1871 - Major League Baseball Begins

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February 8th, 1880 - Here's this year's guide to the ballparks of the National League.

South End Grounds I (Boston Red Caps)

South End Grounds has been the home of the Red Caps (formerly Red Stockings) since the National Association was formed in 1871. It is located on Walpole Street in Boston.

Riverside Park (Buffalo Bisons)


Riverside Park features a scoreboard that is updated throughout each game to show live scores of all other games in progress. This innovative feature allows fans to stay apprised of other games in action as they are happening.


Lake Front Park I (Chicago White Stockings)


Lake Front Park has been the home of the Chicago White Stockings since 1878. The outfield area is especially close in right field. The right field fence is less than 200 feet away, so anyone hitting the ball over that fence is awarded only a ground rule double.

Bank Street Grounds (Cincinnati Stars)

Home of the newly formed Cincinnati Stars, Bank Street Grounds plans to offer beer on tap, despite league regulations. Located just south of the G.K. Mills distillery, it seems likely that is where at least a portion of the beer will originate from.

Kennard Street Park (Cleveland Blues)


Kennard Street Park features trees in the outfield, and a left field fence that is so short that any ball hit over the fence is a ground rule double.

Messer Street Grounds (Providence Grays)


The large grandstand hold 1,200 people, among them hundreds of ladies. The long semi-circular tiers of seats are black with men and boys, and hundreds must stand, if unable to get seats. The commodious space for carriages can be completely filled on a good day. Two registering turnstiles gates admit the patrons to the grounds, and as each ticket holder passes through the gate he steps on a raised platform, and by a mechanical arrangement is registered, and only one person can pass through the gate at a time. Near the gate are two ticket offices, and a large entrance through which the crowd can pass at the end of the game. At the southeast corner there is a large gate to admit carriages to the park. The ground, which contains nearly six acres of land, is enclosed by a fence twelve feet high. The diamond is as level as constant rolling by heavy stone and iron rollers can make it. Inside of the base lines is turfed, except a space nine feet in width, reaching from the pitcher's position to the home plate. Twenty-two feet are sodded outside of the diamond. Paths leading to and from the bases have been rolled hard, and the out-field is sown with grass seed. The grand stand which seats nearly 1200 people, is 151 x 40 feet, and in the rear is raised 34 feet. The stand is reached by steps at both ends. It is covered by canvass, requiring nearly 7,000 feet. Seats are arranged in a circle at the eastern and western sides of the field. A platform 60 x 8 feet has been erected for the reporters, scorers and invited guests, seating nearly 60 persons. Under the grand stand for the visiting and local clubs are rooms 20 feet square and fitted up with wardrobes, dressing rooms 20 feet square, a wash room supplied with Pawtucket water, closet, etc. The Western Union Telegraph Company have a room 8 x 10 feet. There is a stockholders' room 20 feet square, and a refreshment saloon 40 x 20 to be managed by caterer Ardoene. A fence with gateways has been erected in front of the club rooms, thereby preventing the crowd from having any talk with the players. The grounds are without doubt as fine as any in the country, and Harry Wright said of them, 'They are beautiful." *(from Wikipedia)


Haymakers Grounds (Troy Trojans)


Formerly the home of the Troy Haymakers, the Trojans move this year to Haymakers Grounds. Other than the image above, this reporter regrets to say that he has no further info on Haymakers Grounds.


Worcester Driving Park Grounds (Worcester Ruby Legs)

The Worcester Driving Park Grounds, also known as the Worcester Agricultural Fairgrounds, is located south of Highland Street between Sever Street and Russell Street in Worcester (Massachusetts). Not much else is known about the park, though it did host a game for the Boston Red Stockings in 1874.

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March 15th, 1880 Season Predictions

Boston Red Caps Jim O'Rourke from last year's championship Providence Grays has jumped ship to Boston this season, and after many years of falling short of the pennant since winning back to back in 1871-1872, this could finally be the year that Boston finds themselves back on top. O'Rourke will be the Catcher for Boston, and he batted .308 last season with 42 RBI's. Tommy Bond (2.95 ERA) and Curry Foley (1.94 ERA) will split the pitching duties. The first 5 batters in Boston's lineup all batted over .300 last season, and the 6 and 7 batters are both around .280. This is a formidable lineup. Their success this year may depend upon whether Tommy Bond can bounce back from last year's so/so pitching performance.

