The Completely Fictional History of Baseball

[No Pepper]

The shackles of Solomon Cuffey have been released! Play ball!

[legendsport]

The Sporting Life, Philadelphia, PA, June 1, 1884:

RED STOCKINGS RESUME DOMINANT PLAY
The Boston Red Stocking club, which last season at long last exorcised their demons (some fellows from Chicago) by capturing their first Championship in League play, have resumed their high level of achievement in this season's first stanza, winning 20 of their first 26 contests, four more than their nearest competitors (the Cleveland Blue Club). The Bostonians have been paced by a trio of batsmen - two veterans and a youngster - who are showing the way. Their names: Fred Morton, Mike Feldbush (those would be the aforementioned veterans) and young shortstop Mitch Yocum. Chucker Ron Boddie continues to embellish his legend, with one of the strongest starts in his brilliant career and Randolph Amerson is pitching just well enough for his club to win. Unless things change dramatically - and soon - the National League pennant race might be over very quickly.

SS MITCH YOCUM
.342 AVERAGE IN MAY

National League Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
Boston Red Stockings	20	6	.769	-	19-7	1	14-5	6-1	1-1	2-3	W9	9-1
Cleveland Blues		16	7	.696	2.5	15-8	1	7-3	9-4	0-1	4-2	W3	7-3
Providence Grays	13	11	.542	6.0	14-10	-1	8-9	5-2	1-1	1-6	L2	5-5
Chicago White Stockings	12	12	.500	7.0	13-11	-1	3-1	9-11	1-1	3-4	W2	5-5
Buffalo Bisons		11	14	.440	8.5	12-13	-1	4-2	7-12	0-0	3-3	L3	5-5
New York Gothams	10	15	.400	9.5	8-17	2	9-12	1-3	0-0	3-0	L3	2-8
Philadelphia Quakers	10	15	.400	9.5	10-15	0	8-13	2-2	0-1	4-2	W2	4-6
Detroit Wolverines	6	18	.250	13.0	8-16	-2	0-0	6-18	2-0	2-2	L2	3-7

WHITE STOCKING CLUB STRUGGLES
It's a completely new situation in which the Chicago White Stocking Club finds itself. Winners of merely half their first 24 contests, the White Stockings are looking up not only at the top dogs (the Red Stockings), but also find the Cleveland and Providence Clubs ahead of them as well in the race for the League flag. Even the usual doormat of the League, the Buffalo club, is sniffing at the White Stockings heels. Such is the situation in Chicago that rumors abound that Walker Rhoades may resort to such desperate measures as either putting on his long moth-balled pitching uniform, or at the very least, make some wholesale changes in his club's composition. The hitting appears to be solid, though not as competent as in the glory days (could they have been just TWO years gone?). The pitching however, has been mediocre, and that has long been the strong suit of Chicago's ball clubs. Unless Rhoades can bring Josephus Toupin back to his former brilliance, it might be a long summer on the shores of Lake Michigan.

JOSEPHUS TOUPIN

ONCE A LAUGHING STOCK, THE ST. LOUIS CLUB TOPS ASSOC. IN EARLY RETURNS
The St. Louis Browns have made a remarkable turnaround. The club which was easily the least capable in the Association's first season (that would be 1882 - a mere two years ago), has now emerged as one of the strongest contenders for the Association's berth in the just announced "World's Championship Series" to be played between the AA and League champs at summer's end. With Shane Day, the Browns' superb young backstop leading the league in hitting at .380 and ably supported by James Farnham (.350) and Curt Moore (.333), the Browns have won 14 of their first 22 contests. The Browns are not alone, however, as the Association features an extremely tight group at the head of the standings table with Columbus, Louisville and Philadelphia all equal to the 14 victories the Browns have garnered thus far - and both Pittsburgh and New York have thirteen. At the other end of the spectrum, the newly christened trio of clubs in Toledo, Brooklyn and Indianapolis are proving inept in their new settings.

SHANE DAY

American Association Standings
Team				W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
St. Louis Browns		14	8	.636	-	12-10	2	6-2	8-6	2-0	5-4	L2	5-5
Columbus Buckeyes		14	9	.609	.5	12-11	2	5-4	9-5	1-1	6-3	L1	6-4
Louisville Eclipse		14	9	.609	.5	15-8	-1	7-2	7-7	0-1	2-4	L2	6-4
Philadelphia Athletics		14	9	.609	.5	14-9	0	10-5	4-4	0-0	3-1	W2	7-3
New York Metropolitans		13	10	.565	1.5	12-11	1	8-6	5-4	1-0	3-1	L1	7-3
Pittsburgh Alleghenies		13	10	.565	1.5	13-10	0	7-7	6-3	1-0	1-2	L1	5-5
Washington Nationals		12	9	.571	1.5	11-10	1	9-5	3-4	1-1	5-1	W1	4-6
Baltimore Orioles		10	12	.455	4.0	10-12	0	7-6	3-6	0-0	2-1	W1	5-5
Cincinnati Red Legs		9	11	.450	4.0	10-10	-1	2-5	7-6	0-1	2-4	L1	6-4
Toledo Blue Stockings		9	14	.391	5.5	11-12	-2	4-4	5-10	0-1	3-6	W1	3-7
Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers	6	15	.286	7.5	8-13	-2	5-7	1-8	0-1	1-2	W1	3-7
Indianapolis Hoosiers		4	16	.200	9.0	7-13	-3	3-6	1-10	0-0	0-4	W1	2-8

MAROONS ARE GORILLAS OF THE UNION
Though St. Louis Maroon owner Horace V. Leonard's middle name is Vinson, it may as well be "Victory" as his club has gotten off to an impressive start in the inaugural Union Association campaign, winning 21 of 25 games, most by lopsided margins. Though Cincinnati's 'Outlaw' Reds also have 21 victories, they've achieved those wins in 28 contests and far less impressively than Leonard's club. The swift start comes as no surprise as Leonard stocked his club with prime talent, freely spending his wealth to lure such former League and AA luminaries as William Hill and Pickles Gillespie to his club, as well as young phenom Elmer Farr. All are producing as expected - Hill is batting .364 to lead the team, Farr's average is .350 and Gillespie has won 11 of his 13 games with a 1.50 ERA. Not far behind is Gillespie's new sidekick, long-time League veteran Bloop Biron who is 10-2 with a 2.31 earned run mark.

WILLIAM HILL

Union Association Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
St. Louis Maroons	21	4	.840	-	22-3	-1	18-3	3-1	1-1	2-3	W10	10-0
Cincinnati Outlaw Reds	21	7	.750	1.5	22-6	-1	17-7	4-0	0-2	1-0	L1	8-2
Baltimore Unions	19	8	.704	3.0	20-7	-1	4-0	15-8	1-0	2-3	W2	5-5
Boston Reds		16	10	.615	5.5	16-10	0	2-2	14-8	0-1	1-2	W5	6-4
Altoona Mountain Citys	11	14	.440	10.0	8-17	3	9-9	2-5	2-0	3-0	L2	6-4
Philadelphia Keystones	7	21	.250	15.5	9-19	-2	0-7	7-14	0-0	0-3	L10	0-10
Washington Nationals	6	21	.222	16.0	5-22	1	1-6	5-15	1-1	1-3	W1	4-6
Chicago Browns		5	21	.192	16.5	6-20	-1	4-17	1-4	0-0	5-1	L6	1-9

ALL IS NOT WELL IN THE UNION
National League and American Association magnates must be smirking in their smoke-filled offices as they witness the first major setback for the brash challengers in the Union Association. The Union's Altoona Club, despite an 11-14 record thus far, has been unable to meet the payroll of its players and will cease operations. Horace Leonard quickly lined up a new backer from his own native Missouri. The Mountain City Club of Altoona will resume play this week as the Kansas City Union Club. Leonard announced that the statistics and records of Altoona/Kansas City will be treated as seperate clubs, although the entire Altoona roster will move to Kansas City.

HOMER JENSEN, ALTOONA/KC OUTFIELDER

[LFC1892]

No doubt I'll curse him now, but my guys doing great so far!

[legendsport]

The Sporting Life, Philadelphia, PA, July 1, 1884:

'DUKE OF THE WABASH' LEADING THE WAY FOR CLEVELAND
They're far behind the Red Stockings in the race for the National League pennant, but the Cleveland Blues Club is excelling beyond what anyone would have predicted prior to this season. With 26 victories and 19 losses, the Blues are in second place, a distant ten behind the Boston club, but ahead of the storied Chicago nine which dominated the league for so many summers. And Cleveland's strong play is attributable in large part to the bat of the man dubbed 'The Duke of the Wabash' - center fielder Horatio Smith. The Blues can applaud themselves for refusing to sell Smith to the American Association's new Indianapolis club, which made a 'fair' offer for him (according to Cleveland sources). Though the Duke himself admits he might have enjoyed playing in his home state of Indiana, one can not argue with the results of his play in Ohio. He is hitting .333, near the top of the League batting leaders and provides more than just fine play - he is an exceptional leader and a true gentleman on-and-off the field, which is rare in these rough-and-tumble days.

HORATIO SMITH
'THE DUKE OF THE WABASH'

National League Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
Boston Red Stockings	36	11	.766	-	34-13	2	24-6	12-5	2-3	5-6	L1	6-4
Cleveland Blues		26	19	.578	9.0	26-19	0	13-9	13-10	0-2	6-3	W1	6-4
Chicago White Stockings	25	20	.556	10.0	25-20	0	11-6	14-14	2-2	7-8	L1	5-5
Buffalo Bisons		21	24	.467	14.0	22-23	-1	11-9	10-15	1-0	8-4	W2	7-3
Providence Grays	21	25	.457	14.5	23-23	-2	13-15	8-10	2-1	4-7	W1	4-6
New York Gothams	20	28	.417	16.5	18-30	2	11-14	9-14	2-0	5-3	L1	4-6
Detroit Wolverines	19	28	.404	17.0	20-27	-1	10-9	9-19	3-1	5-6	W1	5-5
Philadelphia Quakers	18	31	.367	19.0	19-30	-1	9-16	9-15	1-4	4-7	L2	2-8

PRITCHARD SHINING IN NEW ROLE
It's a difficult thing - to earn a spot among the starting new for a professional club, let alone the League champions, but that's what 20-year-old Rick Pritchard has done this season. A native of Hoover, Alabama who spent most of the summer of 1883 as a observer playing very rarely, Pritchard is now the right fielder for the Boston Red Stocking club, supplanting incumbent Carlton Schmidt and doing so with aplomb. Pritchard started slowly, but enjoyed a strong month of June, hitting .276 for the month and ensuring that Schmidt will remain on the bench for the foreseeable future.

RICK PRITCHARD

WILD AA SEASON CONTINUES
The American Association is apparently up-for-grabs and the clubs are taking turns atop the standings table. The Philadelphia Athletics, last season's weakest club, currently share the top spot with the more heralded New York Metropolitans. Meanwhile the St. Louis Browns, Baltimore Orioles, Louisville Eclipse, Pittsburgh Alleghenies and even the newly minted Washington Nationals are all within a handful of victories of the duo at the top.

American Association Standings
Team				W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
New York Metropolitans		26	16	.619	-	29-13	-3	16-10	10-6	1-1	3-4	W4	7-3
Philadelphia Athletics		26	16	.619	-	25-17	1	18-9	8-7	1-0	6-4	L3	7-3
Louisville Eclipse		24	15	.615	.5	25-14	-1	11-5	13-10	1-1	5-6	W1	5-5
Pittsburgh Alleghenies		26	17	.605	.5	25-18	1	14-13	12-4	2-1	3-5	W5	7-3
Baltimore Orioles		23	16	.590	1.5	20-19	3	16-7	7-9	0-1	6-2	W1	6-4
St. Louis Browns		24	17	.585	1.5	21-20	3	10-6	14-11	4-0	9-8	L1	5-5
Washington Nationals		23	17	.575	2.0	23-17	0	16-9	7-8	1-2	8-4	L1	5-5
Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers	18	23	.439	7.5	19-22	-1	14-11	4-12	1-2	5-4	L1	6-4
Columbus Buckeyes		19	24	.442	7.5	19-24	0	6-10	13-14	1-2	6-7	L6	2-8
Cincinnati Red Legs		15	25	.375	10.0	16-24	-1	4-10	11-15	1-3	6-6	W1	3-7
Toledo Blue Stockings		13	29	.310	13.0	15-27	-2	7-8	6-21	0-1	5-9	L2	3-7
Indianapolis Hoosiers		9	31	.225	16.0	15-25	-6	6-10	3-21	1-0	2-5	W3	3-7

WENDELL HAVING SEASON FOR THE AGES
When the Union Association raided the rosters of the existing League and AA clubs, none was hit harder than the Baltimore Oriole Club. With most of the roster heading off for presumably greener pastures, only Harris Wendell and a bag of balls was left in Baltimore. Luckily for the Orioles, Wendell did not head elsewhere because he has emerged as the best hitter in the game right now. Thru the end of June, Wendell is hitting an astronomical .446, far ahead of anyone else and nearly 200 percentage points better than the entire American Association is averaging. For a youngster who last season hit a respectable .281, that is an eye-popping number.

HARRIS WENDELL

UNION'S CASE: HAVES VS. HAVE-NOTS
The Union Association has emerged as a premier example of the haves versus the have-nots. The standings table tells the tale. Of the eight clubs, four have outstanding records and the other four have extremely poor records. The haves are led by the St. Louis Maroons, but they are closely followed by the Cincinnati, Boston and Baltimore clubs. The poor cousins reside in Kansas City, Philadelphia, Washington and Chicago, with the last two named being absolutely atrocious and arguably worse than several clubs in the Northwestern and Eastern loops. With such an unhealthy situation, it seems likely the other clubs will suffer the fate of the Altoona club - namely, having to fold their operations due to lack of funds resulting from poor attendance. After all, no one wants to pay to see atrocious base ball, and that is what four of the eight Union clubs are offering their patrons these days.

