Seasons MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL SEASON RECAP 1888 December 24, 1888January 28, 2020 Seasons Season Recap: 1888 League Champion: New York Giants Sort bySearch Days, Events, Players Title (A - Z)Date (Newest) January 2, 1888 star second baseman Fred “Sure Shot” Dunlap signs with Pittsburgh of the National League January 12, 1888 1888 Chicago White Stockings January 15, 1888 In San Francisco, CA, New York Giants pitcher George Van Haltren tosses a no-hitter against the St. Louis Browns in an exhibition game January 15, 1888 The Texas League is organized when the following six cities are awarded franchises: Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, Galveston, Houston, and San Antonio. January 17, 1888 The Kansas City Cowboys franchise is admitted to the American Association to replace the New York Metropolitans January 23, 1888 Harry Spence is hired to manage the Indianapolis Hoosiers of the National League. January 27, 1888 The Brooklyn Bridegrooms keep five players of the recently purchased New York Metropolitans franchise and sell the rest of the squad and four Brooklyn players to the Kansas City Cowboys for $7,000. January 28, 1888 1888 – In Chicago, IL, 350 fans brave the weather to watch a baseball game on ice at Lincoln Park. Second baseman Fred Pfeffer of the Chicago White Stockings plays wearing a top hat. After two hours and five innings of play, the game is called. The “Spaldings” defeat the “North-Siders”, 7 – 6. February 23, 1888 James “Pud” Galvin signs with Pittsburgh for $3,000, including $1,000 in advance. February 29, 1888 1888 – In a spring training game in New Orleans, LA, Cincinnati Red Stockings catcher Kid Baldwin slugs the umpire during an argument and narrowly escapes arrest. March 1, 1888 The Washington Nationals National League club leaves on its southern tour a day earlier than scheduled, due to a superstition against starting a trip on a Friday. March 2, 1888 1888 – The National League meets in New York and abolishes all discounts from the 50-cent minimum admission price. Despite the demands of the Brotherhood and the fact that the rule is practically a dead letter, the NL refuses to drop its $2,000 salary limit rule. The schedule committee recommends that the season go to 140 games from the current 126. March 5, 1888 The American Association meets in Brooklyn, New York, and votes to make use of turnstiles mandatory at all entrances to its parks. March 20, 1888 Albert Spalding announces a baseball tour to Australia next winter with his Chicago team and a squad of National League All-Stars. March 22, 1888 3B/C Deacon White signs with the Detroit Wolverines after a prolonged battle with manager Bill Watkins, under whom White had said he’d never play. March 25, 1888 1888 – The St. Louis Browns of the American Association open the training season with an exhibition game versus the St. Louis Whites, a new Western Association team. Among the 10 cities in the W.A., four also host major league clubs April 1, 1888 1888 Chicago White Stockings baseball team April 28, 1888 The champion Wolverines rebound by beating the Hoosiers‚ 1-0‚ on Charlie Getzien’s 4-hitter and Sam Thompson’s HR. May 9, 1888 With a twelve-run lead, Louisville Colonels right-handed pitcher Icebox Chamberlain holds the Kansas City Cowboys scoreless pitching left-handed for the last two innings. June 1, 1888 South End Grounds between the Boston Nationals and the New York Giants June 3, 1888 The first publication of Ernest L. Thayer’s poem Casey at the Bat appears in the San Francisco Examiner. The work is originally published under the pen name ‘Phin’ because the poet feels embarrassed by what he considers to be bad verse and decides to keep his identity a secret until others come forward to claim the work to be their own. June 10, 1888 The Athletics play their first official Sunday home game at Gloucester, NJ‚ or so they think. The American Association secretary will later rule the game illegally rescheduled and throw it out of official records. June 25, 1888 At Sportsman’s Park, Kansas City third baseman Jumbo Davis makes five errors in the team’s 10-3 loss to St. Louis. The 26 year-old Cowboys infielder will commit 100 errors in 628 chances, finishing the season with a .841 fielding percentage for the American Association club. His bat kept in him the line up as he did drive in 109 runs and hit 19 triples. June 29, 1888 Beaneaters release vets Ezra Sutton and Jack Burdock July 1, 1888 Future Hall