Boston Beaneaters of 1892

The result of the prior year’s conflict between the two major circuits ended with the demise of the American Association.1 It was also the death of a favorable two-league balance for all concerned. Specifically, that meant the interleague rivalry both on the diamond and through the turnstiles that previously produced the ballplayers’ edge in the market. For the first time since 1881, the only operating major league left in baseball was the National League.

The league’s new name was now officially the National League and American Association of Professional Base Ball Clubs, which suggests a merger. It was not a merger but an absorption of the Association’s four most desirable clubs, Louisville, Washington, St. Louis, and Baltimore. The League, after 16 years, had evolved into a nice blend of six Eastern and six Western members in roughly the same Northeastern quarter of the nation that major-league baseball would represent for the next 66 years.2

The Triumvirs (Arthur Soden, James B. Billings, and William H. Conant) were in a windfall position since recent events left the Beaneaters (or Bean-eaters, or Bean Eaters, or even Reds in rare instances) as the sole major-league team in the Boston area. Actually, Charles A. Prince, owner of the Boston Reds of the American Association, had desired to leave baseball in any event and agreed to the League’s terms without much difficulty.

One of the first monopolistic moves that the owners undertook was to limit each club to 15 players, an increase of one from the previous five years.3 Manager Frank Selee’s roster was basically a mirror of last October’s club except for three remarkable gains. The first was Jack Stivetts, the stocky right-handed 33-game winner for the St. Louis Browns of a year earlier. Happy Jack, as he was called, was downhearted playing for Chris Von der Ahe, owner of the Browns, and signed with Boston for 1892 one month before the end of the 1891 season.4 Von der Ahe also lost his brilliant right fielder, Tommy McCarthy, to the Boston triumvirate and vainly demanded some sort of redemption from their organization. Von der Ahe’s redemption was achieved to his own peculiar satisfaction when he sent two constables to Tommy’s room at the Lindell Hotel in St. Louis on April 30 and seized his watch and chain to force satisfaction of a claim for $300 advance money given by the Browns’ owner. McCarthy paid $19.50 to get his timepiece returned; Von der Ahe then signed Boston’s recently released Steve Brodie, whom McCarthy replaced.5 McCarthy was a hometown boy, born in South Boston on July 24, 1863, and had played 40 games for the Beaneaters back in 1885. Manager Selee had managed McCarthy with Oshkosh of the Northwestern League in 1887.6 The Beaneaters also signed “Humpty Dumpty” Hugh Duffy, the center fielder at the Congress Street Grounds, where the Boston Reds played, and the only one of Prince’s athletes who signed to play at the South End, a player the Boston directors had coveted for years. Duffy, who was the spring season coach for the Brown University team in Providence, was “looking fine as silk” after shedding about 12 pounds.7 The outfield duo of Duffy and McCarthy became forever known as the Heavenly Twins.8

To heighten fan interest, the League-Association reintroduced a split-season format. With an expanded 154-game schedule, the champions of the first 77 games were to meet the winner of the second 77 in a best-of-nine series for the world’s championship.9

The “Spring Programme” arranged by manager Selee began on March 31 at Charlottesville, Virginia, with two or three games against the University of Virginia nine. The team also played games in Richmond, Virginia, and Naugatuck, Connecticut, near Waterbury. The schedule concluded with games against Yale University, Brown University, and finally Princeton University on the way south to Washington.10

The regular-season opener was played on April 12 at National Park in Washington on a bitter cold day before 6,000 to 7,000 spectators, overflowing the grandstand and bleachers.11 The Beaneaters, behind a 13-hit attack, trounced the Senators, 14-4, scoring six times in the seventh inning. Selee’s lineup included Herman Long at short, Duffy in center, Harry Stovey in left, Tommy McCarthy in right, Captain Billy Nash at third, aging Mike “King” Kelly catching, Australian Joe Quinn at second, switch-hitting Tommy “Foghorn” Tucker at first, and 30-year-old John Clarkson in the box.12

With essentially this same Opening Day lineup, Boston surged to the forefront with the power and purpose of 400 stampeding buffalo (which was about all that remained of the species in 1892). Selee’s nine won 12 of their first 15 matches.

