MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SEASON RECAP 1886

Season Recap: 1886

League Champion: Chicago White Stockings

St._Louis_Browns_owner_Chris_Von_der_Ahe

St. Louis Browns owner Chris Von der Ahe takes $1,000 from the Pittsburgh Alleghenys for the rights to Sam Barkley

Washington_Nationals_baseball_team_of_the_National_League_circa_1886-1889

The Washington Nationals are admitted to the National League

Al Spaulding

Albert Spalding begins a sporting goods company with $800

Kansas City Cowboys are admitted to the National League

Kansas City Cowboys are admitted to the National League

Kansas City hires 30-year-old Dave Rowe to manage the Cowboys.

Kansas City hires 30-year-old Dave Rowe to manage the Cowboys.

1886 – The Cincinnati Red Stockings of the American Association are sold by Aaron Stern to Louis Huack, a wealthy brewer and banker.

1886 – The American Association meets and overrules president Denny McKnight (also owner of the Pittsburgh Alleghenys club) and suspends second baseman Sam Barkley for signing with Pittsburgh before the dispute over his sale is settled. The AA adopts new rules. The number of balls needed for a walk is reduced from seven to six; the pitcher’s box is one foot deeper, giving the pitcher seven feet behind the 50-foot front line in which to execute his delivery; stolen bases are adopted as an official statistic, although the definition is rather vague initially.

1886 – The National League meets and adopts the stolen base and the four foot by seven foot pitcher’s box. But the NL retains seven balls for a walk and rejects the American Association’s rule giving a batter first base on a hit by pitch.

A business wrangle in the National League ends in a weakening of the league's famous 50 cents admission standard.

A business wrangle in the National League ends in a weakening of the league’s famous 50 cents admission standard.

"I'd sure loved to have swung against today's lively ball. Yes, with my 52-ounce bat. . . . Many hitters are swinging for the fences instead of choking up. Of course, homers are nice. But I'll take a good .300 hitter who can get on base often. You can't drive in many runs batting .225 no matter how many homers you hit." — Frank "Home Run" Baker

Frank Baker is born in Trappe, Maryland

Via a transatlantic telegraph from Paris, France, American Association 40-game winner Bob Caruthers agrees to terms with St. Louis Browns owner Chris von der Ahe. Caruthers' well-publicized holdout will earn him the nickname "Parisian Bob."

Via a transatlantic telegraph from Paris, France, American Association 40-game winner Bob Caruthers agrees to terms with St. Louis Browns owner Chris von der Ahe. Caruthers’ well-publicized holdout will earn him the nickname “Parisian Bob.”

1886 – The Sporting News, the weekly that will become “The Baseball Paper of the World,” publishes its first issue.

1886 – The New York State League admits clubs from Buffalo, Toronto and Hamilton. The inclusion of the Canadian teams causes the league to change its name to the International League.

Denny McKnight

Denny McKnight, one of the founders of the American Association, is ousted from the league presidency for his partisan handling of the Sam Barkley case. Wheeler Wikoff becomes the new AA president.

1886 – The Cincinnati Red Stockings announce that the American Association pennant they won in 1882 will be flown at home games this season “for luck.”

In American Association action, St. Louis Browns player-manager Charles Comiskey prevents a double play by running full tilt into Red Stockings second baseman Bid McPhee, enabling the Browns to win, 2 – 1. The Cincinnati fans are infuriated, but the umpire certifies the play.

St. Louis SS Bill Gleason makes 6 errors to give Brooklyn a 13 – 12 win in 10 innings.

Chicago notches its most lopsided shut out victory ever‚ a 20-0 whitewash of Washington. Only two of the runs are earned against Cannonball Crane. After the 3rd inning‚ Chicago P Jim McCormick switches positions with RF John Flynn‚ who tosses the last 5 frames.

The Athletics try to slow the Browns down by loading the base paths with sand. St. Louis captain Charles Comiskey refuses to play and even helps the grounds crew remove the sand. The Browns win the two games, 18 – 1 and 11 – 3, with a total of 14 stolen bases.

1886 – Tony Mullane pitches 7 shutout innings‚ then allows 12 runs in the final 2 frames to lose to Brooklyn, 12 – 7‚ fueling suspicions that he is throwing games.

Having lost his government job because of the afternoons he missed pitching for Washington‚ Bob Barr goes on the road finally and beats the host Athletics in Philadelphia‚ 3 – 2.

