelphia Athletics
1872 - Lip Pike, Baltimore Canaries
1873 - Lip Pike, Baltimore Canaries
1874 - Frank McCarton, Boston Red Stockings
1875 - Frank McCarton, Boston Red Stockings
1876 - Frank McCarton, Boston Red Stockings

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RIGHT FIELD

Gold Glove Award

1871 - George Hall, Washington Olympics
1872 - George Hall, Baltimore Canaries
1873 - George Hall, Baltimore Canaries
1874 - Lip Pike, Hartford Dark Blues
1875 - John McMullin, New York Mutuals
1876 - Lip Pike, St. Louis Brown Stockings

Silver Slugger Award

1871 - Lip Pike, Troy Haymakers
1872 - George Hall, Baltimore Canaries
1873 - George Hall, Baltimore Canaries
1874 - Lip Pike, Hartford Dark Blues
1875 - George Hall, Chicago White Stockings
1876 - Lip Pike, St. Louis Brown Stockings

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Reach Guide 1877 Baseball Preview

It's a new season with a new president in America, and six top clubs prepare to contest the National League title for the 1877 season. President Rutherford B. Hayes, a strong abolitionist before the war, benefited from former President Abraham Lincoln's strong endorsement to narrowly win the popular and electoral vote in an election that was widely seen as a referendum on the Lincoln-Grant Reconstruction regime. The Democratic Party of Samuel Tilden argued that it was time to withdraw troops from the southern states, while Hayes took the position that the benchmarks set for full participation for freedmen needed to be enforced by federal troops until the state governments were able to do so on their own.

With the triumph of Hayes, it is hoped that society can begin to move forward in a way that gives all men equal civil rights. We have heard that there are men of African descent who can compete on equal footing with our best players, and while none have yet joined the ranks of professional baseball perhaps they will do so in the near future.

Meanwhile, we look ahead to the 1877 season, with our Reach Guide predictions for each of the six National League clubs.

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ST. LOUIS BROWN STOCKINGS

1876 Finish: 8th place, 18-46
1877 Prediction: 6th place

The Brown Stockings were the worst team in the league last season and do not seem to have improved enough to avoid the same fate this year. Their big offseason additions were infielders John Hatfield and Dickie Flowers and outfielder Dave Eggler. Each of these three will likely make the team better but they have a long way to go and none of them are of the caliber needed to compete as a winning team. Their projected starting players:

C - Silver Flint (batted .091 as a rookie in 1876)
1b - Charlie Hautz (batted .295 in 1876)
2b - John Hatfield (batted .261 for New York in 1876)
ss - Dickie Flowers (batted .240 for Boston in 1876)
3b - Alfred Metcalfe (batted .306 for Quincy in 1876)
lf - Ned Cuthbert (batted .222 in 1876)
cf - Dave Eggler (batted .288 for New York in 1876)
rf - Lip Pike (batted .310 in 1876)

p - Pud Galvin (10-26, 2.69 ERA in 1876)
p - George Bradley (7-15, 2.71 ERA in 1876)

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HARTFORD DARK BLUES

1876 Finish: 5th place, 34-34
1877 Prediction: 5th place

Hartford struggled financially in 1876, as they are one of the smaller cities in the National League. For 1877 they will actually play their home games in Union Grounds in Brooklyn, as the New York area has been left without a National League team after the expulsion of the champion New York Mutuals. While the club is not appreciably worse than in 1876, they did not improve themselves much. They seem unlikely to catch any of the clubs ahead of them and will likely not be a competing team. Projected starters:

c - Deacon White (batted .278 with Philadelphia in 1876)
1b - Everett Mills (batted .310 in 1876)
2b - Andy Leonard (batted .293 in 1876)
ss - Tom Carey (batted .261 in 1876)
3b - Joe Battin (batted .282 in 1876)
lf - George Seward (batted .244 in 1876)
cf - Holly Hollingshead (batted .281 in 1876)
rf - Clipper Flynn (batted .265 with Philadelphia in 1876)

p - Hugh Campbell (17-6, 1.50 ERA with New York in 1876)
p - Jim Britt (2-3, 2.81 ERA with Boston in 1876)

