In the fall of 1874, a group of civic boosters in St. Louis raised $20,000 to organize the creation of the cities first professional ball club.[1] The St. Louis Brown Stockings joined the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players for the 1875 season and finished the season in fourth place. They subsequently joined the new National League for the 1876 season. The Brown Stockings joined the National League as a founding team and thus inspired what is now a rich baseball history in the city of St. Louis.
| 1875 St. Louis Brown Stockings | |
|---|---|
| League | National Association of Professional Base Ball Players |
| Ballpark | Grand Avenue Ball Grounds |
| City | St. Louis, Missouri |
| Owners | James Lucas[citation needed], C. Orrick Bishop |
| Manager | Dickey Pearce |
Preseason acquisitions
editC. Orrick Bishop, a local St. Louis lawyer, was named as the Brown Stockings Vice President and given the task of going east to recruit top talent.[2] In Brooklyn, Bishop picked up Dickey Pearce, Jack Chapman, Herman Dehlman, and Lip Pike. In and around Philadelphia, Bishop added Ned Cuthbert, Reddy Miller, George Bradley, Bill Hague, and Joe Battin.
Management
editDickey Pearce having been signed from the 1874 Brooklyn Atlantics became the first ever manager of the St. Louis Brown Stockings. Dickey Pearce is most known for his cunning managerial mind and creating the position of shortstop which he manned for the Brown Stockings in 1875.[2]
Hitters
editThe St. Louis Brown Stockings worst hitter—starting catcher Tom Miller—had an OPS+ of 24 over 56 games. He hit .164—33 singles, two doubles, and one walk in 214 at-bats.[2] The St. Louis Brown Stockings best hitter, Lip Pike, hit .346/.352/.494, for an OPS+ of 203—74 singles, 22 doubles, 12 triples.[2] Lip Pike was known as the leagues most athletic hitter and for good reason as he is rumored to have raced a trotting horse and won.
Pitchers
edit
Eighteen-year-old Pud Galvin is credited with leading the league in ERA (1.16) while just only pitching 62 innings.[3][4]
Regular season
editSeason standings
edit| National Association | W | L | T | GB | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Stockings | 71 | 8 | 3 | – | .884 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 53 | 20 | 4 | 15.0 | .714 |
| Hartford Dark Blues | 54 | 28 | 3 | 18.5 | .659 |
| St. Louis Brown Stockings | 39 | 29 | 2 | 26.5 | .571 |
| Philadelphia White Stockings | 37 | 31 | 2 | 28.5 | .542 |
| Chicago White Stockings | 30 | 37 | 2 | 35.0 | .449 |
| New York Mutuals | 30 | 38 | 3 | 35.5 | .443 |
| New Haven Elm Citys | 7 | 40 | – | 48.0 | .149 |
| Washington Nationals | 5 | 23 | – | 40.5 | .179 |
| St. Louis Red Stockings | 4 | 15 | – | 37.0 | .211 |
| Philadelphia Centennials | 2 | 12 | – | 36.5 | .143 |
| Brooklyn Atlantics | 2 | 42 | – | 51.5 | .045 |
| Keokuk Westerns | 1 | 12 | – | 37.0 | .077 |
Record vs. opponents
editSources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BOS | BR | CHI | HAR | KEO | NH | NY | PHA | PHC | PWS | SLB | SLR | WSH | ||||
| Boston | — | 6–0 | 8–2 | 9–1 | 1–0 | 5–1 | 10–0 | 8–2–2 | 4–0 | 6–0–1 | 7–2 | 1–0 | 6–0 | ||||
| Brooklyn | 0–6 | — | 0–2 | 0–10 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–7 | 0–7 | 0–0 | 0–7 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | ||||
| Chicago | 2–8 | 2–0 | — | 4–6–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–7–1 | 0–0 | 3–7 | 5–5 | 4–0 | 0–0 | ||||
| Hartford | 1–9 | 10–0 | 6–4–1 | — | 0–0 | 8–1 | 8–2–2 | 4–3–1 | 1–0 | 4–4 | 5–5 | 3–0 | 4–0 | ||||
| Keokuk | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–0 | — | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | ||||
| New Haven | 1–5 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 1–8 | 0–0 | — | 1–5 | 0–7 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–4 | ||||
| New York | 0–10 | 7–0 | 3–3 | 2–8–2 | 1–0 | 5–1 | — | 3–6 | 2–0 | 5–2 | 0–8–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | ||||
| Philadelphia Athletics | 2–8–2 | 7–0 | 7–1–1 | 3–4–1 | 0–0 | 7–0 | 6–3 | — | 2–1 | 8–2 | 6–1 | 0–0 | 5–0 | ||||
| Philadelphia Centennials | 0–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | — | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | ||||
| Philadelphia White Stockings | 0–6–1 | 7–0 | 7–3 | 4–4 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–5 | 2–8 | 3–0 | — | 5–5–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | ||||
| St. Louis Brown Stockings | 2–7 | 2–0 | 5–5 | 5–5 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 8–0–1 | 1–6 | 0–0 | 5–5–1 | — | 2–0 | 3–0 | ||||
| St. Louis Red Stockings | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | — | 2–1 | ||||
| Washington | 0–6 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–5 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–2 | — | ||||
Roster
edit| 1875 St. Louis Brown Stockings roster | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers
Catchers |
Infielders | Outfielders | Manager | ||||||
Player stats
editBatting
editNote: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Miller | 56 | 214 | 35 | .164 | 0 | 12 |
| Herman Dehlman | 67 | 254 | 57 | .224 | 0 | 14 |
| Joe Battin | 67 | 284 | 71 | .250 | 0 | 33 |
| Dickey Pearce | 70 | 311 | 77 | .248 | 0 | 29 |
| Bill Hague | 62 | 260 | 57 | .219 | 0 | 22 |
| Lip Pike | 70 | 312 | 108 | .346 | 0 | 44 |
| Jack Chapman | 43 | 195 | 44 | .226 | 0 | 30 |
| Ned Cuthbert | 68 | 319 | 78 | .245 | 0 | 17 |
| Charlie Waitt | 30 | 113 | 23 | .204 | 0 | 12 |
| George Seward | 25 | 96 | 24 | .250 | 0 | 8 |
| Frank Fleet | 4 | 16 | 1 | .063 | 0 | 1 |
Starting pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Bradley | 60 | 535.2 | 33 | 26 | 2.13 | 60 |
| Pud Galvin | 8 | 62.0 | 4 | 2 | 1.16 | 8 |
| Frank Fleet | 3 | 27.0 | 2 | 1 | 3.33 | 3 |
Relief pitchers
editNote: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dickey Pearce | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.38 | 0 |
References
edit- ^ admin. "Dickey Pearce – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved June 26, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Danfiction (December 8, 2012). "One of these goofy-looking men invented shortstop". Viva El Birdos. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
- ^ "Pud Galvin career statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
- ^ "1875 National Association pitching leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, N.C.: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
- 1875 St. Louis Brown Stockings season at Baseball Reference
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