Full name | Baltimore Base Ball and Exhibition Company |
---|---|
Founded | 1882 |
Folded | 1899 |
League |
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Based in | Baltimore, Maryland |
Ballpark |
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Colors | Orange/yellow/gold, black, white |
Owner | Harry Von der Horst |
Manager |
|
League titles | 3 (1894, 1895, 1896) |
Temple Cup | 2 (1896, 1897) |
The Baltimore Orioles were a 19th-century professional baseball team that competed from 1882 to 1899, first in the American Association and later in the National League. This early Orioles franchise, which featured six players (Wilbert Robinson—C, Dan Brouthers—1B, Hughie Jennings—SS, John McGraw—3B, "Wee Willie" Keeler—RF, and Joe Kelley—LF) and a manager (Ned Hanlon) who were later inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, finished in first place for three consecutive seasons (1894–1896) and won the Temple Cup national championship series in 1896 and 1897.
Despite their success, the dominant Orioles were contracted out of the National League after the 1899 season, when the league reduced in size from 12 members to eight. Most of the Orioles' best players moved to the Brooklyn Superbas—Baltimore owner Harry Von der Horst also had an ownership stake in Brooklyn.
Upon the foundation of the American League in 1901, a reorganized Baltimore Orioles franchise competed as a charter member for two seasons, before folding and being replaced by the New York Highlanders, later renamed the New York Yankees.
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The team, formally the "Baltimore Base Ball and Exhibition Company", [1] was founded in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association (AA), considered a major league. The Orioles finished last in the league in four of their first five season, the exception being a sixth-place finish in 1884 when 13 different teams played in the league. [2] The team then had its best positional finish, third place, in 1887, followed by two seasons finishing fifth in the then eight-team league.
The Orioles dropped out of the league after the 1889 season, and began the 1890 season playing in the minor-league Atlantic Association.
However, when the last-place Brooklyn Gladiators of the AA folded in late August, the Orioles re-joined the AA and played 38 games to complete the 1890 season, posting a record of 15–19 with four ties. [2] The Orioles remained in the AA for 1891, finishing sixth among nine teams in the AA's final season. [2]
Overall, during 10 seasons of AA play, the Orioles had a cumulative record of 489–602 (.448). [2]
The Orioles were one of four AA clubs (the others being the Louisville Colonels, St. Louis Browns, and Washington Statesmen) merged into the National League (NL) in 1892, formally as a 12-member "League Association". The beginnings of the team can be traced to June 1892, when owner Harry Von der Horst hired Ned Hanlon to be manager of the Orioles, giving him stock in the team and full authority over baseball operations. Hanlon moved his growing family to a house that stood a block away from the team's ballpark.
After finishing last in the league in 1892 and eighth in 1893, the Orioles won three consecutive pennants during 1894–1896, [2] featuring several future Hall of Famers under manager Hanlon. They followed up the title run with two second-place finishes, in 1897 and 1898. [2] Accordingly, they participated in all four editions of the post-season Temple Cup series, held from 1894 through 1897 between the NL's top two teams, winning in 1896 and 1897.
After the team's 1898 second-place finish, most of the team's stars were moved to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, who were renamed as the Superbas for 1899 and eventually became known as the Dodgers. The players moved when Von der Horst and Hanlon became part owners of the Brooklyn team, with Hanlon also becoming Brooklyn's manager. Third baseman John McGraw and catcher Wilbert Robinson remained in Baltimore, with McGraw remaining as first-year player-manager. Following a fourth-place finish in 1899, [2] the Orioles were one of four clubs eliminated by the NL (the others being the Cleveland Spiders, Louisville Colonels, and the aforementioned Washington Statesmen, then known as the Washington Senators).
During their eight seasons of play in the NL, the Orioles compiled an overall record of 644–447 (.590). [2]
In the eight-team NL of 1900, McGraw and Robinson joined the St. Louis Cardinals.