His battery troupe alternated between catchers Mike Kelly, 37-year-old Charlie Bennett, and Charlie Ganzel, and pitchers Kid Nichols, Jack Stivetts, and Harry Staley, who together with Clarkson completed what appeared to be the first great starting rotation of four.

The Beaneaters won 15 of their first 18 matches, almost entirely on the road, before losing two in a row against the Cleveland Spiders at League Park on May 9 and 10. One of the more interesting games during that stretch was a scoreless 14-inning tie at Cincinnati’s League Park on May 6 between Clarkson and Icebox Chamberlain of the Reds. Both hurlers completed what they started in the 2-hour 35-minute marathon. The pitchers’ duel also extended to the bat, as the two boxmen both connected for two-base hits.13

The two victories on Decoration Day (Memorial Day) drew 3,687 fans to the morning game at the South End, while the afternoon game drew 7,367.14 The morning contest featured John Clarkson versus Cy Young and the Spiders in an exciting 10-inning duel cleanly played for the first nine innings. The game was decided in the 10th by two walks, Young’s miscue, and singles by Kelly and Stovey for a 4-0 triumph. If we ignore the five-run fifth that Cleveland fashioned, the afternoon match was a cakewalk for the Beaneaters, as the cranks were entertained to a 12-6 victory. King Kelly was the star with a double, two singles, and brilliant catching, helping Harry Staley win his eighth straight game.15

After Stivetts completed the three-game sweep of Cleveland by outpitching the Spiders’ Nig Cuppy on May 31 by a score of 2-1, Boston found itself with a 4½-game lead over the second-place Chicago Colts, and stood 27-9.

The individual statistics as of June 9 placed Duffy ninth in batting at .320, but Boston was only eighth with a .234 average. Stivetts was first in the long-forgotten average earned-runs-per-game-by-opposition at 0.91. The Bostonians ranked just fifth in fielding average with a .934 average.16 The early numbers and facts supported Cap Anson’s claim that the Beaneaters were lucky. Even Stivetts wondered how the club kept winning despite a lack of hitting. His guess was that winning can be attributed to pitching and baserunning.17

In June, the club won 18 of 27 matches behind the tandem of Nichols winning eight of nine games, and Stivetts who won seven of eight while pacing the league in batting. Nichols, with two straight shutouts on June 22 and 24, had a string of 23 scoreless innings before giving up a run in the first inning at New York on June 27. Staley, with his effective “drops,” started just four games, with meager run support. Boston had improved to 45-18 with a 5½-game lead over Brooklyn with just 12 days to go before the end of the season’s first half.

June was a month of adjustments as club owners cut their squads to 13 in an effort to help defray the $130,000 indebtedness owed to the four frozen-out clubs of the American Association. Boston’s two casualties were genial Harry Stovey and John Clarkson. Stovey, hitting just .164 over 38 games, was given the usual 10-day notice on June 20 for his release effective July 1.18 His lackluster performance possibly resulted from what was described as a case of vertigo, or sore side, or some other undescribed ailment along with a strained hip early in the season; nonetheless, the 35-year-old landed a job with the hapless Baltimore Orioles on July 9 and managed better personal results.19 John Clarkson was released on June 30 when his sore arm recurred.20 His record up to his discharge was eight wins and seven losses. In one grand fling to the winds, the Triumvirs unloaded two of their oldest players and their heavy contracts as well.

For Clarkson it was especially thankless. Handsome John piled up 149 victories during his 4½ years with the Beaneaters, placing him second only to Albert Spalding in the 22-year history of the club. He was also the club’s last 40-game winner (1889).

The loss of Clarkson was more than made up for by the singular efforts of Stivetts, the most valuable player on the squad. Not only did he match Nichols’ record of 35 wins and 16 losses, Jack helped himself offensively with three homers and a .296 batting average, second best on the team.