Union Association Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
St. Louis Maroons	32	10	.762	-	35-7	-3	22-6	10-4	1-1	2-4	W2	8-2
Cincinnati Outlaw Reds	28	12	.700	3.0	30-10	-2	19-9	9-3	0-2	1-0	L1	6-4
Baltimore Unions	29	14	.674	3.5	31-12	-2	13-3	16-11	2-0	4-4	W8	8-2
Boston Reds		27	14	.659	4.5	26-15	1	10-5	17-9	0-1	2-3	W1	7-3
Kansas City Unions	5	6	.455	11.5	5-6	0	2-2	3-4	0-2	2-2	L2	5-5
Altoona Mountain Citys*	11	14	.440	12.5	8-17	3	9-9	2-5	2-0	3-0	L2	6-4
Philadelphia Keystones	15	29	.341	18.0	15-29	0	4-11	11-18	0-1	3-4	L2	2-8
Washington Nationals	9	32	.220	22.5	10-31	-1	3-11	6-21	2-1	2-5	W2	3-7
Chicago Browns		9	34	.209	23.5	11-32	-2	6-21	3-13	1-0	6-3	L9	1-9

* - moved to Kansas City

LOUDERMILK ENJOYING 'OUTLAW' STATUS
Former Pittsburgh Allegheny third baseman Sammy Loudermilk headed west this winter, signing a contract to play for the Union Association's Cincinnati entry - dubbed the "Outlaw Reds" as compared to the established Reds of the American Association. Loudermilk has been carrying his weight for the Outlaws, leading the Union in batting through the first two-plus months of the season with a .407 mark almost 100 points higher than the .311 he posted with Pittsburgh a year ago.

SAMMY LOUDERMILK

[legendsport]

The Sporting Life, Philadelphia, PA, August 1, 1884:

QUIET MORTON LETS BAT DO TALKING
In a league where there are no shortage of "big personalities" (see Rhoades, Walker), the man on the best club in said league is also among the most quiet in a world of loud and boisterous bat swinging and ball slinging egotists. Fred Morton, the center fielder for the Boston Red Stockings, hit .391 in the month of July and sees his batting mark for the season hover over .350, but to talk to him, you wouldn't think he's the best of the bunch. "It's all about the bottom line," he explains in his quiet voice. And what is the bottom line? He cocks an eyebrow and responds, "Why, winning of course. If we don't win, then we haven't done our jobs. I could register nary a hit, but if I move the baserunners over and help in getting runs for my team, why then, it's been a grand day." His eyes twinkle as he says this, evoking a sense of trust in this young man's honest demeanor. Though rooters for the Boston club often clamor for his attention, it is usually team mate John Mahoney who will banter with the paying customers while Morton will politely nod, occasionally wave, and usually just do his job, which he sees as being very simple: hit the base ball and when in the field, catch it. And he does that job very, very well.

FRED MORTON

National League Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
Boston Red Stockings	55	13	.809	-	50-18	5	30-7	25-6	3-3	8-8	W12	10-0
Chicago White Stockings	43	23	.652	11.0	42-24	1	20-8	23-15	2-2	8-10	L1	8-2
Cleveland Blues		36	31	.537	18.5	35-32	1	20-19	16-12	0-2	9-4	W2	6-4
Providence Grays	32	34	.485	22.0	34-32	-2	17-18	15-16	2-4	7-10	L2	4-6
Buffalo Bisons		28	38	.424	26.0	30-36	-2	16-21	12-17	2-0	10-5	L2	4-6
Detroit Wolverines	26	41	.388	28.5	28-39	-2	15-15	11-26	5-2	9-9	W1	2-8
New York Gothams	25	42	.373	29.5	26-41	-1	14-17	11-25	4-1	7-6	W1	1-9
Philadelphia Quakers	23	46	.333	32.5	26-43	-3	12-19	11-27	2-6	4-10	L2	4-6

'ADIRONDACK JOE' FRUSTRATED IN GOTHAM
He's a small-town guy pitching in the nation's largest city, but that's not what's getting under the collar of 'Adirondack' Joe LeGrew. The big pitcher is upset because his New York Gotham club is playing poorly. "We stink worse than the fish market," he says with a sigh. Asked for his opinion on why the team is struggling, LeGrew is far too shrewd to admit that he knows what everyone else is saying: that the team is suffering because the man who signs the checks, Mr. Josiah Danner, is too busy with his "other" team with which the Gothams share the Polo Grounds. That the New York Metropolitans are as successful as the Gothams are unsuccessful isn't really a surprise. The Mets were built to succeed in the cut-throat world of independent ball and feature several players any League club would kill to have. The Gothams, conversely, were purchased as the Troy Trojans by Danner and transported lock, stock and barrel to New York, renamed and shoved into the toughest circuit in the world. "We could use some better players," one of the Gothams groused but refused to allow his name to be printed. No wonder LeGrew is frustrated.

JOSIAH LEGREW

'METS' TOPS - AT THE MOMENT
The wild season of the American Association continues, though some seperation is appearing amongst the constituency. The New York Metropolitans currently own the loop's best win total with 44, but the Louisville club is close behind with 41 and the Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia clubs are all within striking distance. Both the Cincinnati and St. Louis Clubs, expected to contend, are having down seasons, with even the new clubs in Brooklyn, Toledo and Washington outperforming the Association's founding club in the Queen City. One ominous note: the Washington Club, which has been performing well, is having financial difficulties and rumors abound that the club may have to be shifted to a city without a competing club (The Union Association also has a club in the nation's capital).

American Association Standings
Team				W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
New York Metropolitans		44	21	.677	-	47-18	-3	21-12	23-9	2-2	7-7	L1	8-2
Louisville Eclipse		41	21	.661	1.5	42-20	-1	22-10	19-11	1-2	8-9	L2	7-3
Baltimore Orioles		38	19	.667	2.0	32-25	6	21-8	17-11	0-1	10-2	L1	8-2
Pittsburgh Alleghenies		36	28	.563	7.5	34-30	2	16-15	20-13	2-1	3-6	W1	5-5
Philadelphia Athletics		36	29	.554	8.0	34-31	2	21-13	15-16	3-1	10-5	W2	4-6
Washington Nationals		33	28	.541	9.0	35-26	-2	17-11	16-17	1-3	8-9	L5	3-7
St. Louis Browns		28	34	.452	14.5	28-34	0	14-20	14-14	4-2	9-13	L5	1-9
Columbus Buckeyes		27	35	.435	15.5	27-35	0	10-20	17-15	3-3	9-11	W2	5-5
Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers	25	37	.403	17.5	28-34	-3	15-14	10-23	2-2	6-7	W1	3-7
Toledo Blue Stockings		24	39	.381	19.0	24-39	0	14-18	10-21	1-2	8-9	L2	6-4
Cincinnati Red Legs		23	40	.365	20.0	24-39	-1	10-20	13-20	1-3	10-8	W3	6-4
Indianapolis Hoosiers		18	42	.300	23.5	22-38	-4	12-19	6-23	2-0	4-6	W2	4-6

HARVEY EXCELLING FOR METROPOLITANS
Phinneas Harvey continues to shine as the centerpiece of Josiah Danner's New York Metropolitan Club. Harvey was the Association's top player in July, recording a solid .353 average and scoring 32 runs for New York. His season's average is an outstanding .383 and he's already scored 84 runs in just 65 contests. With an able supporting cast including pitcher Floyd Presley and the trio of O'Leary brothers, it's no surprise that the New Yorkers are leading the Association.

PHINNEAS HARVEY

MAROONS CONTINUE TO BE CLASS OF NEW LOOP
The Union Association's best club, Horace V. Leonard's St. Louis Maroons, are starting to put some distance between themselves and the competition - the best of which is a pair of red-begarbed clubs in Cincinnati and Boston. Leonard's club has won 48 games against just 15 losses and has won five straight to close out the month of July. Young hitting machine Elmer Farr continues to impress, with Josiah Danner (outbid for Farr's services by Leonard this winter) no doubt gnashing his teeth back in New York. Farr is hitting .375 to lead the club with William Hill, Monkey Bumpers and catcher Harry Lamb all contributing mightily as well.

ELMER FARR

Union Association Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
St. Louis Maroons	48	15	.762	-	52-11	-4	23-6	25-9	2-1	4-4	W5	8-2
Cincinnati Outlaw Reds	42	16	.724	3.5	44-14	-2	20-12	22-4	0-2	2-1	W4	6-4
Boston Reds		41	17	.707	4.5	38-20	3	20-7	21-10	0-1	6-3	L1	7-3
Baltimore Unions	39	21	.650	7.5	40-20	-1	18-10	21-11	2-0	4-5	W6	8-2
Altoona Mountain Citys*	11	14	.440	18.0	8-17	3	9-9	2-5	2-0	3-0	L2	6-4
Kansas City Unions	12	21	.364	21.0	14-19	-2	2-6	10-15	0-2	3-5	L6	3-7
Philadelphia Keystones	19	44	.302	29.0	20-43	-1	7-25	12-19	0-1	4-4	W1	2-8
Chicago Browns		18	44	.290	29.5	19-43	-1	8-26	10-18	1-0	6-5	L3	4-6
Washington Nationals	11	49	.183	35.5	13-47	-2	5-28	6-21	2-2	3-8	L1	2-8

* - moved to Kansas City

SECOND UNION CLUB IN TROUBLE
With the Altoona Club already having been forced to cease business due to lack of money, it appears a second Union Club might be about to suffer the same fate. The Philadelphia Union club, unsurprisingly unable to compete in a city where both the National and Association have clubs, is in dire straits. The Keystone Club is not a good team and though neither the League's Quakers nor Association's Athletics are world beaters, they do feature better clubs - and better opposition than the Union club can offer. Rumors abound that the players will be shifted to Wilmington. One has to wonder what that would do to the Eastern League club already residing there, but the Union Association has not previously shown any reluctance to move in on other loops' territories.

[ifspuds]

Boy, the Bostons break through once, and they get it all figured out. .809 winning percentage... what's the league record for such things?

Good to see my boy Fred Morton bouncing back after a subpar statistical season last year.

[legendsport]

Originally Posted by ifspuds

Boy, the Bostons break through once, and they get it all figured out. .809 winning percentage... what's the league record for such things?

Good to see my boy Fred Morton bouncing back after a subpar statistical season last year.

It's close - the 1880 Chicago club won 68 games and had an .810 winning percentage, so the Boston nine certainly has a shot at the best mark thus far.

[legendsport]

I'm pleased to announce that in preparation for making CFHOB into an online league, I've created a website for the dynasty. You can check it out here.

I will continue to write the dynasty as my duties in the online league will be to act as both the league's commissioner as well as the shaper of the universe in which the league resides and to be honest, I really enjoy writing so it would make sense to continue this - the main difference now being that I will not be solely handling all the teams' lineups, rotations and so on.

I pledge not to let the dynasty die - it will continue in much the same format and stories posted on the CFHOB site will also come to roost here.

The immediate benefit is that there is (or soon will be when it finishes uploading) an HTML site with all the stats & history of the entire CFHOB dynasty thus far for everyone to check out.

Anyone wishing to participate in the online league can PM me here, or use the 'Contact' link on the new website to send me an email. I have not yet put up the rules, which will be somewhat different from most, if not all, other OOTP leagues in that we will be mirroring (as closely as possible) the business interactions of 19th century teams and leagues. As an example, there won't be a draft, but clubs will be able to negotiate and "purchase" players from minor league clubs. Each major league club will also have to present an annual reserve list, anyone not on that list is fair game for any and all comers, major and minor.

My hope is that this can turn into something great like TWB or PBRL - a tall order, I know, but I can dream

Thanks for reading!

[legendsport]

The Sporting Life, Philadelphia, PA, September 1, 1884:

WHITE STOCKINGS GREAT - BUT NOT GREAT ENOUGH
The Chicago White Stockings, long the dominant club in the National League, are now firmly relegated to second-best status behind the powerful Boston club. With the Red Stockings mounting a historic challenge of the Chicago club's own win record, the White Stocking Club itself is quietly having a superb season. It's simply not historically great, so they find themselves eight victories shy of the mark of the Bostonians. With Titus Kelley having a tremendous season with the bat (.389 batter's average), and Clifford Campbell performing at his usual lofty standard, the White Stockings make mincemeat of - almost - all opposition, with superb marks against all League clubs except the Bostons. The Red Stockings have downed Chicago in six of the ten contests between the two titans.

TITUS KELLEY

National League Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
Boston Red Stockings	67	17	.798	-	61-23	6	37-10	30-7	5-4	11-9	L1	6-4
Chicago White Stockings	59	26	.694	8.5	55-30	4	30-8	29-18	2-3	10-11	W4	7-3
Cleveland Blues		43	43	.500	25.0	43-43	0	20-19	23-24	0-3	11-5	W1	5-5
Providence Grays	40	44	.476	27.0	41-43	-1	22-24	18-20	2-4	8-11	L1	5-5
Detroit Wolverines	37	48	.435	30.5	37-48	0	22-17	15-31	6-2	14-10	W1	4-6
Philadelphia Quakers	32	53	.376	35.5	35-50	-3	19-26	13-27	3-6	5-11	W2	6-4
Buffalo Bisons		30	53	.361	36.5	34-49	-4	16-21	14-32	2-1	10-12	L2	2-8
New York Gothams	31	55	.360	37.0	33-53	-2	19-29	12-26	5-2	9-9	L1	5-5

'FREEMAN' RINGS IN PHILA.
The Quakers are now in their second season in Phildelphia's return to League play after the banishment of 1873. And though the club continues to struggle as they did in 1883, there is reason for hope in the City of Brotherly Love. Right Fielder Charlie Freeman is having a grand season in the batter's box, having scored 63 tallies while batting a club-best .324 for the campaign thus far. With first sacker Howard Cowles and center fielder Joe Thornhill also talented, the Quaker Club has a core around which to build a contending nine. The pitching tandem of George Larrick and Howard Otten is good enough, though a top twirler would be of great benefit to the club.

