Runs and Bases: The 1890's part 1

[SWC75]

This is a continuation of my project of going through major league baseball history using two statistics, (both pertaining only to hitting), plus some descriptions and stories of some of the prominent players.

The formulas: Runs Produced consists of runs scored, plus runs batted in minus home runs so you don’t count them twice, (a home run is the same run scored and batted in by the same player). Bases Produces is total batting bases, (one for a single, two for a double, three for a triple and 4 for a home run), plus walks plus stolen bases. The rankings at the end are based on the top ten for each year: 10 points for finishing first in runs or bases produced, 9 for second, 8 for third, etc. I’m doing it that way because the numbers will change from year to and era to era for various reasons: where a player placed in the rankings each season is thus a better measure of his production than adding the specific numbers he totaled. But ties within a year will be broken based on who had the fewer plate appearances. For the cumulative rankings they are broken by the number of games each player played to that point.

The 1890’s opened with a lot of upheaval. John Montgomery Ward’s player’s union, known as the Brotherhood of Professional Baseball Players, formed their own league, commonly known as the Player’s League, even though they themselves called it the Brotherhood. It lasted one season due to lack of funding but its existence stressed the other two leagues economically. The National League, which had moved back into the “river cities” after the death of William Hulbert, had the greater financial clout. In fact, some owners owned teams in both leagues. There was no rule against owning an interest in more than one team. Some AA teams had already jumped to the National League. The Pittsburgh Alleghenys had jumped in 1886. In 1889 the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the Cleveland Spiders and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms jumped to the older league.

After the Player’s League collapsed, the players returned to their former teams, with one exception. Lou Bierbauer had been playing second base for the AA”s Philadelphia Athletics before the PL began. But the Allegheny’s manager, Ned Hanlon, got to Bierbauer at his home in Presque Isle, “in the dead of winter to sign him, crossing the ice on the harbor during a snow storm. He finally reached Bierbauer's home and got him to sign a contract with Allegheny.” This caused an AA official to brand Nanlon’s acti9on “piratical”, which caused the Alleghenys to be known as the “Pirates”. The Red Stockings of course, became the Reds and the Bridegrooms is one of five names the Brooklyn team had before being called the Dodgers, (Atlantics, Grays, Bridegrooms, Superbas and Robins). The Bridegrooms pulled off the rare feat of winning the championship in one league (the AA) in 1889, and then doing the same thing in the other, (the NL) in 1890. The Minneapolis Lakers in basketball and the Cleveland Browns in football are the only other teams to have done this on the professional level.

The Bierbauer affair ignited a new war between the NL and the AA which the older league quickly won. The AA went out of business after the 1819 season, (to be reincarnated as a minor league circuit in 1902). The St. Louis Browns, (now the Cardinals), the Baltimore Orioles, the Louisville Colonels and the Washington Senators jumped to the National League, turning it into an unwieldy 12 team circuit. The last NL-AA post season series had been played in 1890, (the Bridegrooms and Louisville played to a 3-3-1 tie).

But interest in post-season baseball continued. There was an experiment with a split season in 1892 with the Boston Beaneaters, (Braves) beating the Cleveland Spiders in the championship series, 5-0. Then they came up with something called the Temple Cup, in which the pennant winner and the second place team played in a “winner take all” series from 1894-97. It didn’t create all that much excitement, with people thinking that a series between the first and second place teams after along regular season was anti-climactic and rumors that the teams secretly agreed to split the money. The second place team won three of the four series, (the Giants in ’94, the Spiders in ’95 and the Orioles in ’97) but everybody, including historians, considers the pennant winners to be the real champions for those years.

Statistically, the big event was the movement of the pitcher’s mound was moved back from 50 feet from home plate to 60 feet, (the famous “6 inches” is the width of the pitcher’s rubber) for the 1894 season. It took pitchers a season to adjust to the new distance and batters teed off on them. The league batted .309. Four guys batted .400, including the entire Philadelphia Phillies outfield. The Phillies hit .350 as a team. But the leader was Hugh Duffy, who hit .440, (for many years it was reported as .438), the highest true batting average, (no walks allowed), in baseball history, (at least from the formation of the National league: Levi Meyerle hit .492 in 130 at bats in the first year of the National Association in 1871). The Braves hit .331.