Stovey’s replacement in left field was Bobby Lowe, 26 years old, who was usually placed sixth or seventh in the batting order during the second half. Manager Selee, however, had no choice but to settle on his three remaining boxmen for the rest of the year, a simple task considering the lack in quality, depth, and endurance that the other managers were faced with. Clarkson’s last game as a Beaneater came on June 28 in an 8-1 defeat at the hands of Timothy Keefe and the rising second-place Phillies at their cavernous Huntingdon Grounds in Philadelphia. Clarkson eventually landed with the Spiders of Cleveland and lost all three of his starts against his former club, all against Staley.

Near the end of the first half, Billy Nash, under a two-year contract, decided that the rigors of being captain detracted too much from his performance on the baseball diamond. It didn’t help that he missed several games because of an injured hand with the first-half flag on the line.21 Kelly, with all his savvy and experience, was awarded the position, this time without John Morrill, his old nemesis, to oversee his off-field antics.22

On July 11, new captain King Kelly had his gang take the field sporting beards in all sorts of ridiculous uniforms of ethnic varieties at Chicago’s West Side Park, much to the dismay of Cap Anson and the Chicago reporters. The masquerade was in retaliation for Anson appearing at the South End with a set of long whiskers. Aside from the display, Boston won the match, 3-2, behind Kid Nichols.23

Billy Nash and Frank Selee guided their crew to a record of 52 wins and 22 losses to take the first-half title or pennant by 2½ games over Brooklyn. The Beaneaters defeated the Bridegrooms four out of seven times during the half.

The figures for the first half, which ended on July 13, showed that Stivetts was the top hitter in the league at .382, but with just 102 at-bats. For the twenty-first-century fan, the more acceptable leader was Oyster Burns of Brooklyn with a .366 average based on 262 at-bats. Among everyday players with an acceptable number of at-bats, Hugh Duffy was Boston’s top batter and fourth overall in the League-Association with a .333 average. Herman Long was third on the club at .296 and Tucker was fourth with a .266 average, which placed him 44th in the league. Apart from Stivetts, the Beaneaters pitchers collectively hit .159 with eight long hits. Fielding was mixed as Ganzel led all catchers in fielding average (.980), and pitcher Staley had committed just one error so far.24

The Bostons got off to a wobbly start in the second half, losing to St. Louis in the opener, 20-3, on July 15, as Nichols gave up 20 hits in the most lopsided defeat of the year. Their second-half record stood at 8-6 on July 31, which was good for a fifth-place tie but only a single game behind three teams in first.

Some of their troubles could be attributed to pesky injuries. Bennett had been knocked out in one game. Ganzel’s leg was incapacitated, unfit for duty, leaving poor-hitting Kelly to do all the catching. Long was suffering from an aching arm, resulting in a number of errant throws. And then there’s the familiar blame directed at the umpiring, particularly Tim Hurst, the long-serving arbiter.25

August was not much better as Selee’s crew managed a 14-11 record for the month and 22-17 for the half, rising to second place, but a distant seven games behind the surging Cleveland Spiders. The month featured four shutouts, two by Harry Staley. On August 5 Nichols pitched a 12-inning shutout against Brooklyn at Eastern Park that was finally decided when Tucker was hit by a pitch followed by a clean two-run homer by Stivetts, playing left field. The 6-foot-2 right-hander himself hurled an 11-0 no-hitter the next day against the Bridegrooms, marred a tad by five walks. It was the first in franchise history and the first one by friend or foe in Boston. On August 8 Staley pitched a four-hit whitewash of the Senators, a 7-0 victory at Boundary Field a.k.a National Park in the nation’s capital. Boston pitchers threw three consecutive shutouts and 33 consecutive innings without giving up a run.26 Notwithstanding Stivetts’s pitching, off the field he was the center of unrest on the club that may have contributed to their subpar play so far in the second half, bringing manager Selee to the brink of trading his star to Cincinnati in exchange for Tony Mullane.27

Four players made appearances in just one game for Boston during the season. The first was catcher Joe Daly, the 23-year-old brother of Tom Daly of the Brooklyn Bridegrooms. Daly began the year with Columbia of the four-team South Atlantic League that went belly-up in late July. His one appearance for the Beaneaters came in relief of Kelly on August 13 against Philadelphia.28 A fortnight later, handsome Lee Viau, recently released by Louisville, was signed and pitched one game on August 27, a nifty five-hit, 8-1 triumph over his former teammates at Eclipse Park. Selee changed his lineup for the match by placing Lowe in the leadoff spot and moving each player down a notch.29