St. Louis Maroons right-hander Charlie Sweeney, who will give up only nine round-trippers in 93 innings of work this season, sets a major league record when he gives up seven home runs in the team’s 14-7 loss to the Wolverines at Detroit’s Recreation Park. Allowing six gopher balls is the post-1900 mark, a dubious distinction shared by six hurlers, including Ranger right-hander R.A. Dickey, who accomplished the feat in his only appearance of the season in 2006.

Jim McCormick raises his record for the season to 16-0‚ pitching Chicago to a 7-3 victory over New York.

Jim McCormick loses his first game of the season as Mickey Welch and the Giants win‚ 7-3. The sore hands of C Mike Kelly and 5 hits by Monte Ward are the key factors.

1886 – Rumors of the imminent demise of the St. Louis Maroons abound after star 2B Fred Dunlap is sold to Detroit for $4‚700.

1886 – Guy Hecker allows 16 hits and 11 runs and goes 4-for-5 as Louisville wins a 27 – 11 slugfest against Brooklyn. There is scoring in 13 of the 14 half innings before the game is called to allow the Grays to catch a train.

Guy Hecker

Pitcher Guy Hecker has one of the greatest days ever – at the plate – in the second game of a doubleheader between Louisville and Baltimore in the American Association. In 7 at-bats, he hits three singles and three homers, accumulating 15 total bases. He scores a record 7 runs, as he reaches base on an error in his other at-bat. Louisville wins easily, 22 – 5.

Louisville’s Chicken Wolf hits a game-winning inside-the-park home run, thanks to a stray dog impeding Abner Powell from fielding the ball. The canine, who had been sleeping by the fence, refuses to let go of the pant leg of the Reds center fielder, who watches in dismay as the Colonel batter races around the bases in the team’s 5-4 loss at Eclipse Park.

1886 – Ed “Cannonball” Crane walks 14 and adds 5 wild pitches and an error in a 15 – 2 loss to Chicago. Formerly an OF‚ Crane has just been pressed into service as a pitcher for the last-place Nationals. He’ll emerge as a regular starter for the New York Giants next year.

Connie Mack

Connie Mack makes his major league debut as the Nationals edge Philadelphia, 4 – 3.

Roger Connor becomes the first and only player to hit a ball out of the original Polo Grounds (110th Street and Fifth Avenue). The Giants’ first baseman receives a $500 gold watch from stockbrokers and others to honor his accomplishment.

The AA season ends with 2 games in Philadelphia. Harry Stovey hits a HR to give him at least a share of the Association leadership for the 4th consecutive season.

Ned_Williamson_Baseball_Card

The Unconventional Pitching Duel of 1886 World Series Game 5

The Sporting News publishes the official National League averages, which show King Kelly as the batting champ with a .388 average

The Sporting News publishes the official National League averages, which show King Kelly as the batting champ with a .388 average

The Executive Council of the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players meets and chooses officers

The Executive Council of the Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players meets and chooses officers

Although teams routinely buy players from other teams, the Reds and Browns become the first clubs to make a trade. St. Louis deals outfielder Hugh Nicol, who will be credited with 138 stolen bases next season, to Cincinnati in exchange for backstop “Honest” Jack Boyle, a rookie with one game of major league experience, and more importantly $400.

1886 – The official American Association batting averages show Dave Orr with .346 edging Bob Caruthers and Guy Hecker, both at .342.

Cincinnati Red Stockings and St. Louis Browns make the first recorded trade

Cincinnati Red Stockings and St. Louis Browns make the first recorded trade

The Pittsburgh Alleghenys leave the American Association to join the National League

The Pittsburgh Alleghenys leave the American Association to join the National League

1886 – The St. Louis Maroons trade 1B Alex McKinnon to Pittsburgh for 1B Otto Schomberg and $400.

1886 – The American Association meets and ratifies the new rules. It also approves the new clause that allows a club to reserve a player for as long as it wants, not just for next year’s contract.

Tyrus Raymond Cobb is born in a rural Georgian farming community known as “The Narrows.”

Tyrus Raymond Cobb is born in a rural Georgian farming community known as “The Narrows.”

1886 – The Cleveland Blues hire outfielder Pete Hotaling and Jimmy Williams as manager of the new American Association team. The club has already secured a large park site on East 39th street, well removed from downtown.

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