Duffy hit 131 points above the league average. He was the 10th player to bat that far above the league average. Since then Wee Willie Keller did it in 1897 (+138), Napoleon Lajoie in 1901 (+149), 1904 (+131) and 1910 (+140), Ty Cobb from 1909-1913, (+133, +139, +146, +144, +134) and 1917 (+135), Joe Jackson in 1911 (+134), Tris Speaker in 1916 (+137), George Sisler in 1922 (+135), Rogers Hornsby in 1924 (+141) and Ted Williams in 1941 (+139) and 1957 (+133). That’s very good company but Duffy’s achievement is not as unprecedented as it seemed.

1890- National League

Runs Produced
Oyster Burns BRO 217
Hub Collins BRO 214
Sam Thompson PHI 214
Walt Wilmot CHI 200
Dave Foutz BRO 199
Cap Anson CHI 195
Long John Reilly CIN 194
Cliff Carroll CHI 192
George Pinkney BRO 191
Billy Hamilton PHI 180

Bases Produced
Mike Tiernan NY 398
Bill Hamilton PHI 383
Walt Wilmot CHI 379
Hub Collins BRO 367
Bid McPhee CIN 363
Cap Anson CHI 344
George Pinkney BRO 336
Ed McKean CLE 331
Jimmy Cooney CHI 325
Jack Glasscock NY 320

1890- American Association

Runs Produced
Spud Johnson COL 218
Tommy McCarthy STL 200
Cupid Childs SYR 196
Chicken Wolf LOU 194
Jim McTamany COL 187
John Sneed COL 184
Perry Werden TOL 179
Harry Taylor LOU 169
Tim Shinnick LOU 168
Blondie Purcell PHI 167

Bases Produced
Tommy McCarthy STL 405
Cupid Childs SYR 365
Perry Werden TOL 364
Chicken Wolf LOU 349
Spud Johnson COL 339
Ed Swartwood TOL 338
Jim McTamany COL 319
John Sneed COL 311
Shorty Fuller STL 309
Harry Taylor LOU 303

1890- Player’s League

Runs Produced
Hardy Richardson BOS 259
Hugh Duffy CHI 236
Roger Connor NY 222
Jake Beckley PIT 220
Lou Bierbauer BRO 220
Jim O’Rourke NY 218
Harry Stovey BOS 214
Dan Brouthers BOS 213
George Wood PHI 208
Dave Orr BRO 207

Bases Produced
Hugh Duffy CHI 417
Harry Stovey BOS 405
Tom Brown BOS 377
Roger Connor NY 375
Billy Shindle PHI 373
Hardy Richardson BOS 368
Pete Browning CLE 355
Monte Ward BRO 353
Bill Joyce BRO 346
Jake Beckley PIT 336

1891-National League

Runs Produced
George Davis CLE 201
Cupid Childs CLE 201
Roger Connor NY 199
Billy Hamilton PHI 199
Harry Stovey BOS 195
Herman Long BOS 195
Cap Anson CHI 193
Sam Thompson PHI 191
Jim O’Rourke NY 182
Billy Nash BOS 182

Bases Produced
Billy Hamilton PHI 435
Harry Stovey BOS 407
Mike Tiernan NY 390
Herman Long BOS 375
Arlie Latham CIN 367
Cupid Childs CLE 342
George Davis CLE 328
Roger Connor NY 325
Mike Griffin BRO 324
Bid McPhee CIN 315

1891- American Association

Runs Produced
Tom Brown BOS 244
Hugh Duffy BOS 235
Dan Brouthers BOS 221
George Van Haltren BAL 210
Tommy McCarthy STL 208
Duke Farrell BOS 206
Perry Werden BAL 200
Denny Lyons STL 197
Tip O’Neill STL 196
Dummy Hoy STL 193

Bases Produced
Tom Brown BOS 452
George Van Haltren BAL 397
Hugh Duffy BOS 389
Dummy Hoy STL 377
Dan Brouthers BOS 367
Perry Werden BAL 332
Jack Crooks COL 325
Jim McTamany COL 324
Tip O’Neill STL 318
Tommy McCarthy STL 318

