Major League Baseball Season Recap: 1879 League Champion: Providence Grays 1879 was a crucial year for the National League. After enduring yet another multiple franchise loss (Indianapolis and Milwaukee), Hulbert acted decisively to stabilize the league and destabilize its chief rival (not in the sense of a competing major league, but rather a different way to…
1879 – The American College Baseball Association is founded in Springfield, MA. The six schools forming the group are Harvard‚ Yale‚ Princeton‚ Amherst‚ Dartmouth‚ and Brown‚ and they vote to exclude professional players from their teams. Yale‚ with the best team‚ will withdraw from the Association and only five teams will compete for the pennant in 1880. Princeton will win the 1880 season with a 6-2 record‚ though Yale will go 7-1. Yale will rejoin in 1881 and go 7-3‚ tops of the 6.
Worcester beats Providence‚ 4-3‚ giving pitcher Richmond a 7-2 record versus NL teams for the season. Harry Stovey‚ having been signed with Worcester for 1880‚ makes his debut.
1879 – Baseball’s reserve clause is born. National League owners meeting in Buffalo, NY, seeking to limit player salaries, led by Boston’s Arthur Soden come to a secret agreement whereby five players on each team will be “reserved” – off-limits to all other clubs. The reserve clause will be in effect for the 1880 season. The owners tell the newspapers that they have agreed upon a uniform contract with no salary advances.
1879 – Chicago beats Buffalo, 4 – 1, to briefly regain 2nd place over Boston.
Providence posts its third consecutive extra-inning victory and 8th straight overall‚ beating Syracuse, 3 – 2, in 12.
In the most one-sided game of the National League season‚ Chicago trounces Detroit‚ 17 – 0. Fred Goldsmith pitches for Chicago against Frank Mountain‚ and Silver Flint is 5 for 5. He also catches his 9th straight game without a passed ball.
At Star Park, Harry McCormick, the Syracuse starter, hits a first-inning homer to beat Tommy Bond and the Boston Red Stockings, 1-0. This most likely will be the only occurrence in major league history that a pitcher will record a 1-0 victory, with his own first inning round-tripper being the game’s lone run.
On June 10, 1879 Providence plays errorless ball for the first time this season and beats Cincinnati‚ 11 – 1.
Providence scores 10 runs in the 1st inning and routs the Cincinnati team‚ 17 – 1. Two Providence runners are thrown out trying to steal in the big inning.