On August 15, one month into the second half, the Bostons found themselves in third place, 2½ games behind Cleveland after Staley shut down John Clarkson and the Spiders, 5-0. Staley allowed only two hits, a double by Chief Zimmer and a single by Clarkson. Despite missing an entire week, left fielder Bobby Lowe was the topmost hitter on the club for the second half with a .313 average, followed by Billy Nash at .305.30

The determined Hubites steamrolled over the remainder of the second half, winning 28 out of 37 matches, and finishing three games behind the Spiders in second place. Under King Kelly’s field leadership, the Beaneaters won 50 out of 76 decisions that still prompted some observers to accuse Boston of coasting in the second half. The Beaneaters, in any case, made history and became the first team to pass the century mark in one season, amassing 102 victories overall and a .680 winning percentage.

As a point of interest, John Clarkson’s younger brother, Arthur, a blond 26-year-old right-hander nicknamed Dad at some point in his career, was plucked from the Philadelphia bench and/or the Troy Trojans where he had pitched 390 innings. He started one game for Boston and defeated Amos Rusie and New York, 3-1, in the second game of a doubleheader on October 8, a seven-inning affair.31 The only other player to appear for Boston in one game was catcher Dan Burke, formerly of the Brockton Shoemakers, on October 1, after Kelly hurt his finger the previous day.32

Part of Boston’s improvement over the 1891 season was due to the team’s consistency on the road. There was no missing the fact, however, that Boston only did what the other seven National League seniors had done. The four hapless remnants of the Association were picked to pieces by the gang of eight and finished 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th. 

For good measure, Stivetts added a five-inning, 6-0 no-hitter against Washington at Boundary Field in the second game of a doubleheader on October 15, the final game of the regular season. It was also the last regular-season no-hitter hurled from the literal “box” of the pitcher.

There was a rumor or possibly a consideration that the world’s championship would not be played, but played it was to the satisfaction of Boston’s and Cleveland’s populace. The series would consist of three games in Cleveland, three in Boston, and three in New York if necessary.33

The much-anticipated first game was played at League Park in Cleveland on October 17 before 6,000 spectators including League President N.E. Young, and several League umpires.34 The crowd was blessed by a marvelous pitching battle between Jack Stivetts and Cy Young, backed by several extraordinary defensive gems and a pitching struggle for the ages as Stivetts battled Young in a scoreless tie that went 11 innings until darkness prevented its conclusion. Both teams had opportunities to score. Duffy in the fourth inning and Lowe in the fifth were the only Beaneaters to reach third base. For the Spiders, Jesse Burkett took a chance during a discussion between Quinn and the umpire and dashed for home.35Quinn threw a perfect throw to catcher Kelly and Burkett was tagged out one foot from the plate.36

The next day Harry Staley held the Spiders to three runs on 10 hits and bested John Clarkson, 4-3, before 7,500 spectators at League Park. The batting hero for the Beaneaters was Hugh Duffy with a double and two triples. Down 4-2, the Spiders had a chance to tie in the ninth inning when catcher Chief Zimmer banged a two-out triple that hit the top of the left-field fence, over 350 feet from home plate, scoring Jack O’Connor who singled. However, Clarkson – hitting just .139 for Cleveland – hit the ball hard to Staley, who fumbled momentarily before recovering and tossing the ball to Tucker at first to end the game.37

