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…

October 21, 1887: Sam Thompson’s triple trouble

Sam Thompson may have been the best hitter in baseball in 1887.…

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

On the morning of July 15, 1887, the New York Herald boldly titled…

May 2, 1887: The first African-American battery

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

October 23, 1886: Curt Welch’s winning slide

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

October 3, 1886: Matt Kilroy, strikeout king

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

August 15, 1886: Guy Hecker: hitting pitcher

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

July 21, 1886: “A Glorious Victory”: Cuban Giants beat the Red Stockings

Formed by Frank P. Thompson, headwaiter of the Argyle Hotel in…

September 29-October 3, 1885: White Stockings cap a pennant chase

The 1885 National League pennant race was a battle between two…

October 23-25, 1884: The first “World Series”

This chapter is not about a single game. Instead, it is about…

July 28, 1884: Old Hoss Radbourn: 59 or 60 victories?

Two remarkable pitchers powered Providence’s drive toward the…

July 7, 1884: One-Arm Daily strikes out 19 (or 20)

Like Three-Fingered Brown after him, Hugh "One-Arm" Daily was…

June 7, 1884: Charlie Sweeney strikes out 19 for Providence

Providence, Rhode Island, was an awfully small city for two egos…

May 1, 1884: Fleet Walker’s major-league debut

Although the misconception has long been debunked by baseball…

September 21-23, 1883: St. Louis Browns dynasty nipped at the wire

The 1883 American Association season had the closest major-league…

September 13, 1883: One hand, no hits for Hugh Daily

Cleveland fans had good reason for optimism heading into the…

September 10-13, 1883: Grasshopper Jim Whitney snatches the pennant

In September 1883 a key late-season series in Boston pitted perennial…

August 10, 1883: Cap Anson vs. Fleet Walker

The beginning of the end of African American participation…

October 6, 1882: The first meeting of champions

It’s hard to imagine big-league baseball without a series at…

September 13, 1882: The innovative mind of King Kelly

In his year-end assessment of baseball in 1882, Henry Chadwick…

August 17, 1882: Radbourn The Slugger

1882 Providence Grays. Back: Paul Hines, Jerry Denny, Hoss…

July 18, 1882: Tony Mullane goes both ways

You have to wonder what kind of mind-altering substance could…

May 2, 1882: The Beer and Whiskey League: Day One

The inaugural American Association season opened on May 2, 1882,…

September 10, 1881: Roger Connor’s ‘ultimate’ grand slam

Nearly half a century before baseball borrowed the expression…