JOSIAH LEGREW

UNION WAR CLAIMS VICTIM IN WASHINGTON
The war between the League and Association on one side and the Union Association on the other has claimed a victim from the swollen American Assoc. as the freshman club in Washington drowned in red ink and was forced to fold. The club's players and staff were quickly given a second life as the Richmond Virginia Club, which will be treated as a completely seperate entity in Association record keeping. Interestingly, the shift means that Solomon Cuffey, the only Negro ballplayer among the professional ranks is now playing in the erstwhile capital of the Confederate States. How long he can exist there remains to be seen. Already the strain has become apparent - in 63 contests with Washington, Cuffey hit for a .294 average, but since the shift to Richmond, he has batted a mere .148 and rumors abound that he will either quit or be given his release in the near future.

SOLOMON CUFFEY

American Association Standings
Team				W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
New York Metropolitans		56	24	.700	-	59-21	-3	26-13	30-11	2-2	8-8	W2	8-2
Louisville Eclipse		53	27	.662	3.0	55-25	-2	31-12	22-15	1-2	8-11	L3	6-4
Pittsburgh Alleghenies		50	31	.617	6.5	48-33	2	21-18	29-13	2-1	4-8	W5	7-3
Baltimore Orioles		44	32	.579	10.0	38-38	6	23-17	21-15	0-1	14-5	L3	2-8
Philadelphia Athletics		43	40	.518	14.5	40-43	3	24-19	19-21	3-1	12-6	W3	5-5
Washington Nationals*		33	30	.524	14.5	36-27	-3	17-13	16-17	1-3	8-9	L7	2-8
Richmond Virginias		6	9	.400	17.5	5-10	1	3-4	3-5	0-1	4-1	W1	4-6
St. Louis Browns		39	43	.476	18.0	38-44	1	19-22	20-21	7-2	11-14	W3	6-4
Columbus Buckeyes		38	44	.463	19.0	38-44	0	17-22	21-22	3-4	10-13	L1	5-5
Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers	32	48	.400	24.0	36-44	-4	19-19	13-29	3-2	6-11	L3	4-6
Cincinnati Red Legs		32	51	.386	25.5	34-49	-2	17-26	15-25	1-4	12-8	W1	6-4
Toledo Blue Stockings		31	51	.378	26.0	30-52	1	17-22	14-29	1-3	9-11	L2	3-7
Indianapolis Hoosiers		27	54	.333	29.5	31-50	-4	18-25	9-29	2-0	7-8	L1	5-5

* - franchise folded, now playing as Richmond club

BUTLER IS LOUISVILLE'S KING OF SWING
The Louisville Eclipse are among the best in the American Assoc. this season and the heavy bat of Charlie Q. Butler is the prime factor. Butler, who insists on using the 'Q' in his name - "Charlie Butlers are a dime a dozen, but how many Charlie Q. Butlers do you know?" he asks with a grin - has driven the ball to great depths of the Louisville Grounds and completed the 360-foot trip around the bases a full eleven times thus far this season - the first player in history to achieve double-digits in the "home run" category. With a month to play remaining Butler has set his sights on 15 as where he'd like to finish his year. "Why not - as long as I don't pull up lame, I see no reason I can't clout four more circuit trips this season."

CHARLIE Q. BUTLER

PHILADELPHIA UNIONS: THIRD CLUB TO FAIL THIS SEASON
The Philadelphia Union club, dubbed the Keystones, have become the second Union club - and third among the top clubs - to call it quits this season. With three clubs vying for the attentions of the ticket-buying public in the nation's second-largest city, this was bound to happen. Mr. Leonard, Union Assoc. President, immediately transferred the club's players just south of Philadelphia to Wilmington, Delaware. They will compete as the Wilimington Quicksteps and started play with a fresh slate (which they prompty sullied by playing poorly, winning just one of their nine August contests).

Union Association Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
St. Louis Maroons	64	18	.780	-	67-15	-3	33-8	31-10	2-1	5-5	L1	9-1
Boston Reds		59	18	.766	2.5	54-23	5	32-8	27-10	1-1	9-3	W9	9-1
Cincinnati Outlaw Reds	58	18	.763	3.0	58-18	0	26-13	32-5	0-2	5-1	W13	10-0
Baltimore Unions	43	32	.573	17.5	48-27	-5	20-12	23-20	2-1	4-8	L1	3-7
Philadelphia Keystones#	19	48	.284	37.5	20-47	-1	7-28	12-20	0-1	4-4	L4	1-9
Chicago Browns		21	58	.266	41.5	23-56	-2	9-31	12-27	1-0	6-5	W1	1-9
Washington Nationals	21	58	.266	41.5	19-60	2	14-32	7-26	2-2	7-10	W1	6-4
Kansas City Unions	14	39	.264	35.5	18-35	-4	4-16	10-23	0-2	3-8	L13	0-10
Altoona Mountain Citys*	11	14	.440	24.5	8-17	3	9-9	2-5	2-0	3-0	L2	6-4
Wilmington Quicksteps	1	8	.111	26.5	2-7	-1	0-0	1-8	0-0	0-2	L4	1-8

* - moved to Kansas City
# - moved to Wilmington

LOUDERMILK RELIVING GLORY DAYS IN QUEEN CITY
In 1869 the Cincinnati Red Stockings were the nation's premier base ball club and Sammy Loudermilk was a 16-year-old third baseman for that club. Now, fifteen summers later, Loudermilk is again playing third base in Cincinnati, this time for the Union Association's Outlaw Reds. All that experience is paying off for Sammy, who has traveled a long and strange road to the Union Association. A key part of those early Red Stocking clubs, Loudermilk was with the club when it moved to Boston. He left for Washington in 1875, only to see that club die with the ill-fated National Association. In 1876 he entered the National League with the Buffalo club, but was relegated to a reserve role, culminating in an 1881 season that saw him make just one lone trip to the home base for an at-bat. In 1882 he was born again with the Pittsburgh Club in the new American Assoc. and posted a .333 average in his first season as a major player once again. He followed that with a .311 performance last summer, but jumped at the chance to sign with the Union's new Cincinnati entry - and thus far in the 1884 campaign is that loop's best hitter with an average of .372, a full ten percentage points ahead of young Elmer Farr of St. Louis. Though the Union Association's future is very much in doubt with most teams struggling financially, Loudermilk's performance will likely ensure that he will be playing somewhere in 1885.

SAMMY LOUDERMILK

[legendsport]

The Sporting Life, Philadelphia, PA, November 15, 1884:

"WORLD'S SERIES" PLAYED BETWEEN LOOP LEADERS
This October saw something new in the world of base ball as the Championship Clubs of the two "Major" Leagues - the National League and American Association (having both elected to ignore the Union Association's claim to Major status), played a best-of-three, winner-take-all series dubbed the "World's Championship Series." The contest was suitably one-sided as anyone who has watched the Boston Red Stocking club, champion of the National, this season could attest. The Association Champion New York Metropolitans stood no chance against the formidable Boston Nine, which won both games to lay claim to an undisputed (except perhaps by the Union's St. Louis Maroon Club) World's Championship. The success of the Boston club this season, which set a new record for victories (though not for percentage of games won) by any league team, can be attributed to the adjustments Club manager Uriah Kittridge applied to get his "best nine on the field" as he puts it. He shifted long time third base man John Mahoney to first base, pushing Emile Stipe to the bench, and moved short stop Mitchell Yocum to third. This opened a spot for young Cecil Tann at short stop. In the outfield, he moved star Fred Morton from center to left and put youngster Rick Pritchard in right, shifted John "Gimp" Kreutzer to center. Coupled with the solid pitching tandem of Boddie and Amerson and the steady work of backstop Walker, the Red Stockings were the class of base ball - again - in 1884.

National League Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
Boston Red Stockings	86	25	.775	-	81-30	5	45-11	41-14	7-5	15-12	W6	7-3
Chicago White Stockings	79	32	.712	7.0	72-39	7	45-10	34-22	5-3	18-12	W1	9-1
Cleveland Blues		54	58	.482	32.5	55-57	-1	28-28	26-30	1-4	14-8	W4	7-3
Providence Grays	53	59	.473	33.5	53-59	0	28-28	25-31	4-5	11-17	W1	3-7
Detroit Wolverines	49	63	.438	37.5	50-62	-1	30-26	19-37	6-2	19-13	W5	7-3
Philadelphia Quakers	46	66	.411	40.5	48-64	-2	24-32	22-34	3-7	7-13	L2	4-6
New York Gothams	42	70	.375	44.5	45-67	-3	24-32	18-38	5-3	10-14	L9	1-9
Buffalo Bisons		37	73	.336	48.5	45-65	-8	22-33	15-40	2-4	10-15	L5	2-8

"NON-STOCKING" MAGNATES FUMING AT SEASONAL RESULT
There are two clubs in the National League which use 'Stocking' as part of their club's nickname. Those two clubs were the only League clubs to win more games than they lost - in both cases they won many more than they lost. The other six League clubs all lost more contests than they won, and that has these 'Non-Stocking' magnates fuming. "Something needs to be done, I'm tired of seeing my club play possum so that Chicago and Boston can win an endless procession of championships," groused New York Gotham operator Josiah Danner. "Sour grapes," is the opinion of Chicago's Walker Rhoades. "These gentlemen all have the same opportunities that we do to procure talent. We just do it better than they do," he adds with a flourish of his cigar. There is talent sprinkled throughout the rosters of the "other" six clubs in the loop - just not as much on any one roster as can be found in either Boston or Chicago. Providence's Scott Cain, considered by most the best League player not under contract to either of the 'Stocking Clubs' (he was 2nd in the NL in hitting this past season), shrugs and admits, "I'd be lying if I claimed that I wouldn't mind playing in Boston or Chicago. I thought we had a good club this year and Boston still won 33 more games than we did."

SCOTT CAIN

METS TOAST OF THE ASSOCIATION
Though Josiah Danner was upset at the state of things in the National League, particularly in the poor finish of his New York Gotham Club, he had reason to rejoice with his "other" club. The New York Metropolitans won 76 games, 7 more than their nearest competitor (Louisville) to claim the American Association title for 1884 and the right to face Boston in the World's Series. That the Mets were unceremoniously dumped in efficient fashion by the juggernaut from Massachusetts did not dampen the achievement for Danner who had boldly predicted success for both his clubs in 1883 only to see those hopes doubly dashed when neither finished in the catbird seat. The Mets featured the most exciting performer in the Association in center fielder Phinneas Harvey, who hit .381 and scored a staggering total of 136 runs. Interestingly, that impressive total was eclipsed by Harvey's team mate Francis Harvey, who despite a .236 batting average scored 156 runs - a record total (he walked 151 times - also a record - which accounted for his being on base enough to tally so many runs).

PHINNEAS HARVEY

American Association Standings
Team				W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
New York Metropolitans		76	31	.710	-	76-31	0	37-14	39-17	3-2	16-10	W8	9-1
Louisville Eclipse		69	39	.639	7.5	72-36	-3	39-16	30-23	3-3	12-15	L1	4-6
Pittsburgh Alleghenies		65	43	.602	11.5	63-45	2	32-23	33-20	2-3	5-9	W1	7-3
Baltimore Orioles		58	48	.547	17.5	53-53	5	29-26	29-22	1-2	17-6	L1	5-5
Philadelphia Athletics		58	49	.542	18.0	54-53	4	30-24	28-25	4-2	15-9	L2	6-4
Washington Nationals*		33	30	.524	21.0	36-27	-3	17-13	16-17	1-3	8-9	L7	2-8
Richmond Virginias		20	21	.488	23.0	21-20	-1	11-9	9-12	0-2	5-7	L2	6-4
Columbus Buckeyes		49	59	.454	27.5	49-59	0	23-31	26-28	4-6	14-15	W4	5-5
Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers	46	58	.442	28.5	48-56	-2	26-23	20-35	4-2	11-12	W5	6-4
St. Louis Browns		46	61	.430	30.0	48-59	-2	22-31	24-30	8-3	15-23	W1	2-8
Cincinnati Red Legs		44	65	.404	33.0	45-64	-1	23-33	21-32	2-4	14-9	L3	4-6
Toledo Blue Stockings		40	63	.388	34.0	40-63	0	23-29	17-34	2-4	11-13	W2	3-7
Indianapolis Hoosiers		35	72	.327	41.0	41-66	-6	23-32	12-40	2-0	7-13	L5	2-8

* - franchise folded, finished season as Richmond club

WENDELL AMONG HONOREES FOR 1884
Baltimore Orioles' third baseman Harris Wendell is the winner of The Sporting Life's Association Batsman of the Year for 1884. Wendell posted a .372 average and scored 125 runs with 165 safeties, 46 of the two-base variety. League batsman honors were given to Chicago short stop Titus Kelley. Kelley led the loop with a .350 batter's average, clubbing 47 two-base, 8 three-base, and 5 circuit hits and scored 129 runs. Among the pitchers, Louisville's Curt Coulston was the pick for Association arm, with a 1.46 earned run average, winning 48 games and pitching a staggering 615 innings. His league counterpart was, unsurprisingly, Bostonian Ron Boddie, who won 57 games and had a 1.60 earned run average for the championship club.

