A little early history about the baseball championships

[Baseball Guru]

When professional baseball began in 1871 with the National Association, there was only one professional league. Therefore, the winner of the regular season was the undisputed champion of the baseball world. Then, in 1876 when the National League made its debut, it was still the only professional league in the country. The next year, other leagues began to spring up. The first was the International Association. Like the National Association, it was a player-controlled league and just the thing that William Hulbert and other National League owners had so disliked when they replace the NA with the NL in 1876. They did not recognize the IA or other leagues as "major leagues" and so no post-season championship series was considered, though the NL frequently played exhibition games against other leagues before, during and after the season.
It was not until the American Association laid claim to major league status in 1882 that a post-season series was played between champion clubs of rival leagues. The 1882 affair was just a two-game exhibition that was never intended to decide league superiority but it would become the first of several World Series contested between the National League and the American Association. After the AA folded in 1891, the National League experimented with post-season play as the Temple Cup between the two best teams in the league, but it never really caught on. What follows is a description of each of the post-season championship series played during the 19th century:


1882: Chicago (NL) tied Cincinnati (AA), 1-1
The first post-season matchup of pennant winners was played as an exhibition rather than a championship series. Chicago had been involved in a controversy over how the pennant race had been decided. Chicago president Al Spalding had agreed to play Providence in a best-of-nine series to determine a winner but first, the White Stockings stopped in Cincinnati to play a two-game exhibition against the AA champion Reds.
With star shortstop King Kelly in New York during the series, manager Cap Anson played pitcher Larry Corcoran at short for the first game, which Cincinnati won on a 4-0 shutout by Will White. The next day, Corcoran went to the box and won, 2-0, on a pair of 1st inning unearned runs.

Contrary to popular belief that AA president Denny McKnight threatened to expel Cincinnati if the series continued, there probably never was a plan to play more than two games. The media of the day bemoaned the fact that there would be no rubber match since both teams had other commitments. After the series, Chicago went on to play Providence to settle the controversy surrounding the NL championship. The White Stockings won in nine games to become the first NL team to win three consecutive pennants.

Game 1: Cincinnati 4, Chicago 0
Game 2: Chicago 2, Cincinnati 0




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1883: Boston (NL) and Philadelphia (AA) did not play
In 1883, the Philadelphia Athletics beat the St. Louis Browns by one game for the pennant. After barely holding on over the last week of the season to what was the slimmest margin of victory in baseball history to that point, the Athletics then played their NL rival, the Philadelphia Quakers in an exhibition series to prepare to face the NL champion Boston Red Stockings. The Quakers were winners of only 17 of 98 games in 1883 but still dealt the Athletics a string of embarassing losses after which the Athletics hastily revised their plans and cancelled their series with Boston.



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1884: Providence (NL) defeated New York (AA), 3-0
The post-season matchup between the Providence Grays and New York Metropolitans was the first to be called "The World's Series", so called by the New York Clipper. At the end of the season, New York manager Jim Mutrie challenged the Grays to a three-game series to be played at the original Polo Grounds in New York.
The Providence Grays were coming off a season in which they won the pennant by 10½ games, led by an unbelievable season by Charles Radbourne. Forced to pitch every game after Charlie Sweeney was suspended in July, Radbourne won 60 games in 1884. Because the games were played in New York, they were played under American Association rules, meaning that overhand pitching was not allowed. This was not a problem for Radbourne, who threw sidearm anyway.

In the first game, the rule differences between the leagues came back to haunt the Metropolitans when starter Tim Keefe hit the first two Providence batters he faced, giving each a base he would not have received under National League rules. Both runners came around to score, giving Providence a 2-0 lead; the Grays would go on to win the first game, 6-0 on a shutout by Radbourne. Over the next two days, Radbourne defeated the Metropolitans twice more, 3-1 and 12-2 to sweep the series.