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CHICAGO WHITE STOCKINGS

1876 Finish: 3rd place, 36-30
1877 Prediction: 4th place

The White Stockings started slowly in 1876 and had to rally to get a third place finish. While they had numerous good hitters in 1876, they were much less competitive than they had been in 1875 - the loss of key pitcher Dan Collins seemed to really do some damage. For 1877, they've made one big upgrade, adding star hitter Dick Higham from New York. If everything goes just right they could be contenders this season, but the same thing is true of most clubs. The projected starters:

c - Dick Higham (batted .409 with New York in 1876)
1b - Jim Foran (batted .367 in 1876)
2b - Davy Force (batted .282 in 1876)
ss - John Peters (batted .299 in 1876)
3b - Levi Meyerle (batted .373 in 1876)
lf - John Glenn (batted .307 in 1876)
cf - Paul Hines (batted .285 in 1876)
rf - George Hall (batted .296 in 1876)

p - Asa Brainard (17-16, 2.25 ERA in 1876)
p - George Zettlein (15-11, 2.94 ERA in 1876)

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LOUISVILLE GRAYS

1876 Finish: 4th place, 34-32
1877 Prediction: 3rd place

Louisville and Chicago both look like clubs that should be at or just over .500 - solid teams that have made discrete improvements over 1876 but that still look a little less than the top clubs. It wouldn't be surprising to see either of them contending but they seem like they will need a great deal of luck to win the pennant. Third baseman Ezra Sutton was Louisville's biggest addition in the offseason. Their starters for 1877:

c - Scott Hastings (batted .320 in 1876)
1b - Jim Devlin (batted .313 in 1876)
2b - Jimmy Wood (batted .323 in 1876)
ss - Chick Fulmer (batted .202 in 1876)
3b - Ezra Sutton (batted .305 with New York in 1876)
lf - Tom York (batted .321 in 1876)
cf - Jim Clinton (batted .264 in 1876)
rf - George Bechtel (batted .257 in 1876)

p - Dan Collins (22-13, 2.64 ERA in 1876)
p - Candy Cummings (7-15, 3.58 ERA in 1876)

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BOSTON RED STOCKINGS

1876 Finish: 2nd place, 46-24
1877 Prediction: 2nd place

The strong suspicion is that the 1872-75 champions engineered the demise of the New York Mutuals in order to make it easier to win the pennant again. They are the heavy favorites, but here at Reach Guide we think Boston will again come up short. They added pitcher Bobby Mathews but otherwise are basically the same team they've been in the past. It would be no surprise to see them back on top but we think there's an even better club. The projected starters:

c - Cal McVey (batted .362 in 1876)
1b - Al Spalding (batted .325 in 1876)
2b - Ross Barnes (batted .350 in 1876)
ss - George Wright (batted .363 in 1876)
3b - Harry Schafer (batted .231 in 1876)
lf - Jim O'Rourke (batted .326 in 1876)
cf - Frank McCarton (batted .372 in 1876)
rf - Ed Pinkham (batted .225 in 1876)

p - Bobby Mathews (21-7, 2.03 ERA with New York in 1876)
p - Cy Bentley (19-13, 2.28 ERA in 1876)

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CINCINNATI REDS

1876 Finish: 7th place, 23-42
1877 Prediction: 1st place

No team did more to remake itself in the offseason than lowly Cincinnati, and they should certainly be a completely different club in 1877. The question is whether it will be enough to turn them into contenders and we here at the Reach Guide think the answer will be yes. If Cincinnati can win the pennant, they will be Cincinnati's first winner of the professional era - Harry Wright's Red Stockings were champions of Cincinnati before moving to Beantown but that was nearly a decade ago. The starters for this season:

c - Bill Craver (batted .301 in 1876)
1b - Cap Anson (batted .271 with Philadelphia in 1876)
2b - Mike McGeary (batted .285 with Philadelphia in 1876)
ss - John Bass (batted .278 in 1876)
3b - Bob Ferguson (batted .300 with New York in 1876)
lf - Charley Jones (batted .250 in 1876)
cf - Jim Holdsworth (batted .291 in 1876)
rf - John McMullin (batted .300 with New York in 1876)

p - Sam Weaver (12-16, 2.71 ERA in 1876)
p - Bobby Mitchell (rookie)

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1877 Opening Day - May 8, 1877
Hartford Dark Blues at Chicago White Stockings

On May 8, 1877, the National League's second season began with two games. It appears to be a wide open race with New York having been expelled from the National League, so let's take a look at the first games.