Game Three was played at League Park on October 19 before 7,500 fans on a clear, balmy afternoon. It was a rematch between Young and Stivetts in the box, as both struggled through the first couple of innings. For the Spiders, Cupid Childs led off with a smash past Nash at third base for a single; Burkett followed with a double to left, putting men on second and third. Ed McKean then drove both runners home with a one-out single to center. The Spiders never scored again. In Boston’s half of the first inning, Herman Long singled, but was forced out by McCarthy, who then stole second. With two out, catcher Charlie Ganzel singled to right, scoring McCarthy. In Boston’s half of the second inning, Bobby Lowe singled to left and was advanced to second base by Tucker’s sacrifice. Light-hitting Quinn lifted a fly ball to left field that Burkett misjudged, giving the second baseman a gift double and Boston’s second run and tying the game, 2-2. The teams failed to score until Boston’s half of the eighth inning when Stivetts doubled and then scored on McCarthy’s single for what turned out to be the winning run. Cleveland mounted a threat in the ninth as Jimmy McAleer got to third where he “died.”38

The two contestants then changed their base of operations and two days later, on October 21, the series continued at Boston’s South End Grounds before 6,547 spectators, enjoying the cool but fair weather. For the first time the Beaneaters appeared in blue stockings instead of their familiar red. The Boston battery consisted of Nichols in the box and Charlie Bennett behind the plate. The Cleveland battery comprised Nig Cuppy pitching and Zimmer once again behind home base.

Cupid Childs walked to open the match, but failed to reach second. In the Boston half of the first, Cuppy gave up one-out walks to McCarthy and Duffy without any damage. The Beaneaters scored in the third inning when McCarthy walked for the second time and Duffy hit the first offering over the right-field fence, much to the delight of the home crowd. Nichols continued to hold the Spiders scoreless with a couple of key strikeouts, backed by some fine fielding, especially by Billy Nash at the hot corner. In the sixth inning, Boston rallied for two more runs. Duffy opened with a single but was cut down by Zimmer trying to steal. Nash got to first on an error by first baseman Jake Virtue, who dropped shortstop Ed McKean’s wide throw. Nash stole second, and went to third on a safe bunt hit by Lowe, who then stole second. Light-hitting Quinn brought both runners in with a sharp hit up the middle. The final score was 4-0, as Boston won its third game without a loss.39

The fifth game of the championship series was played on Saturday, October 22, in the presence of 8,486 recorded fans at the South End. Cy Young complained of a lame arm and was replaced in the box by John Clarkson for his fifth attempt to defeat his former teammates.

The Cleveland devotees became jubilant after the Spiders scored six times off Harry Staley in the second inning. With two away, Chief Zimmer singled. The next batter was manager Patsy Tebeau, who gained first base on Herman Long’s fumble. Clarkson then cracked a homer over the right-field fence for a 3-0 lead, but the visitors were not finished. Another two runs were scored after a single by Childs and another error by Long allowing Burkett to reach first, and a walk to Virtue to load the bases. Shortstop Ed McKean drove in Zimmer and Tebeau with a blast off the top board of the right-field fence. Virtue scored the sixth run while catcher Ganzel tried to throw out McKean trying to steal second base.

The score stood at 6-0 until the fourth inning when the Beaneaters began to pound what were described as Clarkson’s dewdrops and cut the deficit in half with three runs on four singles and two sacrifice hits. In the top of the fifth Cleveland scored one run when McKean singled, McAleer sacrificed, and Zimmer got a base hit to drive McKean in. With the score 7-3, Boston answered in its half of the fifth with two more runs. Herman Long reached first on an error by third baseman Tebeau and scored on McCarthy’s double to right. Duffy sacrificed him to third and McCarthy scored on Billy Nash’s fly ball to deep left, making the score 7-5. In the last of the sixth, Boston scored four more runs to take the lead on a single by Quinn, a triple by Stivetts, a single by Long to tie the score, and a wild throw by Tebeau to put McCarthy on second. On the play, Childs threw out Long trying to score. Duffy’s double to right scored McCarthy for the go-ahead and eventual winning run, and a single by Ganzel drove in the ninth run. Three more insurance runs were tallied in the last of the seventh, the big blow being Tucker’s home run over the right-field fence. Jack Stivetts allowed just one man to reach first over the final three innings. The final score was an extraordinary come-from-behind 12-7 victory.40

Selee’s nine needed just one more victory to capture the championship. With the series outcome nearly assured, the turnout for the finale on October 24 was only about a third of the South End capacity.41 It didn’t help that the fair weather was in the 50s.

