Results from my Baseball History League

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

September 15, 1877 Report

Cincinnati Reds 29-21
St. Louis Brown Stockings 28-23
Louisville Grays 28-24
Hartford Dark Blues 24-28
Chicago White Stockings 22-26
Boston Red Caps 23-32

League Leaders:

Batting - Tim Murnane, Cincinnati Reds, .376
Home Runs - 11 tied with 1 each
Runs Batted In - Jim Foran, Louisville Grays, 47
Runs Scored - George Wright, Cincinnati Reds, 48
Hits - George Hall, Boston Red Caps, 86
Doubles - Ed Pinkham, Hartford Dark Blues, 15
Triples - "Orator Jim" O'Rourke, Boston and Lip Pike, Hartford, 10 each
Stolen Bases - Lip Pike, Hartford Dark Blues, 23

Wins - J. O'Neill, Louisville Grays, 14
ERA - Terry Larkin, St. Louis Brown Stockings, 1.13
Strikeouts - J. O'Neill, Louisville Grays, 49
Opponent Average - Terry Larkin, St. Louis Brown Stockings, .223

Just when it looked like the race for the pennant was over, Cincinnati dropped three consecutive games to Louisville to give the Grays and the St. Louis Brown Stockings another chance. Cincinnati has four games with St. Louis and three with Chicago left on their schedule, while Louisville has four each against both St. Louis and Chicago. St. Louis has the previously mentioned eight games, plus one more at Hartford. It appears that we will finally have a race that lasts to the end of the season.

Although he is second to Murnane in batting average, "Orator Jim" O'Rourke of the Red Caps has probably been the league's best hitter thus far, and rumor has it that he will be leaving Boston this offseason to seek his fortune elsewhere with the highest bidder. In recognition of his fine play, he will be my new avatar for the time being.

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

September 24, 1877

The games between the three top contenders start today, with St. Louis visiting Cincinnati. Since the Brown Stockings won their game with Hartford last week, the top three as of today are:

Cincinnati 29-21, 0 GB
St. Louis 29-23, 1 GB
Louisville 28-24, 2 GB

I'll probably post a game-by-game account as long as the race stays close.

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

September 24, 1877

If St. Louis was looking to make a run for the pennant, they picked a strange way to start, as they surrendered seven runs to the Reds in the bottom of the first inning and went on to lose, 8-5, in a game that only was that close because of four runs in the top of the ninth. Lon Knight was the winning pitcher for Cincinnati.

The new standings:

Cincinnati 30-21, 0 GB, 6 games remaining
St. Louis 29-24, 2 GB, 7 games remaining
Louisville 28-24, 2 1/2 GB, 8 games remaining

[Astros33Resurrected]

is this over

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

Originally Posted by Astros33Resurrected

is this over

No. At least, my solo league isn't over. I got a little flaky about updating (partially because I wasn't sure if anyone was reading) but I can certainly do so now. In fact, I'll get to that right now. I've moved into 1878, but let me get out the box scores from the pennant race last season and I'll get this updated.

[rem]

the thread has a 124 posts but over 2000 views, people are reading

[Astros33Resurrected]

Originally Posted by Eckstein 4 Prez

No. At least, my solo league isn't over. I got a little flaky about updating (partially because I wasn't sure if anyone was reading) but I can certainly do so now. In fact, I'll get to that right now. I've moved into 1878, but let me get out the box scores from the pennant race last season and I'll get this updated.

I love this one!

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

Well, then, let's get back into it.

On September 25, 1877, the St. Louis Brown Stockings beat Cincinnati, 8-5, making the standings:

Cincinnati 30-22, 0 GB, 5 games remaining
St. Louis 30-24, 1 GB, 6 games remaining
Louisville 28-24, 2 GB, 8 games remaining

Then on the 26th, Louisville got drilled 8-6 by Chicago, thanks to a five-run third inning:

Cincinnati 30-22, 0 GB, 5 games left
St. Louis 30-24, 1 GB, 6 games left
Louisville 28-25, 2 1/2 GB, 7 games left

The following day, Louisville avenged the loss with a 6-5 victory over the White Stockings, thanks to a bottom of the ninth triple by Jim Foran:

Cincinnati 30-22, 0 GB, 5 games left
St. Louis 30-24, 1 GB, 6 games left
Louisville 29-25, 2 GB, 6 games left

On the 28th, Louisville knocked off St. Louis, 4-3, thanks to some untimely errors in the seventh inning by Jimmy Wood and Chick Fulmer:

Cincinnati 30-22, 0 GB, 5 games left
St. Louis 30-25, 1 1/2 GB, 5 games left
Louisville 30-25, 1 1/2 GB, 5 games left