Game 1: Providence 6, New York 0
Game 2: Providence 3, New York 1
Game 3: Providence 12, New York 2



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1885: Chicago (NL) tied St. Louis (AA), 3-3-1
The series between the Chicago White Stockings and St. Louis Browns was the first World Series to be played on a best-of-seven format. It is also the most controversial series ever played and one of the most carelessly played series of teh 19th century. With both owners greedily eying the prize money for themselves, the players had little interest in the series, and it showed. In the seven games, the two teams combined for 96 hits but also made 104 errors.
Chicago came into the series having won 87 games in a 112 game schedule for a winning percentage of .777. However, the White Stockings were tired after outlasting the New York Giants by just 2 games to take the NL pennant. St. Louis, on the other hand, was 79-33, .705 but was well-rested after coasting home by 16 games over Cincinnati. This difference showed when the favoured White Stockings could do no better than a 5-5 tie in the first game, in Chicago, which was ended by darkness. The next day in St. Louis, Chicago was leading by a 5-4 score in the 6th inning when St. Louis manager Charlie Comiskey pulled his team off the field to protest a call by umpire Dave Sullivan. Comiskey refused to continue playing and Sulivan later forfieted the game to Chicago from the safety of his hotel room. The umpire was rewarded by never being given another major league umpiring assignment.

The series continued with Harry McCaffrey, a former Browns substitue doing the umpiring. The next four games were split, with St. Louis winning the first two at home and then Chicago taking the next two games, after a five-day break, in Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. With one game left, the two teams agreed to count the forfieted game as a tie so they could play one more game for the championship. St. Louis won easily, 13-4, and owner Chris von der Ahe claimed the $1000 winner-take-all purse for himself but never received it. Several weeks later, the Sporting News declared all bets off and the series to be a tie.

Game 1: Chicago 5, St. Louis 5
Game 2: Chicago 9, St. Louis 0 (forfiet)
Game 3: St. Louis 7, Chicago 4
Game 4: St. Louis 3, Chicago 2
Game 5: Chicago 9, St. Louis 2
Game 6: Chicago 9, St. Louis 2
Game 7: St. Louis 13, Chicago 4

[Baseball Guru]

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1886: St. Louis (AA) defeated Chicago, 4-2
The World Series in 1886 was a repeat of the rematch the year before. Even the circumstances by which each time won their respective pennants was the same: Chicago had to battle a tough Detroit team down to the wire to win the National League pennant, while St. Louis had an easy time of it in the American Association.
St. Louis went into the series with their star pitcher, Bob Carruthers, injured. He had hurt his knee in a post-season exhibition against the NL St. Louis Maroons and was unavailable for the first game in Chicago. The White Stockings took immediate advantage by scoring two runs in the first inning and winning, 6-0, on a shutout by John Clarkson. Carruthers had recovered sufficiently to pitch the next day and St. Louis blasted Chicago starter Jim McCormick to win, 12-0. Carruthers then had the tables turned on him when he tried to pitch two days in a row and wound up on the wrong end of an 11-4 score.

After the third game, the series shifted to St. Louis where Chicago found itself short of pitching. Clarkson and McCormick were both tired and rookie Jocko Flynn, who went 23-6 that year, had blown his arm out down the stretch and could not pitch; Flynn would never pitch another game in the majors. Manager Cap Anson was forced to go to Clarkson for the second day in a row and lost, 8-5. The next day, Anson was forced to use shortstop Ned Williamson in the box. Predictably, the Browns beat up on Williamson, winning the game 10-3 and moving to within one game of the championship.

Anson was forced to go back to Clarkson in desperation for game six. Clarkson, pitching for the fourth time in six days went to the eighth inning with a 3-0 lead, but St. Louis then tied the game, helped by left fielder Abner Dalrymple's misplay of a fly ball. The game went to the bottom of the 10th inning still tied when St. Louis' Curt Welch led of the inning with a single and then went moved up to second on an infield hit by Dave Foutz. The runners were sacrificed along and then Clarkson threw a pitch to Doc Bushong that got away from catcher King Kelly. Welch scampered home and scored on a play that became known as "The $15 000 Slide", though there may be as much truth to Welch's headlong dash for the plate as to Babe Ruth's called shot in 1932 (also against Chicago). In any event, Welch could have scored standing up.

The 1886 World Series was the first to be decided either in extra innings or in the home team's last at bat, and it was also the only series that would be won by an American Association team.

