Louisville Colonels | |
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Information | |
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Former name(s) |
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Colors | Red Yellow |
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Manager |
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President | Harry Pulliam (1897–1899) |
The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as the Louisville Colonels from 1885 to 1891; the latter name derived from the historic title of the Kentucky Colonel. After the AA folded in 1891, the Colonels joined the National League and played through the 1899 season.
"Colonels" was also the name of several minor league baseball teams that played in Louisville, Kentucky, in the 20th century.
After spending several years as a well-known semi-pro team, the Eclipse joined the newly founded American Association in 1882. The Eclipse's backer, local distiller J. H. Pank, was named vice-president of the AA, and the team was to be run by a consortium led by W. L. Lyons. Their star player, infielder Pete Browning, who had achieved some measure of local fame, remained with the team when they ascended to major league status. The team got off to a good start, finishing in second place, their best finish for several seasons.
Managing partner Lyons resigned in mid-1888, and was succeeded by team secretary Mordecai Davidson. The following season, the team sank to a 27–111 record and a last place finish. As a result, Davidson surrendered control of the team to the AA. The Colonels lost five straight games in two days, including a tripleheader on September 7 and a doubleheader the next day, all against the Baltimore Orioles. With the prohibition of tripleheaders in the early 1920s, this record still stands. The 1889 Colonels were the first team in major league history to lose 100 games in a single season.
In 1890 the team, which had been purchased by Barney Dreyfuss, bounced back with a vengeance. The Colonels won the 1890 pennant in the AA and became the first and only team to rise from the cellar to the pennant in one season. That year the AA was considered only the third-best behind the NL and the Players' League.
In 1892 the American Association dissolved, and the Colonels moved to the National League and played there until 1899. In 1900 Dreyfuss acquired controlling interest of the Pittsburgh Pirates and brought 14 Colonels players with him, including future Hall of Famers Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke, marking the end of the original Colonels organization and Louisville as a Major League Baseball host city.
In September 1882, Louisville pitchers threw two no-hitters in the span of nine days; Tony Mullane on September 11, followed by Guy Hecker on September 19. Other Louisville pitchers who threw no-hitters were Ben Sanders on August 22, 1892, and Deacon Phillippe, a rookie, on May 25, 1899. Pete Browning hit for the cycle twice for Louisville, on August 8, 1886, and June 7, 1889.
Louisville Colonels Hall of Famers | |||
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Inductee | Position | Tenure | Inducted |
Fred Clarke | OF/Manager | 1894–1899 | 1945 |
Hughie Jennings | SS/1B | 1891–1893 | 1945 |
Rube Waddell | P | 1897, 1899 | 1946 |
Honus Wagner | SS | 1897–1899 | 1936 |
Jimmy Collins | 3B | 1895 | 1946 |
The 1903 World Series was the first modern World Series to be played in Major League Baseball. It matched the American League (AL) champion Boston Americans against the National League (NL) champion Pittsburgh Pirates in a best-of-nine series, with Boston prevailing five games to three, winning the last four. The first three games were played in Boston, the next four in Allegheny, and the eighth (last) game in Boston.
Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner, sometimes referred to as Hans Wagner, was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wagner won his eighth batting title in 1911, a National League record that remains unbroken to this day, and matched only once, in 1997, by Tony Gwynn. He also led the league in slugging six times and stolen bases five times. Wagner was nicknamed "the Flying Dutchman" due to his superb speed and German heritage. This nickname was a nod to the popular folk-tale made into a famous opera by the German composer Richard Wagner. In 1936, the Baseball Hall of Fame inducted Wagner as one of the first five members. He received the second-highest vote total, behind Ty Cobb's 222 and tied with Babe Ruth at 215.
Eclipse Park was the name of three successive baseball grounds in Louisville, Kentucky in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were the home of the Louisville baseball team first known as the Louisville Eclipse and later as the Louisville Colonels.
Charles Louis "Deacon" Phillippe was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Louisville Colonels and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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
Bernhard "Barney" Dreyfuss was an executive in Major League Baseball who owned the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise from 1900 to his death. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2008.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1882 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1933 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1944 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1940 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1937 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1936 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1934 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1928 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1914 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1899 throughout the world.
The following are the baseball events of the year 1890 throughout the world.
The 1901 Pittsburgh Pirates finished in first place in the National League, 7½ games ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Phillies. It was the first year that the American League operated as a major league, but there would be no World Series between the leagues until 1903.