On September 29th, Cincinnati played lowly Chicago, and beat them 4-3 in 10 innings when George Heubel reached on an error and then scored on a ground out. The same day, Louisville's defense was able to hold St. Louis in check for a 3-1 victory:

Cincinnati 31-22, 0 GB, 4 games left
Louisville 31-25, 1 1/2 GB, 4 games left
St. Louis 30-26, 2 1/2 GB, 4 games left

After a day off for the Sabbath, the race resumed. Chicago gave Louisville and St. Louis an opening by crushing Cincinnati 7-1, and the Grays took advantage, destroying St. Louis 10-4:

Cincinnati 31-23, 0 GB, 3 games left
Louisville 32-25, 1/2 GB, 3 games left
St. Louis 30-27, 2 1/2 GB, 3 games left

On the 2nd, Cincinnati rebounded from their loss to obliterate Chicago, 14-5. Louisville emphatically finished off St. Louis' title hopes, 9-3:

Cincinnati 32-23, 0 GB, 2 games left
Louisville 33-25, 1/2 GB, 2 games left
St. Louis 30-28, eliminated from contention

Now it was time for Louisville to take on Chicago and Cincinnati to battle St. Louis. In the Cincinnati-St. Louis game, the Brown Stockings took a 5-4 lead into the top of the ninth inning. The first batter, George Heubel, hit a fly ball to right fielder Deacon White, who promptly muffed the play and allowed Heubel to end up on second base. Then Ross Barnes hit a base hit to left field that looked sure to score a run, but St. Louis left fielder Andy Leonard made a perfect throw to get Heubel at the plate. First baseman Tim Murnane flied out to White, and all seemed lost. Then, with the team down to its last out, Tom York of the Reds hit a double into the gap to score Barnes. The game went into the 10th inning, where Cincinnati added two more runs to win the game 7-5. At the same time, Louisville was getting demolished by Chicago 8-0, so Cincinnati's dramatic win clinched the first-place finish for them.

The final standings:

Cincinnati Reds 34-23
Louisville Grays 33-27
St. Louis Brown Stockings 30-30
Chicago White Stockings 28-31
Hartford Dark Blues 27-31
Boston Red Caps 25-35

Up next: the Win Share awards.

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

Baseball History League Champions

1871 Cleveland Forest Citys
1872 Boston Red Stockings
1873 Boston Red Stockings
1874 Boston Red Stockings
1875 Boston Red Stockings
1876 Boston Red Caps
1877 Cincinnati Reds

Best players by position:

1B Tim Murnane, Cincinnati Reds
2B Ross Barnes, Cincinnati Reds (fourth consecutive win)
SS George Wright, Cincinnati Reds (fifth consecutive win)
3B Bob "Death to Flying Things" Ferguson, Cincinnati Reds (second overall win; first at this position and first since 1871)
LF Al Thake, Louisville Grays
CF Paul Hines, Louisville Grays
RF Orator Shaffer, Hartford Dark Blues (second consecutive win)
C Bill Harbidge, Hartford Dark Blues

Winners year-by-year by position:

First Base

1871 - Joe Start, New York Mutuals
1872 - Joe Start, New York Mutuals
1873 - Charlie Gould, Boston Red Stockings
1874 - Joe Start, New York Mutuals
1875 - Charlie Gould, Boston Red Stockings
1876 - Charlie Gould, Boston Red Caps
1877 - Tim Murnane, Cincinnati Reds

Second Base

1871 - Bob Ferguson, New York Mutuals
1872 - Jimmy Wood, Baltimore Canaries
1873 - Jimmy Wood, Baltimore Canaries
1874 - Ross Barnes, Boston Red Stockings
1875 - Ross Barnes, Boston Red Stockings
1876 - Ross Barnes, Boston Red Caps
1877 - Ross Barnes, Cincinnati Reds

Shortstop

1871 - Dickey Pearce, New York Mutuals
1872 - John Radcliff, Philadelphia Athletics
1873 - George Wright, Boston Red Stockings
1874 - George Wright, Boston Red Stockings
1875 - George Wright, Boston Red Stockings
1876 - George Wright, Boston Red Caps
1877 - George Wright, Cincinnati Reds

Third Base

1871 - Ezra Sutton, Philadelphia Athletics
1872 - Cap Anson, New York Mutuals
1873 - Fred Waterman, Baltimore Canaries
1874 - Cap Anson, New York Mutuals
1875 - Mike McGeary, Philadelphia Whites
1876 - Cap Anson, New York Mutuals
1877 - Bob Ferguson, Cincinnati Reds

Left Field

1871 - Charlie Pabor, Cleveland Forest Citys
1872 - Steve King, Troy Haymakers
1873 - Jim O'Rourke, Boston Red Stockings
1874 - Jim O'Rourke, Boston Red Stockings
1875 - Jim O'Rourke, Boston Red Stockings
1876 - John Glenn, Hartford Dark Blues
1877 - Al Thake, Louisville Grays