1892- National League

Runs Produced
Dan Brouthers BRO 240
Sam Thompson PHI 204
Hugh Duffy BOS 201
Bug Holliday CIN 192
Bill Hallman PHI 188
Jake Beckley PIT 188
Herman Long BOS 187
Cupid Childs CLE 186
Billy Nash BSN 185
Jake Virtue CLE 185

Bases Produced
Roger Connor PHI 399
Dan Brouthers BRO 397
George Van Haltren BRO 381
Bug Holliday CIN 371
Billy Hamilton PHI 365
Hugh Duffy BOS 365
Cupid Childs CLE 365
Dummy Hoy WAS 357
Monte Ward BRO 355
Bill Dahlen CHI 351

1893- National League

Runs Produced
Ed Delahanty PHI 272
Hugh Duffy BOS 259
Sam Thompson PHI 245
Buck Ewing CLE 233
Ed McKean CLE 232
Billy Nash BOS 228
Jesse Burkett CLE 221
George Davis NY 220
Mike Smith PIT 217
Tommy McCarthy BOS 213

Bases Produced
Ed Delahanty PHI 431
Jesse Burkett CLE 388
Sam Thompson PHI 386
George Davis NY 383
Mike Smith PIT 375
Hugh Duffy BOS 352
Joe Kelley BRO 349
Cupid Childs CLE 349
Roger Connor NY 345
Mike Tiernan NY 341

1894- National League

Runs Produced
Hugh Duffy BOS 287
Billy Hamilton PHI 284
Ed Delahanty PHI 277
Joe Kelley BAL 270
Walt Wilmot CHI 261
Jake Stenzel PIT 258
Bobby Lowe BOS 256
Dan Brouthers BAL 256
Willie Keeler BAL 254
Lave Cross PHI 253

Bases Produced
Billy Hamilton PHI 520
Hugh Duffy BOS 488
Joe Kelley BAL 458
Jake Stenzel PIT 440
Bill Dahlen CHI 406
Walt Wilmot CHI 395
John McGraw BAL 392
Bobby Lowe BOS 392
Sam Thompson PHI 382
Dan Brouthers BAL 379

Cummulative Run Production Ranking

Cap Anson 119
King Kelly 76
Dan Brouthers 73
Jim O’Rourke 64
Harry Stovey 57

Roger Connor 55
Hugh Duffy 54
Ross Barnes 49
Deacon White 49
Cal McVey 47

George Gore 46
Sam Thompson 45
George Wright 41
Tip O’Neill 38
Long John Reilly 37

Hardy Richardson 31
Charles Comisky 30
Charlie Jones 28
Paul Hines 28
Abner Dalrymple 27

Cupid Childs 25
Oyster Burns 23
Dave Foutz 22
Curt Welch 21
Hick Carpenter 20

Cummulative Base Production Ranking

Cap Anson 91
Harry Stovey 88
Dan Brouthers 83
Jim O’Rourke 73
Roger Connor 70

King Kelly 57
Billy Hamilton 53
Ross Barnes 50
Hugh Duffy 48
Charlie Jones 45

Abner Dalrymple 42
George Wright 41
Pete Browning 41
Paul Hines 40
Lip Pike 39

George Gore 34
Cal McVey 33
Mike Tiernan 30
Long John Reilly 28
Arlie Latham 28

Deacon White 28
Dave Orr 24
Jimmy Ryan 23
Tom Brown 23
George Hall 22

 

[SWC75]

What is most remembered of 1890’s baseball is the rivalry between the two greatest teams of the century: the Boston Beaneaters and the Baltimore Orioles. The Beanbeaters, coached by Fran Selee won the pennant in 1891, 1892, 1893, 1897 and 1898. The Orioles, under Ned Hanlon won in 1894-96. Hanlon and the core of that team was transferred to Brooklyn by their mutual owners, (remember they could own more than one team), and won the 1899 and 1900 NL pennants, so, essentially, both groups of players won five pennants, totally dominating the league for a full ten year period. On the Beaneater’s roster in those years were Hall of Famers John Clarkson, Jimmy Collins, Hugh Duffy, the original Billy Hamilton, Joe Kelley, King Kelly, Tommy McCarthy, Kid Nichols, Frank Selee and Vic Willis. The Orioles had Dan Brouthers, Hughie Jennings, Willie Keeler, Joe Kelley, John McGraw, Ned Hanlon, and Wilbert Robinson.