Once again Kid Nichols battled Cy Young. The umpires were Jack McQuaid on the bases and John Gaffney behind the plate. The Spiders grabbed a 3-0 lead in the third inning with singles by Young, Childs, and Burkett, who stole second base, and a wild throw. In the Boston half, however, the locals fought back with two runs as Nichols scored on Virtue’s error and McCarthy scored on Duffy’s double to left. In the fourth inning Boston teed off on Young’s curves, scoring two more runs as Tucker, Bennett, and Nichols all singled, giving the Beaneaters a 4-3 lead. They added a run in the fifth when McCarthy doubled, moved to third on Duffy’s hit, and scored on Tucker’s grounder. In the sixth inning, Bennett smashed a home run over the right-field fence, improving the lead to 6-3.42 Boston scored one run each in the seventh and eighth innings. The final score was 8-3 and Boston won the World’s Flag for 1892 and their ninth pennant in what was described as a “Blooming Walk.”43

When the final out was recorded, friends and fans of the team took to the field to congratulate their Beaneaters. Arthur Soden presented Frank Selee with a $1,000 check to be disbursed among the 13 players, about $76.92 per man.44

Not everyone was pleased. Had Cleveland won the fifth game, the series would have resumed in New York, where greater crowds meant more money, something the League’s magnates were quietly wishing for. In fact, the feeling in the baseball world was that the double season was doomed. On the other hand, the 12-team league was simply too large for a practical or interesting race.

Although he was well back of Cupid Childs (.3351) and Dan Brouthers (.335) in the batting race, Hugh Duffy, who led his team during the regular season with a revised .301 average [an original average of .302] became the pre-eminent hitting star of the series with 12 hits, two doubles, two triples, and one homer, stamping him “as a man for an emergency.”45

On October 27, 1,200 spectators attended a benefit in honor of the champs. The attractions included races and throwing competitions plus a five-inning match between a picked nine and the regulars that the Beaneaters lost through carelessness. The Beaneaters’ longtime booster, General Arthur Dixwell, awarded each member of the Boston club a scarf pin.46

After the benefit, the players left for their homes, although some, like King Kelly, appeared on stage with Tony Lions in a performance of We Never Strike Out.47 Kelly, along with Duffy and McCarthy, could be seen refereeing New England Polo League matches until winter set in. Bobby Lowe left for California after a stint with Uncle Billy Marshall’s billiard parlor, and manager Frank Selee left for Melrose, about eight miles north of Boston, to build a house.48

 

Notes

1 “The Real Situation,” The Sporting News, December 12, 1891: 1.

2 In 1958 the Dodgers and the Giants moved to the West Coast.

3 The 15-player limit is noted by Harold Seymour in Baseball: The Early Years (New York: Oxford University Press, 1989), 266.

4 George V. Tuohey, A History of the Boston Baseball Club (Boston: M.F. Quinn & Co., 1897), 106.

5 “Unworthy a Magnate,” Sporting Life, May 7, 1892: 1; “The Browns’ Work, Tommy McCarthy’s Case,” The Sporting News, May 14, 1892: 1.

6 A.D. Suehsdorf, “Frank Selee, Dynasty Builder,” The National Pastime, 1987: 330.

7 Boston Globe, February 22, 1892: 9; Jacob B. Morse, Hub Happenings, “That Cracking Outfield,” Sporting Life, March 26, 1892: 15.

8 Donald Hubbard The Heavenly Twins of Boston Baseball (Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2008).

9 In 1892 the postseason series was normally called the World’s Championship and the Championship Series, and the World’s Championship series.

10 Jacob B. Morse, “Hub Happenings,” Sporting Life, March 26, 1892: 15.

11 Boundary Field was identified as National Park in The Sporting News, April 30, 1892: 1.

12 Duffy, McCarthy, Kelly, and Clarkson, as well as Selee himself were eventually enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

13 National League “Games Played Friday, May 6,” Sporting Life, May 14, 1892: 8.

14 “Decoration Day Attendance,” Sporting Life, June 4, 1892: 2.

15 “Games Played Monday, May 30,” Sporting Life, June 4, 1892: 3.