Center Field

1871 - Lip Pike, Troy Haymakers
1872 - Harry Wright, Boston Red Stockings
1873 - Lip Pike, Washington Blue Legs
1874 - Candy Nelson, Brooklyn Atlantics
1875 - George Hall, New York Mutuals
1876 - Holly Hollingshead, Chicago White Stockings
1877 - Paul Hines, Louisville Grays

Right Field

1871 - Al Reach, Philadelphia Athletics
1872 - Al Reach, Philadelphia Athletics
1873 - Deacon White, Baltimore Canaries
1874 - Dick Higham, New York Mutuals
1875 - Dick Higham, New York Mutuals
1876 - Orator Shaffer, Hartford Dark Blues
1877 - Orator Shaffer, Hartford Dark Blues

Catcher

1871 - Charlie Hodes, New York Mutuals
1872 - Charlie Hodes, New York Mutuals
1873 - Cal McVey, Boston Red Stockings
1874 - Cal McVey, Boston Red Stockings
1875 - Cal McVey, Boston Red Stockings
1876 - Cal McVey, Boston Red Caps
1877 - Bill Harbidge, Hartford Dark Blues

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

For the offseason, three of the league's six teams disbanded: St. Louis, Louisville, and Hartford. They were replaced by new teams in Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Providence. Here's a preview I wrote for the start of the 1878 season:

1878 Preview:

BOSTON RED CAPS: After a dismal, injury-plagued 1877, the Red Caps appear reloaded and ready to challenge for the title again. Bass is back and healthy, and the loss of “Orator Jim” O’Rourke has been offset by the additions of Anson, Flynn, Kernan, Thake, and especially stars Ezra Sutton and Orator Shaffer. With the league’s highest payroll, Boston is going to need to win the championship this year if they are to remain intact as a team.

1B – Cap Anson (1-32-.237-12 for 13 SB)/Clipper Flynn (0-23-.260-2 for 2 SB with Hartford, lifetime .312 hitter)
2B – Joe Kernan (0-9-.403-0 for 0 SB with Hartford, lifetime .335 hitter)
SS – John Bass (0-23-.362-0 for 0 SB)
3B – Ezra Sutton (1-37-.315-11 for 15 SB with Louisville, lifetime .329 hitter)
LF – Al Thake (0-35-.345-3 for 3 SB with Louisville, lifetime .324 hitter)
CF – George Hall (0-40-.337-0 for 0 SB)
RF – Orator Shaffer (1-34-.343-2 for 2 SB with Hartford, lifetime .322 hitter)
C – Charlie Hodes (1-28-.224-0 for 0 SB)

P – Phonney Martin (2-4, 2.31, lifetime 51-38)
P – Terry Larkin (3-6, 1.98 with St. Louis, lifetime 5-9)
P – Jim Britt (8-8, 2.60, lifetime 45-78)

CHICAGO WHITE STOCKINGS: Instead of challenging for the pennant as expected, they had nearly the entire roster slump last season and finished in the second division. This year, the only significant player they added was the talented veteran Joe Start, who should help, but is probably not enough to bring the club back to the optimistic days with which they finished 1876.

1B – Joe Start (0-24-.300-4 for 5 SB with St. Louis, lifetime .346 hitter)/Charlie Gould (0-43-.302-8 for 10 SB)
2B – “Black Jack” Burdock (0-35-.275-7 for 9 SB)
SS – Pony Sager (0-19-.260-20 for 26 SB)/Andy Leonard (0-36-.283-5 for 6 SB with St. Louis, lifetime .319 hitter)
3B – Frank Selman (0-28-.278-1 for 1 SB)
LF – Leonard/Tom Foley (0-39-.325-1 for 1 SB)
CF – Charley Jones (0-6-.364-0 for 0 SB)
RF – Elmer White (0-41-.330-0 for 0 SB)
C – John Clapp (0-26-.303-0 for 0 SB)

P – Al Spalding (17-8, 2.84, lifetime 101-61)
P – Candy Cummings (5-13, 4.28, lifetime 46-54)
P – “Uncle Al” Pratt (5-5, 5.13, lifetime 77-72)

CINCINNATI REDS: Last year’s champions have added a couple talented speedsters in veteran Lip Pike and rookie King Kelly, and have lost the superb Tim Murnane at first. It looks like they will battle the Red Caps for supremacy in the league this season.