The two teams had totally different images. The Orioles were known as the dirtiest team in baseball, doing things like grabbing baserunner’s belts as they tried to circle the bases, shoving them off the bag on a pick-off attempt and hiding extra balls in the tall outfield grass. The Beaneaters were known for other innovations, such as the hit and run play, the use of signals, and playing clean baseball. They were the “good guys” and the Orioles were the “bad guys”. Bill James says that a very good movie could be made about their rivalry. But for many years it was the Orioles that were the more well-remembered team. That was because so many of their players became prominent managers in the 20th century. Hughie Jennings managed the Detroit Tigers’ pennant winners with Ty Cobb. Wilbert Robinson managed the Brooklyn team for so many years that they came to be called the “Robins”. And John McGraw managed the New York Giants for 30 years, becoming the most famous manager of the day and perhaps of all time. When twentieth century sportswriters wanted to know about nineteenth century baseball they came to these men who credited the Orioles with every innovation in baseball history, (and none of the dirty play), and told them that the old Orioles were the best team ever. Subsequent historians have looked at the actual record and have come to appreciate that the old Beaneaters must have been at least as good.

HUGH DUFFY was 5-7 and weighed 150 pounds. He started his career in Chicago and when he showed up, Cap Anson thought he was the new bat boy. “Where’s the rest of you?” Anson bellowed. “”I’m all here”, Duffy replied. He was there for three years, then spent most of the next 63 years in Boston. As a player he hit .326 lifetime , drove in 100 runs eight times, scored 100 runs eleven years in a row. The year he hit .440 he had 145 RBIs and 160 runs scored. He also had surprising power, hitting 18 home runs that year with 16 triples and 51 doubles. As a centerfielder, Anson said he “plays the outfield with a crystal ball- he’s always there to make the catch”. He eventually became a manager and later a scout for the red Sox, eventually becoming mentor to Ted Williams. When Ted hit .406 in 1941, there was speculation at one point that he might beat Duffy’s record for batting average. Ted said he hoped he didn’t because he liked Duffy a lot. When he died in 1953, he’d seen so much Boston baseball and the players who played it he was compared to Mr. Chips. His philosophy was “aim at the pitcher: if the pitch is inside, it’ll go to the right. If it’s outside, it’ll go to the left.” The game is simple when you are talented.

Next to Duffy in right was TOMMY MCCARTHY. Writers called Duffy and McCarthy the “Heavenly Twins” but they weren’t twins. McCarthy hit only .292 lifetime but his speed and daring as a baserunner enabled him to score 100+ runs for seven straight years. He played for two of the most successful teams on the 19th century, the St. Louis Browns of the 1880’s and the Beaneaters. His greatest renown was as a center fielder. The most dramatic defensive play of our day is Derek Jeter’s journey across the diamond to re-direct a throw from right field against Oakland in 2001. How about this play: In 1894, McCarthy fielded a ball in center with runners on first and second and nobody out. He threw to second baseman Bobby Lowe who forced the runner from first and threw to first to get the batter out. McCarthy, not skipping a beat, noticed that the catcher had strayed from home and ran directly through the infield to take a throw from the first baseman and tag the runner trying to score from second out at the plate. 8-4-3-8.

BOBBY LOWE is more famous for something else. In 1894 he became the first player to hit four home runs in one game. All were inside-the-park. After the game, fans "showered $160 worth of silver on the plate for Lowe." The Beaneater’s infield of FRED TENNEY at first, Lowe at second, HERMAN LONG at short and JIMMY COLLINS at third is considered among the best ever. Tenney is credited with developing the 3-6-3 double play. He was called “The soiled collegian” because he’d attended Brown and it was considered unusual for college men to play pro baseball. He was still playing for the 1908 Giants when an injury prevented him from playing against the Cubs in a key game. He was replaced by Fred Merkle and the rest is history. Long, known as “The Flying Dutchman” before Honus Wagner came along, had a six year run of scoring 100 runs, with a high of 149. Collins invented the modern concept of mobile, aggressive third base play and, per Bill James “was almost universally listed, up until the mid-1950’s as the greatest third baseman who ever played”.

