|
|
|
Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 30 general entries.
|
 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 MLB in the 1880s
| In the 1880s, there were four pitching Triple Crowns thrown in the decade. How many batting Triple Crowns were won? | Decade in a Box: 1880s
|
1. The pitching Triple Crowns were thrown by Guy Hecker and Charley Radbourn in 1884, Tim Keefe of the New York Giants in 1888, then John Clarkson of the Boston Beaneaters in 1889. In 1887, Tip O'Neill of the St. Louis Browns in the American Association was the only batter to do it.
| Four future Hall of Famers were born in 1887. They were Eddie Collins, Grover Alexander, Joe McCarthy, and Walter Johnson. Which of those never actually played the game? | Decade in a Box: 1880s
|
Joe McCarthy. McCarthy was a manager in his entire baseball career from 1926-1950. From 1931-1946, Joe managed the Yankees to eight World Series, winning seven of them. He was inducted into the hall in 1957.
| This player born on March 22, 1882, and played for only five seasons in the Major Leagues but made them count. He appeared in the first World Series in 1903 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Although the Pirates lost the series, he was the first player to hit a World Series home run. Who was he? | Decade in a Box: 1880s
|
Jimmy Sebring. The others weren't born for another 30 years. Sebring went 10-for-30 with eight singles, a triple, and the first home run that occurred in the first game of the series. Jimmy died at the age of 27 in 1909 of convulsions, in his last season of baseball.
| A player in 1883 came home drunk to an angry wife, then shot her after being tired of listening to her. Figuring she died, he attempted suicide by slashing his throat but survived. His wife survived also. Who was this player who still played in the 1884 season? | Decade in a Box: 1880s
|
Terry Larkin. Larkin attempted suicide twice while in custody of the police in 1883, but for some undocumented reason, he still played with the Richmond Virginians of the American Association in 1884. He died in 1894, suspected of, but not a confirmed suicide.
Tip O'Neill. Although all listed did exist in baseball, O'Neill of the St. Louis Browns with the American Association hit .435 in 1887. This helped the Browns to a first place finish and pennant in the season, 14 games of the Cincinnati Red Stockings. Charlie Comiskey managed the ballclub.
| Which pitcher set a season win record by going 59-12 in 1884, a record that was still intact throughout the entire 20th century? | Decade in a Box: 1880s
|
Charley Radbourn. The other pitching greats had not started their careers yet in the 1880s. Radbourn, with the Providence Grays of the National League won 59 games in the season while starting in 73 games. Although a high number of starts, this was normal for baseball in the 1880s. Radbourn was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in 1939.
| In 1884, this player hit 27 home runs in the season which smashed the previous season record of 14. Who was this slugger? | Decade in a Box: 1880s
|
Ned Williamson. The others did not start their careers until after the turn of the century. Williamson hit 27 home runs in 1884, even though that was the year of the pitcher due to rule changes. He was with the Chicago White Stockings of the National League. Ned never hit 10 home runs in a season again. Williamson broke the record of Harry Stovey in 1883, who hit 14 with the Philadelphia Athletics of the American Association.
Matt Kilroy. The others listed never played in the 1880s. Kilroy was in his rookie season in 1886 with the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association when he struck out 513 batters. He started 68 games in the season which was not uncommon in that era, and completed 66 of those. His season record was 29-34 which did not reflect his season success. In 10 seasons, Matt never struck out more than 220 again in his career, but his 513 was not surpassed through the 19th or even entire 20th century.
Chicago White Stockings. The other teams did not exist in the 1880s. The White Stockings were the infants of the eventual Chicago Cubs of the National League. They won all their five titles from 1880-1886 under the management of player-coach Cap Anson. In 1890, the franchise changed their name to the Chicago Colts, then Orphans in 1898. They became the Cubs in 1903.