1B – Frank Heifer (0-4-.348-0 for 0 SB, lifetime .304 hitter)/Fraley Rogers (lifetime .292 hitter as Boston reserve)
2B – Ross Barnes (0-36-.338-6 for 10 SB)
SS – George Wright (0-35-.339-6 for 7)
3B – Bob “Death to Flying Things” Ferguson (1-39-.335-1 for 2 SB)/”Long Jim” Holdsworth (0-22-.283-1 for 1 SB with St. Louis, lifetime .291 hitter)
LF – Tom York (1-37-.335-1 for 1 SB)/Steve King (0-1-.167-1 for 1 SB)
CF – Lip Pike (2-43-.299-25 for 39 SB with Hartford, lifetime .324 hitter)/George Bird (0-37-.320-0 for 0 SB)
RF – George Heubel (0-27-.342-0 for 0 SB)
C – King Kelly (rookie)/Tom Barlow (out of baseball in 1877, lifetime .294 hitter)

P – Lon Knight (11-12, 3.08, lifetime 17-18)
P – Cherokee Fisher (11-5, 3.02, lifetime 92-43)
P – Dory Dean (0-0, 1.23, lifetime 2-10)

INDIANAPOLIS BLUES: This is actually a pretty solid team, with the only big question marks being third base, left field and possibly center if Hollingshead cannot return to his 1876 form. It doesn’t seem like they have the firepower to contend with Cincinnati or Boston, but they could very well finish above the established Chicago White Stockings and should certainly be better than the other new teams.

1B – Jim Foran (1-53-.311-0 for 0 SB with Louisville, lifetime .309 hitter)
2B – Mike McGeary (0-27-.310-9 for 11 SB with Louisville, lifetime .335 hitter)
SS – Dickie Flowers (2-31-.336-19 for 26 SB with St. Louis, lifetime .314 hitter)
3B – Fred Waterman (1-11-.226-11 for 12 SB with Hartford, lifetime .282 hitter)
LF – Fred Treacey (1 for 1 with St. Louis in 1877, lifetime .247 hitter)/“Big Jim” Clinton (3 for 12 with Hartford in 1877, lifetime .291 hitter)
CF – Holly Hollingshead (0-25-.253-0 for 0 SB with Chicago, lifetime .316 hitter)
RF – Deacon White (1-36-.326-0 for 1 SB with St. Louis, lifetime .331 hitter)
C – Pop Snyder (0-37-.277-2 for 3 SB with Louisville, lifetime .248 hitter)

P – J. O’Neill (14-5, 2.97 with Louisville, lifetime 19-20)
P – Asa Brainard (6-4, 3.07 with Hartford, lifetime 73-51)
P – George Bradley (2-1, 4.09 with St. Louis, lifetime 25-32)

MILWAUKEE CREAM CITYS: They’ve got a couple of stars (Murnane, Hines) and a lot of question marks (pretty much everyone else). While it’s likely that at least some of the question marks will do well, it just doesn’t look like they have what it takes to finish as a contender. Look for them to be an also-ran this year.

1B – Tim Murnane (0-32-.364-4 for 6 SB with Cincinnati, lifetime .327 hitter)
2B – John Peters (0-18-.235-1 for 1 SB with Cincinnati, lifetime .294 hitter)
SS – John Radcliff (0-17-.254-8 for 10 SB with Louisville, lifetime .314 hitter)
3B – Chick Fulmer (0-12-.247-0 for 0 SB with St. Louis, lifetime .284 hitter)
LF – Abner Dalrymple (rookie)
CF – Paul Hines (1-40-.352-5 for 8 SB with Louisville, lifetime .302 hitter)
RF – Jack Manning (2 for 4 as Hartford reserve, lifetime .301 hitter)
C – Andrew Thompson (out of baseball in 1877, lifetime .177 hitter)

P – Tricky Nichols (13-9, 3.00 with St. Louis, lifetime 37-37)
P – Mike Golden (11-12, 3.70 with Hartford, lifetime 31-29)
P – Joe Borden (0-2, 3.21 with Hartford, lifetime 11-14)

PROVIDENCE GRAYS: Like Milwaukee, they have an awful lot of players of questionable ability in key roles. A team that is planning to start guys like Patterson, Booth, and Pinkham probably isn’t heading for any championships.

1B – Mike Dorgan (0-6-.265-0 for 0 SB with St. Louis as rookie)/Art Allison (0-3-.333-1 for 1 with St. Louis, lifetime .271 hitter)
2B – Dan Patterson (out of baseball in 1877, lifetime .237 hitter)
SS – Joe Doyle (0-16-.344-0 for 0 SB with Louisville, lifetime .308 hitter)
3B – Candy Nelson (0-26-.293-7 for 10 SB with Hartford, lifetime .321 hitter)
LF – Eddie Booth (1 for 5 as Boston reserve, lifetime .275 hitter)
CF – “Orator Jim” O’Rourke (0-44-.353-11 for 16 SB with Boston, lifetime .335 hitter)
RF – Ed Pinkham (0-29-.230-8 for 13 SB with Hartford, lifetime .280 hitter)/Dorgan
C – Bill Harbidge (0-41-.348-0 for 1 SB with Hartford, lifetime .303 hitter)