But the greatest player to play for the Beaneaters was probably “SLIDING BILLY HAMILTON”, Like Duffy, he was a good thing that came in a small package: 5-6, 165 pounds. But he batted .344 lifetime, stole either 912 or 937 bases, (he was considered “more daring and reckless than Ty Cobb by Sam Thomp0son who played with both), and scored more runs per game than any player in history, with a high of 198 in 129 games in 1894. He stole over 100 bases four times. It should be noted that from 1894-97, tag-ups and extra bases taken on other players hits, (scoring form second on a double, for example0wer considered stolen bases, 9which I actually think is a good rule). But still, nobody ever motored around the diamond like Sliding Billy. His biggest years were actually in Philadelphia in the first half of the decade: the joined the Beaneaters in 1896 and was a part of their 1897-98 pennant winners. The current Billy Hamilton has quite a legacy to live up to.

According to Bill James, the Boston ballpark in those days was next to some railroad tracks that were littered with refuse, including discarded cans. One day a baseball rolled up to and under the outfield fence and into a can. Billy Hamilton couldn’t retrieve the ball so he grabbed the can and hurled it, with the ball still in it, to the infield where a runner was tagged out. Some time later, it happened again and Hugh Duffy did the same thing for a play at the plate. But they had a different umpire who ruled the runner safe, saying There’s nothin’ in the rule book that says you can put a runner out by touchin’ him with a tomater can!”

The most famous Oriole at the time was WEE WILLIE KEELER, a player not even the size of Duffy or Hamilton. Wee Willie stood 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighed only 140 pounds. His philosophy wasn’t “aim at the pitcher”. His philosophy was “hit ‘em where they ain’t”. He was probably the game’s greatest bunter and invented the “Baltimore Chop”- hitting the ball down on or in front of the plate and getting to first base before it could be fielded. He used that to hit .341 lifetime, including .424 in 1897. He opened the 1897 season with a 44 game hitting streak. He’s gotten a hit in the last game of the 1896 season so it was a actually a 45 game streak. That would be the National League record but you can’t carry over a streak from one season to the next so he’s tied with Pete Rose. A very popular player, Wee Willie would take advantage of a break in the action to go over to a section of the stands reserved for kids and explain what was happening in the game to them.

Baltimore got DAN BROUTHERS in the last great phase of his career. Big Dan only played one full season for the Orioles but it was the big year of 1894, their first pennant winner: he hit .347 with 396 doubles, 23 triple and 9 homers, driving in 128 runs and scoring 137. He also hit that home run that Bill Jenkinson was the longest of the century, which cleared a 16 foot center field fence in Baltimore on a line drive and landed four doors down Guilford Avenue. He says that when the orioles had a reunion in 1907, Dan’s drive was the primary topic of conversation. John McGraw said it was the hardest hit ball he’d ever seen. Jenkinson estimates it might have gone 450 feet. And this was 17 years before the introduction of the cork-centered ball. Dan hit ‘em where they ain’t, all right

JOE KELLEY has been kind of forgotten amidst his more famous Oriole teammates. He was a handsome fellow who kept a mirror in his pocket during games to check his appearance lest it become a little messed up. He hit a very pretty .317 lifetime, drove in 100 runs five years in a row and scored 100 six times with a high of 165. Those in the know called him the “Kingpin of the Orioles”. He was one of the group that moved on the Brooklyn to win a couple more pennants there, (along with Hanlon, Keeler, Jennings and pitchers Doc McJames and Jim Hughes). The Baltimore fans thought enough of him to present him with a commemorative watch before a game. He gave it to a clubhouse man for safekeeping before the game but the clubhouse man had to leave and gave it to umpire. Kelley got into a dispute with the Ump, who threw him out and gave him a minute to leave the field. He pulled out Kelley’s watch to time it and Joe grabbed the watch, threw it to the ground and jumped up and down on it, destroying it. He sure showed that umpire a thing or two…