Buffalo Bisons Pitcher Pud Galvin (2.41 ERA) is going to have to have a career season to carry this team that looks much the same as last year. 2nd and third basemen Chick Fulmer (.252/30 RBI) and Hardy Richardson (.277/43 RBI) are going to need to do more than they did last year. Buffalo will struggle to make .500.

Chicago White Stockings Cap Anson returns to Chicago in full health this year, and he's joined by promising rookie shortstop Tom Burns. Abner Dalrymple won his second straight Platinum Stick award last year. Second Baseman Joe Quest looks like a weak spot (.151), and the huge question mark is right fielder Tommy Beals, who hasn't played since 1875 when he batted .319 and knocked in 40 runs for Boston. Rookie starting pitcher Larry Corcoran is an instant sensation, as he is a rare "switch" pitcher. He can throw left or right handed depending on who is at bat. It's difficult to say, but it does appear that Chicago may be once again competing for the pennant.

Cincinnati Stars Oh, this does not look like a good year for the fledgling Stars. Deacon White comes over from last year's Reds, but he had an off season and batted only .214. There's catcher John Clapp (.266) and pitchers Will White (2.93 ERA) and Blondie Purcell (3.04 ERA), and that's about it. Oh, and beer.

Cleveland Blues Cleveland has an interesting team this year with some good looking rookies and a couple underperformers from last season. Rookie Pete Hotaling (CF) will lead off and Fred Dunlap (2B) will bat 4th. Shortstop Jack Glasscock (.238) bats second, and Frank Hankinson (3B/.216) bats 5th. If these four players can bring it together, and pitcher Jim McCormick repeats his 2.60 ERA performance from last season, the Blues could finish second or third.

Providence Grays Providence looks to bring another solid team into competition after winning their first pennant last season. Catcher Emil Gross batted .345 last year and had 53 RBI's. Center fielder Tom York only batted .255 after hitting .301 the year before. Shortstop John Peters arrives from Chicago. He hit .246 last year, a big drop from a .351 campaign in the previous season. George Bradley will be the emergency starting pitcher and will also start at third base. He is a .264 career hitter, but batted only .222 last season. Monte Ward pitched an incredible 654 inning last season with a 2.30 ERA. If he can repeat that performance, the Grays have a shot at the pennant.

Troy Trojans After a surprising 37-40 campaign last season, Troy looks like they could actually improve a bit on that number in 1880. Catcher Bill Harbridge (.260) arrives from Chicago after an off year. Two promising rookies are third baseman Roger Connor and left fielder Pete Gillespie, not to mention starting pitcher Tim Keefe. Buttercup Dickerson (.317) will play center field, arriving from Cincinnati. Dan Brouthers returns to play first base after a .299 rookie season. Troy could finish above .500 this year.

Worcester Ruby Legs This is largely a group of unproven rookies, and a couple players that didn't play last year. Several of the rookies show some promise, and it will depend on the performance of sophomore Lee Richmond (1.93 ERA) who pitched only 14 inning for Boston last year. Worcester is definitely not the worst team ever, but with little experience and several other good teams this year, they will struggle and are likely to finish in 7th place.

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April 28th, 1880 - Catcher Lew Brown showed up drunk for a Red Caps exhibition game, and he has been suspended from the team for the rest of the season. "We have zero tolerance for this sort of thing," said Manager Harry Wright, "We're looking to get back to winning championships, and this isn't the way to do it."

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May 1st, 1880 - It was opening day in Cincinnati, and all of baseball for that matter, and Larry Corcoran was making his big league debut for the Chicago White Stockings. What a debut he made, by pitching the first no-hitter in the history of the National League, a feat that has never before been done going back to the start of the National Association in 1871. The White Stockings won the game 6-0. What a way to start his career, and what a way to kick off the 1880 season!


