Minor Leagues – Society for American Baseball Research

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)

May 17, 1878: Bud Fowler becomes the first Black player in Organized Baseball

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

1887-88 photo of Jacob White Eyes as an 18-year-old student of the Educational Home for Boys, by John N. Choate, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution.

July 30, 1889: Hazleton’s Jacob White Eyes competes in pitchers’ duel in Harrisburg

August 23, 1889: Kid Nichols and Omaha White Sox edge Sioux City on Ladies’ Day

May 1, 1890: Detroit Wolverines top Toronto in ragged season opener

Cy Young (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY)

May 6-8, 1890: Canton’s Cy Young wins one and loses one in Akron

Kid Carsey (June 30, 1894, New York Clipper)

October 12, 1890: Oakland’s Kid Carsey hurls no-hitter in San Francisco

Thomas Robinson (Trading Card DB)

April 13-15, 1892: Rickety barn in right field steals the show in Oakland

Honus Wagner (COURTESY OF STEPHEN V. RICE)

May 5, 1897: Honus Wagner leads Paterson to victory in Lancaster’s home opener

Ottawa Wanderers

July 19, 1898: Jimmy ‘Gussie’ Gannon leads Ottawa to its first home victory in professional baseball

April 19, 1900: A “Basket of Fresh Goose Eggs”

May 1, 1900: With encouragement from his manager, Christy Mathewson wins his first start for Norfolk

George Carey (Courtesy of Stephen V. Rice)

May 20, 1900: Buffalo Bisons, Chicago White Stockings play on Sunday on rough, swampy grounds

April 28, 1905: Youngsters Ty Cobb, Eddie Cicotte, and Clyde Engle excel in Augusta’s South Atlantic League win over Macon

May 14, 1906: ‘Humpy’ Badel leads Buffalo Bisons to victory in home opener

Frank Shaughnessy (COURTESY OF THE CANADIAN BASEBALL HALL OF FAME)

July 12, 1906: Frank Shaughnessy leads Ottawa to victory in outlaw Northern Independent League

April 17, 1908: Memphis Turtles win season opener; Tris Speaker debuts for Little Rock

June 12, 1908: Joe Jackson slugs the ball for his hometown team

Jim Thorpe (Courtesy of Stephen V. Rice)

July 14, 1909: Rocky Mount pitcher Jim Thorpe defeats Wilmington in Eastern Carolina League

Joe Kelley (Trading Card DB)

April 19, 1912: Toronto Maple Leafs play their first game in International League

Bill Rapps and Gus Hetling (TRADING CARD DB)

September 14, 1912: Bill Rapps turns unassisted triple play; Gus Hetling steals home for game-winner in Pacific Coast League thriller

July 16, 1913: Oh, you Brewers! Squeeze play ends 19-inning battle

Festus Higgins (Scranton Times-Tribune, June 1, 1923)

April 30, 1914: Binghamton, Utica combine for one hit on Opening Day

September 12, 1915: Nashville fans start a riot and players get punished