Opening Day lineups

Hartford Dark Blues

Andy Leonard, 2b (.293 in 1876)
Clipper Flynn, rf (.265 for Philadelphia in 1876)
Steve King, lf (.275 for New York in 1876)
Deacon White, c (.278 for Philadelphia in 1876)
Everett Mills, 1b (.310 in 1876)
Tom Carey, ss (.261 in 1876)
Joe Battin, 3b (.282 in 1876)
Holly Hollingshead, cf (.281 in 1876)
Hugh Campbell, p (17-6, 1.50 with New York in 1876)

Chicago White Stockings

John Glenn, lf (.307 in 1876)
George Hall, rf (.296 in 1876)
Dick Higham, c (.409 with New York in 1876)
Levi Meyerle, 3b (.373 in 1876)
Jim Foran, 1b (.367 in 1876)
Davy Force, 2b (.282 in 1876)
Paul Hines, cf (.285 in 1876)
John Peters, ss (.299 in 1876)
Asa Brainard, p (17-16, 2.25 in 1876)

Hartford jumped out to an early lead, as Deacon White and Everett Mills got back-to-back two-out RBI doubles to make it 2-0. From there things stayed scoreless for the next few innings, until John Peters of Chicago doubled then scored on a passed ball in the bottom of the fifth inning to make it 2-1.

Steve King, Hartford's newest signing, singled home Andy Leonard in the top of the seventh to make it 3-1. A Clipper Flynn throwing error in the bottom of the inning made it 3-2 going into the eighth inning. Both clubs were retired easily in the eighth, keeping the score 3-2 heading into the final inning.

Hartford went down pretty easily in the ninth, with just one single in the inning. In the bottom of the ninth, John Peters led off and grounded to shortstop Tom Carey. Jim Tipper came up to pinch-hit for pitcher Asa Brainard and he singled to right. John Glenn singled to center, and Chicago had runners on first and second with one out. George Hall hit a simple ground ball to second, but Andy Leonard flubbed the ball and the bases were loaded at the end of the play.

Up came Dick Higham, the new star signed from New York. Higham hit a floating single to left, Tipper scored and Glenn came around to score as well and Chicago had a 4-3 win thanks to Higham's heroics.

Chicago 4, Hartford 3

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1877 Opening Day - May 8, 1877
Boston Red Stockings at St. Louis Brown Stockings

Lineups

Boston Red Stockings

George Wright, ss (.363 in 1876)
Ed Pinkham, rf (.225 in 1876)
Ross Barnes, 2b (.350 in 1876)
Cal McVey, c (.362 in 1876)
Jim O'Rourke, lf (.326 in 1876)
Al Spalding, 1b (.325 in 1876)
Frank McCarton, cf (..372 in 1876)
Harry Schafer, 3b (.231 in 1876)
Bobby Mathews, p (21-7, 2.03 ERA with New York in 1876)

St. Louis Brown Stockings

Dave Eggler, cf (.288 with New York in 1876)
John Hatfield, 2b (.261 with New York in 1876)
Lip Pike, rf (.310 in 1876)
Dickie Flowers, ss (.240 with Boston in 1876)
Henry Burroughs, 3b (.213 with Philadelphia in 1876)
Ned Cuthbert, lf (.222 in 1876)
Silver Flint, c (.094 in 1876)
Charlie Hautz, 1b (.295 in 1876)
Pud Galvin, p (10-26, 2.69 in 1876)

Boston jumped right out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, as McVey and Spalding each got an RBI in the inning. Each club scored a run in the second inning and St. Louis made it 4-2 in the third, with Dickie Flowers getting an RBI hit against his former team.

In the top of the fourth, Boston against had a huge inning, as George Wright kicked off a five-run inning by getting an RBI triple. However, St. Louis got three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, then added three more in the fifth as Boston committed four errors in the inning. Through five innings, Boston held a narrow 9-8 lead in a sloppy game.

