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…