HUGHIE JENNINGS had “a loud, hyperactive demeanor and a fiercely competitive spirit that irked many opponents”. He was famous for his characteristic shout of “Eee-Yah!” whenever something good happened to the orioles. “accompanied by a little jump and a vigorous pumping of both fists”. Bill James says that he “posed for hundreds of photos which showed him on the sidelines, near a base, one knee in the air and his arms pumping with (n)ever-diminishing enthusiasm for the imaginary exploits of a phantom baserunner.” He created a lot of positive moments for the Orioles himself, hitting .311 lifetime and .401 in 1896. He scored 159 runs in 1895. He seemed to actually enjoy getting hit by a pitch, (Eee-Yah!) and got hit 51, 46 and 46 rimes in successive seasons. He has the highest number of plays per 9 innings of any shortstop in history- 6.16 and had a strong arm to boot. He also emigrated to Brooklyn and wound up being the manager of the three Detroit pennant winners of Ty Cobb’s early years. He got drunk one night in 1911 and drove his car off a bridge, breaking 3 of 4 limbs and cracking his skull. “Life is full of trials,” he said, “which is a good thing for lawyers.

STEVE BRODIE, the Orioles’ center fielder, set a record by playing in 727 consecutive games. He hit .303 lifetime and scored 134 runs in 1894, driving in the same number the next year. Like Orator Jim O’Rouke, he was fond of quoting Shakespeare during games and “delighted fans by catching fly balls behind his back while facing away from the plate”. I’m not sure how delighted Ned Hanlon his manager was. Hanlon once castigated Brodie for not being willing to take a pitch. He looked at three straight strikes and went back to tell Hanlon, “Now don’t tell me I can’t take a pitch. I could have knocked any of them out of the park”. Another time he was at second when Roger Bresnahan hit a ball past the center fielder. He was so intent on watching Bresnahan try for an inside-the-park homer he forgot to run hard and Bresnahan passed him as they got to home plate: both were out.

JOHN MCGRAW became the most famous orioles because of his long 20th century tenure as manager of the Giants. It was said that he was “the best player to become a great manager”. He hit .334 lifetime and has the third highest on-base percentage of all time, (.466). His 1899 OBP was an astronomical .547 as he hit .391 with 124 walks. That’s been topped only by Barry Bonds and Ted Williams. He didn’t hit for much power but scored many runs, 156 in 1894, 143 in 1898 and 140 in 1899. He was another small guy, 5-7, 155 but he knew how to play the game- and how to manage it.

Another Oriole who became a manager was WILBERT ROBINSON. He looked like a Wilbert at 5-8, 215. Fred Lieb described him as “Big, gruff, genial and kindly Wilbert Robinson, the heavyweight catcher.” He became best friends with McGraw, who was the opposite mental and physical type. James says “Uncle Robbie” was “agile and surprising fast but had no power”. He hit only .273 lifetime with only 18 home runs. He later became what James thinks may be baseball’s first coach when he assisted McGraw in managing the Giants. After a quarrel with McGraw, the two stopped speaking and Robinson got the job a manger of the Dodgers, which he held from 1914-1931. He was so popular there, the team was re-named the Robins.

McGraw, Jennings and Robinson talked so incessantly about the 1890’s Orioles and how they were the best team ever that when the 1927 Yankees came along, reporters wanted a comparison. Jennings was gone by then. McGraw held out for his old team but Robinson admitted “they would have killed us”.

There were good players on other teams as well, some with some great nicknames:

CUPID CHILDS was Clarence Algernon Childs. (why don’t mothers call their children Algernon anymore?) The nickname was intended to be ironic: “Cupid” was known for his volcanic temper and a reputation for insubordination. He was involved in multiple salary disputes, contract disputes between teams, refusals to report, on the field fights, etc. He also had a sort of cherubic body: 5-8 and 185-190. He was the star of Syracuse’s lone major league team, a 1890 AA team for whom he hit .345 and scoring 109 runs. He went on to play the next 8 years for the Cleveland Spiders, probably the third best team of the decade behind the Beaneaters and the Orioles. He walked enormous numbers of times, especially for the times, (up to 120 in 124 games in 1893) and scored enormous numbers of runs, (145 the same year). He didn’t steal a lot of bases, (269 in 13 years) and was not a power hitter. He hit .306 lifetime but everybody hit for average in those days. It was the walks that made him special.