The Game Replay is attached for anyone who'd like to watch.

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June 1st, 1880 - The Chicago White Stockings and their rookie phenom pitcher Larry Corcoran are off to a great start, leading the National League with a 14-3 record. Boston, Cleveland and Troy are not far behind, and it's shaping up to be a very interesting season.

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July 1st, 1880 - Both Boston and Chicago are tied for first, and neither team is playing that great. Chicago has switched to a 2 man rotation with Larry Corcoran and Fred Goldsmith. The problem is that Goldsmith is 1-5 with a 7.41 ERA. Both Boston and Chicago are 5-5 in their last 10 games. This has allowed several other teams to gain ground as well.

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July 21, 1880 - Monte Ward pitched the second no-hitter in league history today against the Buffalo Bisons as Providence drew to within 3 games of Boston. The win was also Ward's 100th career victory.

The game replay is attached for viewing.

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August 1st, 1880 - Chicago and Providence are moving in opposite directions, and the Grays are now tied for first with Boston, while the slumping White Stockings find themselves 5 games back. Fred Goldsmith and his 5.24 ERA is really only a small part of the bigger problem...sinking batting averages nearly across the entire lineup:

[BaseballMan]

How's Pud Galvin doing?

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Originally Posted by BaseballMan

How's Pud Galvin doing?

Here are Pud Galvin's career stats to date:

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September 1st, 1880 - Boston has taken over in almost every defensive and offensive category, and they have a 3/2 game lead to show for it. Chicago is reeling, now under .500 and not in the top 3 in any of the major team categories. Providence and Cleveland are playing well and have stayed in the race.

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September 25th, 1880 - The Boston Red Caps defeated Worcester 3-0, and clinched their 3rd pennant in team history, and their first pennant in the National League. From September 16 to September 21st, the Red Caps lost 5 games in a row to the surging Providence Grays, and the situation looked dire. However, Boston then defeated Worcester 3 games in a row, and Providence lost to Troy 2 games in a row. This clinched the pennant for Boston. The win gave manager Harry Wright his third championship with the team, and his first since 1872.

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October 6th, 1880 - The Cincinnati Stars announced they would not abide by the league's new no liquor sales rules, and they were promptly kicked out of the league after only one season. League management announced they would be looking for a replacement team.

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December 8th, 1880 - A new Washington Nationals team made a bid at this year's winter meetings to join the National League, but that bid was rejected. Instead, the Detroit Wolverines were admitted as the league's 8th team.

[scott1964]

Where did you get your fancy pictures?

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Originally Posted by scott1964

Where did you get your fancy pictures?

If you're referring to the baseball cards, here: Rhinopeel Stats Lab

If you're referring to the advertisements...those are my sponsors.

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December 12th, 1880 - .335 career average hitter Dick Higham has retired today after 8 seasons of play in the National League/Association since 1871. Higham earned 3 platinum stick awards and 2 gold glove awards (catcher) over the course of his career. In 1873 he led the league in batting average (.412) with the New York Mutuals.
Higham has done some umpiring, and he plans to switch exclusively to that field. He played for 5 teams over the past 10 years.

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I wrote out all my predictions for the season in this window, and then my token expired and I lost it all. I don't have the heart to rewrite it...so it's a lesson learned.

The good news is that I'm ready to play out the 1881 season. I expect Boston, Chicago, and Cleveland to make a good show this year. There seems to be a common formula among several of the other teams of really good pitching, and mediocre to poor hitting.

Anyway, let's play ball!

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June 1st, 1881 - It's been a very interesting first month of baseball that has seen multiple lead changes by several teams. Cleveland leads the league in most of the major team categories, and yet it is Buffalo that currently sits in the top position. This is thanks to a great start by Pud Galvin (2.24 ERA), and excellent hitting in the 1-6 slots of the Buffalo batting order.
Meanwhile Boston has announced today that they are releasing pitcher Tommy Bond, despite pitching in 2 games with a 2.00 ERA.