P – Len Lovett (5-0, 2.56 with St. Louis, lifetime 16-18)
P – Charles Witherow (out of baseball in 1877, lifetime 3-14)
P – Dick McBride (6-11, 3.92 with St. Louis, lifetime 86-65)

OPENING DAY ODDS TO WIN CHAMPIONSHIP:

Boston – 2 to 1
Cincinnati – 2 to 1
Indianapolis – 7 to 1
Chicago – 8 to 1
Milwaukee – 20 to 1
Providence – 20 to 1

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

June 1, 1878 Report

The early results are a pretty big surprise:

Chicago White Stockings 11-2
Providence Grays 5-4
Milwaukee Cream Citys 6-7
Boston Red Caps 4-5
Cincinnati Reds 6-8
Indianapolis Blues 4-10

Why the sudden turnaround for Chicago? Well, they've finally got some guys performing more like they did in 1876:

1B Joe Start: .378 in 1876, .300 in 1877, currently .353
2B Black Jack Burdock: .315 in 1876, .275 in 1877, currently .314
LF Andy Leonard: .333 in 1876, .283 in 1877, currently .389

Also, star pitcher Al Spalding has been sensational - in 6 starts, he's gone 6-0 with a 2.00 ERA.

Around the league, offensive totals are beginning to fall, as the league moves into the pitchers' era of the 1880s. Here are the current league leaders:

Batting - Joe Doyle, Providence Grays, .486
Home Runs - 6 tied with 1 each
Runs Batted In - Elmer White, Chicago White Stockings, 13
Runs Scored - Andy Leonard, Chicago White Stockings, 14
Hits - Tim Murnane, Milwaukee Cream Citys, 24
Doubles - John Bass, Boston Red Caps, 5
Triples - 3 tied with 2 each
Stolen Bases - Dickie Flowers, Indianapolis Blues, 5

Wins - Al Spalding, Chicago White Stockings, 6
ERA - Pidgey Morgan, Boston Red Caps, 0.77
Strikeouts - J. O'Neill, Indianapolis Blues, 25
Opponent Average - Joe Borden, Milwaukee Cream Citys, .179

Will Chicago be able to continue its dominance and win its first-ever title, or will expected contenders Boston and Cincinnati get it together and make a run? I don't know, as this gets things up to date with the league as of today.

[Vris]

I'm reading too Eck.

You've done a great job with this. Really captured the era nicely. Plus, you detail the important stories very well. The pennant race, and the stories of the players who come out of nowhere.

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

June 15, 1878 Report

Chicago is continuing its surprising dominance, and with the season nearly one-third complete, there is a real danger that even if they cool off, the other teams will be too far behind to mount any kind of run against them. Amanzingly, they are currently the only team over .500 in the entire league:

Chicago White Stockings 16-4
Providence Grays 8-8
Milwaukee Cream Citys 10-10
Boston Red Caps 7-9
Cincinnati Reds 8-12
Indianapolis Blues 7-13

The real questions thus far are: with their enormous payroll, why is Boston only 7-9, and what happened to the 1877 champion Cincinnati Reds?

With Boston, here are the men getting paid the lion's share of their astronomical $735,000 payroll:

P Jim Britt ($110,000/yr.) - 3 GS, 2-1, 3.38 ERA
P Terry Larkin ($85,000/yr.) - 9 GS, 2-4, 4.06 ERA
RF Orator Shaffer ($80,000/yr.) - 0 HR, 7 RBI, .345 AVG, 0 SB
3B Ezra Sutton ($59,000/yr.) - 1 HR, 12 RBI, .329 AVG, 5 SB

These guys are at least being used by the Red Caps, but they are also paying large sums to men such as Bill Parks, Dick Higham and Bill Craver, who are not even used as everyday players. While the plan may have been to try buying a championship, it's clearly not working in Boston.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati's championship was a direct result of their superstar infield of 1877: 1B Tim Murnane, 2B Ross Barnes, SS George Wright and 3B Bob "Death to Flying Things" Ferguson. This season, Murnane is plying his trade in Milwaukee, Ross Barnes has been either injured or ineffective all season, and Wright and Ferguson's averages have dropped from .339 and .335 to .212 and .188. In addition, center fielder Lip Pike, brought in from Hartford to add some pop to the top of the lineup, broke his knee on May 16 and will miss at least the rest of 1878. Because of the slumps and injuries, it's actually rather amazing that Cincinnati has stayed as close to the rest of the league as they have.