Game 1: Chicago 6, St. Louis 0
Game 2: St. Louis 12, Chicago 0
Game 3: Chicago 11, St. Louis 4
Game 4: St. Louis 8, Chicago 5
Game 5: St. Louis 10, Chicago 3
Game 6: St. Louis 4, Chicago 3 (10 innings)



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1887: Detroit (NL) defeated St. Louis(AA), 10-5
When the Detroit Wolverines won the National League pennant in 1887, owner Frederick Stearns was eager to take advantage of the box-office appeal of his heavy-hitting club. Stearns proposed to St. Louis owner Chris von der Ahe a 15-game World Series with the two teams travelling in a specian train of parlor cars and playing in every major league city. Furthermore, admission prices would be raised to $1 and the unprecedented use of two umpires in the series, "Honest John" Kelly and "Honest John" Gaffney, the game's two most prominent umpires. Von der Ahe, the 19th century equivalent of George Steinbrenner, who had a flair for the extravagant, readily accepted.
The Browns, in winning their third straight AA pennant by a runaway margin, had lost money on the season, even though they featured a powerful offence, led by Tip O'Neill, who hit .435 (he was credited with a .490 average because walks counted as hits that year) and led the league in batting average, slugging average, hits, runs, total bases, doubles, triples, home runs, RBIs and on-base percentage. In the World Series, O'Neill became one of the first offensive threats to go bust when he hit just .200 in 65 at bats over the 15-game series. Most of the other Browns hitters were also ineffective in the series as well.

The teams split the first two games in St. Louis and then Detroit won the third game in Detoit when first baseman Charlie Comiskey dropped a throw to first that allowed Charlie Ganzel to score the winning run to win, 2-1 in 13 innings. The series then went on the road, with games played every day in a different major league city. Detroit won eight of the first 11 games played to clich the series, which should have ended right there, but the series continued for the entire 15 games. By the time the last game was played in St. Louis, the weather was miserable and only 659 fans showed up to see St. Louis win the final game of the series.

Game 1 (St. Louis): St. Louis 6, Detroit 1
Game 2 (St. Louis): Detroit 5, St. Louis 3
Game 3 (Detroit): Detroit 2, St. Louis 1 (13 innings)
Game 4 (Pittsburgh): Detroit 8, St. Louis 0
Game 5 (Brooklyn): St. Louis 5, Detroit 2
Game 6 (New York): Detroit 9, St. Louis 0
Game 7 (Philadelphia): Detroit 3, St. Louis 1
Game 8 (Boston): Detroit 9, St. Louis 2
Game 9 (Philadelphia): Detroit 4, St. Louis 2
Game 10 (Washington): St. Louis 11, Detroit 4
Game 11 (Baltimore): Detroit 13, St. Louis 3
Game 12 (Brooklyn): St. Louis 5, Detroit 1
Game 13 (Detroit): Detroit 6, St. Louis 3
Game 14 (Chicago): Detroit 4, St. Louis 3
Game 15 (St. Louis): St. Louis 9, Detroit 2



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1888: New York (NL) defeated St. Louis (AA), 6-4
When the St. Louis Browns won the AA pennant for an unprecedented fourth straight time, owner Chris von der Ahe showed how little he had learned from the previous fall when he pressed for a 10-game World Series to be played in its entirety. John Day, owner of the New York Giants agreed and also requested that the first 6 games be played in the east and that the two-umpire system of "Honest John" Kelly and "Honest John" Gaffrey be used again.
The Giants were managed by Jim Mutrie, who became the first man to manage teams from two different leagues in the World Series. The series was dominated by New York pitcher Tim Keefe, who played for Mutrie when the New York Metropolitans appeared in the series in 1884. Keefe pitched four games for the Giants, winning all four and giving up only two earned runs in 35 innings of work for a miniscule ERA of 0.51. The Giants won five of the six games played in the east - four in New York, one in Brooklyn and one in Philadelphia - and then took game eight in St. Louis behind Keefe to clinch the series.

The 1888 World Series was not without controversy; von der Ahe accused the umpires of betting on the Giants but his claims were unfounded. The series also had its first goat: shortstop Bill White of St. Louis, whose poor fielding was viewed by some as having cost St. Louis the series.