HARRIS WENDELL

UNION LIMPS TO FINISH WITH MAROON CLUB CHAMPIONS
Some dreams die hard and the Union Association was one such dream. Horace V. Leonard's creation staggered to the season's finish line with a total of four franchise shifts - one club moved twice - and with Leonard's own club making a mockery of the pennant race. Though Leonard denies it, other sources within the Union hierarchy have admitted that the so-called "third major league" will not return in the spring of 1885. Rumors also persist that Leonard's Maroon club will be granted entry into the National League through a side deal worked out between Leonard and League czar Chester Pendergrast. League sources are tight-lipped on this issue and it is obvious that the American Association would take a dim view of such a blatant violation of the National Agreement (Leonard's Club does operate in what is, according to the Nat'l Agreement, strictly the territory of the St. Louis Browns). Regardless of the outcome of this winter's business, the first and apparently only season of the Union Association finished with an interesting flourish. Though the champion Maroons may as well have been annointed on Opening Day, the rest of the league stumbled and bumbled throughout the season. In September the Wilmington Club, already relocated from Philadelphia, moved again, this time to far-off Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The Chicago Union club also was forced to move due to financial difficulties, landing in St. Paul as the Saints. The only interesting thing to come out of these two northern outposts was the emergence with St. Paul of Solomon Cuffey, the player who was run out of Richmond by bigotry due to his race. Cuffey appeared in all nine games played by St. Paul and had 9 hits in 37 at-bats (.246).

SOLOMON CUFFEY

Union Association Standings
Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
St. Louis Maroons	89	23	.795	-	92-20	-3	43-11	46-12	3-1	7-7	Clinched	W5	9-1
Cincinnati Outlaw Reds	75	27	.735	9.0	76-26	-1	35-16	40-11	0-3	6-6		W2	8-2
Boston Reds		76	33	.697	11.5	74-35	2	42-14	34-19	1-2	13-6		L4	3-7
Baltimore Unions	64	41	.610	21.5	68-37	-4	31-18	33-23	2-1	9-10		L2	8-2
St. Paul Saints		4	5	.444	33.5	3-6	1	0-0	4-5	0-0	1-1		L1	4-5
Altoona Mountain Citys*	11	14	.440	34.5	8-17	3	9-9	2-5	2-0	3-0		L2	6-4
Milwaukee Grays		4	8	.333	35.0	5-7	-1	4-8	0-0	0-1	2-2		L5	3-7
Wilmington Quicksteps%	1	16	.059	40.5	2-15	-1	0-7	1-9	0-0	0-2		L12	0-10
Philadelphia Keystones#	19	48	.284	47.5	20-47	-1	7-28	12-20	0-1	4-4		L4	1-9
Kansas City Unions	24	57	.296	49.5	28-53	-4	9-26	15-31	1-2	5-15		W1	3-7
Chicago Browns&		24	68	.261	55.0	25-67	-1	9-32	15-36	1-0	6-5		L5	2-8
Washington Nationals	30	81	.270	58.5	29-82	1	19-44	11-37	4-3	13-11		L1	2-8

* - moved to Kansas City
# - moved to Wilmington
& - moved to St. Paul
% - moved to Milwaukee

CREASON IMPRESSES IN NORTHWESTERN LEAGUE
Like Elmer Farr in the Interstate a season ago, a so-called 'minor' league star has the 'major' league clubs noticing his play. Muskegon's Bob Creason, a fleet-footed center fielder, was the most outstanding player in the Northwestern League with a .351 average and has drawn the interest of several League and Association clubs, in particular Detroit of the Nat'l, which would allow Creason to remain in his native Michigan. Though his club lost out on the Northwestern's championship - that went to the very impressive Fort Wayne Hoosier club - Creason may have benefitted more than anyone in his league this past summer.

BOB CREASON

Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
Fort Wayne Hoosiers	48	17	.738	-	48-17	0	25-7	23-10	1-0	14-5	L2	6-4
East Saginaw Grays	46	19	.708	2.0	47-18	-1	25-8	21-11	4-4	14-10	W5	9-1
Peoria Reds		41	24	.631	7.0	43-22	-2	25-8	16-16	4-4	14-11	W1	7-3
Terre Haute Club	41	24	.631	7.0	39-26	2	24-8	17-16	5-3	15-11	W1	6-4
Quincy Quincys		35	29	.547	12.5	34-30	1	19-13	16-16	3-1	12-11	L1	5-5
Bay City Selects	34	30	.531	13.5	34-30	0	21-11	13-19	5-4	11-11	L1	5-5
St. Paul Apostles	33	32	.508	15.0	31-34	2	14-18	19-14	3-2	14-10	W1	6-4
Grand Rapids Club	32	33	.492	16.0	33-32	-1	19-13	13-20	3-2	10-11	L1	4-6
Milwaukee Brewers	27	37	.422	20.5	31-33	-4	14-19	13-18	3-1	9-12	L1	4-6
Stillwater Club		24	40	.375	23.5	23-41	1	8-24	16-16	1-2	7-6	W2	6-4
Winona Clippers		23	42	.354	25.0	31-34	-8	12-20	11-22	2-8	4-19	L2	2-8
Evansville Club		21	43	.328	26.5	21-43	0	11-22	10-21	4-5	9-11	W2	4-6
Muskegon Club		15	50	.231	33.0	19-46	-4	12-20	3-30	2-4	9-14	L1	1-9

'PLUM' OF SEASON FOR WILMINGTON IN EASTERN LOOP
Though they ended up losing their home grounds to a (short-lived) invasion from the Union Association, the Wilmington Quicksteps were the class of the Eastern League this season. Led by short stop Bill Plum (.282 average) and right fielder Troy Juniper (.251), the Wilmington club (which even saw it's nickname copped by the Union invaders), won 46 games to finish two ahead of the runners-up from Newark.

BILL PLUM

Team			W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
Wilmington Quicksteps	46	19	.708	-	50-15	-4	21-10	25-9	4-4	14-10	W2	7-3
Newark Domestics	44	20	.688	1.5	46-18	-2	23-10	21-10	4-1	13-6	L1	8-2
Baltimore Monumentals	41	23	.641	4.5	44-20	-3	21-10	20-13	4-1	12-10	W3	5-5
Harrisburg Olympics	38	26	.594	7.5	44-20	-6	22-10	16-16	7-2	14-12	L1	4-6
Brooklyn Atlantics	30	33	.476	15.0	23-40	7	14-18	16-15	2-6	16-8	L1	7-3
Allentown Dukes		30	34	.469	15.5	30-34	0	15-17	15-17	3-2	10-13	L2	4-6
Richmond Virginias	29	34	.460	16.0	35-28	-6	15-17	14-17	3-2	6-11	L1	3-7
Trenton Trentonians	29	34	.460	16.0	30-33	-1	19-13	10-21	2-5	13-15	W1	5-5
York White Roses	24	40	.375	21.5	26-38	-2	16-16	8-24	1-4	5-9	W1	5-5
Lancaster Ironsiders	21	43	.328	24.5	18-46	3	12-20	9-23	3-4	7-12	L1	5-5
Reading Actives		19	45	.297	26.5	16-48	3	10-22	9-23	0-2	6-10	L2	1-9

OCCIDENTAL CLUB WINS CAL. LEAGUE
The Occidental Club of San Francisco won the 1884 California League championship with 12 victories in 16 games. Pitcher Roy Stokes had a 0.80 earned run for Occidental. The 31-year-old Stokes, a native of Chicago, has bounced around the world of base ball for many years, but seems to have found a home in California.

ROY STOKES

Team					W	L	PCT	GB	Pyt.Rec	Diff	Home	Away	XInn	1Run	Streak	Last10
Occidental Club of San Francisco	12	4	.750	-	12-4	0	6-2	6-2	2-0	5-2	W3	9-1
San Francisco Club			9	7	.563	3.0	10-6	-1	5-3	4-4	1-1	3-4	W1	5-5
Star Club of San Francisco		6	10	.375	6.0	8-8	-2	3-5	3-5	0-1	1-3	L1	4-6
Haverly Club of San Francisco		5	11	.313	7.0	4-12	1	3-5	2-6	0-1	2-2	L4	2-8

[legendsport]

CLIFFORD 'SCOT' CAMPBELL

Another solid performance from Campbell, who has become one of the game's elder statesman in his 14th season in the game. Oh yeah, he's also close to becoming the all-time hits leader.

Career Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1871 Chicago - NA	21	27	110	34	7	0	1	13	20	8	2	1	17	10	2	.309	.364	.400	.764	10.4
1872 Middletown - NA	22	17	73	14	0	1	0	4	6	3	0	0	0	6	4	.192	.224	.219	.443	-4.5
1873 Philadelphia - NA	23	52	202	60	6	0	2	23	37	31	0	1	8	24	10	.297	.389	.356	.745	14.9
1874 Philadelphia - NA	24	55	239	93	17	8	0	35	36	13	0	5	14	32	16	.389	.412	.527	.940	34.6
1875 Philadelphia - NA	25	70	287	107	16	9	6	52	68	23	3	5	9	44	20	.373	.418	.554	.972	44.2
1876 Chicago - MLB	26	66	310	126	17	14	6	67	87	16	3	7	6	44	11	.406	.432	.610	1.041	52.6
1877 Chicago - MLB	27	60	270	99	17	6	3	42	58	2	0	5	1	35	23	.367	.365	.507	.872	22.4
1878 Chicago - MLB	28	61	270	86	9	2	2	34	45	2	0	5	1	38	21	.319	.318	.389	.707	11.8
1879 Chicago - MLB	29	83	366	128	16	6	1	53	60	4	2	8	1	46	27	.350	.353	.434	.787	20.5
1880 Chicago - MLB	30	84	434	148	13	5	0	91	141	0	3	8	1	90	26	.341	.339	.394	.733	32.5
1881 Chicago - MLB	31	84	380	126	18	9	0	42	79	1	2	7	1	55	24	.332	.331	.426	.757	21.8
1882 Chicago - MLB	32	84	382	136	11	17	0	56	96	10	0	7	0	63	26	.356	.366	.474	.840	39.8
1883 Chicago - MLB	33	99	432	136	27	6	2	73	107	36	4	9	4	59	27	.315	.366	.419	.785	34.6
1884 Chicago - MLB	34	111	467	149	23	5	0	84	111	56	3	4	7	80	36	.319	.392	.390	.782	34.3
Total NA		5 yrs.	221	911	308	46	18	9	127	167	78	5	12	48	116	52	.338	.389	.458	.846	99.6
Total MLB		9 yrs.	732	3311	1134	151	70	14	542	784	127	17	60	22	510	221	.342	.364	.443	.807	270.3

Career Fielding Stats
Year/Team/League	POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%
1871 Chicago - ML	SS	25	25	46	73	22	132	13	.902	222.0	4.82				
1871 Chicago - ML	3B	1	1	0	2	0	2	0	1.000	9.0	2.00				
1872 Middletown - ML	3B	11	11	10	27	1	42	5	.881	86.0	3.87				
1872 Middletown - ML	SS	6	6	12	27	6	44	5	.886	54.0	6.50				
1873 Philadelphia - ML	3B	52	52	51	121	10	190	18	.905	467.0	3.31				
1873 Philadelphia - ML	SS	1	0	2	1	0	3	0	1.000	7.0	3.86				
1874 Philadelphia - ML	3B	55	55	59	132	7	219	28	.872	489.2	3.51				
1875 Philadelphia - ML	3B	67	67	55	175	11	270	40	.852	591.2	3.50				
1875 Philadelphia - ML	SS	3	3	3	5	1	8	0	1.000	27.0	2.67				
1876 Chicago - ML	3B	49	49	28	170	9	249	51	.795	436.0	4.09				
1876 Chicago - ML	SS	17	17	31	66	10	108	11	.898	144.0	6.06				
1877 Chicago - ML	3B	60	60	48	204	10	306	54	.824	531.1	4.27				
1878 Chicago - ML	3B	61	61	49	225	9	330	56	.830	544.1	4.53		
1879 Chicago - ML	3B	83	83	59	296	27	420	65	.845	729.2	4.38	
1880 Chicago - ML	3B	84	84	80	144	7	377	153	.594	724.1	2.78				
1880 Chicago - ML	SS	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	3.0	0.00
1881 Chicago - ML	3B	84	84	70	165	7	301	66	.781	747.2	2.83				
1881 Chicago - ML	SS	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	1.0	0.00
1882 Chicago - ML	3B	84	84	80	188	10	336	68	.798	757.0	3.19								
1883 Chicago - ML	3B	99	99	103	198	12	381	80	.790	876.1	3.09
1884 Chicago - ML	3B	111	111	124	207	10	411	80	.805	978.2	3.04

WALKER 'BOOK' RHOADES (RETIRED) - you can view his final career stats here (http://ootpdevelopments.com/board/sh...&postcount=104)

CAVETANO BLANCO (RETIRED) - you can view his final career stats here (http://ootpdevelopments.com/board/sh...&postcount=111)

ARTURO VILLANUEVA (RETIRED) - - you can view his final career stats here (http://ootpdevelopments.com/board/sh...&postcount=111)

MIKE 'HITMAN' FELDBUSH

Feldbush has developed a very fine batting eye that keeps him at the top of the most potent lineup in base ball, the Boston Red Stockings' - even though his average was a rather pedestrian .257, he piled up 127 walks and scored 109 runs.