The game stayed at 9-8 until the top of the seventh inning, when Ross Barnes hit a two-on, two-out triple to right-center field to give Boston an 11-8 lead, then McVey, baseball's RBI leader two years running, got his fourth RBI of the game to make it 12-8. While each club scored a couple more runs before things ended, St. Louis was never again able to get close enough to present a threat. Boston had its opening day win for 1877.

Boston 14, St. Louis 10

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1877 Opening Day - May 10, 1877
Cincinnati Reds at Louisville Grays

Lineups

Cincinnati Reds

Mike McGeary, 2b (.285 with Philadelphia in 1876)
Jim Holdsworth, cf (.291 in 1876)
Cap Anson, 1b (.271 with Philadelphia in 1876)
John Bass, ss (.278 in 1876)
Charley Jones, lf (.250 in 1876)
John McMullin, rf (.300 with New York in 1876)
Bill Craver, c (.301 in 1876)
Bob Ferguson, 3b (.300 with New York in 1876)
Sam Weaver, p (12-16, 2.71 ERA in 1876)

Louisville Grays

George Bechtel, rf (.257 in 1876)
Jimmy Wood, 2b (.323 in 1876)
Ezra Sutton, 3b (.305 with New York in 1876)
Tom York, lf (.321 in 1876)
Jim Clinton, cf (.264 in 1876)
Jim Devlin, 1b (.313 in 1876)
Scott Hastings, c (.320 in 1876)
Chick Fulmer, ss (.202 in 1876)
Dan Collins, p (22-13, 2.64 ERA in 1876)

Cincinnati leadoff hitter Mike McGeary hit a double to start the game, then scored on a fly out and a Big Jim Clinton throwing error to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. That ended up being all the scoring for the first five innings of the game, as each club only managed two hits through five innings - both Sam Weaver and Dan Collins pitched well in the early going.

In the bottom of the sixth, Jimmy Wood, Louisville's veteran second baseman, hit a one-out double and was followed by Ezra Sutton, who got an RBI single to tie the game at 1. Tom York came up next and tripled to give Louisville a 2-1 lead. Big Jim Clinton singled and it was 3-1. Louisville added another run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly to take a 4-1 lead, and ultimately the game headed into the ninth inning with Louisville in front 4-1.

In the ninth inning Cincinnati did get two runners on base to bring up the tying run, but could not manage to solve Dan Collins' strong pitching and the Grays held on to win the game.

Louisville 4, Cincinnati 1

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May 12, 1877
Boston Red Stockings (2-0) at Chicago White Stockings (2-0)

As we come to the end of the first week of the 1877 season, two clubs have won two out of two games, and they just happen to be the two clubs that basically engineered this entire competition to showcase their supremacy in professional baseball. Boston and Chicago do battle in the Windy City, and the winner will be along atop the National League at the end of the first week of the season.

Boston lineup

George Wright, ss (.333)
Ed Pinkham, rf (.125)
Ross Barnes, 2b (.545)
Cal McVey, c (.364)
Jim O'Rourke, lf (.250)
Al Spalding, 1b (.500)
Frank McCarton, cf (.364)
Harry Schafer, 3b (.300)
Bobby Mathews, p (1-0, 0.00)

Chicago lineup

John Glenn, lf (.222)
George Hall, rf (.300)
Dick Higham, c (.444)
Levi Meyerle, 3b (.500)
Jim Foran, 1b (.500)
Davy Force, 2b (.500)
Paul Hines, cf (.125)
John Peters, ss (.250)
Asa Brainard, p (1-0, 3.00)

The third inning saw the game's first runs, as Boston got one across on a passed ball, while Chicago got one run on a George Wright throwing error and another on a base hit by Levi Meyerle. Through three innings it was 2-1 Chicago.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, things got worse for Boston. George Wright had to leave the game with an injury and was replaced by Bill Crowley - a player with no real experience at shortstop - and Levi Meyerle and Davy Force both had key run-scoring hits. It was 5-1 Chicago by inning's end.

Boston got a run in the top of the sixth inning, but things got still worse for them in the next inning, as Chicago got four runs on three hits and three Boston errors to make it 9-2. That was about it, though each club got a couple more runs late in the game.

Paul Hines was the big star of the game for Chicago, as he got four hits including three doubles. The White Stockings were alone in first place at the end of the season's first week.

