WINTER REPORT: 1886
News and notes from the world of base ball during the off-season of 1885-86:
NOVEMBER 19, 1885 - SHUFFLIN' OFF FROM BUFFALO
At one of the first off-season meetings of the National League, it is decided that the Detroit club will gain "ownership" of the contracts of the top four players from the now-defunct Buffalo club: short stop John Nixon (who hit .405 in 1885), catcher Kyle Carney, first baseman Charlie Peterson, and pitcher Paul Lunde (who had thrown 614 innings in '85). The players involved learn of this from a subsequent telegram.
JOHN NIXON
NOVEMBER 28, 1885 - NEW ENGLAND CONSOLIDATION
Boston owner Thurgood Sturgeon purchases the Providence Grays for $6,000. He will reserve the Grays' best players to augment his Beaneaters' roster.
DECEMBER 4, 1885 - NEW MANAGEMENT FOR METROPOLITANS
Josiah Danner finds his man in New York millionaire Everett Holcombe. Holcombe purchases the Mets for $2,000.
DECEMBER 8, 1885 - METS OUT... THEN IN
Josiah Danner had not been a popular figure with his fellow Association owners - in spite, they revoke the New York Metropolitans' membership despite the change in ownership. A court order later forces the AA to keep the Mets.
DECEMBER 18, 1885 - WASHINGTON BACK IN THE LEAGUE
The Washington Nationals who had been poised to enter the American Association as a replacement for the NY Metropolitans are instead admitted to the National League, replacing Providence.
DECEMBER 24, 1885 - BURD FLIES COOP
In a move that is puzzling at the time - and sets up several months of controversy, the St. Louis Browns sell center field star Ed Burd (.305 in '85) to Baltimore. The move makes sense later when the Browns unveil freshman center fielder Phinieus Victory.
PHINIEUS VICTORY
JANUARY 4, 1886 - BURD TO FLY IN PITTSBURGH
Having waited in vain for the $1‚000 check from the Baltimore club‚ St. Louis owner Kermit Altenhaus takes $1‚000 from Pittsburgh for the rights to Ed Burd‚ ignoring the fact that the outfielder has already signed with the Orioles.
FEBRUARY 5, 1886 - RHOADES LOSES A DECISION
The patent dispute between Jenner & Barrett and W.Rhoades & Brothers goes to court in Chicago. Ernest Jenner is the Harvard pitcher who claimed to have invented the catcher's mask‚ while Jerry Barrett and Rhoades are former teammates on the old National Association's Philadelphia Whites. In the eventual settlement‚ Jenner's claims will be upheld and he will receive a royalty on masks sold from Rhoades' company. Rhoades will buy out many rivals on his way to establishing a monopoly in the sporting goods business.
FEBRUARY 9, 1886 - LEAGUE GOES WEST
Kansas City is admitted to the NL on a one-year trial basis.
FEBRUARY 21, 1886 - GAME'S POPULARITY GROWS IN CUBA
Close to 8‚000 fans jam the little ball park in Havana to see the home team beat Almendares‚ 9-5‚ to win the Cuban Championship.
FEBRUARY 27, 1886 - NEW OWNER FOR REDS
The Cincinnati AA club is sold by American Association founder Adolphus von Krittenstein to Leopold Hess‚ a wealthy brewer and banker.
MARCH 2, 1886 - BURD STILL CIRCLING IN LIMBO
The American Association meets and overrules president Daniel McMurray (also owner of the Pittsburgh club) and suspends Ed Burd for signing with Pittsburgh before the dispute over his sale is settled.
MARCH 5, 1886 - HALF A BUCK? NOT ALWAYS
A business wrangle in the NL ends in a weakening of the league's famous 50 cents admission standard. St. Louis and Philadelphia‚ the two clubs facing rival AA teams with an admission of 25 cents‚ are allowed to charge a minimum of a quarter. Newcomers Washington and Kansas City are stuck with the 50 cents minimum‚ but are given the option of selling 3 tickets for a buck.
MARCH 13, 1886 - 'LONDON' LUNDE
Via a transatlantic telegraph from London‚ 36-game winner Paul Lunde agrees to terms with the Detroit Wolverines. Former Buffalo pitcher Lunde's well-publicized holdout will earn him the nickname "London Lou."
PAUL LUNDE
MARCH 17, 1886 - 'BIBLE OF BASE BALL BORN'
The Sporting News‚ the weekly that will become "The Baseball Paper of the World‚" publishes its first issue.
MARCH 18, 1886 - INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE IS BORN
The New York State League admits Buffalo‚ Toronto‚ and Hamilton. The inclusion of the Canadian teams causes the league to change its name to the International League.
MARCH 22, 1886 - MCMURRAY OUT AS AA PREZ
The AA ousts Dan McMurray from the presidency for his partisan handling of the Burd case. Winston Williams is the new president.
MARCH 27, 1886 - PENNANT TO FLY
The St. Louis Browns announce that the pennant they won in 1882 as the first champions of the American Association will be flown at home games this season "for luck."
APRIL 2, 1886 - JUST CALL IT SWAMPDOODLE
Capitol Park is opened in Washington with an exhibition game. The team will be called the Senators or Statesmen. The new park will carry the nickname "Swampdoodle Grounds."
APRIL 8, 1886 - KNUCKLES IN NEWARK
Owen Monday of Newark slugs Patrick O'Leary of the Mets‚ precipitating a ruckus that ends the exhibition game in Newark. Daniel O'Leary nearly belts a Newark police officer, saved by third brother Francis who pulls Danny away. Another mob scene will be narrowly avoided when the 2 teams meet again in NY.
PATRICK O'LEARY
APRIL 13, 1886 - BURD LANDS IN PITTSBURGH AFTER ALL
The Ed Burd case is resolved whereby the center fielder is reinstated and allowed to play with Pittsburgh. As compensation‚ Baltimore gets 1B Archie Raybon from the Alleghenies‚ and St. Louis gets to keep the $1‚000 payment for Burd's rights.
ED BURD