Career Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1873 Baltimore - NA	19	64	156	38	4	2	2	22	16	6	2	2	8	2	4	.244	.277	.333	.610	-0.5
1878 Boston - MLB	24	60	265	79	6	2	4	32	58	23	4	2	0	10	6	.298	.361	.381	.742	8.3
1879 Boston - MLB	25	84	373	94	10	4	1	22	66	24	6	3	3	5	6	.252	.305	.308	.614	4.2
1880 Boston - MLB	26	85	442	116	3	5	1	54	140	21	1	8	3	10	3	.262	.292	.299	.591	10.9
1881 Boston - MLB	27	84	348	96	15	3	1	36	73	36	3	9	2	6	3	.276	.341	.345	.686	15.4
1882 Boston - MLB	28	85	391	98	8	5	0	31	79	31	7	3	4	6	7	.251	.315	.297	.611	8.2
1883 Boston - MLB	29	99	391	97	12	2	1	32	125	97	14	1	9	14	6	.248	.414	.297	.710	21.6
1884 Boston - MLB	30	111	369	95	16	3	4	66	109	127	6	6	11	13	10	.257	.449	.350	.798	25.3
Total NA		1 yr.	64	156	38	4	2	2	22	16	6	2	2	8	2	4	.244	.277	.333	.610	-0.6
Total MLB		7 yrs.	608	2579	675	70	24	12	273	650	359	41	32	32	64	41	.262	.357	.321	.678	93.9

Career Minor League Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1876 Kingston - AAA	22	10	30	10	3	0	0	8	9	10	0	1	0	0	0	.333	.488	.433	.921	3.7
Total 		CA		10	30	10	3	0	0	8	9	10	0	1	0	0	0	.333	.488	.433	.921	3.7

Career Fielding Stats
Year/Team/League	POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%
1873 Baltimore - ML	2B	17	14	52	52	10	109	5	.954	124.0	7.55				
1873 Baltimore - ML	3B	8	6	5	20	2	31	6	.806	51.2	4.35				
1873 Baltimore - ML	P	1	0	0	1	0	2	1	.500	3.1	2.70				
1873 Baltimore - ML	2B	17	14	52	52	10	109	5	.954	124.0	7.55				
1873 Baltimore - ML	3B	8	6	5	20	2	31	6	.806	51.2	4.35				
1873 Baltimore - ML	P	1	0	0	1	0	2	1	.500	3.1	2.70				
1876 Kingston - AAA	2B	9	8	31	20	3	53	2	.962	76.0	6.04
1878 Boston - ML	SS	60	60	130	201	41	373	42	.887	526.2	5.66
1879 Boston - ML	SS	84	84	155	288	35	512	69	.865	731.0	5.45	
1880 Boston - ML	SS	85	85	173	228	55	619	218	.648	739.1	4.88		
1881 Boston - ML	SS	84	84	180	298	45	568	90	.842	742.1	5.80				
1882 Boston - ML	SS	85	85	148	260	35	521	113	.783	759.1	4.84	
1883 Boston - ML	2B	99	99	273	291	58	626	62	.901	882.0	5.76				
1883 Boston - ML	3B	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	2.0	0.00	
1884 Boston - ML	2B	111	111	266	287	63	619	66	.893	920.0	5.41

JOHN MAHONEY

Mahoney had an off-season at the plate, recording a .234 average as his downward spiral continues. He made up for it with a lot of walks and made a smooth transition to first base from his customary third base spot. And his team won, again which keeps everyone smiling.

Career Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1873 Baltimore - NA	18	37	125	41	4	1	0	11	17	6	3	0	16	0	0	.328	.373	.376	.749	8.8
1874 Baltimore - NA	19	47	199	64	8	2	1	40	30	13	2	1	14	0	0	.322	.367	.397	.764	10.5
1875 Boston - NA	20	82	317	78	16	4	1	55	54	50	2	8	18	2	8	.246	.345	.331	.676	-5.8
1876 Boston - MLB	21	70	280	96	32	5	2	69	49	34	3	7	14	1	0	.343	.410	.514	.925	28.1
1877 Boston - MLB	22	61	249	82	21	4	2	41	27	14	2	4	2	3	1	.329	.364	.470	.834	19.6
1878 Boston - MLB	23	60	263	91	17	2	2	54	51	13	2	2	1	2	2	.346	.379	.449	.827	22.7
1879 Boston - MLB	24	84	341	114	19	3	3	58	60	29	4	7	4	3	4	.334	.386	.434	.820	25.1
1880 Boston - MLB	25	85	451	109	14	6	1	91	109	1	3	14	10	1	0	.242	.241	.306	.547	-2.3
1881 Boston - MLB	26	84	366	109	19	4	0	65	55	9	1	8	6	3	0	.298	.310	.372	.681	10.3
1882 Boston - MLB	27	85	383	107	15	5	5	74	69	20	2	2	7	3	2	.279	.317	.384	.701	20.0
1883 Boston - MLB	28	99	404	97	36	1	3	80	71	64	2	10	25	4	2	.240	.340	.356	.696	19.2
1884 Boston - MLB	29	111	364	85	23	1	1	44	140	164	4	5	25	2	2	.234	.471	.310	.782	27.7
Total NA		4 yrs.	84	324	105	12	3	1	51	47	19	5	1	30	0	0	.324	.370	.389	.759	19.3
Total MLB		8 yrs.	821	3418	968	212	35	20	631	685	398	25	67	112	24	21	.283	.356	.383	.739	164.6

Career Fielding Stats
Year/Team/League	POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%
1873 Baltimore - ML	3B	27	27	13	83	5	109	13	.881	222.0	3.89				
1873 Baltimore - ML	SS	4	2	9	7	3	18	2	.889	28.0	5.14				
1873 Baltimore - ML	1B	6	4	50	3	6	56	3	.946	36.0	13.25				
1873 Baltimore - ML	P	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	4.2	0.00				
1874 Baltimore - ML	3B	47	47	37	142	8	201	22	.891	419.1	3.84				
1875 Boston - ML	3B	82	82	60	233	9	340	47	.862	730.0	3.61				
1876 Boston - ML	3B	70	70	60	212	11	318	46	.855	610.1	4.01				
1877 Boston - ML	3B	61	61	54	158	5	262	50	.809	534.0	3.57				
1878 Boston - ML	3B	60	60	43	152	9	230	35	.848	535.2	3.28				
1878 Boston - ML	SS	2	0	2	2	1	4	0	1.000	6.0	6.00		
1879 Boston - ML	3B	84	84	93	229	11	366	44	.880	746.2	3.88	
1880 Boston - ML	3B	85	85	79	169	10	406	158	.611	746.1	2.99
1881 Boston - ML	3B	84	84	83	243	6	381	55	.856	738.1	3.97				
1882 Boston - ML	3B	85	85	92	233	12	403	78	.806	756.1	3.87
1883 Boston - ML	3B	99	99	110	240	16	423	73	.827	888.0	3.55		
1884 Boston - ML	1B	111	111	1051	69	65	1172	52	.956	917.1	10.99				
1884 Boston - ML	3B	33	0	11	17	0	33	5	.848	72.1	3.48				
1884 Boston - ML	SS	5	0	1	1	0	9	7	.222	8.0	2.25

JIM MCGREGOR

McGregor, like virtually everyone else, saw his average slide dramatically in 1884 even as he drew more walks than ever before due to changes in the rules. Nevertheless, he tallied 123 runs and hit nine home runs, so he had himself a fine overall year - and moved to a new position (first base).

Career Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1874 Chicago - NA	17	10	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	-0.7
1875 Chicago - NA	18	26	20	5	2	0	0	7	4	2	0	2	4	0	0	.250	.292	.350	.642	-0.0
1877 Chicago - MLB	20	60	232	70	12	0	2	32	27	7	0	2	1	2	2	.302	.320	.379	.699	7.6
1878 Chicago - MLB	21	61	244	71	4	1	9	50	41	11	1	8	2	5	3	.291	.314	.426	.741	9.4
1879 Chicago - MLB	22	83	333	105	16	0	3	54	42	18	0	8	4	5	7	.315	.343	.390	.733	15.9
1880 Chicago - MLB	23	84	387	109	13	1	4	78	105	19	0	12	1	7	3	.282	.306	.351	.658	14.2
1881 Chicago - MLB	24	84	334	123	8	0	7	59	66	14	1	8	2	6	1	.368	.387	.455	.842	34.9
1882 Chicago - MLB	25	84	318	80	3	1	3	48	60	28	0	14	0	5	5	.252	.300	.296	.596	7.4
1883 Chicago - MLB	26	99	380	92	13	2	9	67	59	39	6	8	8	2	3	.242	.316	.358	.674	12.1
1884 Chicago - MLB	27	111	437	103	18	0	9	49	123	86	2	5	8	3	1	.236	.360	.339	.699	14.2
Total MLB		10 yrs.	702	2687	758	89	5	46	445	527	224	10	68	30	35	25	.282	.332	.370	.702	115.0

Career Fielding Stats
Year/Team/League	POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%
1874 Chicago - ML	3B	4	0	1	2	0	3	0	1.000	4.0	6.75				
1874 Chicago - ML	1B	4	0	1	1	1	2	0	1.000	6.0	3.00				
1874 Chicago - ML	CF	1	0	0	0	0	2	2	.000	1.2	0.00				
1874 Chicago - ML	2B	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	1.000	1.1	6.75				
1875 Chicago - ML	2B	11	1	3	4	0	7	0	1.000	23.1	2.70				
1875 Chicago - ML	SS	3	0	2	1	0	3	0	1.000	6.2	4.05				
1875 Chicago - ML	3B	4	0	1	2	0	3	0	1.000	4.2	5.79				
1875 Chicago - ML	1B	2	2	11	1	0	12	0	1.000	15.0	7.20				
1877 Chicago - ML	SS	50	49	85	196	27	312	31	.901	428.1	5.90				
1877 Chicago - ML	2B	10	10	38	33	4	74	3	.959	89.0	7.18				
1878 Chicago - ML	2B	61	61	205	259	46	493	29	.941	545.1	7.66
1879 Chicago - ML	2B	83	83	259	357	71	655	39	.940	727.2	7.62
1880 Chicago - ML	2B	84	84	227	207	47	504	70	.861	738.1	5.29				
1880 Chicago - ML	SS	1	0	0	1	0	3	2	.333	2.0	4.50				
1880 Chicago - ML	1B	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	3.0	0.00
1881 Chicago - ML	2B	84	84	232	229	49	488	27	.945	756.2	5.48				
1882 Chicago - ML	2B	84	84	216	241	51	493	36	.927	751.0	5.48
1883 Chicago - ML	2B	99	99	302	243	48	571	26	.954	880.1	5.57			
1884 Chicago - ML	1B	111	111	729	55	58	819	35	.957	976.0	7.23				
1884 Chicago - ML	3B	2	0	0	3	0	3	0	1.000	5.0	5.40

FRED MORTON

"Mutton" lets his bat do the talking, and his lumber was in fine voice in '84 as he posted a .313 average, drove in 92 runs and scored 104 of them. He also moved to LF and stole 72 bases for a team that set a wins record and won the first-ever World's Series. Me thinks Fred deserves a nice restful winter.

Career Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1875 St. Louis - NA	19	19	76	23	4	2	0	3	10	7	0	0	11	9	3	.303	.361	.408	.769	5.4
1876 St. Louis - MLB	20	64	290	114	20	18	3	64	78	17	1	6	13	31	11	.393	.420	.617	1.038	48.6
1877 St. Louis - MLB	21	60	261	84	13	7	2	24	45	11	0	0	4	18	21	.322	.349	.448	.798	11.6
1878 Boston - MLB	22	60	281	97	16	9	6	47	62	6	0	0	2	30	26	.345	.359	.530	.889	19.8
1879 Boston - MLB	23	84	382	120	20	12	0	42	76	6	0	2	8	53	26	.314	.323	.429	.752	24.4
1880 Boston - MLB	24	85	460	146	15	14	1	91	131	10	0	5	15	65	22	.317	.328	.417	.746	30.4
1881 Boston - MLB	25	84	361	103	21	12	1	49	75	9	1	5	12	33	19	.285	.301	.418	.719	17.0
1882 Boston - MLB	26	85	381	129	18	27	3	80	101	11	2	5	12	39	15	.339	.356	.551	.907	43.2
1883 Boston - MLB	27	99	421	119	29	11	0	76	82	43	2	5	25	44	35	.283	.348	.404	.752	10.8
1884 Boston - MLB	28	111	448	140	31	8	3	92	104	53	1	6	27	72	44	.313	.382	.438	.819	31.6
Total MLB		10 yrs.	751	3361	1075	187	120	19	568	764	173	7	34	129	394	222	.320	.351	.464	.815	242.8

Career Fielding Stats
Year/Team/League	POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%
1875 St. Louis - ML	LF	19	19	49	2	0	55	4	.927	169.0	2.72				
1876 St. Louis - ML	CF	64	64	211	5	1	222	6	.973	566.1	3.43				
1877 St. Louis - ML	CF	60	60	249	7	1	267	11	.959	531.1	4.34				
1878 Boston - ML	CF	60	60	173	2	1	181	6	.967	539.2	2.92
1879 Boston - ML	CF	84	84	260	4	1	272	8	.971	747.2	3.18
1880 Boston - ML	CF	85	85	300	4	1	327	23	.930	758.1	3.61	
1881 Boston - ML	CF	84	84	256	4	3	270	10	.963	746.1	3.14				
1882 Boston - ML	CF	85	85	304	8	1	320	8	.975	756.1	3.71				
1883 Boston - ML	CF	99	99	316	9	5	336	11	.967	888.0	3.29
1884 Boston - ML	LF	111	111	260	9	3	291	22	.924	1001.0	2.42

MAHON O'FAOLAN

Mickey O'Faolan settled in nicely in his second season in Philadelphia. He posted a nifty .287 average in a year when batting averages dropped all over the place. His power still hasn't developed and he doesn't drive in or score many runs - though that may be the result of a weak supporting cast with the Athletics.

