Wulf: Remembering the long-ago history of major-league baseball in Troy, N.Y.

From SABR member Steve Wulf at ESPN.com on August 24, 2016:

Only four fewer people than the official attendance for Troy’s penultimate major league baseball game are here in Knickerbacker Park on this morning. The pilgrims stand before a monument that pays tribute to the Trojans, who were asked to leave the National League 134 years ago to make way for the franchise you now know as the San Francisco Giants.

The Trojans won that game, beating the home team Worcester Ruby Legs by a score of 4-1. They took the last game of the season the next day, as well, 10-7. Troy had four future Hall of Famers on that 1882 team (Roger Connor, Buck Ewing, Mickey Welch and Tim Keefe), but even they couldn’t help the club finish above any other team but Worcester, which was also asked to step aside — for the Philadelphia Phillies.

That ancient game was resurrected last season when the Orioles closed their gates to fans for their April 29, 2015, game with the Chicago White Sox because of the Baltimore riots. When asked to find the previous major league record for lowest attendance, MLB historian John Thorn unearthed that Troy-Worcester game. Paying customers: Six.

Six minus four equals two.

Me and my wife.

And I had to coax her out of the car.

I grew up in Troy, you see. And because I loved baseball even more than Freihofer’s baked goods, I grew up fascinated by the momentarily glorious history of the national pastime in Troy.

Read the full article here: http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/16292570



Originally published: August 25, 2016. Last Updated: August 25, 2016.