17. Many teams came and went throughout the decade. Ironically, it began with eight in 1880, and finished with eight in 1889.
| This league existed for only one season in 1884. It consisted of 12 teams but folded at the end of the season. Which league was it? | Decades on the Diamond: 1880s
|
Union Association. The St. Louis Maroons easily won the pennant with their 94-19 record. The Kansas City Packers had the worst record, going 16-63. The other teams in the league were the Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Outlaw Reds, Baltimore Monumentals, Boston Reds, Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Keystones, St. Paul White Caps, Altoona Mountain City, Wilmington Quicksteps, and a combined team from Chicago and Pittsburgh.
American Association. The franchise began in 1884 as the Brooklyn Atlantics. From 1885-1887 they were named the Grays, then Bridegrooms in 1888. In 1889, the team won the American Association pennant. They jumped to the National League in 1890.
St. Louis Browns. The Browns of the American Association won an amazing 90+ games four consecutive seasons from 1886-1889, and topped out at 95. They were led by player/manager Charlie Comiskey. The team won four pennants in the decade.
| Only two players in the 1880s hit 20 or more home runs in a season. Ned Williamson was one in 1884. Who was the other player? | Decades on the Diamond: 1880s
|
Sam Thompson. Thompson of the Philadelphia Quakers hit 20 in 1889. The Quakers still finished fourth in the National League.
Tip O'Neill. O'Neill of the St. Louis Browns with the American Association batted .435 in 1887.
Chicago White Stockings. The other teams folded before the decade ended. The White Stockings won the league pennant in 1880, '81, '82, '85, and 1886. Cap Anson was the player/manager throughout their decade.
4. The five leagues were the National Association, Union Association, American Association, and the National League.
| This last place team in the American Association in 1889 set a baseball record by losing 26 consecutive games in the season. Which team was this? | 1880s in a Bucket
|
Louisville Colonels. The other teams never existed. The Colonels finished with a dismal 27-111 record while going through four different managers in the season. They did not have a starting player bat .300, nor have a pitcher that won more than 10 games. The pitching leader was Red Ehret who won only 10 games, but also lost 29 in the process. The Colonels were the first actual team to go from worst to first in professional baseball by winning the American Association pennant the following season in 1890 with a record of 88-44, 10 games ahead of the second place Columbus Solons.
| On April 4, 1888, this future Hall of Fame player and manager was born in Texas. He would debut in 1907 with the Boston Americans of the American League in 1907. Nicknamed, "The Grey Eagle", he won the AL MVP Award in 1912, won a batting crown, a home run crown, and won all three World Series that he attended. Who is this Boston and Cleveland outfielder? | 1880s in a Bucket
|
Tris Speaker. Speaker played for 22 seasons, 11 with Cleveland, nine with Boston, and a season each with Washington and Philadelphia. He won two World Series with Boston and one with Cleveland. His 1912 MVP was won over two big names, Ed Walsh and Walter Johnson. Tris retired with 3514 hits and was inducted in the second year of Hall of Fame inductees in 1937.
| The owner of the 1887 National League Champion Detroit Wolverines challenged the owner of the American Association's St. Louis Browns to an unprecedented championship series of how many games? | 1880s in a Bucket
|
15. Detroit's owner was Frederick Stearnes, and he wanted to show the National League's superiority by the challenge. Although the National League did not officially sanction the series, the championship series took place with the Wolverines winning the series, eight games to six. With nothing but sour grapes, the Browns' owner Von Der Ahe refused to pay his players anything for the series.
| After leading his league with 52 wins in 1884, this pitcher made history when he won a batting title in 1886, the first and probably the only pitcher to ever accomplish this. Who was this pitcher with an arm and a bat? | 1880s in a Bucket
|
Guy Hecker. Hecker was with the Louisville Colonels of the American Association in 1884 when he led the league with a 52-20 record, along with 385 strikeouts. In 1886, Guy went 26-23 from the mound, and also took the batting crown with his .341 average.
