May 28 – A man is arrested for trying to bribe John Clapp of the Cleveland Blues to throw a game. Clapp will acquire the nickname “Honest John” because he went to the police after the bribe offer was made.
May 20 – Mike “King” Kelly scores the go-ahead run by cutting short the distance rounding the bases. Kelly doesn’t come close to touching third while the umpire is looking a different direction. Kelly then pulls off the hidden ball trick in the 9th inning to preserve the win for the Chicago White Stockings.
May 14 – Charley Jones wins a judgement against the Boston Red Caps for his unpaid salary due from 1880 in an Ohio court. Cleveland law enforcement will take the money from the Red Caps share of gate receipts when Boston plays in Cleveland.
April 27 – With pitcher George Bradley already out with pneumonia, the Detroit Wolverines lose their other hurler Bill Sweeney to a pulmonary hemorrhage. Neither pitcher will ever play a single game for the Wolverines.
April 11 – The Eastern Association is formed and includes the New York Metropolitans, The Washington Nationals and Brooklyn Atlantics, all teams that have regularly played competitively against National League teams.
March 9 – The National League releases a list of 23 umpires approved to call league games.
March 8 – The National League agrees on an 84-game schedule for the upcoming season. The owners are polled and pick the Chicago White Stockings as the pre-season favorite to win the pennant.
1881 – Third baseman Jerry Denny is feted at a benefit in his hometown of San Francisco, CA just before he leaves for the East Coast to launch a professional career that will last into the 20th century.
1881 – The first of a series of Tuesday games on ice is played in Chicago, Illinois, using professional and amateur players. These games will be a regular winter feature.
1880 – At the annual National League meeting, the league rejects the Washington Nationals’ bid for admission, electing Detroit instead, although there is no established club there. The Michigan city is chosen for geographic reasons, since its 1880 population (116,340) is smaller than both Washington’s (147,293) and Cincinnati’s (255,139), the city being replaced.
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