Career Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1879 Troy - MLB		20	60	168	59	2	0	0	17	27	2	0	1	1	6	4	.351	.357	.363	.720	11.6
1880 Troy - MLB		21	42	174	41	0	1	0	13	45	0	0	2	14	3	2	.236	.233	.247	.480	5.6
1881 Troy - MLB		22	85	281	82	4	1	0	24	34	3	0	1	5	5	4	.292	.298	.313	.611	15.6
1882 Troy - MLB		23	84	305	91	2	1	1	38	39	6	0	6	3	1	6	.297	.303	.327	.630	17.7
1883 Philadelphia - MLB	24	98	409	120	7	0	5	51	57	35	1	6	20	6	10	.293	.346	.347	.693	12.3
1884 Philadelphia - MLB	25	107	432	124	8	1	8	71	77	65	1	7	18	9	7	.287	.376	.366	.742	22.2
Total MLB		6 yrs.	535	1919	561	26	6	14	230	299	113	2	26	63	31	36	.292	.328	.334	.662	85.0
 
Career Minor League Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1876 London - AAA	17	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.500	.000	.500	0.1
1877 London - AAA	18	20	78	16	2	0	0	14	13	11	0	3	4	2	0	.205	.293	.231	.524	0.6
1878 London - AAA	19	46	200	60	2	1	2	30	35	5	0	6	7	6	4	.300	.308	.350	.658	5.1
Total IA			2	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.500	.000	.500	0.1
Total IA			66	278	76	4	1	2	44	48	16	0	9	11	8	4	.273	.304	.317	.620	5.6

Career Pitching Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	HA	R	ER	HR	BB	K	CG	SHO	WHIP	BABIP	VORP
1880 Troy - MLB		21	42	41	10	32	0	3.17	360.2	575	657	127	4	9	41	40	0	1.62	.290	6.1
1881 Troy - MLB		22	42	42	14	22	0	2.85	284.2	351	221	90	0	9	21	6	0	1.26	.287	15.7
1882 Troy - MLB		23	43	43	16	26	0	2.41	354.2	432	297	95	2	26	40	31	1	1.29	.282	26.6
Total MLB	3 yrs.		127	126	40	80	0	2.81	1000.0	1358	1175	312	6	44	102	77	1	1.40	.287	48.4

Career Minor League Pitching Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	HA	R	ER	HR	BB	K	CG	SHO	WHIP	BABIP	VORP
1876 London - AAA	17	2	0	0	1	0	4.91	3.2	8	10	2	0	1	1	0	0	2.45	.364	0.0
Total NA			2	0	0	1	0	4.91	3.2	8	10	2	0	1	1	0	0	2.45	.364	0.0

Career Fielding Stats
Year/Team/League	POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%
1876 London - AAA	P	2	0	0	2	0	3	1	.667	3.2	4.91				
1877 London - AAA	C	20	20	70	12	2	86	4	.953	180.0	4.10	2	18	7	38.9
1878 London - AAA	C	46	46	156	39	1	220	25	.886	409.1	4.29	3	63	28	44.4
1879 Troy - ML		C	35	35	31	41	2	85	13	.847	313.0	2.07	0	75	32	42.7
1879 Troy - ML		3B	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	3.0	0.00
1880 Troy - ML		P	42	41	21	76	1	190	93	.511	360.2	2.42	
1881 Troy - ML		P	42	42	11	43	0	66	12	.818	133.0	3.65				
1881 Troy - ML		C	43	43	52	108	5	219	59	.731	535.0	2.69	3	145	50	34.5
1882 Troy - ML		C	41	41	150	242	8	516	124	.760	1087.2	3.24	1	266	109	41.0
1882 Troy - ML		P	43	43	0	0	0	0	0	.000	0.0	0.00				
1883 Philadelphia - ML	C	98	98	286	108	8	467	73	.844	863.1	4.11	5	201	80	39.8
1884 Philadelphia - ML	C	107	107	381	114	9	572	77	.865	944.1	4.72	6	237	81	34.2

FRANK MCGRATH

Chicago's answer to Fred Morton had himself another strong season in 1884. Fancy Frank hit .292 and scored 90 runs with 43 steals. His speed has yet to translate into extra-base hits, but it does serve him well in the outfield, where he has deceloped into a fine player - and was named the National League's best centerfielder by The Sporting Life.

Career Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1879 Syracuse - MLB	22	71	292	88	11	6	0	47	51	9	5	5	5	19	16	.301	.328	.380	.708	12.2
1880 Chicago - MLB	23	84	425	141	14	8	2	96	134	0	6	14	4	49	16	.332	.330	.416	.747	29.6
1881 Chicago - MLB	24	84	368	86	14	2	0	45	61	2	4	5	3	33	23	.234	.243	.283	.525	-6.4
1882 Chicago - MLB	25	84	369	110	8	13	2	62	88	4	5	4	1	23	21	.298	.312	.407	.718	12.5
1883 Chicago - MLB	26	99	405	139	13	5	1	78	91	34	15	10	4	25	32	.343	.405	.407	.813	18.7
1884 Chicago - MLB	27	111	408	119	11	4	4	65	90	53	9	7	4	43	28	.292	.379	.368	.747	12.2
Total MLB	6 yrs.	667	2887	892	96	47	13	502	633	129	50	51	57	229	152	.309	.344	.388	.732	126.6

Career Minor League Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1876 Syracuse - AAA	19	38	182	57	6	3	2	40	32	8	1	2	15	11	4	.313	.342	.412	.754	10.4
1877 Syracuse - AAA	20	50	234	81	10	4	1	34	52	12	2	2	15	15	2	.346	.380	.436	.816	25.0
1878 Syracuse - AAA	21	46	204	71	9	2	1	35	34	7	3	2	6	11	10	.348	.375	.426	.801	12.4
Total NYSA			38	182	57	6	3	2	40	32	8	1	2	15	11	4	.313	.342	.412	.754	10.4
Total IA			96	438	152	19	6	2	69	86	19	5	4	21	26	12	.347	.378	.432	.809	37.4

Career Fielding Stats
Year/Team/League	POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%
1877 Syracuse - AAA	CF	50	50	137	3	0	148	8	.946	445.1	2.83				
1878 Syracuse - AAA	CF	46	46	175	3	2	189	11	.942	413.0	3.88
1879 Syracuse - ML	CF	71	71	266	5	2	282	11	.961	639.2	3.81		
1880 Chicago - ML	CF	84	84	368	2	1	407	37	.909	750.1	4.44	
1881 Chicago - ML	CF	84	84	341	9	2	363	13	.964	756.2	4.16				
1882 Chicago - ML	CF	84	84	331	4	2	353	18	.949	760.0	3.97
1883 Chicago - ML	CF	99	99	326	6	3	347	15	.957	880.1	3.39	
1884 Chicago - ML	CF	111	111	432	9	3	463	22	.952	992.2	4.00

SOLOMON CUFFEY

Cuffey had one heckuva year in 1884. He played well in his first year back in the top level of baseball as a mermber of the Washington Association club. But that club folded and the players - including Cuffey - were shifted to Richmond, Virginia, which wasn't happy to have Cuffey in the outfield. Cuffey played 28 games with Richmond before a "mutual decision" saw him leave. He finished up with a short, nine-game stint with St. Paul in the Union Association. His future is once again uncertain.

Career Minor League Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1876 Auburn - AAA	19	39	163	41	2	1	5	26	30	18	0	0	9	0	2	.252	.326	.368	.694	6.1
1877 Auburn - AAA	20	50	200	55	6	0	1	23	26	22	1	1	12	0	1	.275	.348	.320	.668	8.0
1878 Utica - AAA	21	47	186	62	6	1	5	32	32	19	1	3	6	0	1	.333	.392	.457	.849	16.5
1879 Utica - AAA	22	24	94	24	5	0	1	10	14	8	1	1	0	0	0	.255	.317	.340	.658	4.4
1884 St. Paul - UA	27	9	37	9	1	0	0	3	7	8	0	1	3	1	2	.243	.370	.270	.640	-0.0
1884 Washington - MLB	27	63	231	68	5	0	0	29	48	74	0	3	23	4	6	.294	.461	.316	.777	16.7
1884 Richmond - MLB	27	28	99	18	2	0	0	15	23	30	0	2	8	0	0	.182	.366	.202	.568	-0.4
1884 Total - MLB	27	100	367	95	8	0	0	47	78	112	0	6	34	5	8	.259	.427	.281	.707	16.3
Total MLB		1 yrs.	91	330	86	7	0	0	44	71	104	0	5	31	4	6	.261	.433	.282	.715	16.3
Total UA		1 yrs.	9	37	9	1	0	0	3	7	8	0	1	3	1	2	.243	.370	.270	.640	-0.0
Total NA			121	480	141	17	1	7	65	72	49	3	5	18	0	2	.294	.359	.377	.736	28.8
Total NYSA			39	163	41	2	1	5	26	30	18	0	0	9	0	2	.252	.326	.368	.694	6.1

Career Fielding Stats
Year/Team/League	POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%
1876 Auburn - AAA	C	39	39	96	14	1	117	7	.940	341.0	2.90	2	16	6	37.5
1877 Auburn - AAA	C	50	50	201	25	3	239	13	.946	443.2	4.58	6	22	9	40.9
1878 Utica - AAA	C	47	47	166	35	5	214	13	.939	412.0	4.39	4	21	10	47.6
1879 Utica - AAA	C	24	24	95	11	3	111	5	.955	216.0	4.42	1	11	2	18.2
1884 Washington - ML	RF	63	63	147	3	0	179	29	.838	546.1	2.47				
1884 Washington - ML	C	3	0	3	2	0	5	0	1.000	5.0	9.00	0	1	1	100.0
1884 Richmond - ML	RF	28	28	57	0	0	63	6	.905	236.0	2.17				
1884 Richmond - ML	C	4	0	2	0	0	3	1	.667	4.1	4.15	0	1	0	0.0
1884 St. Paul - ML	CF	9	9	12	1	0	15	2	.867	75.1	1.55

MARK MADSEN

Madsen was out of the sport in 1884 as he suffered a dead arm and was released by Cleveland. His now rested and recovered arm should see him back with a club in 1885.

Career Pitching Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	HA	R	ER	HR	BB	K	CG	SHO	WHIP	BABIP	VORP
1880 Cleveland - MLB	23	46	44	15	28	0	2.65	380.1	511	572	112	3	28	61	41	0	1.42	.259	28.8
1881 Cleveland - MLB	24	43	43	24	19	0	2.23	387.0	430	239	96	7	33	39	43	1	1.20	.267	47.7
1882 Cleveland - MLB	25	42	42	15	27	0	2.46	381.0	397	290	104	2	60	52	42	1	1.20	.248	26.9
1883 Cleveland - MLB	26	54	53	26	27	0	2.94	467.2	509	340	153	6	135	78	52	1	1.38	.271	41.7
Total MLB	4 yrs.		185	182	80	101	0	2.59	1616.0	1847	1441	465	18	256	230	178	3	1.30	.262	145.1

Career Minor League Pitching Stats
Year/Team/League		Age	G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	HA	R	ER	HR	BB	K	CG	SHO	WHIP	BABIP	VORP
1877 Brooklyn - AAA		20	55	55	30	25	0	2.36	483.2	409	233	127	7	85	288	52	3	1.02	.247	94.6
1878 Hornellsville - AAA	21	34	34	20	14	0	2.32	307.0	304	178	79	1	19	175	34	4	1.05	.275	58.9
1879 Rochester - AAA		22	55	55	36	19	0	1.55	493.1	411	215	85	0	37	182	55	5	0.91	.236	93.6
Total NA				144	144	86	58	0	2.04	1284.0	1124	626	291	8	141	645	141	12	0.99	.250	247.1

Career Fielding Stats
Year/Team/League		POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%
1877 Brooklyn - AAA		P	55	55	25	95	4	146	26	.822	483.2	2.23	
1878 Hornellsville - AAA	P	34	34	19	71	2	110	20	.818	307.0	2.64			
1879 Rochester - AAA		P	55	55	31	112	3	174	31	.822	493.1	2.61			
1880 Cleveland - ML		P	46	44	19	107	2	222	96	.568	380.1	2.98	
1881 Cleveland - ML		P	43	43	27	97	4	158	34	.785	387.0	2.88			
1882 Cleveland - ML		P	42	42	23	115	2	175	37	.789	381.0	3.26		
1883 Cleveland - ML		P	54	53	28	123	3	197	46	.766	467.2	2.91

TITUS KELLEY

Titus Kelley was perhaps the best player in the game in 1884, easily winning The Sporting Life's nod as National League Player of the Year. He hit .350 to lead the league, and had 129 runs, 83 RBIs and 47 doubles, with 57 stolen bases thrown in for good measure. Truly a magnificent season for Titus who moved to 2B for the White Stockings and was superb defensively as well.

Career Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1880 Chicago - MLB	23	84	408	110	21	10	0	64	130	2	5	14	6	63	10	.270	.273	.370	.643	25.3
1881 Chicago - MLB	24	84	351	95	12	4	1	52	68	8	3	10	6	39	25	.271	.285	.336	.621	3.7
1882 Chicago - MLB	25	84	364	106	15	12	0	56	79	16	1	4	3	37	29	.291	.319	.398	.718	13.6
1883 Chicago - MLB	26	99	419	137	35	8	4	96	102	39	9	9	5	47	31	.327	.389	.477	.866	31.8
1884 Chicago - MLB	27	111	483	169	47	8	5	83	129	61	11	2	13	57	43	.350	.433	.511	.944	50.6
Total MLB		5 yrs.	462	2025	617	130	42	10	351	508	126	29	39	33	243	138	.305	.348	.425	.773	125.0

Career Minor League Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1877 Manchester - AAA	20	67	275	62	11	10	1	32	45	24	2	4	23	15	6	.225	.289	.349	.638	6.4
1878 Manchester - AAA	21	46	186	48	9	2	1	29	27	13	1	4	13	13	6	.258	.304	.344	.648	6.0
1879 Manchester - AAA	22	37	153	42	8	3	0	12	37	11	2	2	10	17	4	.275	.327	.366	.693	10.7
Total NA			150	614	152	28	15	2	73	109	48	5	10	46	45	16	.248	.303	.352	.655	23.1

Career Fielding Stats
Year/Team/League	POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%
1877 Manchester - AAA	SS	67	67	106	177	35	351	68	.806	573.1	4.44				
1878 Manchester - AAA	SS	46	46	82	144	36	261	35	.866	404.0	5.03	
1879 Manchester - AAA	SS	37	37	64	116	25	225	45	.800	333.0	4.86		
1880 Chicago - ML	SS	84	84	128	199	38	474	147	.690	738.1	3.99	
1881 Chicago - ML	SS	84	84	138	269	46	473	66	.860	752.2	4.87	
1882 Chicago - ML	SS	84	84	163	247	49	479	69	.856	756.0	4.88	
1883 Chicago - ML	SS	99	99	159	270	50	497	68	.863	880.1	4.39	
1884 Chicago - ML	2B	111	111	289	231	56	568	48	.915	992.2	4.71

WILLIAM HILL

William Hill took his game to the Union Association and was the best player in the loop. He put up crazy numbers, with 208 runs and 271 walks, proving one of two things: either he's the greatest player to ever step onto a diamond or the competition in the UA was fairly sorry. Or maybe it's both.

