
May 1, 1884: Fleet Walker’s major-league debut
Although the misconception has long been debunked by baseball…

May 31, 1884: Mountain Citys fall in final major-league game played in Altoona
The Altoona Mountain Citys were a short-lived major-league…

June 7, 1884: Charlie Sweeney strikes out 19 for Providence
Providence, Rhode Island, was an awfully small city for two egos…

July 7, 1884: One-Arm Daily strikes out 19 (or 20)
Like Three-Fingered Brown after him, Hugh "One-Arm" Daily was…

July 28, 1884: Old Hoss Radbourn: 59 or 60 victories?
Two remarkable pitchers powered Providence’s drive toward the…

August 4, 1884: Buffalo’s Pud Galvin pitches his second major-league no-hitter
Pud Galvin stood 5-feet-8 and weighed 190 pounds. Despite that…

October 1, 1884: Rookie Pretzels Getzien twists opponents in rain-shortened no-hitter
“Detroit’s German battery proved to be a terror to the Philadelphia…

October 4, 1884: Sam Kimber’s one-of-a-kind no-hitter
There once was a major-league game that served up all of these…

October 23-25, 1884: The first “World Series”
This chapter is not about a single game. Instead, it is about…

June 8, 1885: Presto Change! Cannonball Morris dominates after overhand pitching is suddenly legalized
Ulysses S. Grant said, “I know of no method to secure the repeal…

June 16, 1885: Henry Larkin becomes first MLB player to hit for reverse natural cycle
In the first game of the season played in Philadelphia between…

June 25, 1885: Helped by a lively ball, Philadelphia’s George Strief hits four triples
The Patent Plastic Composition Ball manufactured by A.J. Reach…

September 29-October 3, 1885: White Stockings cap a pennant chase
The 1885 National League pennant race was a battle between two…

April 20, 1886: The triumphant return of Tony Mullane
On the afternoon of April 20, 1886, some 3,500 fans gathered…

April 22, 1886: Visiting Athletics walk off Metropolitans in inaugural game at St. George Grounds
On April 22, 1886, construction wrapped up on New York’s home…

May 1, 1886: Al Atkinson throws second career no-hitter
From 1875 to 1899 there were 50 complete-game no-hitters thrown…

July 21, 1886: “A Glorious Victory”: Cuban Giants beat the Red Stockings
Formed by Frank P. Thompson, headwaiter of the Argyle Hotel in…

July 24, 1886: Adonis Terry throws a no-hitter for Brooklyn … or does he?
On July 24, 1886, Adonis Terry hurled a 1-0 no-hitter for the…

August 8, 1886: Louisville Slugger Pete Browning has his ‘batting clothes on’ and hits for a natural cycle
One of the rarest occurrences in baseball is the natural cycle.…

August 15, 1886: Guy Hecker: hitting pitcher
At a game on a pleasant afternoon at Eclipse Park in Louisville,…

September 23, 1886: Chippy McGarr hits for the cycle as Athletics upset first-place Browns
At close of play on September 20, 1886, the St. Louis Browns…

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…