The Boston Reds were a Major League Baseball franchise that played in the Players' League (PL) in 1890, and one season in the American Association (AA) in 1891. [1] In both seasons, the Reds were their league's champion, making them the second team to win back-to-back championships in two different leagues. [2] [3] The first franchise to accomplish this feat was the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, who won the AA championship in 1889 and the National League (NL) championship in 1890. [2] [4] The Reds played their home games at the Congress Street Grounds. [5] [6]
The Reds were an instant success on the field and in the public's opinion. [7] The team signed several top-level players, and they played in a larger, more comfortable and modern ballpark than the Boston Beaneaters, the popular and well established cross-town rival. [7] Player signings that first year included future Hall of Famers King Kelly, Dan Brouthers, and Charles Radbourn, along with other veterans such as Hardy Richardson, Matt Kilroy, Harry Stovey, and Tom Brown. [5] The PL ended after one season, leaving most of its teams without a league. [8]
After the dissolution of the PL, the AA voted to allow the Reds into the new combined league. [8] This was based on the condition that all players be returned to their former clubs via the reserve clause. [8] Although the team's on-field captain, Kelly, became the player-manager for a new AA club, the Cincinnati Kelly's Killers, the Reds stayed intact by keeping several of their top players. [9] [10] Of the club's key players from the previous year's team, Brouthers, Richardson, and Brown were retained. To fill the void of the departing players, the team brought in future Hall of Famers Hugh Duffy and Clark Griffith, along with solid veterans Paul Radford, Charlie Buffinton, and George Haddock. [6] When the 1891 season ended, the AA folded as well, leaving the NL as the sole major league, and the Reds were bought out by the surviving NL clubs. [11]
* | Player was a player-manager |
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Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum | |
§ | Indicates the player is a Hall of Famer and was a player-manager |
Player | Position(s) | Season(s) | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dan Brouthers | First baseman | 1890–1891 | In 1891, he led the AA in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. | [12] |
Tom Brown | Center fielder | 1890–1891 | In 1891, he led the AA in at bats, runs scored, hits, triples, and stolen bases. | [13] |
Charlie Buffinton | Pitcher | 1891 | He won 29 games during his only season with the team. | [14] |
Tom Cotter | Catcher | 1891 | He played in six games during his only season in the major leagues. | [15] |
Bill Daley | Pitcher | 1890–1891 | He won 18 games during his one season with the Reds. | [16] |
Tim Donahue | Catcher | 1891 | He went hitless in seven at bats in 1891. | [17] |
Tommy Dowd | Right fielder | 1891 | He was loaned to the Washington Senators after playing in four games with the Reds. | [18] |
Hugh Duffy | Right fielder | 1891 | In 1891, he tied with teammate Duke Farrell for the AA lead in RBIs. | [19] [20] |
Duke Farrell | 3B / Catcher | 1891 | In 1891, he led the AA in home runs, and tied for the lead in runs batted in with teammate Hugh Duffy. | [20] [21] |
John Fitzgerald | Pitcher | 1891 | He played six games during his only season in the major leagues. | [22] |
Mike Flynn | Catcher | 1891 | He played in one game during his only season in the major leagues. | [23] |
Clark Griffith | Pitcher | 1891 | Griffith began his playing career in 1891, and finished the season having played in ten games for the Reds. | [24] [25] |
Ad Gumbert | Pitcher | 1890 | He won 23 games for the 1890 Reds. | [26] |
George Haddock | Pitcher | 1891 | In 1891, he led the league in shutouts and won 34 games. | [27] |
Arthur Irwin * | Shortstop | 1890–1891 | He was a player-manager for the Reds in 1891, and was the brother of John Irwin, who was also his teammate in 1891. | [6] [28] |
John Irwin | Utility player | 1891 | Irwin played sparingly for both the Reds and the Louisville Colonels in 1891, his last season in the major leagues. | [29] |
Dick Johnston | Center fielder | 1890 | He played in two games before being sold to the New York Giants, also of the PL. | [30] |
Bill Joyce | Third baseman | 1890–1891 | In 1890, he was the starting third baseman, and led the PL in bases on balls. | [31] |
King Kelly § | Catcher / Outfielder | 1890–1891 | Kelly was at the tail end of his Hall of Fame playing career when he became a player-manager of the 1890 Reds, and then later of the Cincinnati Kelly's Killers. | [32] |
Matt Kilroy | Pitcher | 1890 | He had a pitching record of 9–15 for the Reds in 1890, his last full season in the major leagues. | [33] |
Kid Madden | Pitcher | 1890–1891 | He played in thirteen games for the 1890 Reds, and one in 1891. | [34] |
Jack McGeachey | Left fielder | 1890 | He split the 1891 season with the Reds and the Philadelphia Athletics of the AA. | [35] |
John Morrill | First baseman / Shortstop | 1890 | He played two games in the 1890 Reds' season, the last season of his 15-year career. | [36] |
Morgan Murphy | Catcher | 1890–1891 | He was the starting catcher during both of the franchise's seasons, which were the first two seasons of his 11-year career. | [37] |
Billy Nash | Third baseman | 1890 | He was the starting third baseman in 1890. | [38] |
Cinders O'Brien | Pitcher | 1891 | O'Brien had a pitching record of 18–13 in his final season. It was his last season in the major leagues due to his death during the off-season. | [39] |
Frank Quinlan | Left fielder / Catcher | 1891 | He played in two games for the Reds in 1891, which was his only season in the major leagues. | [40] |
Joe Quinn | Second baseman | 1890 | He was the starting second baseman in 1890, and was the first Australian-born person to play in the major leagues. | [41] [42] |
Charles Radbourn | Pitcher | 1890 | He had a 27–12 record for the Reds in 1890, the second-to-last season of his career. | [43] |
Paul Radford | Shortstop | 1891 | He was the starting shortstop in 1891. | [44] |
Hardy Richardson | Left fielder | 1890–1891 | He started in left field for both teams. In 1890, he led the PL in runs batted in. | [45] |
Harry Stovey | Right fielder | 1890 | In 1890, he was the starting right fielder and led the PL in stolen bases. | [46] |
Cub Stricker | Second baseman | 1891 | In 1891, he was the starting second baseman. | [47] |
Pop Swett | Catcher | 1890 | In 1890, which was his only season in the major leagues, he played in 37 games. | [48] |
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.