Career Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1878 Buffalo - AAA	19	36	154	42	1	2	0	17	30	13	1	5	11	14	1	.273	.324	.305	.629	7.6
1879 Buffalo - MLB	20	78	326	95	5	0	1	24	64	14	2	4	3	18	9	.291	.321	.316	.637	8.4
1880 Buffalo - MLB	21	82	410	115	9	4	1	62	88	1	2	7	7	16	6	.280	.281	.329	.610	9.6
1881 Buffalo - MLB	22	83	370	107	11	3	0	51	60	10	3	10	3	15	10	.289	.305	.335	.640	6.5
1882 St. Louis - MLB	23	55	47	8	0	0	0	3	6	9	1	1	1	3	0	.170	.310	.170	.481	0.2
1883 St. Louis - MLB	24	98	342	107	11	5	1	52	110	132	2	4	5	15	14	.313	.502	.383	.885	34.2
1884 St. Louis - UA	25	112	345	108	16	3	2	80	208	271	8	4	3	37	18	.313	.616	.394	1.010	66.8
Total UA		1 yrs.	112	345	108	16	3	2	80	208	271	8	4	3	37	18	.313	.616	.394	1.010	66.8 
Total MLB		6 yrs.	432	1649	474	37	14	3	209	358	179	11	31	30	81	40	.287	.355	.332	.687	66.6

[/b]Career Fielding Stats
Year/Team/League	POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%[/b]
1878 Buffalo - AAA	SS	36	34	56	118	12	191	17	.911	314.2	4.98
1879 Buffalo - ML	SS	75	75	140	289	35	459	30	.935	664.0	5.81				
1879 Buffalo - ML	P	2	0	0	2	0	3	1	.667	9.1	1.93
1880 Buffalo - ML	SS	82	82	164	343	67	644	137	.787	699.0	6.53				
1880 Buffalo - ML	2B	1	0	1	0	0	2	1	.500	2.0	4.50
1881 Buffalo - ML	SS	83	83	158	354	57	568	56	.901	730.2	6.31				
1882 St. Louis - ML	2B	7	0	3	8	1	11	0	1.000	12.0	8.25				
1882 St. Louis - ML	P	1	0	0	2	0	5	3	.400	5.1	3.38
1883 St. Louis - ML	SS	98	98	197	357	90	616	62	.899	882.1	5.65	
1884 St. Louis - ML	SS	112	112	201	390	84	640	49	.923	1003.0	5.30

HARRIS WENDELL

What Titus Kelley was to the National in 1884, Harris Wendell was to the American Association. The league's top player and the winner of the Player of the Year award, he only missed out on one thing - a batting title (that went to Phinneas Harvey).

Career Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1882 Baltimore - MLB	24	74	315	81	16	3	0	32	53	14	1	2	15	1	2	.257	.289	.327	.616	8.9
1883 Baltimore - MLB	25	98	424	119	32	4	2	65	80	30	1	1	20	0	1	.281	.329	.389	.718	23.4
1884 Baltimore - MLB	26	106	443	165	46	3	3	104	125	87	1	5	19	2	5	.372	.472	.510	.982	63.7
Total MLB		3 yrs.	355	1503	458	113	14	5	232	304	138	4	10	90	7	8	.305	.363	.409	.771	112.2	32.3

Career Minor League Batting Stats
Year/Team/League		Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1879 National Club - AAA	21	21	89	29	6	1	0	7	13	0	0	0	11	2	0	.326	.326	.416	.742	7.3
1880 National Club - AAA	22	36	150	37	9	3	0	15	21	4	1	2	22	1	0	.247	.268	.347	.614	2.7
1881 National Club - AAA	23	20	82	27	4	0	0	9	12	3	0	0	3	1	0	.329	.353	.378	.731	6.2
Total NA				57	239	66	15	4	0	22	34	4	1	2	33	3	0	.276	.289	.372	.661	10.0
Total EIND				20	82	27	4	0	0	9	12	3	0	0	3	1	0	.329	.353	.378	.731	6.2
Career Fielding Stats

Year/Team/League		POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%
1879 National Club - AAA	3B	21	21	11	45	2	75	19	.747	177.1	2.84				
1879 National Club - AAA	1B	1	0	5	0	0	6	1	.833	2.1	19.29	
1880 National Club - AAA	2B	36	36	110	70	17	225	45	.800	305.0	5.31	
1881 National Club - AAA	2B	20	20	61	69	15	169	39	.769	175.0	6.69				
1881 National Club - AAA	1B	1	0	3	0	0	3	0	1.000	1.0	27.00				
1882 Baltimore - ML		3B	23	23	25	30	2	84	29	.655	200.0	2.48				
1882 Baltimore - ML		2B	51	51	147	197	37	410	66	.839	438.0	7.07		
1883 Baltimore - ML		3B	98	98	80	195	15	401	126	.686	876.1	2.82	
1884 Baltimore - ML	3B	106	106	84	253	14	446	109	.756	933.1	3.25

RYAN W. WALINSKI

It looks like the end of the line for Walinski. The 22-year-old has seen his "development" go backwards and mustered just a .170 batting average in 1884. The Quakers are unlikely to reserve him, so unless he catches on with a minor league squad somewhere, his career may be over.

Career Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1881 Worcester - MLB	19	35	16	6	1	0	1	5	5	0	0	0	0	4	0	.375	.375	.625	1.000	3.6
1882 Worcester - MLB	20	84	291	69	5	6	1	33	43	1	0	3	5	12	12	.237	.237	.306	.543	-2.3
1883 Philadelphia - MLB	21	47	17	4	0	0	0	1	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	.235	.235	.235	.471	-1.1
1884 Philadelphia - MLB	22	72	141	24	2	0	1	12	15	4	1	2	3	2	7	.170	.196	.206	.402	-9.0
Total MLB		4 yrs.	238	465	103	8	6	3	51	67	5	1	5	8	18	19	.222	.229	.284	.513	-8.8

Career Fielding Stats
Year/Team/League	POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%
1881 Worcester - ML	SS	28	0	7	23	5	40	10	.750	44.2	6.04				
1881 Worcester - ML	2B	7	0	7	10	3	18	1	.944	14.2	10.43	
1882 Worcester - ML	SS	84	84	112	287	55	488	89	.818	683.0	5.26				
1883 Philadelphia - ML	2B	2	0	4	3	2	7	0	1.000	4.1	14.54				
1883 Philadelphia - ML	SS	43	0	14	34	4	54	6	.889	70.2	6.11				
1883 Philadelphia - ML	P	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	.000	4.1	0.00	
1884 Philadelphia - ML	SS	69	39	71	150	28	254	33	.870	362.2	5.48				
1884 Philadelphia - ML	LF	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	2.0	0.00				
1884 Philadelphia - ML	P	2	0	0	2	0	2	0	1.000	6.2	2.70

PHINNEAS HARVEY

Harvey had a great year, winning the batting title with a .381 average and leading his club into the first World's Series. So what if they were manhandled by the Boston Red Stockings? Pretty much everyone in the National League was too. Harvey wasn't intimidated - he posted a .429 average in the two games with Boston and scored two runs.

Career Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS 	VORP
1883 New York - MLB	20	98	441	152	19	1	6	73	101	31	7	7	27	11	6	.345	.391	.433	.824	31.5
1884 New York - MLB	21	107	480	183	21	2	7	104	136	68	6	9	29	9	10	.381	.456	.477	.934	51.9
Total MLB	2 yrs.	205	921	335	40	3	13	177	237	99	13	16	56	20	16	.364	.426	.456	.882	83.4

Career Minor League Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	VORP
1881 New York - AAA	18	16	70	25	1	0	0	7	12	0	0	1	0	4	2	.357	.352	.371	.724	4.6
1882 New York - AAA	19	25	101	35	1	1	3	21	17	1	3	1	4	5	1	.347	.368	.465	.833	9.8
Total LGA			41	171	60	2	1	3	28	29	1	3	2	4	9	3	.351	.362	.427	.788	14.5

Career Fielding Stats
Year/Team/League	POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%
1881 New York - AAA	CF	14	14	49	1	1	54	4	.926	124.1	3.62				
1881 New York - AAA	1B	2	1	19	1	2	22	2	.909	13.0	13.85	
1882 New York - AAA	CF	25	25	64	1	0	68	3	.956	221.2	2.64
1883 New York - ML	CF	98	98	246	4	0	265	15	.943	854.1	2.63				
1883 New York - ML	1B	13	0	20	3	1	24	1	.958	15.1	13.50	
1884 New York - ML	CF	107	107	221	6	0	242	15	.938	932.2	2.19				
1884 New York - ML	1B	6	0	12	0	1	12	0	1.000	9.2	11.17

JOSIAH LEGREW

If LeGrew's arm falls off, we'll all know why. He started 75 games for the New York Gothams and pitched 627 innings. He won 30 games, but lost 41 - mainly because the rest of his team... well, they stink. His ERA was a respectable 2.77 and if he ever gets some support, he could become a monster.

Career Pitching Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	HA	R	ER	HR	BB	K	CG	SHO	WHIP	BABIP	VORP
1882 Troy - MLB		19	54	42	16	27	3	2.60	391.2	480	298	113	2	33	56	42	2	1.31	.292	21.5
1883 New York - MLB	20	55	55	19	34	0	3.16	459.0	606	494	161	3	99	126	49	0	1.54	.303	38.0
1884 New York - MLB	21	75	75	30	41	0	2.77	627.0	709	578	193	12	187	234	67	1	1.43	.280	91.7
Total MLB		3 yrs.	184	172	65	102	3	2.84	1477.2	1795	1370	467	17	319	416	158	3	1.43	.291	150.7

Career Fielding Stats
Year/Team/League	POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%
1882 Troy - ML		P	54	42	26	100	1	148	22	.851	391.2	2.90
1883 New York - ML	P	55	55	26	133	4	200	41	.795	459.0	3.12	
1884 New York - ML	P	75	75	34	165	2	253	54	.787	627.0	2.86

SHANE DAY

There wasn't much of a sophomore slump for Shane Day. Sure, his average dropped (everyone's did, really), but he still hit .336 and scored 85 runs with 88 RBIs. Still a lot to be excited about in St. Louis with Mr. Day.

Career Batting Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	AB	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	R	BB	HP	SF	K	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS 	VORP
1883 St. Louis - MLB	19	98	435	170	17	1	1	81	60	17	2	6	28	2	0	.391	.411	.441	.852	43.8
1884 St. Louis - MLB	20	107	503	169	16	1	3	88	85	19	7	7	17	2	5	.336	.364	.390	.753	29.8
Total MLB		2 yrs.	205	938	339	33	2	4	169	145	36	9	13	45	4	5	.361	.386	.414	.799	73.6

Career Fielding Stats
Year/Team/League	POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%
1883 St. Louis - ML	C	98	98	285	104	5	409	20	.951	883.1	3.96	4	100	47	47.0
1884 St. Louis - ML	C	107	107	465	123	2	608	20	.967	951.0	5.56	4	149	72	48.3

JUSTIN WILLIAMSON

This young man had a great debut in professional base ball, going 22-11 with a 0.73 earned run mark for the Eastern League's Wilmington club. It's highly unlikely he'll be in the Eastern next season as those numbers certainly drew the attention of the Major League Clubs.

Career Pitching Stats
Year/Team/League	Age	G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	HA	R	ER	HR	BB	K	CG	SHO	WHIP	BABIP	VORP
1884 Wilmington - AAA	17	33	33	22	11	0	0.73	318.2	142	64	26	3	68	536	32	8	0.66	.235	73.5
Total EL			33	33	22	11	0	0.73	318.2	142	64	26	3	68	536	32	8	0.66	.235	73.5

Career Fielding Stats
Year/Team/League	POS	G	GS	PO	A	DP	TC	E	PCT	INN	RANGE	PB	RSTA	RTO	RTO%
1884 Wilmington - AAA	P	33	33	7	47	0	67	13	.806	318.2	1.53

[legendsport]

News and notes from the world of base ball during the off-season of 1884-85:

October 30, 1884 - COLUMBUS PACKS IT IN
The American Association's Columbus club, which suffered through severe financial shortfalls in both 1883 and '84, ceases operation and agrees to sell it's entire roster to the Pittsburgh Allegheny Club for $6,000.

November 4, 1884 - BROSE SUSPENDED BY AA
Phonney Brose, a promising young pitcher who spent the 1884 season with the Association's Toledo Club, is suspended by the AA for the 1885 season. The suspension comes after Brose verbally agrees to a contract with the St. Louis Browns but then signs with the Cincinnati Reds instead for $5,000. By serving the suspension, Brose will be permitted to join the Reds for the 1886 season. In the meantime, he decides to play in the California League under an assumed name.