The league leaders:

Batting - Joe Doyle, Providence Grays, .431
Home Runs - 8 tied with 1 each
Runs Batted In - Joe Start, Chicago White Stockings, 18
Runs Scored - Andy Leonard, Chicago White Stockings, 19
Hits - Abner Dalrymple, Milwaukee Cream Citys, 34
Doubles - John Bass, Boston and Abner Dalrymple, Milwaukee, 8 each
Triples - Charley Jones, Chicago White Stockings, 3
Stolen Bases - Dickie Flowers, Indianapolis Blues, 6

Wins - Al Spalding, Chicago White Stockings, 7
ERA - Dory Dean, Cincinnati Reds, 1.33
Strikeouts - J. O'Neill, Indianapolis Blues, 36
Opponent Average - Joe Borden, Milwaukee Cream Citys, .175

I'll switch over to pitcher Al Spalding for the new avatar, since he's not only got as many wins as some entire teams, but also has vaulted into first all-time in victories for a pitcher, with a lifetime 108-62 mark. Remember also that he is still only 27 years old, and may have many more excellent years ahead of him.

[darkhorse]

Now what, Eck?

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

Originally Posted by darkhorse

Now what, Eck?

I don't really know. I'm not going to go back and rewrite a couple seasons of history. Since I'm only a week away from the end of 1879, I'll probably do a season-end recap and then maybe give some end-of-decade totals and such.

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

Well, the 1870s are finally complete. Thanks to a staggering collapse by Cincinnati, who lost 12 of 13 games down the stretch before winning a meaningless game on the final day of the season, the Boston Red Caps have regained the National League title. The 1-12 stretch for Cincinnati all came after their young hotshot King Kelly went down for the season with an injury - apparently he was pretty integral to their title hopes.

The final standings:

Boston Red Caps 50-33
Chicago White Stockings 47-32
Cincinnati Reds 46-34
Buffalo Bisons 40-39
Providence Grays 41-43
Cleveland Blues 35-47
Syracuse Stars 28-42
Troy Trojans 29-46

The league leaders in selected categories:

BATTING

Jack Rowe, Buffalo Bisons - .325
Orator Shaffer, Boston Red Caps - .323
Joe Start, Chicago White Stockings - .322
Ross Barnes, Cincinnati Reds - .321
Tom York, Cincinnati Reds - .320

HITS

Jimmy Wood, Providence Grays - 109
Orator Shaffer, Boston Red Caps - 102
Jim Foran, Buffalo Bisons - 99
Joe Kernan, Boston Red Caps - 99
2 tied with 98 each

DOUBLES

Lip Pike, Cincinnati Reds - 28
John O'Rourke, Boston-Cleveland - 27
John Bass, Boston Red Caps - 26
George Hall, Boston Red Caps - 26
Orator Shaffer, Boston Red Caps - 24

TRIPLES

Hardy Richardson, Buffalo Bisons - 18
Lip Pike, Cincinnati Reds - 14
4 tied with 11 each

HOME RUNS

Jim Foran, Buffalo Bisons - 5
Dan Brouthers, Troy Trojans - 4
Paul Hines, Syracuse Stars - 4
"Orator Jim" O'Rourke, Providence Grays - 4
Ezra Sutton, Boston Red Caps - 4

RUNS BATTED IN

Bill Harbidge, Providence Grays - 57
Bill Craver, Syracuse Stars - 54
Lip Pike, Cincinnati Reds - 54
Jim Foran, Buffalo Bisons - 53
Orator Shaffer, Boston Red Caps - 53

RUNS SCORED

Jimmy Wood, Providence Grays - 57
"Orator Jim" O'Rourke, Providence Grays - 56
Pop Snyder, Cleveland Blues - 54
3 tied with 53 each

STOLEN BASES

Dickie Flowers, Cleveland Blues - 26 (of 36)
Ezra Sutton, Boston Red Caps - 22 (of 29)
Dan Brouthers, Troy Trojans - 14 (of 18)
Lip Pike, Cincinnati Reds - 12 (of 19)
Jimmy Wood, Providence Grays - 11 (of 12)

OPS

Jack Rowe, Buffalo Bisons - .834
Lip Pike, Cincinnati Reds - .833
Ross Barnes, Cincinnati Reds - .823
Orator Shaffer, Boston Red Caps - .781
Jimmy Wood, Providence Grays - .779

ERA

Mike Golden, Buffalo Bisons - 2.1109
Dory Dean, Cincinnati Reds - 2.1148
Lon Knight, Cincinnati Reds - 2.24
Al Spalding, Chicago White Stockings - 2.31
J. O'Neill, Cleveland Blues - 2.40

WINS-LOSSES

Lon Knight, Cincinnati Reds - 18-10
Candy Cummings, Chicago White Stockings - 15-7
Pidgey Morgan, Boston Red Caps - 15-9
Tricky Nichols, Buffalo Bisons - 15-10
Al Spalding, Chicago White Stockings - 15-12

