Regular season
On June 7, shareholder Mordecai Davidson bought out most of the other shareholders, appointing himself president and John R. Botto vice-president. Two days later, he officially took over as manager as well. John Kerins, among others, served as team captain, guiding the team's on-field activities.
The most famous member of the 1888 Colonels was outfielder Pete Browning, a ferocious hitter who was noted for excessive drinking and peculiar behavior. One of the best-known stories about Browning concerns an incident which occurred in Kansas City on June 19 of the 1888 season. Browning got up in a Kansas City hotel that morning, following a heavy rainstorm. The gutter in front of the hotel had been overwhelmed by the rain; there was a large puddle of water there. The drunken Browning purchased some fishing gear and tried his hand at fishing in the gutter. It's unclear whether he did this as a joke or whether he really believed that he could catch fish in the gutter, but in any event, the gutter-fishing incident became one of the most often-repeated Pete Browning stories. It's documented in the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Season standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Browns | 92 | 43 | .681 | — | 60–21 | 32–22 |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | 88 | 52 | .629 | 6½ | 53–20 | 35–32 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 81 | 52 | .609 | 10 | 55–20 | 26–32 |
| Cincinnati Red Stockings | 80 | 54 | .597 | 11½ | 56–25 | 24–29 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 57 | 80 | .416 | 36 | 30–26 | 27–54 |
| Cleveland Blues | 50 | 82 | .379 | 40½ | 33–27 | 17–55 |
| Louisville Colonels | 48 | 87 | .356 | 44 | 27–29 | 21–58 |
| Kansas City Cowboys | 43 | 89 | .326 | 47½ | 23–34 | 20–55 |
Record vs. opponents
Sources: | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BR | CIN | CLE | KC | LOU | PHI | STL | |||||||||
| Baltimore | — | 8–12 | 6–14 | 10–9 | 11–8 | 11–9 | 5–14 | 6–14 | |||||||||
| Brooklyn | 12–8 | — | 14–6–1 | 16–4 | 11–9 | 13–7 | 12–8–1 | 10–10–1 | |||||||||
| Cincinnati | 14–6 | 6–14–1 | — | 10–7–1 | 15–4 | 17–3–1 | 10–10 | 8–10 | |||||||||
| Cleveland | 9–10 | 4–16 | 7–10–1 | — | 10–9 | 9–8–2 | 7–13 | 4–16 | |||||||||
| Kansas City | 8–11 | 9–11 | 4–15 | 9–10 | — | 6–12 | 3–14 | 4–16 | |||||||||
| Louisville | 9–11 | 7–13 | 3–17–1 | 8–9–2 | 12–6 | — | 5–15–1 | 4–16 | |||||||||
| Philadelphia | 14–5 | 8–12–1 | 10–10 | 13–7 | 14–3 | 15–5–1 | — | 7–10–1 | |||||||||
| St. Louis | 14–6 | 10–10–1 | 10–8 | 16–4 | 16–4 | 16–4 | 10–7–1 | — | |||||||||
Opening Day lineup
Roster
| 1888 Louisville Colonels | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
Pitchers
| Infielders | Outfielders | Manager | ||||||