PHONNEY BROSE

November 19, 1884 - OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE ELDER
Chester Pendergrast resigns as President of the National League and is replaced with League Secretary Nigel Elder. Elder will ostensibly be the man in charge, but few believe this as it well-known that Elder is a protege of Chicago owner Walker Rhoades, while Pemberton had been under the sway of Boston's Thurgood Sturgeon.

November/December 1884 - Overhand or Underhand?
The National League, in its first meeting under new President Nigel Elder, announces that it will allow overhand pitching. The controversial move comes after pitcher's had already been increasingly bold in stretching the "underhand" rule by throwing side-arm and moving their arm angles ever higher. The American Association, two weeks later, neglects to follow suit, deciding to retain the ban on overhand deliveries - for the time being.

DECEMBER 18, 1884 - UNION ASSOC. FACES FACTS
Of the eight member clubs of the Union Association, which had nearly drowned in red ink in the just-completed base ball season, only five - and one of those via proxy - manage to show up in St. Louis for an owner's meeting. Horace V. Leonard quietly begins to prepare for life after the U.A., which will collapse shortly after the New Year.

JANUARY 6, 1885 - LEONARD SLIPS IN
The National League's Cleveland Club also falls victim to the Union Association war as it is forced to disband. With the connivance of NL Prez Nigel Elder, and the nod of Chicago owner Walker Rhoades, Horace V. Leonard purchases the Cleveland club despite its now owning no players or assets. Four days later at a League Meeting, Leonard proposes to relace Cleveland with his championship Union Assoc. Club - the St. Louis Maroons. His proposal is accepted. The news is not received well by American Association owners, particularly the owner of the St. Louis Browns, Kermit Altenhaus.

JANUARY 15, 1885 - BROOKLYN BOUND
The Brooklyn Club of the Amer. Assoc. is bolstered by the signing of several former Cleveland players (all of whom refused to play for Leonard's Maroon Club). Pitcher Clifford Langton, short stop Aleck Dell, center fielder Horatio "Duke of the Wabash" Smith, second baseman Adrian Larrabee and catcher Leo Pabst all sign on to bolster the Grays (the Brooklyn Nine's "Trolley Dodgers" nickname had failed to catch on).

ALECK DELL

JANUARY 30, 1885 - ASSOCIATION RETOOLS MEMBERSHIP
The American Association announces it's re-constituted eight-team membership for the 1885 season. Gone are Columbus, Indianapolis, Toledo and Richmond. Of 1884's new quartet of clubs only Brooklyn remains and is joined by hold-overs Louisville, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and St. Louis.

FEBRUARY 5, 1885 - GO WEST!
The Western League rises out of the ashes of the Northwestern League. The Western League, which absorbs most of the players from the failed Northwestern Loop and locales left open by failed Union, League and Association clubs, will play the 1885 campaign with a six-team alignment: Indianapolis, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Kansas City, Toledo and Omaha.

APRIL 1, 1885 - RHOADES EXPANDS BUSINESS
Walker Rhoades, former star pitcher turned business impresario, opens his first Sporting Goods store in New York. The store joins the original Rhoades' Sporting Goods of Chicago and gives the Chicago-based businessman a firm hold on the sporting goods industry.

[legendsport]

In late October of the year 1884, just after his New York Metropolitans, champions of the American Association had finished losing the World's Championship Series to the National League juggernaut Boston Red Stockings (who were also being more and more referred to as "Beaneaters"), decided that his other club - the National League's New York Gothams needed help. When Danner put the Gothams together, he took the leavings of a failed League club in little Troy, New York and simply moved it into the Polo Grounds - which he also owned. Danner envisioned spectacular things for both his ballclubs and while the Mets proved to be what he hoped by their second year of Association play, the Gothams were spectacular - spectacularly bad, that is.

Danner had two items on his winter agenda. One was to sell the Metropolitans - they were champions and would draw a pretty penny from someone. The other was to improve the Gothams, for whom he himself had begun bruiting about a new nickname: Giants. In looking over the Mets, he realized that since he was discarding the club anyway, why not take some of that accomplished club's best assets and use them to improve the Giants?

The Giants possessed one truly outstanding player - a pitcher by trade, named Josiah LeGrew. 'Adirondack Joe' was easily the best player on the team and was unhappy with the sorry state of his club. The Mets, on the other hand, possessed several outstanding players. And while he knew he could never move all the best talent from the Mets to the Giants (it would hamper his sale price on the Association club), he figured he could pick off a pair without too much trouble.

But Danner waited, with patience and forethought, until it was almost the last minute, until April had arrived and with it the approach of another season (this one without that annoying Union Association wrecking business for everyone) - and then he pounced. The Metropolitans, for sale without a buyer thus far, announced they were releasing two players: pitcher Floyd Presley (who had won 53 games with a 2.27 ERA in 1884) and center fielder Phinneas Harvey, the reigning batting champion and among the best players in either the League or Association. The news rocked the base ball world, and even as the magnates in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia and elsewhere wondered how much money it would take to sign Harvey and/or Presley, the other shoe dropped: both players signed contracts to play for - who else? - the New York Giants.

Though many cried foul, there was nothing illegal about what Danner had done. He did own both clubs, after all. But this did set an ugly precedent and exposed an obvious flaw in allowing one man to control more than one club. What was to stop future owners from doing similar things - and on a grander scale? The answer: nothing. At least not yet.

[LFC1892]

Running short on time, but great as usual...

[legendsport]

Just a quick note while I'm prepping the 1885 season: I just uploaded some new goodies to the CFHOB site.

Specifically:
1) Bios for two of the more prominent "owners" of the CFHOB universe: New York's Josiah Danner and Boston's Thurgood Sturgeon (more of those to come).
2) Rules for the online league (start date for that is still TBD, but I'm leaning towards probably 1891 after the 'Brotherhood War').
3) A table with links (so far dead) for the bios of the top players. If you've created one of these guys and want to contribute, feel free to send me a PM with the scoop.

More to come both here and on the site...

[legendsport]

The Sporting Life, Philadelphia, PA, April 15, 1885:

UNION ASSOC. IS GONE, BUT LEGACY LIVES ON
Horace V. Leonard's attempt at a third major professional base ball loop, the Union Association, died after just one season of operation. Leonard's loop was ill-conceived and badly run, but it has left a lasting impression on the sport. For one thing, the Union's championship club, the St. Louis Maroons (owned by Mr. Leonard himself) have moved into the National League, a coup of large proportions. This came about because the fierce financial competition of the 1884 season (caused by the Union's very existence) forced the National's Cleveland club to cease operations. But the Union's impact is felt beyond the National League. The American Association expanded by four clubs for the '84 season in an (ill-fated) attempt to stiffen the competition against the Union usurpers. The result of this twelve-team experiment were not good. Three of the quartet of new clubs are gone as quickly as they appeared, with only Brooklyn, bolstered by a large pool of rabid base ball followers on which to draw, making it to the starting line for 1885. Indianapolis, Toledo and Washington are all extinct, and Association founding member Columbus has also gone the way of the dodo. As for the players, those who defected to the Union chasing freedom from the Reserve Clause, are now (mostly) back in the fold, while a handful of Union standouts have found new homes on Association or League clubs for '85. So the impact of Leonard's Folly continues to be felt despite that ill-conceived venture's none-too-premature expiration earlier this year.

WILLIAM HILL OF THE MAROONS

BOSTON FACES NEW CHALLENGES IN LEAGUE CHASE
The Boston club, known popularly known as the Beaneaters, face a new set of challengers for their crown as they seek a third-straight League pennant. The age-old foes from Chicago will be back, and likely as formidable as ever, but joining them are improved clubs in New York and Philadelphia, with Providence also a possible contending club. The Giants (nee Gothams) are bolstered by the sleight-of-hand performed with their Association counterparts which delivered Phinneas Harvey and Floyd Presley, while Philadelphia added a stand-out pitcher (Ron Blasingame) and short stop (Victor Sprayberry) and Providence features one of the most under-rated players in the National League in centerfielder Scott Cain, who hit .342 in 1884.

VICTOR SPRAYBERRY

WEAKENED METS LEAVE VACUUM ATOP ASSOCIATION
With the 1884 champions from New York considerably weakened by the shift of their two top players to the National's New York Giants, the top spot in the American Association appears to be up for grabs. Among the favorites to supplant the Metropolitans are the Browns of St. Louis and Reds of Cincinnati, two top clubs from a year ago. Another possible challenge could come from the Association's newest club, the Brooklyn nine, which fattened up on the leavings of the several clubs which were forced to fold after the war with the Union Association - the National Cleveland club chief among them. Brooklyn added Cleveland's top pitcher (Clifford Langton), short stop (Aleck Dell), and the 'Duke of the Wabash' himself, center fielder Horatio Smith. The Browns are very strong at the bat with their phenomenal young catcher Shane Day ably supported by a pair of outfielders (Kelly Wert and James Farnham) who both hit for .300 averages in 1884 while their pitching is bolstered by Brice Bagley, who was outstanding (46-12, 1.87 ERA) for the Boston club in the Union Association a year ago. Cincinnati added a pitcher in Bill Isham who was outstanding for the Northwestern League's Fort Wayne club a year ago, posting a 1.03 earned run mark and also bring home Sammy Loudermilk, the original Cincinnati Red Stocking who spent last season hit .366 for the Cincinnati Union Club.

SHANE DAY

BASE BALL IN DIXIE
A brand-new professional loop will begin play this spring in the deep South. The Southern League will feature clubs in Georgia (Atlanta, Augusta, Macon and Columbus), Tennessee (Chattanooga, Memphis and Nashville) and Alabama (Birmingham). The league's President, Ephraim Hubbard, promises quality play and indeed, some former Union Association players have gone South to give the Southern loop a try. Atlanta's Frank Ruppe, a former Pittsburgh Allegheny, looks to be one of the top batsmen in the new loop, though Nashville's Ethan Marcello, a former member of the Boston Red Stockings, is also a solid performer. Among the pitchers, Augusta's Bruce Boll was among the Union Association's top hurlers a year ago, and can be counted upon for a strong campaign in 1885.

FRANK RUPEE

NEW WESTERN LEAGUE RISES OUT OF NORTHWESTERN'S ASHES
Nowhere was the vacuum left by the disappearance of the Union Association felt as strongly as in the west. With clubs in Kansas City and St. Paul, the Union moved into, and then abandoned the territories of the also-dissolved Northwestern League. A group of Western magnates has put together a new loop, dubbed the Western League, which features club in such former 'big league' cities as Kansas City, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Toledo and Milwaukee. They also have clubs in Keokuk, Iowa and Omaha, Nebraska. The most intriguing player to land in the Western loop is the well-traveled Solomon Cuffey. After being driven out of the American Association by racism, Cuffey finished up last season in St. Paul with the Union club there and now will toil in the former National League city of Cleveland with the Forest City club. The versatile Cuffey can play catcher or outfielder and though it's unclear where he will position himself afield, it is clear that his skills with the bat should put him among the Western League's top batsmen.

SOLOMON CUFFEY

EMPIRE STATE CLUBS FORM NEW CIRCUIT
The nation's most populous state, New York, has formed a league of its own for the 1885 season. The New York State League will feature six clubs competing in the large state's northern regions. The clubs will play in former League bastion Syracuse as well as Rochester, Utica, Binghamton, Oswego and the capital city of Albany. Like the Western League, the New York circuit also features a club giving a chance to a player who would otherwise be excluded due to the color of his skin. The Utica Pent-Ups feature a second baseman named Dan Heywood, who just may be one of the best keystone players in all of base ball.

DAN HEYWOOD

INTERSTATE ASSOC. BECOMES EASTERN LEAGUE
The Interstate Association has become the Eastern League as the organization seeks to increase professionalism throughout its ranks and leave the mess that was the 1884 season behind. The Eastern League features clubs in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, the nation's capital and two clubs in Virginia (Norfolk and Richmond) with Washington, Wilmington and Richmond all having been the homes of top-level clubs a year ago. The Jersey City club enters the season as the favorites, mainly on the strong right arm of their top pitcher, Bill Betts. Betts, a Canadian citizen, is the son of an escaped slave and has already sworn not to travel with his club when they head to Richmond and Norfolk this season.

BILL BETTS

[canadiancreed]

Good to see me boy is doing good. And in Philly no less. They dont' ahve any use for his pitching skills?

[legendsport]

Originally Posted by canadiancreed

Good to see me boy is doing good. And in Philly no less. They dont' ahve any use for his pitching skills?

It's more that the sim doesn't handle two-way players very well. It ends up playing him at pitcher AND catcher - in the same game - which, aside from being a physical impossibility, wreaks havoc with the stats. So I decided he'd just be a catcher.

[canadiancreed]

Originally Posted by legendsport

It's more that the sim doesn't handle two-way players very well. It ends up playing him at pitcher AND catcher - in the same game - which, aside from being a physical impossibility, wreaks havoc with the stats. So I decided he'd just be a catcher.

Fair enough. The first "Babe ruth" s to speak.

[legendsport]

This thing is snakebit. I'm sure some of you have probably noticed how the players' pictures keep changing. That's because leagues started before the patch (like CFHOB) crash all the time on saves due to the patched facegen not working with the original league files. That I could live with because I learned to very, very frequently make backups. I had some writeups I had to completely re-do because the sim crashed after I had written something up and I had to go back and re-sim.

Now, the history is all screwed. Whole seasons, leagues and so on are missing. I guess I can continue, knowing that the facegen thing is going to continue to make it crash, and just accept that so much of the history is missing. Or I can start over - which I don't want to do for several reasons, among them the amount of work involved, losing everything I've done so far and so on.

I'm pretty steamed at the moment, so I will cool down before deciding what to do.