In 1901, McGraw followed through on his threats to abandon the NL and form a club in the rival American League (AL), being formed by new president Ban Johnson out of the former minor-league Western League. These newly formed Orioles of the AL only stayed in Baltimore for two seasons.
In 1903, a team was established in New York City as "the price of peace" as agreement between the older circuit (the NL) and its new upstart rival (the AL) allowing the "Americans" to have a team based in the city as a sign of respectability. The AL team in New York became known as the New York Highlanders (or occasionally the New York Americans), later renamed in 1913 as the New York Yankees. The Yankees do not consider the 1901–1902 Baltimore team as part of their history.
In 1903, an Orioles franchise in the old minor-league Eastern League filled the void left by the departure of the major-league Orioles.
These minor-league Orioles included local product and future baseball icon Babe Ruth and Lefty Grove. The team won a string of seven straight titles, 1919–1925, at the then highest level of the minor leagues in the reorganized International League (known as such from 1912 onward).
A major-league franchise did not return to Baltimore until the St. Louis Browns (not the Browns of the AA, but a team that had its origins in Milwaukee) relocated to the city in 1954 and was renamed as the current Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball.
The Orioles of the American Association first played at Newington Park for the 1882 season.
Starting in 1883, the team played at the old Oriole Park, in Harwood, south of the Waverly neighborhood at 29th and Barclay Streets, just a block west from Greenmount Avenue, remaining there into the 1891 season. The 1901–1902 American League team played at Oriole Park a decade later.
During the 1891 season, the Orioles moved a few blocks away to Union Park on Huntington Avenue (later renamed 25th Street) and Greenmount Avenue. The team remained at Union Park for its entire time in the National League, 1892 through 1899.
The original Orioles were one of the most storied teams in the history of the game. Managed by Ned Hanlon, they won NL pennants in 1894, 1895, and 1896, and sported some of the most colorful players in history including John McGraw, Wee Willie Keeler, Hughie Jennings, Joe Kelley, Wilbert Robinson, and Dan Brouthers.
They were rough characters who practically invented "scientific" baseball, the form of baseball played before the home run became the norm in the 1920s. Like the style known today as "small ball", the "inside baseball" strategy of Orioles featured tight pitching, hit and run tactics, stolen bases, and precise bunting. One such play, where the batter deliberately strikes the pitched ball downward onto the infield surface with sufficient force such that the ball rebounds skyward, allowing the batter to reach first base safely before the opposing team can field the ball, remains known as a Baltimore chop. [3]
Matt Kilroy pitched a no-hitter for the Orioles on October 6, 1886; Bill Hawke threw one on August 16, 1893, the first from the modern pitching distance of 60 feet, 6 inches; and Jay Hughes threw a no-hitter for the Orioles on April 22, 1898. [4]
Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famers | |||
---|---|---|---|
Inductee | Position | Tenure | Inducted |
Dan Brouthers | 1B | 1894–1895 | 1945 |
Ned Hanlon | CF / Manager | 1892–1898 | 1996 |
Hughie Jennings | SS/1B | 1893–1899 | 1945 |
Willie Keeler | RF | 1894–1898 | 1939 |
Joe Kelley | LF | 1892–1898 | 1971 |
Joe McGinnity | P | 1899 | 1946 |
John McGraw | 3B / Manager | 1891–1899 | 1937 |
Wilbert Robinson | Catcher / Manager | 1890–1899 | 1945 |
William Henry Keeler, nicknamed "Wee Willie" because of his small stature, was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1892 to 1910, primarily for the Baltimore Orioles and Brooklyn Superbas in the National League, and the New York Highlanders in the American League. Keeler, one of the best hitters of his time, was posthumously elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. One of the greatest contact hitters of all time and notoriously hard to strike out, Keeler has the highest career at bats-per-strikeout ratio in MLB history, averaging 63.17 at bats between each strikeout. His plate appearance-per-strikeout ratio is also one of the best of all time, with Keeler averaging 70.66 plate appearances between strikeouts, second only to Joe Sewell, another Hall of Famer, who averaged 73.06 plate appearances between each strikeout.