Chicago 11, Boston 4

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Sunday, May 13, 1877
Standings and Leaders

Chicago White Stockings 3-0
Boston Red Stockings 2-1
Cincinnati Reds 1-1
Louisville Grays 1-1
Hartford Dark Blues 0-2
St. Louis Brown Stockings 0-2

Chicago is off to a strong start in the season's first week.

The league leaders:

Batting Average

Jim Devlin, Louisville - .556
Davy Force, Chicago - .500
John Hatfield, St. Louis - .500
John McMullin, Cincinnati - .500
Ross Barnes, Boston - .467
Levi Meyerle, Chicago - .462
2 players tied at .444 each

Runs Scored

Ed Pinkham, Boston - 7
Cal McVey, Boston - 6
Ross Barnes, Boston - 5
Levi Meyerle, Chicago - 5
6 players tied with 3 each

Runs Batted In

Ross Barnes, Boston - 6
Cal McVey, Boston - 5
Jim O'Rourke, Boston - 5
6 players tied with 3 each

Stolen Bases

Cal McVey, Boston - 5
Cap Anson, Cincinnati - 3
Andy Leonard, Hartford - 3
Ed Pinkham, Boston - 3
Ross Barnes, Boston - 2
George Bechtel, Louisville - 2
7 players tied with 1 each

Won-Loss Record

Asa Brainard, Chicago, 2-0
Cy Bentley, Boston, 1-0
Dan Collins, Louisville, 1-0
Al Pratt, Cincinnati, 1-0
George Zettlein, Chicago, 1-0
Bobby Mathews, Boston, 1-1

Earned Run Average

Cy Bentley, Boston - 0.00
Dan Collins, Louisville - 0.00
Bobby Mathews, Boston - 0.00
Al Pratt, Cincinnati - 0.00
George Zettlein, Chicago - 1.00
Frank Fleet, St. Louis - 1.93
Jim Britt, Hartford - 2.25

Strikeouts

Cy Bentley, Boston - 6
Asa Brainard, Chicago - 6
Dan Collins, Louisville - 5
Jim Britt, Hartford - 4
Sam Weaver, Cincinnati - 3
George Zettlein, Chicago - 3
3 players tied with 2 each

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Since Jim Devlin has hit well in the first couple games of the season, it's a good time to tell his rather sad story. As Nemec says,

It is possible to see Jim Devlin as the nineteenth-century equivalent of Joe Jackson, but with the critical difference that an era perhaps less cynical and more sentimental than ours turned him into a figure of pathos and an exemplar of the wages of wrongdoing instead of one of innocence victimized by conspiracy.

Devlin was born in Philadelphia in 1849 and came to the attention of the top clubs in the city when he played well for a top amateur team in Easton. He began as an infielder and utility player, but learned to pitch in the 1874-75 offseason. He started 24 games for Chicago in 1875 then moved to Louisville at the start of the National League and was the team's primary pitcher in 1876 and 1877.

Devlin took to pitching immediately. Nemec again:

He proved to be effective with what was variously called a drop ball, a vertically breaking curve ball, or a "ground shoot, the ball after leaving his hand taking a slanting course toward the ground." His forte, however, was a level of sheer velocity the old straight-arm pitchers could not match. In February 1875 the New York Clipper reported, "Devlin has made his debut as a pitchist, and the Chicago scribes think him the 'red-hottestist.'" The one problem, according to the Clipper, was finding a catcher who could hold him.

After the release of George Zettlein the following August, Devlin took over as Chicago's ace. Although his stats were not particularly impressive, he was signed for 1876 by the newly formed Louisville team. He then pitched effectively for a light-hitting outfit that finished fifth in the NL despite being outscored by six of the other seven teams. His relations with club management were nonetheless tense. Devlin served a while as team captain, but temper flare-ups made him wrong for the job. The club's officials regarded Devlin as a prima donna, while the pitcher for his part complained that Louisville had fallen behind in salary payments. After signing to play for the Grays again in 1877, he got a better offer from St. Louis and tried in vain to persuade the NL to nullify his Louisville contract.

These were all the necessary ingredients for the Louisville scandal. There was a star player who wasn't getting paid on time and who felt underappreciated by the team in any event. It got worse when they started out the 1877 season strongly and took over first place in the summer. It was a problem waiting to happen.