of Fame first baseman Ben Taylor is born in Anderson, SC July 9, 1888 Hardie Richardson‚ Fred Dunlap’s replacement‚ breaks his ankle and is lost for the season. August 12, 1888 1888 – St. Louis’s Charles “Silver” King posts his 30th win of the season‚ besting the Athletics with a 2 – 0 two-hitter. The game is marred by the collapse of an elevated walkway at Sportsman’s Park‚ but there are no serious injuries. August 14, 1888 Tim Keefe’s nineteen game winning streak ends when Gus Krock and the White Stockings defeat the Giants at the Polo Grounds, 4-2. The future Hall of Fame right-hander, who will amass 342 career victories, will finish the season with a 35-12 record. September 1, 1888 1888 – St. Louis slugger Tip O’Neill hits a home run over the fence in the 8th inning and lays down a game-winning bunt single in the 10th inning to beat Athletics ace Ed Seward, 3 – 2. O’Neill will win the American Association batting title with a .335 average. September 6, 1888 1888 – The National League Indianapolis Hoosiers club tries its second experimental night game (the first was on August 22nd), but the natural gas illumination is inadequate, and the idea is dropped. September 6, 1888 future Hall of Fame pitcher Urban “Red” Faber was born in Cascade, Iowa October 5, 1888 At Swampoodle Grounds in Washington, D.C., James Francis Galvin of the Pittsburgh Alleghenys becomes baseball’s first pitcher to record his 300th victory when he defeats the hometown Senators, 5-1. The 31 year-old ‘Pud,’ a workhorse who will win 20 games 10 of the 14 seasons he plays in the big leagues, will end his career with 361 victories. November 10, 1888 1888 – In Detroit, MI, a club is organized to compete in the International Association next season to take the place of the disbanded Detroit Wolverines, fifth-place finishers this past season in the National League. The Wolverines sell off their stars, including Big Sam Thompson going to the Philadelphia Quakers, and the so-called “Big Four” Dan Brouthers and Hardy Richardson to the Boston Beaneaters and Jack Rowe and Deacon White to the Pittsburgh Alleghenys. November 15, 1888 1888 – In Los Angeles, the All-Americans of Al Spalding beat Chicago, 7 – 4, in the final game on American soil of Chicago’s world tour. Spalding’s group now sets sail for Australia. November 20, 1888 The Joint Rules Committee reduces the number of balls for a walk from five to four, establishing the four balls/three strikes count that remains in effect to this day November 21, 1888 1888 – The Cleveland Spiders are formally admitted to the National League, creating a vacancy in the American Association. Cleveland will replace the Detroit Wolverines. November 22, 1888 The National League adopts a salary classification plan that puts all players into five categories with a standard salary for each ranging from $1,500 to $2,500. The scheme is vehemently opposed by the Brotherhood. November 23, 1888 1888 – The New York Giants announce the sale of John Ward to the Washington Nationals for a record price of $12,000. But Ward, who is on tour, will eventually cancel the deal by refusing to play for Washington. December 5, 1888 1888 – Columbus is admitted to the American Association to replace Cleveland, which is moving to the National League. December 6, 1888 1888 – The American Association votes against adopting the National League’s salary classification system‚ to the surprise of the press and the delight of the Brotherhood. December 10, 1888 The Tourists play in Auckland, New Zealand, during a brief stopover. December 15, 1888 1888 – The Tourists, the world-traveling team of major leaguers put together by Al Spalding, play their first game in Australia, drawing a crowd of 5,500 in Sydney. December 17, 1888 1888 – Former Detroit players Deacon White and Jack Rowe purchase a controlling interest in the minor league Buffalo club. Though their reserve rights have been sold to Pittsburgh, both men announce plans to play in Buffalo next year. December 25, 1888 1888 – At the Pennsylvania State Agricultural Society, on the Pennsylvania State Fair Buildings and Grounds located at Broad Street & Lehigh Avenue in Philadelphia, the Downtowners beat the Uptowners in the first sanctioned indoor baseball game ever played, 6 – 1, before a crowd of 2,000. December 28, 1888 The Cuban Giants, the top colored team in the nation, announces its plans for 1889 to play games at Elysian Field & Long Island Grounds March 3, 1988 Kirk Gibson walks out of spring training