Game 1: New York 2, St. Louis 1
Game 2: St. Louis 3, New York 0
Game 3: New York 4, St. Louis 2
Game 4: New York 6, St. Louis 3
Game 5: New York 6, St. Louis 4
Game 6: New York 12, St. Louis 5
Game 7: St. Louis 7, New York 5
Game 8: New York 11, St. Louis 3
Game 9: St. Louis 14, New York 11 (10 innings)
Game 10: St. Louis 18, New York 11



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1889: New York (NL) defeated Brooklyn (AA), 6-3
The 1889 World Series would have been the first Subway Series had there been subways in 1889; at the time, New York and Brooklyn were still separate cities. The Brooklyn Bridegrooms had finally broken the St. Louis Browns' hold on the AA pennant and set a 19th century attendance record in the process. On top of that, Brooklyn was assured of a hefty box office take since their opponents were none other than the New York Giants; repeat winners in the National League. Giants owner John Day and Bridegrooms owner Charlie Byrne had learned enough from the previous two series to stipulate that the best-of-eleven series would end as soon as one team had won six games.
It should have been the greatest series of the century, and that is how the series started. The first two games drew huge crowds and massive media attention, but the Bridegrooms borrowed a trick from the St. Louis Browns when they began to stall after taking the lead, and complaining to umpires Bob Ferguson and John Gaffney that it was too dark to continue play. Brooklyn won three of the first four games, with all of their wins shortened by darkness. Day and Buck Ewing, the Giants' field captain, were outraged and told Byrne that they didn't "care to run any chance of losing another game on account of darkness or intentional delays" and would not compete "against a club that insists on playing dirty ball." Byrne agreed to move up the starting time for the rest of the series so that the games could be completed and so he wouldn't lose revenue by the Giants' refusal to play.

The Giants then showed who the superior team was by winning the next five games and ending to clinch the series. What made their wins remarkable was the negligent contributions from aces Tim Keefe and Mickey Welch, who had won 55 games between them during the season. Each was hit hard in their only series appearances. Manager Jim Mutrie used Cannonball Crane and Hank O'Day instead in the box. By winning again, Mutrie and the Giants became the first team to win consecutive World Series.

Game 1: Brooklyn 12, New York 10
Game 2: New York 6, Brooklyn 2
Game 3: Brooklyn 8, New York 7
Game 4: Brooklyn 10, New York 7
Game 5: New York 11, Brooklyn 3
Game 6: New York 2, Brooklyn 1 (11 innings)
Game 7: New York 11, Brooklyn 7
Game 8: New York 17, Brooklyn 7
Game 9: New York 3, Brooklyn 2

[Baseball Guru]

1890: Brooklyn (NL) tied Louisville (AA), 3-3-1
The 1890 World Series pitted the American Association's 1889 champion against its 1889 cellar-dweller, not an appealing scenario. Some observers even felt that the Series should be a three-team affair, to include the Player's League Champion Boston Reds. Certainly, the Reds had more marquee players than Brooklyn. Certainly, Boston was much better than Louisville, which won the AA pennant almost by default because they had no players that the Brotherhood wanted and half the league, including Brooklyn, had defected over a struggle to chose a new president.
Brooklyn got off to a quick start in the series by winning the first two games in Louisville. The two teams tied game three before Louisville pitcher Red Ehret beat Brooklyn, 5-4 in Game 4 to get Louisville back into the series before heading to Brooklyn. Two days of rain delayed the series but Brooklyn took game five once the rain let up to take a commanding 3-1 lead. Ehret then came on in relief to save a close 9-8 game for Louisville starter Scott Straton and to force a seventh game. The next day, Ehret once again shut down the Bridegrooms, winning 6-2 to tie the series at three games each with one tie.

Increasing bad weather had caused attendance to fall and convinced Brooklyn and Louisville to declare the series a 3-3 draw. Brooklyn manager Bill McGunnigle and Louisville manger Jack Chapman talked of finishing the series the following spring before the regular season, but by then the two leagues were at war with each other, making any conclusion impossible. Boston teams won both the AA and NL pennants in 1891, but the National League instructed the Beaneaters to turn down the challenge put forth by the Boston Reds. Over the winter, the American Association folded, bringing an end to the post-season interleague championship series.