When Louisville headed east to play Boston and Hartford they suddenly started losing games in very suspicious ways. Two of Louisville's top players - George Hall and Devlin - were pressured into confessing having thrown games. Oddly, this seems to have little to do with "suspicious" losses back east - the games thrown seem to have been mostly exhibition games. In fact, Boston and Hartford were quite a bit better than teams like St. Louis and Cincinnati that Louisville had been beating, and it is entirely plausible that they would have had trouble against the top teams.

However, confessions in hand, Devlin was banned from the National League for life. From this point, Devlin became a tragic figure. He spent the rest of his brief life hanging around the National League offices and its officials, begging to be reinstated. This is the way Al Spalding described a meeting between Devlin and NL president William Hulbert decades later:

Devlin was in tears, Hulbert was in tears also. I heard Devlin's plea to have the stigma removed from his name. I heard him entreat, not on his own account (he acknowledged himself unworthy of consideration) but for the sake of his wife and child. I beheld the agony of humiliation depicted on his features as he confessed his guilt and begged for mercy.

I saw the great bulk of Hulbert's frame tremble with the emotion he vainly sought to stifle. I saw the president's hand steal into his pocket as if seeking to conceal his intended act from the other hand. I saw him take a $50 bill and press it into the palm of the prostrate player. And then I heard him say, as he fairly writhed with the pain his own words caused him, "That's what I think of you personally; but damn you, Devlin, you are dishonest; you have sold a game, and I can't trust you. Now go, and let me never see your face again; for your act will not be condoned so long as I live."

Devlin spent his post-ban years looking for work and traveling far away from the National League to try to get it by pitching. The International Association wanted to sign him, but the National League threatened not to play any further exhibition games against IA clubs if they did so, and they relented. Devlin did some pitching in San Francisco and New Orleans - America's two largest cities outside the NL's radius. Eventually, in the early 1880s he found work as a Philadelphia policeman, but it was short-lived. Devlin contracted tuberculosis in the summer of 1883, and he died of it that October at the age of 34.

In my league, Devlin has never been anything other than an emergency pitcher - in part because he is quite effective as a hitter. He hit .299 as a rookie first baseman with the Philadelphia Whites in 1873, then joined Chicago in 1874 but did not get a lot of playing time there. He was put into the lineup midway through 1875 and ended up hitting .344 in part-time duty, then joined Louisville and batted .313 in their first season in 1876. He continues to be one of the club's best hitters and is in the absolute prime of his career - he'll turn 28 later in 1877. He hasn't been one of baseball's top-tier stars but is a solid above-average player.

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May 16, 1877
Boston Red Stockings (2-1) at Chicago White Stockings (3-0)

Boston got some pretty bad news following their May 12 game against Chicago - George Wright injured his shoulder and will be out of action for a month or so. Pete Donnelly, Minneapolis's veteran infielder, will take over at the shortstop position for now. Donnelly is a steady presence, but of course he is no George Wright. Meanwhile, Chicago has a chance to take advantage and grow their lead atop the NL.

Boston lineup

Ross Barnes, 2b (.467)
Jim O'Rourke, lf (.333)
Cal McVey, c (.400)
Ed Pinkham, rf (.167)
Al Spalding, 1b (.333)
Frank McCarton, cf (.400)
Fred Waterman, 3b (.000)
Pete Donnelly, ss (.000)
Bobby Mathews, p (1-1, 0.00)

Chicago lineup

John Glenn, lf (.231)
George Hall, rf (.200)
Levi Meyerle, 3b (.462)
Dick Higham, c (.357)
Jim Foran, 1b (.364)
Davy Force, 2b (.500)
Paul Hines, cf (.385)
John Peters, ss (.231)
Asa Brainard, p (2-0, 3.00)

Chicago waited no time at all in this game, as the first five batters in the bottom of the first inning reached base and ultimately the White Stockings scored five runs to make it a 5-0 game. The White Stockings got individual runs in the fourth and fifth innings as well - Jim Foran and Asa Brainard each got RBI singles - to make it 7-0 through six innings.

The Red Stockings started scoring in the seventh, but never really made it close. In the end, Chicago breezed to victory. Paul Hines was the star of the game, scoring three runs and driving in two for the White Stockings.