STRIKEOUTS

J. O'Neill, Cleveland Blues - 127
Len Lovett, Providence Grays - 117
Pidgey Morgan, Boston Red Caps - 111
Tricky Nichols, Buffalo Bisons - 101
Bill Stearns, Cleveland Blues - 100

OPPONENT AVERAGE

Frank Buttery, Boston Red Caps - .217
Mike Golden, Buffalo Bisons - .220
J. O'Neill, Cleveland Blues - .224
Dory Dean, Cincinnati Reds - .230
Al Spalding, Chicago White Stockings - .231

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

Year-By-Year Champions

1871 Cleveland Forest Citys
1872 Boston Red Stockings
1873 Boston Red Stockings
1874 Boston Red Stockings
1875 Boston Red Stockings
1876 Boston Red Caps
1877 Cincinnati Reds
1878 Chicago White Stockings
1879 Boston Red Caps

1879 Top Players By Position

1B Joe Start, Chicago White Stockings (fourth overall win; first since 1874)
2B Ross Barnes, Cincinnati Reds (fifth overall win)
SS Jack Rowe, Buffalo Bisons (rookie)
3B Ezra Sutton, Boston Red Caps (second consecutive win; third overall)
LF Tom York, Cincinnati Reds (first overall win)
CF Lip Pike, Cincinnati Reds (third overall win; first since 1873)
RF Orator Shaffer, Boston Red Caps (fourth consecutive win)
C Bill Harbidge, Providence Grays (third consecutive win)
P Lon Knight, Cincinnati Reds (first overall win)

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

YEAR-BY-YEAR TOP PLAYERS

First Base

1871 - Joe Start, New York Mutuals
1872 - Joe Start, New York Mutuals
1873 - Charlie Gould, Boston Red Stockings
1874 - Joe Start, New York Mutuals
1875 - Charlie Gould, Boston Red Stockings
1876 - Charlie Gould, Boston Red Caps
1877 - Tim Murnane, Cincinnati Reds
1878 - Tim Murnane, Milwaukee Cream Citys
1879 - Joe Start, Chicago White Stockings

Second Base

1871 - Bob Ferguson, New York Mutuals
1872 - Jimmy Wood, Baltimore Canaries
1873 - Jimmy Wood, Baltimore Canaries
1874 - Ross Barnes, Boston Red Stockings
1875 - Ross Barnes, Boston Red Stockings
1876 - Ross Barnes, Boston Red Caps
1877 - Ross Barnes, Cincinnati Reds
1878 - Joe Kernan, Boston Red Caps
1879 - Ross Barnes, Cincinnati Reds

Shortstop

1871 - Dickey Pearce, New York Mutuals
1872 - John Radcliff, Philadelphia Athletics
1873 - George Wright, Boston Red Stockings
1874 - George Wright, Boston Red Stockings
1875 - George Wright, Boston Red Stockings
1876 - George Wright, Boston Red Caps
1877 - George Wright, Cincinnati Reds
1878 - Andy Leonard, Chicago White Stockings
1879 - Jack Rowe, Buffalo Bisons

Third Base

1871 - Ezra Sutton, Philadelphia Athletics
1872 - Cap Anson, New York Mutuals
1873 - Fred Waterman, Baltimore Canaries
1874 - Cap Anson, New York Mutuals
1875 - Mike McGeary, Philadelphia Whites
1876 - Cap Anson, New York Mutuals
1877 - Bob Ferguson, Cincinnati Reds
1878 - Ezra Sutton, Boston Red Caps
1879 - Ezra Sutton, Boston Red Caps

Left Field

1871 - Charlie Pabor, Cleveland Forest Citys
1872 - Steve King, Troy Haymakers
1873 - Jim O'Rourke, Boston Red Stockings
1874 - Jim O'Rourke, Boston Red Stockings
1875 - Jim O'Rourke, Boston Red Stockings
1876 - John Glenn, Hartford Dark Blues
1877 - Al Thake, Louisville Grays
1878 - Abner Dalrymple, Milwaukee Cream Citys
1879 - Tom York, Cincinnati Reds

Center Field

1871 - Lip Pike, Troy Haymakers
1872 - Harry Wright, Boston Red Stockings
1873 - Lip Pike, Washington Blue Legs
1874 - Candy Nelson, Brooklyn Atlantics
1875 - George Hall, New York Mutuals
1876 - Holly Hollingshead, Chicago White Stockings
1877 - Paul Hines, Louisville Grays
1878 - Paul Hines, Milwaukee Cream Citys
1879 - Lip Pike, Cincinnati Reds