Game 1: Brooklyn 9, Louisville 0
Game 2: Brooklyn 5, Louisville 3
Game 3: Brooklyn 7, Louisville 7
Game 4: Louisville 5, Brooklyn 4
Game 5: Brooklyn 7, Louisville 2
Game 6: Louisville 9, Brooklyn 8
Game 7: Louisville 6, Brooklyn 2


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1892: Boston (1st Half) defeated Cleveland (2nd Half), 5-0-1
After the demise of the American Association, the National League played a split season for the only time in its history. The new format was an effort to create greater fan interest in the game by means of two pennant races and a post-season championship series. The Boston Beaneaters easily won the first half with a 52-22 record. When Boston got off to a quick start again in the second half, there were fears that Boston would take the second half as well and negate any post-season series. But the Beaneaters faded down the stretch while a young Cleveland team, led by a young pitcher by the name of Cy Young, gelled in time to slip past Boston to take the second half title.
The opener of the best-of-nine was played in Cleveland and the matchup was typical of games played that year. Young and Boston starter Jack Stivetts battled to a scoreless tie through 11 innings before darkness halted the match. Cleveland continued to be plagued by an inability to come up with a clutch base hit and lost the next two games by one run apiece.

The series moved to Boston for game four where Beaneaters ace Kid Nichols shutout the Spiders, 4-0; a two run homer by Hugh Duffy was all that Nichols needed. Down 3-0 in games, Cleveland was desperate for a win and tried former Boston ace John Clarkson in the box. He cruised through three innings while his team built a 6-0 lead but then the Beaneaters pounded Clarkson for 12 runs the rest of the way to win, 12-7. In game 6, Cy Young was all that stood between Boston and the pennant. As in game 5, Cleveland got off to a quick start only to see Boston come back to win, this time on a base hit by pitcher Nichols that scored the tying and winning runs in the fourth inning.

Boston's 5-0 sweep negated any dispute over who the better team was, since if Cleveland won, it could always be said that Boston had the better record during the regular season. Even with the Boston win, there was still speculation that the Beaneaters eased up down the stretch in September so that Cleveland could win the second half to create a post-season matchup.

Game 1: Boston 0, Cleveland 0 (11 innings)
Game 2: Boston defeated Cleveland
Game 3: Boston defeated Cleveland
Game 4: Boston 4, Cleveland 0
Game 5: Boston 12, Cleveland 7
Game 6: Boston defeated Cleveland


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1894: New York (2nd) defeated Baltimore (1st), 4-0
In 1893, the National League dropped its split season experiment and returned to its regular format. Boston again won the pennant while the Pittsburgh Pirates had an exceptionally strong season and finished second. Pittsburgh president William Temple felt cheated at a crack at the Beaneaters after the season and proposed a series where the second place team would challenge the first place team for the league championship and win by default if the first place team refused. Temple also ordered a cup in his name for $800 and stipulated that permanent posession of the cup would go to the first team to win it three times.
1894 saw the emergence of the Baltimore Orioles as one of the greatest teams of the 1890s. The Orioles won their first pennant by three games over the New York Giants. The proposed division of the gate receipts for the Temple Cup series was 65-35 but the Orioles felt that the pennant was theirs regardless of the series and the players made individual agreements with their counterparts on the Giants to split the take 50-50. The best-of-seven series promptly became a joke as the Giants swept the apathetic Orioles in four games. Amos Rusie and Jouett Meekin won two games each. The Giants were officially the League Champions, but no one outside of New York took the victory seriously.


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1895: Cleveland (2nd) defeated Baltimore (1st), 4-1
The Orioles won their second consecutive pennant in 1895 by three games over a resurgent Cleveland Spiders team. This set up a meeting between the Spiders and the Orioles, two of the rowdier teams in the League during the decade. The series began in Cleveland where the Orioles were greeted by a rowdy and fiercely partisan Cleveland crowd. If the Orioles hadn't already soured on the concept of the Temple Cup Series, they lost any desire to compete altogether when they were pelted by fruits and vegetables by the Cleveland fans.
Cy Young defeated Sadie McMahon and the Orioles by a 5-4 score in the first game and the Spiders went on to win the next two games in Cleveland. When the series finally shifted back to Baltimore for game 4, the Baltimore fans greeted their team with a warm reception and a rowdiness that matched Cleveland's fans. Duke Esper finally subdued the Spiders and their starter Nig Cuppy with a 5-0 victory. The Spiders quickly put an end to the series in the next game when Cy Young once again beat the Orioles, this time by a score of 5-2.

The Cleveland Spiders left Baltimore under police escort, $580 richer per man, though there was again speculation that the take was split 50-50. The Spiders were given a banquet in Cleveland, the only place that took the Spiders' victory seriously. The Temple Cup Series continued to be viewed as an artificial effort to create fan interest in a 12-team league where the pennant race had usually been narrowed down to two or three teams by August. The series was also viewed as anti-climactic where the pennant winner had nothing to gain and everything to lose. Alternatives were proposed, but no one considered the most logical solution, which would have been to create two divisions with division winners meeting in a post-season series that could have been considered a legitimate championship series.