The American Association of Base Ball Clubs (AA) was a professional baseball league that existed for 10 seasons from 1882 to 1891. Together with the National League (NL), founded in 1876, the AA participated in an early version of the World Series seven times versus the champion of the NL in an interleague championship playoff tournament. At the end of its run, several AA franchises joined the NL. After 1891, the NL existed alone, with each season's champions being awarded the Temple Cup (1894–1897).
Amos Wilson Rusie, nicknamed "The Hoosier Thunderbolt", was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball during the late 19th century. He had a 10-season career in the National League (NL), which consisted of one season with the Indianapolis Hoosiers in 1889, eight with the New York Giants from 1890 to 1898, and one with the Cincinnati Reds in 1901.
Harry Duffield Stovey was a 19th-century Major League Baseball player and the first player in major league history to hit 100 home runs. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Stovey played for fourteen seasons in the majors and was appointed player-manager on two separate occasions during his career.
The Boston Reds were a 19th-century baseball team located in Boston, Massachusetts that played in the Players' League in 1890 and in the American Association in 1891. They played in the Congress Street Grounds in the 1890s. The team took its name from the successful Boston club of the National Association and National League often known as the (Boston) Red Stockings. The club lasted only two seasons, but in those two seasons they were league champions.
Charles "Charlie" G. Buffinton was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1882 to 1892. One of the workhorse pitchers of the 1880s, he won 20 games seven times and his 1,700 career strikeouts are the ninth-highest total of the 19th century.
John Elmer Stivetts was a professional baseball pitcher who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning from 1889 to 1899. He played in the American Association (AA) with the St. Louis Browns, and in the National League (NL) with the Boston Beaneaters and Cleveland Spiders. "Happy Jack" was born to German immigrants and raised in Ashland, Pennsylvania. He initially followed his father into the coal mining industry before playing professional baseball. After playing two and half seasons in minor league baseball, he was signed by the Browns. Over the next few seasons, he was regarded as one of the best pitchers in baseball.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1882 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1889 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1887 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1883 throughout the world.
Thomas Tarlton Brown was an Anglo-American center fielder in Major League Baseball. Born in Liverpool, Lancashire, England, son of William Henry Tarlton Brown and Mary Nixon Lewis, he played for 17 seasons, a career in which he batted .265 while scoring 1,524 runs with 1,958 hits. Upon his retirement he served as an umpire, working mostly in the National League in 1898 and 1901–1902.
The Philadelphia Athletics were a short-lived Major League Baseball franchise that existed for two seasons from 1890 to 1891. Known alternatively as the Philadelphia Quakers, and sometimes informally as "Buffinton's Beauties", they played their first season in the newly created Players' League (PL) of 1890, and were managed by Jim Fogarty and Charlie Buffinton. After the demise of the PL following the 1890 season, the team switched to the American Association (AA) for the 1891 season, and were managed by Bill Sharsig and George Wood. For each season, the franchise used Forepaugh Park as their home field.
The Providence Grays went 84–28 during the 1884 season to win the National League championship. The team started out with two main pitchers, Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn and Charlie Sweeney. After Sweeney jumped to the Union Association in mid-season, Radbourn pitched most of the Grays' remaining games and led the team to the pennant. Radbourn won 60 games by himself, setting a Major League Baseball record that has never been broken.
The Worcester Worcesters, sometimes referred to as the Brown Stockings or the Ruby Legs, were a Major League Baseball team based in Worcester, Massachusetts. Though the team's alternate names appear in many modern sources, no contemporary records from the time exist that support the use of names other than "Worcester". They existed in the National League (NL) from 1880 to 1882, and played their home games at the Worcester Agricultural Fairgrounds.
The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball franchise based in Providence, Rhode Island from 1878 to 1885. During the team's eight seasons in the National League (NL), which then comprised eight teams, they finished third place or higher in the final standings seven times, and won the league championship in both 1879 and 1884. Providence played their home games at the Messer Street Grounds, which was located in the Olneyville neighborhood of Providence. The Grays were officially organized on January 16, 1878 by Benjamin Douglas, who became the team's general manager. Henry Root was hired as the team president‚ and Tom Carey was initially hired to be the on-field captain, whose duties were similar to the modern-day manager. On January 21, 1878, Providence applied for membership in the NL, and was officially approved on February 6. On April 10, Root took over ownership of the team, fired Douglas for incompetence and insubordination, and hired Tom York to replace Carey as captain.
The Cincinnati Kelly's Killers were a Major League Baseball franchise based in Cincinnati. The team existed for one season, 1891, and played in the American Association (AA). The team played their home games at East End Park.
The Philadelphia Athletics were a professional baseball team that existed for two seasons from 1890 to 1891. Known alternatively as the Philadelphia Quakers, and sometimes informally as "Buffinton's Beauties", they played their first season in the newly created Players' League (PL) of 1890, and were managed by Jim Fogarty and Charlie Buffinton. After the demise of the PL following the 1890 season, the team joined the American Association (AA) for the 1891 season, and were managed by Bill Sharsig and George Wood. For each season, the franchise used Forepaugh Park as their home field.