Chicago 12, Boston 4

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May 19, 1877
St. Louis Brown Stockings (1-3) at Chicago White Stockings (4-1)

Chicago had their first loss of the season on the 17th - at home against previously winless St. Louis, no less. That allowed Louisville to pull within a half-game of the lead, and on this Saturday all six of the NL clubs were playing. This meant that without a win Chicago could fall out of the National League lead.

St. Louis lineup

Dave Eggler, cf (.316)
John Hatfield, 2b (.563)
Lip Pike, rf (.133)
Dickie Flowers, ss (.263)
Henry Burroughs, 3b (.188)
Ned Cuthbert, lf (.333)
Silver Flint, c (.250)
Charlie Hautz, 1b (.176)
Pud Galvin, p (0-2, 8.38)

Chicago lineup

Paul Hines, cf (.364)
George Hall, rf (.231)
Levi Meyerle, 3b (.435)
Dick Higham, c (.304)
Jim Foran, 1b (.400)
Davy Force, 2b (.364)
Jim Tipper, lf (1.000)
John Peters, ss (.227)
Asa Brainard, p (3-0, 2.67)

Jim Tipper committed an error in the top of the first inning that allowed St. Louis to score, but he made up for it in the bottom of the inning, getting the hit that allowed Chicago to score its third and fourth runs of the inning. At the end of one inning it was 4-1 in favor of Chicago.

Dick Higham scored a run on an error in the third to make it a 5-1 game, but Pud Galvin and Dave Eggler each got RBI singles in the fourth to cut Chicago's lead in half. In the bottom of the inning Chicago put runners on first and third with one out, but Lip Pike came up with an impressive double play by throwing out Paul Hines at home plate to end the inning.

However, Chicago continued to pour it on. In the bottom of the fifth, Davy Force and Jim Tipper each scored to make it 7-3 in favor of Chicago. Dave Eggler got a key RBI triple for St. Louis to pull two more runs back in the sixth, and that's where things stood until George Hall got an RBI triple in the bottom of the eighth. The game headed to the ninth inning with Chicago in front 8-5.

St. Louis was only able to get one runner in the ninth inning and never really seriously threatened; ultimately Silver Flint grounded to Davy Force to end the game and keep Chicago in front in the NL.

Chicago 8, St. Louis 5

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Sunday, May 20, 1877
Standings and Leaders

Chicago White Stockings 5-1
Louisville Grays 4-1
Boston Red Stockings 3-3
Cincinnati Reds 2-3
Hartford Dark Blues 1-4
St. Louis Brown Stockings 1-4

It's Chicago and Louisville in the early going, as the two clubs have a couple games on the rest of the league. Of course, it's still way too early to draw any conclusions about the season as a whole.

The league leaders:

Batting Average

John Hatfield, St. Louis - .524
Steve King, Hartford - .522
Jim Devlin, Louisville - .520
Levi Meyerle, Chicago - .429
George Bechtel, Louisville - .417
Cal McVey, Boston - .414
Tom Carey, Hartford - .409

Runs Scored

Levi Meyerle, Chicago - 9
Dave Eggler, St. Louis - 8
Ed Pinkham, Boston - 8
Ross Barnes, Boston - 7
George Bechtel, Louisville - 7
Jim Devlin, Louisville - 7
6 players tied with 6 each

Runs Batted In

Ezra Sutton, Louisville - 8
Ross Barnes, Boston - 7
George Bechtel, Louisville - 7
5 players tied with 6 each

Stolen Bases

Cap Anson, Cincinnati - 5
Andy Leonard, Hartford - 5
Cal McVey, Boston - 5
Ross Barnes, Boston - 3
George Bechtel, Louisville - 3
John McMullin, Cincinnati - 3
Ed Pinkham, Boston - 3

Won-Loss Record

Asa Brainard, Chicago, 4-0
Dan Collins, Louisville, 3-0
Al Pratt, Cincinnati, 2-0
Cy Bentley, Boston, 2-1
George Bradley, St. Louis, 1-0
Frank Pearce, Louisville, 1-0
George Zettlein, Chicago, 1-1