Game 1: Cleveland 5, Baltimore 4
Game 2: Cleveland defeated Baltimore
Game 3: Cleveland defeated Baltimore
Game 4: Baltmore 5, Cleveland 0
Game 5: Cleveland 5, Baltimore 2

[Baseball Guru]

1896: Baltimore (1st) defeated Cleveland (2nd), 4-0
The Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Spiders repeated their 1-2 finish in 1896 to create a return matchup in the Temple Cup Series. The Orioles had been severly criticized for their two previous lackluster performances in the series and finally decided to take the Series seriously. Orioles ace Bill Hoffer beat Cy Young soundly in the opening game, 7-1 at Baltimore. 20-year old Joe Corbett won game two for Baltimore, beating Cleveland's Bobby Wallace. Game three featured another win by Hoffer while the crowds continued to dwindle. Game four in Cleveland attracted only 1500 fans to see Corbett outduel Cleveland's Nig Cuppy, winning 5-0. The Orioles earned $200 each for the win and the Spiders got only $117; ridiculously low amounts even in an era of ridiculously low salaries.
Game 1: Baltimore 7, Cleveland 1
Game 2: Baltimore 7, Cleveland 2
Game 3: Baltimore defeated Cleveland
Game 4: Baltimore 5, Cleveland 0


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1897: Baltimore (2nd) defeated Boston (1st), 4-1
In 1897, the Batimore Orioles were finally overtaken by the Boston Beaneaters for the pennant. Suffering from internal squabbling, the Orioles were overtaken during the last week of the season and Boston won by two games. This led to a championship series that no one was looking forward to.
The Series was characterized by sloppy play and careless pitching and was won for the third time in four years by the second place team. After losing the opener 13-12, Baltimore won the next four games to take their second Temple Cup. The Orioles batted .382 in the series and the Beaneaters hit .362 and scored 41 runs in five games, even while losing. Showing how little losing the series concerned him, Boston manager Frank Selee sent Piano Legs Hickman to the mound, even though he had never pitched a game before in the majors.

After four years, it was painfully clear that the Temple Cup Series was a complete failure. The crowds were small, player interest was usually minimal and the play was often sloppy. After four years and three wins by the second place team, the owners voted 11-1 in favour of terminating the series. Ned Hanlon of the Orioles was the lone dissenter, merely because his Orioles were only one win away from taking permanent posession of the Cup, which resides now in the Hall of Fame.


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1900: Brooklyn (1st) defeated Pittsburgh (2nd), 3-1
Former Pittsburgh Pirates president William Temple had been the inspiration for the ill-fated Temple Cup Series but the Pirates never came close to making the series after a second place finish in 1893. After absorbing the bulk of the Louisville Colonels, including Honus Wagner, prior to the 1900 season, the Pirates improved again to second place. This revived memories of the Temple Cup Series and Brooklyn manager Ned Hanlon accepted a challenge by Pittsburgh owner Barney Dreyfuss to settle all doubts over who was superior.
A five game series was scheduled, with all games played in Pittsburgh for a cup donated by the Pittsburgh Chronicle-Telegraph. Led by Joe McGinnity, Hanlon's Superbas took the first two games before being blanked, 10-0, by Deacon Phillipe. McGinnity started again for Brooklyn in game 4 and put an end to the series by defeating the Pirates for the eighth time in nine games that year. Brooklyn's win convinced most observers that the best team had won, but there was still a small contingent of fans in Chicago who felt that the Superbas really ought to have faced their American League White Stockings to determine the real champion.