Right Field

1871 - Al Reach, Philadelphia Athletics
1872 - Al Reach, Philadelphia Athletics
1873 - Deacon White, Baltimore Canaries
1874 - Dick Higham, New York Mutuals
1875 - Dick Higham, New York Mutuals
1876 - Orator Shaffer, Hartford Dark Blues
1877 - Orator Shaffer, Hartford Dark Blues
1878 - Orator Shaffer, Boston Red Caps
1879 - Orator Shaffer, Boston Red Caps

Catcher

1871 - Charlie Hodes, New York Mutuals
1872 - Charlie Hodes, New York Mutuals
1873 - Cal McVey, Boston Red Stockings
1874 - Cal McVey, Boston Red Stockings
1875 - Cal McVey, Boston Red Stockings
1876 - Cal McVey, Boston Red Caps
1877 - Bill Harbidge, Hartford Dark Blues
1878 - Bill Harbidge, Providence Grays
1879 - Bill Harbidge, Providence Grays

Pitcher

1871 - Al Pratt, Cleveland Forest Citys
1872 - Al Spalding, Boston Red Caps
1873 - George Zettlein, Baltimore Canaries
1874 - Asa Brainard, New York Mutuals
1875 - Dick McBride, Philadelphia Athletics
1876 - Frank Buttery, Boston Red Caps
1877 - Al Spalding, Chicago White Stockings
1878 - Al Spalding, Chicago White Stockings
1879 - Lon Knight, Cincinnati Reds

[Eckstein 4 Prez]

Since it's the end of the 1870s, I figured I'd post some end-of-decade career totals as well:

CAREER HIT LEADERS

1. 748, Joe Start, New York Mutuals - St. Louis Brown Stockings - Chicago White Stockings
2. 745, Ross Barnes, Boston Red Stockings - Boston Red Caps - Cincinnati Reds
3. 737, George Wright, Boston Red Stockings - Boston Red Caps - Cincinnati Reds
4. 697, George Hall, Washington Olympics - New York Mutuals - Boston Red Caps
5. 683, "Orator Jim" O'Rourke, Middletown Mansfields - Boston Red Stockings - Boston Red Caps - Providence Grays
6. 664, Ezra Sutton, Cleveland Forest Citys - Philadelphia Athletics - Louisville Grays - Boston Red Caps
7. 628, John Radcliff, Philadelphia Athletics - Louisville Grays - Milwaukee Cream Citys - Syracuse Stars
8. 622, Jimmy Wood, Chicago White Stockings - Baltimore Canaries - New Haven Elm Citys - St. Louis Brown Stockings - Providence Grays
9. 611, Dickie Flowers, Troy Haymakers - Baltimore Marylands - New York Mutuals - St. Louis Brown Stockings - Indianapolis Blues - Cleveland Blues
10. 610, Andy Leonard, Washington Olympics - Philadelphia Athletics - St. Louis Brown Stockings - Chicago White Stockings
11. 599, George Bird, Rockford Forest Citys - Philadelphia Athletics - Cincinnati Reds - Troy Trojans
12. 593, Charlie Gould, Boston Red Stockings - Boston Red Caps - Chicago White Stockings
13. 589, Jim Foran, Fort Wayne Kekiongas - Brooklyn Atlantics - Louisville Grays - Indianapolis Blues - Buffalo Bisons
14. 572, Lip Pike, Troy Haymakers - Washington Blue Legs - Hartford Dark Blues - Cincinnati Reds
15. 571, Mike McGeary, Troy Haymakers - Baltimore Marylands - Philadelphia Whites - Louisville Grays - Indianapolis Blues - Troy Trojans
16. 567, George Heubel, Philadelphia Athletics - Cincinnati Reds
17. 562, Cap Anson, Rockford Forest Citys - New York Mutuals - Boston Red Caps
18. 554, Dick Higham, New York Mutuals - Boston Red Caps
19. 549, Bill Craver, Troy Haymakers - Washington Blue Legs - Philadelphia Whites - New York Mutuals - Boston Red Caps - Indianapolis Blues - Syracuse Stars
20. 545, Clipper Flynn, Troy Haymakers - Philadelphia Whites - Hartford Dark Blues - Boston Red Caps
21. 537, Jack Burdock, Brooklyn Atlantics - Chicago White Stockings
22. 534, Candy Nelson, Troy Haymakers - Washington Blue Legs - Brooklyn Atlantics - Hartford Dark Blues - Providence Grays
23. 521, Elmer White, Cleveland Forest Citys - Elizabeth Resolutes - Chicago White Stockings
24. 513, Deacon White, Cleveland Forest Citys - Baltimore Canaries - Philadelphia Centennials - St. Louis Brown Stockings - Indianapolis Blues - Troy Trojans
25. 508, Orator Shaffer, Hartford Dark Blues - Boston Red Caps

All of the top 25 guys in hits are active at the end of 1879.

[darkhorse]

Bumpin' the best. I gets anxious during the long lulls.