| After almost tripling the National League season home run record in 1884 with 27 home runs, Ned Williamson of the Chicago White Stockings hit how many in 1885? | 1880s in a Bucket
|
3. For no known reason, Williamson hit 27 big ones, breaking the National League season home run record of 10, set previously by Buck Ewing of the New York Giants. With the rules changes to pitching for the 1883 season, it took 'the bat' away from hitters. Although a ball that bounced over a fence was still considered a home run, that rule had been in effect for many seasons already. Williamson's record stood until 1919 when Babe Ruth hit 29 for the Red Sox, then 54 in the following season for the Yankees.
| The first Major League Baseball player that officially broke the 'color barrier' was Jackie Robinson with the Dodgers in 1947. Which player in 1884, was baseball's first-ever African-American player to play professional baseball, until his ethnic background came into question? | 1880s in a Bucket
|
Fleetwood Walker. The others had not started their baseball careers yet, and were not of the ethnic background. It is a shame that it took until the mid 20th Century for baseball and others to see that all humans are one. Moses Fleetwood Walker, known as just Fleetwood, tried to start a career as a catcher with the Toledo Blue Stockings of the American Association before he was "caught" as not being a Hispanic as sworn to. His only season would be in 1884, and he was not welcomed back. Cap Anson, also documented and known as one the most racial prejudice connections in baseball, had almost everything to do with Walker's (and others) termination. Anson is in the Hall of Fame while Walker is not.
| In 1882, Cleveland Blues pitcher Jim McCormick led the National League with 36 wins in the season. After the season, the National League made some major pitching rule changes in 1883, giving more control to the pitching of baseball. One rule change was allowing pitchers who threw from an under-arm delivery in the past, to a delivery that released the ball at waste level. The change resulted in a pitcher leading the league in 1883 with 48 wins, then another in 1884 with 59. Before baseball changed the rules back to be more passive for batters, who was this pitcher who led the league in 1883 and 1884? | 1880s in a Bucket
|
Charlie Radbourn. Radbourn was in his third season with the Providence Grays in 1883, and ballooned his season record to 48-25, then set a record the following season, one of those that is not seemingly going to be touched by going 59-12. Rule changes for pitchers was not changed again until after the 1889 season, which somewhat gave the game back to the hitters. From 1883-1889, 10 pitchers threw seasons of winning 45+ games.
| Which professional league tried to make a run for their money in 1882 by competing with the existing National League, only to fold after 10 seasons? | 1880s in a Bucket
|
American Association. The American Association survived longer than any other league who was trying to compete with the National League. The league existed from 1882-1891. The league begin with only six teams, expanded to eight teams in 1883, then 13 teams in 1883, but teams would come and go, and would not give stability to the AA. The league folded after the 1891 season. The St. Louis Browns franchise (later Cardinals) would dominate the league by winning four consecutive American Association pennants, and being runner-up another three times during the league's 10-season existence.
| This 1881 member of the Troy Trojans of the National League made history by hitting baseball's first-ever grand slam home run. He would go on to be the career leader in home runs over his seasons. Who is this Hall of Fame Member? | 1880s in a Bucket
|
Roger Connor. Connor played well before the other greats began their careers. Roger played with the Trojans for three seasons before joining the New York Giants in 1883. He retired as a St. Louis Brown in 1897 with 138 home runs over 18 seasons. He was not surpassed for his career home run record until 1920 by the great Babe Ruth.
| The 1880 National League season saw the first thrown perfect game in baseball history. Not only that, it would be the only one thrown by a left-handed pitcher for another 85 seasons. Which pitcher threw this perfecto? | 1880s in a Bucket
|
Lee Richmond. Lee was in only his second season of professional baseball. With the Worcester Ruby Legs of the National League, he threw a perfect game against the Cleveland Blues in the 1-0 win. Richmond went 32-32 in the season while starting 66 games. Lee retired after only six seasons with a 75-100 record. The next National League perfect game that would be thrown by a left-handed pitcher did not happen for eight decades. It was thrown by Los Angeles Dodger Sandy Koufax, who threw one against the Chicago Cubs in 1965.
|
Play Now! 