Hugh Ambrose Jennings was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won National League championships in 1894, 1895, and 1896. During those three seasons, Jennings had 355 runs batted in and hit .335, .386, and .401.
Dennis Joseph "Dan" Brouthers was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball whose career spanned the period from 1879 to 1896, with a brief return in 1904. Nicknamed "Big Dan" for his size, he was 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and weighed 207 pounds (94 kg), which was large by 19th-century standards.
Wilbert Robinson, nicknamed "Uncle Robbie", was an American catcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Philadelphia Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinals. He managed the Orioles and Brooklyn Robins. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1945.
Edward Hugh Hanlon, also known as "Foxy Ned", and sometimes referred to as "the Father of Modern Baseball," was an American professional baseball player and manager whose career spanned from 1876 to 1914. He was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996 by the Veterans Committee.
Joseph James Kelley was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who starred in the outfield of the Baltimore Orioles teams of the 1890s. Making up the nucleus of the Orioles along with John McGraw, Willie Keeler, and Hughie Jennings, Kelley received the nickname "Kingpin of the Orioles".
Joseph Jerome McGinnity was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the late 19th and early 20th century. McGinnity played in MLB for ten years, pitching for the National League's (NL) Baltimore Orioles (1899) and Brooklyn Superbas (1900), before jumping to the American League (AL) to play for the Baltimore Orioles (AL) (1901–1902). He returned to the NL with the New York Giants (1902–1908). McGinnity continued to pitch in the minor leagues, eventually retiring from baseball for good at the age of 54.
The city of Baltimore, Maryland, has been home to two Minor League Baseball teams called the Baltimore Orioles, in addition to the three Major League Baseball teams that have used the name
James Bentley "Cy" Seymour was an American professional baseball center fielder and pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1896 to 1913 for the New York Giants, Baltimore Orioles (1901–1902), Cincinnati Reds (1902–1906) and Boston Braves (1913). He batted and threw left-handed.
James H. "Jay" Hughes was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who played four seasons from 1898 to 1902.
The 1902 Baltimore Orioles season finished with the Orioles in 8th place in the American League (AL) with a record of 50–88. The team was managed by John McGraw and Wilbert Robinson. The team played at Oriole Park in Baltimore, Maryland.
Dennis Lawrence"Dan"McGann was an American professional baseball first baseman and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1896 to 1910, and won the World Series in 1905 with the New York Giants.
The 1900 Brooklyn Superbas captured their second consecutive National League championship by four and a half games. The Baltimore Orioles, which had been owned by the same group, folded after the 1899 season when such arrangements were outlawed, and a number of the Orioles' players, including star pitcher Joe McGinnity, were reassigned to the Superbas.
The 1899 Brooklyn Superbas season was the 16th season of the current-day Dodgers franchise and the ninth season in the National League. The team won the National League pennant with a record of 101–47, 8 games ahead of the Boston Beaneaters, after finishing tenth in 1898.
The 1899 Baltimore Orioles season was a season in American baseball. It was the Orioles' 18th season in the major leagues, their 8th in the National League, and their last overall.
John Joseph McGraw was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890s Baltimore Orioles teams, noted for their innovative, aggressive play.
The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn, New York, until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, California, where it continues its history as the Los Angeles Dodgers. The team moved west at the same time as its longtime rival, the New York Giants, moved to San Francisco in northern California as the San Francisco Giants.
The Baltimore Orioles were a Major League Baseball team that played in Baltimore from 1901 to 1902. A charter member of the American League (AL), the team only lasted two seasons before folding after the 1902 season. The team was replaced the following season with the New York Highlanders, known since 1913 as the New York Yankees.