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Post Season Series Summary
Team League Record Years in Post Season Play
New York NL 3-0 1888, 1889, 1894
Detroit NL 1-0 1887
Providence NL 1-0 1884
Baltimore NL 2-2 1894, 1895, 1896, 1897
Brooklyn Both 1-1-1 1889, 1890, 1900
Boston NL 1-1 1892, 1897
Cincinnati AA 0-0-1 1882
Louisville AA 0-0-1 1890
St. Louis AA 1-2-1 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888
Cleveland NL 1-2 1892, 1895, 1896
Chicago NL 0-1-2 1882, 1885, 1886
New York AA 0-1 1884
Pittsburgh NL 0-1 1900

[Baseball Guru]

Bump:D

[Durango53]

What makes the old baseball history so fun to look at for me is the old rules.
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/excerpts/rules_chronology.stm
They have the rules in a rule book from 1845 here.
Here are some from 1845 to 1899
» There are no restrictions on bat size or shape. [1.10]
» The pitching distance is forty-five feet. [1.07]
» 1848 A rule is introduced requiring that a baseman must hold the ball in order to put out a runner. (Before this the base runner was out if the ball hit him.) [7.08]
» 1854 The ball weighs from 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 ounces and is from 2 3/4 to 3 1/2 inches in diameter. [1.09]
» 1857 The nine-inning game is introduced. [4.10]
» 1858 Balls caught on one hop are no longer outs. [6.05]
» 1858 . Balls caught on one hop are no longer outs. [6.05]
» The called strike is introduced. [6.05]
» One umpire, chosen by the home team, is in charge of a game. [9.03A]
» The pitcher is allowed to make a short run in his delivery. [8.01]

» 1859 The bat is limited to 2 1/2 inches in diameter (before this a bat like that used in cricket with a 4-inch-wide flat face had been commonplace). [1.10]

» 1863 The pitcher is not permitted to take even a step in his delivery. Both feet must be on the ground when he releases the ball. [8.01]
The bat must be round and of wood. Its width is still limited to 2 1/2 inches, but its length is not restricted. [1.10]

» 1864 When a runner circles the bases, he must touch each one. [7.02]

» 1867 Pitchers are allowed to take as many steps as they like in their delivery. [8.01]

» 1868 The bat is to be no more than forty-two inches long. [1.10]

» 1870 A runner is allowed to overrun first base. [7.08]
The batter is given the right to call for a high or a low ball.

» 1872
. The pitcher is allowed to snap the ball during delivery, but he’s restricted to a below-the-waist motion. [8.01]
An "injured" ball is to be changed only in even innings upon request of the captain of either team. [3.01]

» 1876 If an umpire is unable to see whether a catch has been fairly made, he may confer with spectators and players.

» 1877 A time at bat is not charged to a batter who walks. [10.16]

Canvas-covered bases are required. They are fifteen inches square, the same as today. [1.06]

Home plate is relocated to its present spot. [1.05]

» 1879 An umpire is given the power to impose fines–of not less than ten dollars and not more than twenty dollars–when he thinks it’s necessary.

The pitcher is required to face the batter when he pitches. [8.01]

All pitched balls must be called strikes, balls, or fouls.

The number of strikes in an out is officially three. [6.05]

There are nine balls in a walk. [6.08A]

» 1880
. The runner hit by a batted ball is out. [7.08]
The catcher is required to catch a third strike on the fly. [6.05]

The base on balls decreases to eight. [6.08A]

The limits of the fines an umpire may impose change. Now it’s not less than five dollars and not more than fifty dollars.
» 1881 The base on balls is seven. [6.08A]
The pitching distance is lengthened to fifty feet. [1.07]

The pitcher is fined for deliberately hitting a batter with the ball.

A spectator who "hisses or hoots" at or insults the umpire may be ejected from the grounds. [9.01E]

The base runner may no longer be put out when he is returning to his base on a foul ball. [5.09]

» 1882 Umpires may not reverse decisions on matters of judgment. [9.02]

Umpires may not confer with spectators or players. [General Instructions to Umpires]
» 1883 A foul ball caught on the bounce ceases to be an out. It must be caught before it touches the ground. [6.05A]
The first system of salaried umpires is introduced, under the same system that is in use today. The four men hired came from cities not represented in the league. [9.01]

An error is charged to the pitcher for a base on balls, wild pitch, hit batter, and balk. [10.13]

Pitching is allowed from anywhere up to shoulder height. [8.01]



» 1884 Almost all restrictions on a pitcher’s motion are lifted. He may throw the ball with virtually any motion he chooses, provided that his delivery is not higher than his shoulders and he is facing the batter at the moment of wind-up. He is allowed only one step before delivery. [8.01]
A base on balls is six. [6.08A]

» 1885 Home base may be made of marble or whitened rubber. [1.05]
The bat may have one flattened side. (This rule lasted only one year.) [1.10]

The pitcher is credited with an assist on a strike-out. [10.11]

[Durango53]

» 1886 A base on balls is five. [6.08A]

An umpire may introduce a new ball at any time. Before this year, when a ball was lost, the umpire gave the team five minutes to find it before he threw in a new one. An umpire must have two baseballs at his disposal at all times. [3.01]

First and third base are moved within the foul lines.

