August 15, 1886: Guy Hecker: hitting pitcher

At a game on a pleasant afternoon at Eclipse Park in Louisville,…

October 3, 1886: Matt Kilroy, strikeout king

In 1886 the pitcher’s box was made a foot deeper and the rule…

October 23, 1886: Curt Welch’s winning slide

After the 1885 season the two major-league pennant winners, the…

May 2, 1887: The first African-American battery

Catchers have been prized from baseball’s beginning, as evidenced…

July 14, 1887: The color line is drawn in baseball

On the morning of July 15, 1887, the New York Herald boldly titled…
John "Bud" Fowler, SABR's 2020 Overlooked 19th Century Legend who was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2022 (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY)

August 6, 1887: Bud Fowler joins the Montpelier Capital Citys

Black baseball pioneer and 2022 Hall of Famer Bud Fowler played…
Fred Carroll (TRADING CARD DB)

August 9, 1887: Radbourn, Beaneaters receive a pummeling by Pittsburgh

The Pittsburgh Alleghenys had a terrible first three months of…

October 21, 1887: Sam Thompson’s triple trouble

Sam Thompson may have been the best hitter in baseball in 1887.…
Harry Stovey (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY)

May 15, 1888: Philadelphia’s Harry Stovey hits for the cycle

Harry Stovey had the power to lead his league in home runs five…

May 27, 1888: Bridegroom Adonis Terry no-hits Louisville on a Sunday in Queens

Early in the fall of 1887, Brooklyn Grays pitcher Will Terry…

June 21, 1888: George Van Haltren tosses rain-shortened no-hitter for Chicago

Largely overlooked today, George Van Haltren was a speedy center…

August 14, 1888: Tim Keefe finally loses and “Casey at the Bat” premieres

The record for consecutive games won by a pitcher in a single…