LONG JOHN REILLY was 6-3 178. He was born and died in Cincinnati and played his entire career for the Red Stockings, who became the Reds in 1890. He was a great hitter of triples, hitting 139 in ten years, 26 of them in 1890. He also twice led the AA in home runs and once stole 82 bases. He was a first baseman and was known for stretchhhhing to get the baseball. The National League Red Stockings went out of business after the 1880 season and, rather than play elsewhere, Reilly played semi-pro ball in the “Queen City of the West” until the AA revived the franchise in 1882. 130 years later, Long John Reilly was put into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and their fans got re-aquainted with the city’s 19th century baseball hero.

OYSTER BURNS was generally known as Tommy in his playing days but he sold seafood in the offseason and was given that nickname to distinguish him from another Tommy Burns of the time. He was a star of Brooklyn Bridgegrooms in their pennant winning years of 1889-90. He was another triples hitter with 129 in 11 seasons. He played every position for them but catcher. He also was described as a "loudmouth" and having "an irritating voice and personality", (per Wikipedia), so I guess he was crabby, too. In 1893 he was on second base for the Bridegrooms with catcher Con Dailey on third. A ball was hot to shortstop and Dailey bolted for home. Burns saw this and ran to third. But Dailey changed his mind. When he got back to third, Burns was there. Dailey ran past him to second and slid in under the tag. Burns and Dailey had changed places!. But you can’t pass a runner on the basepaths so the umpires decided to call Dailey out. The team that would someday be known as the Daffy Dodgers was already heading in that direction.

MIKE TIERNAN was the opposite of Oyster Burns, “a friendly, agreeable man, not at all sour or taciturn” per Bill James. He didn’t argue with umpires and was known as “Silent Mike”. He was one of those consistently productive guys who never quite rose to the top rank of stars and is mostly forgotten. He hit .311 lifetime in an era when that was not remarkable but won two home run titles, led the league in walks once and had 106 home runs and 162 triples in 13 years, even more than Reilly and Burns. He hit one very memorable home run in 1890:

“For the information of those who have not been to the New Polo Grounds this season…it is a long way from home plate to the center field flag pole. It was so far last year that none of the Giants was able to hit a ball from point to point and it is fifty feet further this year, for the grounds have been extended on the north side. …it is now a tall monument to Mike Tiernan, for it marks the point at which a ball from his bat- in the 13th inning, when the score was a tie at nothing to nothing- cleared the fence and won the game. It was the longest hit ever seen in New York and the prettiest, for it was a liner. Centerfielder Brodie and rightfielder Shellhasse both started as if to make a catch, but the ball, though only some thirty or forty feet high, never had time to shake hands with them. On it went, beyond the fielders, on beyond the bank and beyond the vision of the happy spectators.”

Tiernan operated a saloon near the Polo grounds after he retired. But in 1910 he developed tuberculosis and went west to dry his lungs out. It didn’t work and he returned to new York to die, checking into a hospital under the name of Joseph Egan. It wasn’t realized until after he died that it was Mike Tiernan, silent to the end.

DUMMY HOY was baseball’s most famous deaf player. He actually used “Dummy” as his name although his birth name was Ellsworth. He was a fast outfielder who set a record for career put-outs with 3,944, stole 596 bases, walked 1006 times and scored 1429 runs in 14 seasons. It was said that the signals the umpires use for balls and strikes were developed for accommodate Hoy. Hoy lived to be 99 years old, his age when he threw out the first ball at game 3 of the 1961 World Series.

JAKE BECKLEY, known as “Eagle Eye” played for 20 years, 1888-1907. He was never a great player but a solidly productive one who accumulated 2,934 hits, second at the time only to Cap Anson. He was famous for trying the hidden ball trick on every rookie in the league. Honus Wagner smelled it out so Beckley tried a variation: he hid a baseball under his armpit. He let Wagner see it and Honus grabbed it and threw it into the stands when the Umpire wasn’t looking and then bolted for second, only to find that the ball that was in play was waiting for him there. Casey Stengel commented on another innovation: “Jake Beckley usta turn his bat around and bunt with the handle. I showed out players and they say it’s the silliest thing they ever saw, which it probably was, but he done it.”