1872 in baseball explained

Champions

National Association final standings

Statistical leaders

National Association
TypeNameStat
.430
7
60
38
1.85
Strikeouts 57

Notable seasons

  • Boston Red Stockings pitcher Al Spalding has a record of 38–8 in 404.2 innings pitched and leads the NA in wins. He has a 1.85 earned run average and a 196 ERA+. At the plate, Spalding has a batting average of .354 and an OPS+ of 144.[1] [2]
  • Boston Red Stockings second baseman Ross Barnes, in 45 games played, leads the NA with 99 hits, a .430 batting average, a 1.034 OPS, and a 211 OPS+. He has 81 runs scored and 44 runs batted in.[3] [4]

Events

January–March

  • March 4 – At its annual convention being held in Cleveland, the NA adopts a rule change to allow the use of the wrist in the pitching delivery.

April–June

July–September

  • July 6 – Sporting a 22–1 record, Harry Wright takes the Boston club on vacation to an island in Boston Harbor.
  • July 9 – Eckford of Brooklyn commit 13 errors in their 15–3 loss to Union of Troy. It is the fewest errors committed by the 0–11 Eckfords in a game thus far this season.
  • July 23 – Despite a winning record, the Union Club of Troy disbands due to financial problems. Half of the "Haymakers'" roster will move to Eckford of Brooklyn, which saves them from dropping out of the NA.
  • July 26 – In an emergency meeting, the NA revises their scheduling requirements from 5 to 9 games versus each opponent competing for the championship. This is in response to the number of teams that have disbanded and comes 3 days after the first-division Union of Troy had called it quits.
  • August 13 – The Mansfield Club of Middletown, CT announce that they have disbanded and drop out of the NA.
  • August 19 – Forest City of Cleveland disband the club after a loss to Boston. This drops the number of teams still playing in the NA to 6.
  • September 1 – Al Thake, left-fielder batting .295 for Atlantic, drowns in New York harbor after falling from a fishing boat. Thake is the first active major league ballplayer to die. (But Elmer White, active in 1871, had died in winter.)

October–December

Births

Deaths

Abbreviations
DateIndividual's death date
NameIndividual's name
AgeAge at death
CauseCause of death
CemeteryPlace individual is interred
City/StateCity and state of burial
SeasonsSeasons in which individual appeared
TeamsTeams the individual played for or managed
DateNameAgeCauseCemeteryCity/StateSeasonsTeamsRef
March 17Elmer White21TuberculosisElmwood CemeteryCaton, New York1871Cleveland Forest Citys[5]
September 1Al Thake22DrowningGreen-Wood CemeteryBrooklyn, New York1872Brooklyn Atlantics[6] [7]

References

General

  • Ryczek, William J. (1992). Blackguards and Red Stockings; A History of Baseball's National Association 1871–1875. Wallingford, Connecticut: Colebrook Press
  • Nemec, David (1997). The Great Encyclopedia of 19th-Century Major League Baseball. New York: Donald I. Fine Books

Specific

External links

Notes and References

  1. https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NA/1872-pitching-leaders.shtml "1872 National Association Pitching Leaders"
  2. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/spaldal01.shtml "Al Spalding Stats"
  3. https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/NA/1872-batting-leaders.shtml "1872 National Association Batting Leaders"
  4. https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/barnero01.shtml "Ross Barnes Stats"
  5. Web site: Elmer Smith. retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. January 26, 2011.
  6. Web site: Al Thake. retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. January 26, 2011.
  7. Web site: The Obit For Bub McAtee. September 2, 1872. thedeadballera.com. The New York Times. January 26, 2011. November 3, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121103073119/http://thedeadballera.com/Obits/Obits_T/Thake.Al.Obit.html. dead.