Earned Run Average

Al Pratt, Cincinnati - 1.29
Cy Bentley, Boston - 1.54
Dan Collins, Louisville - 1.67
Jim Britt, Hartford - 2.25
George Zettlein, Chicago - 2.37
Bobby Mathews, Boston - 2.66
George Bradley, St. Louis - 2.84

Strikeouts

Sam Weaver, Cincinnati - 13
Dan Collins, Louisville - 11
Asa Brainard, Chicago - 9
Cy Bentley, Boston - 6
Pud Galvin, St. Louis - 6
Bobby Mitchell, Cincinnati - 5
2 players tied with 4 each

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

So Dan Collins of Louisville has been the top pitcher since coming into the league in 1874. He has led in strikeouts in every professional season and has a 73-29 lifetime pitching record. So who is this player? He had a lifetime won-loss record of 1-1 in reality - why does he import in OOTP as a great player? (He was similar to this the last time I played an 1871 league, so this isn't new or some fluky talent jump.) What is known about him in reality?

Here's the entire Nemec biography of him, from the third volume of his set, The Rank and File of 19th Century Major League Players. (Probably a better title than Here's All The Guys Who Played Like One Game.)

Dan Collins was purloined from the semipro Empires when Chicago visited St. Louis in May 1874. A brilliant debut in the box against champion Boston was followed 10 days later by a shameful 38-1 loss to New York in which he was yanked after just two innings. Released soon thereafter, he finished the 1874 season in New Orleans, where he was reportedly one of the first curveball pitchers seen in those parts. Collins began 1876 with the independent St. Louis Reds. It is impossible now to fathom what motivated Louisville to prod him to jump the Reds in later July to serve as its 10th man. Collins later returned to New Orleans and played for the Robert E. Lee club and later the Clarkes until shortly before his death at 29. The New Orleans Times-Picayune's obit said he "was of an open handed, warm hearted disposition, and did not leave much to support his wife and three children after his death."

So, a southerner who was a reserve player for a handful of games. Oh, and in his 11 career innings pitched he had zero strikeouts. I'm thinking there must be a typo or something in the database.

However, he does provide my league with a solid narrative hook. He and Sam Weaver are both becoming strikeout pitchers just in time - for whatever reason Jim Devlin and Tommy Bond, the actual guys who filled that role, never seem to develop correctly. So I suppose it's good that someone does.

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

May 21, 1877
Boston Red Stockings (3-3) at Louisville Grays (4-1)

The Grays will move into an early tie with Chicago for first place if they can defeat Boston. Meanwhile, the Red Stockings just got the news that Bobby Mathews is joining George Wright on the injured list and they continue to struggle to find their early season form.

Boston lineup

Pony Sager, ss (.000)
Ed Pinkham, rf (.118)
Ross Barnes, 2b (.357)
Cal McVey, c (.414)
Jim O'Rourke, lf (.345)
Al Spalding, p (0-0, 0.00)
Frank McCarton, cf (.222)
Fred Waterman, 3b (.333)
John Morrill, 1b (.250)

Louisville lineup

Joe Gerhardt, 2b (.444)
Jim Clinton, cf (.273)
Ezra Sutton, 3b (.346)
Tom York, lf (.375)
Jim Devlin, 1b (.520)
Scott Hastings, c (.304)
George Bechtel, rf (.417)
Chick Fulmer, ss (.217)
Dan Collins, p (3-0, 1.67)

Infielders Chick Fulmer and Jim Devlin both committed errors in the first inning, and Boston was able to score two runs as a result. From there, the clubs settled in and neither was able to score again in the first four innings.

Louisville scored first in the bottom of the fifth, as Chick Fulmer hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Scott Hastings. Another sacrifice fly by Tom York the next inning allowed them to tie the game at two runs each.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Boston's defense failed them - errors by John Morrill, Ed Pinkham and Fred Waterman set the table, then Big Jim Clinton got an RBI hit and Louisville pulled ahead 4-2.

That was the score in the ninth inning, as Boston had their first two hitters retired then Cal McVey and Orator Jim O'Rourke hit back-to-back triples and suddenly the tying run was 90 feet away. Unfortunately, Al Spalding was up next and he hit a hard grounder to short, and the slick-fielding Chick Fulmer made the play to give Louisville the win.

Louisville 4, Boston 3