A hit batsman is not charged with a time at bat. [10.02]

No stolen base is credited to a runner for bases advanced by his own volition. [10.08]

» 1887 The pitcher’s box is 4 feet by 5 1/2 feet. [1.07]
A pitcher must keep one foot on the rear line of the box and may not take more than one step in delivering the ball. Before delivery he must hold the ball in front of him so that it is visible to the umpire. [8.01]

No error is charged to the pitcher for a base on balls, wild pitch, hit batter, and balk. [10.13]

The umpire may call a game if the spectators are disorderly. The maximum fine for arguing with an ump or protesting a call is ten dollars.

The batter is no longer allowed to request a high or low pitch.

A batter hit by a pitched ball is entitled to first base and not charged with a time at bat. [6.08b]

A strike-out is called on four strikes. (This rule lasted only one season.) [6.05]

Home plate is to be made of rubber and is to be twelve inches square. [1.05]

A base on balls is scored as a hit and counted as a time at bat. This rule lasted one season only. [10.16]

» 1888 A base on balls is not counted as a hit and not charged as a time at bat. [10.16]
If a runner is hit by a batted ball, the batter is credited with a hit. [10.05]

The strikeout is back to three strikes. [6.05]

It is a ground-rule double instead of a home run if the ball is batted over the fence in fair territory where the fence is less than 210 feet from home plate. [6.09]

The mandatory fine for a coach who leaves the coach’s box to protest a call is $5.

An error is charged to the pitcher for a base on balls, wild pitch, hit batter, and balk. [10.13]

A hit batsman is awarded first base and credited with a hit. [6.08]

» 1889 No error is charged to the pitcher for a base on balls, wild pitch, hit batter, and balk. A pitcher is not credited with an assist on a strikeout. [10.13]
The sacrifice bunt is statistically recognized, but the batter is charged with a time at bat. [10.09]

A base on balls is four, and there it remains. [6.08A]

» 1891 Substitutions are allowed at any time during a game, but once he has been substituted for, a player may not return. [3.03]
» 1892 It’s a ground-rule double instead of a home run if the ball is hit over the fence in fair territory if the fence is less than 235 feet from home plate. [6.09]
» 1893 A batter credited with a sacrifice is not charged with a time at bat. [10.09]
The pitching distance is increased to sixty feet, six inches, where it remains today. [1.07]

The pitcher’s box disappears (never to be seen again) and is replaced by the rubber–a slab twelve inches long and four inches wide. [1.07]

The pitcher is required to place his rear foot against the slab. [8.01]

» 1894 The batter is charged with a strike for hitting a foul bunt. [6.05D]
» 1895 The pitcher’s rubber is enlarged to its present size of 24 by 6 inches. [1.07]
The maximum diameter of the bat is increased to 2 3/4 inches, where it remains today. [1.10]

The infield fly rule is adopted: the umpire may call an infield fly when there is one out and first and second or first, second, and third base are occupied. [6.05E]

A strike is charged to a batter for a foul tip. [6.05A]

The limits on fines change again–to not less than $25 and not more than $100.

If the crowd becomes so unruly that the game is stopped for more than fifteen minutes, the umpire may declare a forfeit. (If that happens, the visitors win, 9-0.) [4.17]

» 1896 A $25 fine is imposed on a coach or a player who uses vulgar language. It costs players $5 to $10 for any other first offense, $25 and possibly ejection for a second offense, and mandatory ejection for a third offense.
» 1897 Intentionally discoloring or injuring the ball is punishable by a $5 fine. The ball is replaced. [3.02]
» 1898 A stolen base is credited to the base runner when he reaches a base he attempts to steal without the aid of batting or fielding errors or a hit by the batter. [10.08]
The first official balk rule: a pitcher is compelled to throw to a base if he makes a motion in that direction. [8.05]

» 1899 The balk rule is refined: a pickoff throw may not be faked; a pitcher must complete his motion. [8.05]