16 “The Big League Averages,” The Sporting News, June 18, 1892: 4. 

17  “Boston Ways,” Sporting Life, July 16, 1892: 1.

18 T.H. Murnane, “Pretty Finish,” Boston Daily Globe, June 21, 1892: 12.

19 “New York Wants Stovey,” The Sporting News, May 7, 1892: 1; “Base Ball, Caught on the Fly,” The Sporting News, May 21, 1892: 3; T.H.M., “Boston Releases Stovey,” The Sporting News, June 25, 1892: 1; “Keeps the Boys Guessing,” Boston Globe, May 10, 1892: 21; and various other sources.  

20 Harold Kaese, The Boston Braves (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 2004), 60.

21 T.H. Murnane, “Cannot Lose It,” Boston Globe, July 9, 1892: 5.

22 Sporting Life, August 13, 1892: 9; T.H. Murnane, “Awake at Last,” Boston Globe, July 21, 1892: 5.

23  W.H.K., “Kelly’s Little Joke,” The Sporting News, July 16, 1892: 1; Base Ball, “Caught on the Fly,” July 23, 1892: 3. 

24 “Work of League Players,” Sporting Life, July 23, 1892: 4. The author used original statistics.

25 Jacob C. Morse, “Hub Happenings,” Sporting Life, July 30, 1892: 9.

26  “National League,” Sporting Life, August 13, 1892: 3.

27 T.H. Murnane, “Shut Out,” Boston Daily Globe, August 27, 1892: 5.   

28  National League, “Games Played Saturday, August 13,” Sporting Life, August 20, 1892: 3.

29 The World, August 28, 1892: 8; Logansport (Indiana) Chronicle, September 15, 1906: 6.

30  “League Leaders,” Sporting Life, August 20, 1892: 3.

31  Jacob C. Morse, “Hub Happenings,” Sporting Life, October 15, 1892: 9.

32  National League, “Games Played Saturday, October 1,” Sporting Life, October 8, 1892: 4.

33 Boston Evening Transcript, October 17. 1892: 7.

34 According to various sources, the park had a capacity of 9,000 or 10,000.

35 Bob Emslie and Pop Snyder were the umpires, according to The Sporting News box score.

36  Logansport (Indiana) Daily Pharos-Tribune, October 18, 1892: 1; “For the Big Pennant, the Good Work Continues,” The Sporting News,October 22, 1892: 3. 

37 George Davis, who didn’t finish the first game due to a sprained tendon in his heel, was unavailable for pinch-hitting.

38  “For the Big Pennant,” The Sporting News, October 22, 1892: 3.

39 T.H. Murnane, “Duffy Again,” Boston Daily Globe, October 22, 1892: 11.

40 The facts for the fifth game were drawn from the October 25 issue of the Boston Globe and the October 29 issue of The Sporting News.

41 Two references reported a crowd of 2,000. The park’s capacity in 1888 was 6,800.

42 Cy Young thus became the last pitcher to serve up a home run from the pitcher’s box in a major-league game. The box was 5½ feet long and Young was required to place one foot on the back line before his delivery, a distance of 55½ feet from the four-sided home plate.

43 Bean Blower, “In a Blooming Walk,” The Sporting News, October 29, 1892: 3.

44 T.H. Murnane, “Five Straight,” Boston Globe, October 25, 1892: 5.

45  Duffy’s original average was .302 per Reach’s Official 1893 Base Ball Guide; also .319 per Clarence Dow, “Cold Numerals,” Boston Globe, October 19, 1892: 5. See also “The World’s Series, Review of the Series,” Sporting Life, October 29, 1892: 3.

46 “Picked Team Won,” Boston Globe, October 28, 1892: 3; Boston Evening Transcript, October 28. 1892: 10.

47  “Kelly’s Future,” The Sporting News, October 29, 1892: 3.

48 For Kelly, Duffy, and McCarthy, see Boston Post, November 5, 1892: 5; and various other sources. For Lowe, see Boston Post, December 1, 1892: 3; and for Selee, see “Personals,” Sporting Life, November 12, 1892: 3.