1881 in baseball

The following are the baseball events of the year 1881 throughout the world.

List of years in baseball

Champions

Inter-league playoff: New York Mets (ECA) def. Chicago (NL), 2 games to 1.

National League final standings

National League W L Pct. GB Home Road
Chicago White Stockings 5628 0.667 32–10 24–18
Providence Grays 4737 0.560 9 23–20 24–17
Buffalo Bisons 4538 0.542 10½ 25–16 20–22
Detroit Wolverines 4143 0.488 15 23–19 18–24
Troy Trojans 3945 0.464 17 24–18 15–27
Boston Red Caps 3845 0.458 17½ 19–22 19–23
Cleveland Blues 3648 0.429 20 20–22 16–26
Worcester Worcesters 3250 0.390 23 19–22 13–28

Statistical leaders

National League
TypeNameStat
AVGCap Anson CHI.399
HRDan Brouthers BUF8
RBICap Anson CHI82
WinsLarry Corcoran CHI31Jim Whitney BOS31
ERAStump Wiedman DET1.80
StrikeoutsGeorge Derby DET212

Events

January

  • January 11 – The first of a series of baseball games played on ice is played in Chicago. This will become a regular event in the Chicago area.

February

March

  • March 8 – The National League agrees on an 84-game schedule for the upcoming season. The owners are polled and pick the Chicago White Stockings as the pre-season favorite to win the pennant.
  • March 9 – The National League releases a list of 23 umpires approved to call league games.

April

  • April 11 – The Eastern Association is formed and includes the New York Metropolitans, The Washington Nationals and Brooklyn Atlantics, all teams that have regularly played competitively against National League teams.
  • April 27 – With pitcher George Bradley already out with pneumonia, the Detroit Wolverines lose their other hurler Bill Sweeney to a pulmonary hemorrhage. Neither pitcher will ever play a single game for the Wolverines.

May

  • May 14 – Charley Jones wins a judgement against the Boston Red Caps for his unpaid salary due from 1880 in an Ohio court. Cleveland law enforcement will take the money from the Red Caps share of gate receipts when Boston plays in Cleveland.
  • May 20 – Mike "King" Kelly scores the go-ahead run by cutting short the distance rounding the bases. Kelly doesn't come close to touching third while the umpire is looking a different direction. Kelly then pulls off the hidden ball trick in the 9th inning to preserve the win for the Chicago White Stockings.
  • May 28 – A man is arrested for trying to bribe John Clapp of the Cleveland Blues to throw a game. Clapp will acquire the nickname "Honest John" because he went to the police after the bribe offer was made.

June

  • June 1 – Tommy Bond is released by the Boston Red Caps after starting the season 0–3. After averaging nearly 500 innings pitched per season over the last 7 years, Bond's arm is no longer what it once was. Bond will never regain his once-dominating form.
  • June 18 – The Washington Nationals of the Eastern League disband, citing lack of interest after being rejected to join the National League.
  • June 20 – A new team is formed in Cincinnati after the demise of the previous Cincinnati Reds team. This new club will succeed and become the modern-day Cincinnati Reds.
  • June 25 – George Gore of the Chicago White Stockings sets a major league record by stealing 7 bases in one game. Billy Hamilton will tie this record in 1894.

July

  • July 2 – The Boston Red Caps lose to the Buffalo Bisons to drop to last place in the National League. It is the first time in club history that they have occupied the cellar.
  • July 4 – Mickey Welch of the Troy Trojans beats the Buffalo Bisons in both games of a double-header, giving him 16 straight wins against the Bisons.
  • July 20 – The Buffalo Bisons finish off a sweep of the first-place Chicago White Stockings to pull within 3½ games of Chicago.
  • July 21 – The Cleveland Blues lose 4–0 in an exhibition game to Akron in a game that only takes 1 hour and 18 minutes to play.

August

  • August 21 – The Eclipse club refuses to play against the Chicago Whites in Louisville because of a black player named Fleet Walker on the Chicago team. Walker will go on to play for the Toledo Blue Stockings in the American Association in 1884 and is generally regarded as the first black player in major league baseball.
  • August 27 – Tony Mullane makes his major league debut for the Detroit Wolverines and beats the first place Chicago White Stockings 9–1. Despite the win, Mullane will be released within a month by the Wolverines. He will go on to post 284 career wins.

September

  • September 3 – Lip Pike of the Worcester Ruby Legs makes 3 errors in the 9th inning which gives the Boston Red Caps 2 runs and a 3–2 victory. Worcester accuses Pike of throwing the game and immediately suspends him. Pike will only play in 1 more game in his career, in 1887.
  • September 10 – With the Troy Trojans trailing 7–4, the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the 9th, Roger Connor hits the first grand slam in National League history for an 8–7 victory.
  • September 12 – Chub Sullivan, who was captain of the Worcester Ruby Legs before falling ill in the spring, dies in Boston at the age of 25.
  • September 15 – Davy Force of the Buffalo Bisons turns 2 unassisted double plays, participates in 2 other double plays and starts a triple play for the Bisons. Despite his feat, Buffalo loses in 12 innings, 7–6 to the Worcester Ruby Legs.
  • September 16 – The Chicago White Stockings win their 2nd straight pennant with a 4–0 win over the Boston Red Caps.
  • September 25 – The National League announces that all 8 teams will return for the 1882 season. This is the first time that the major leagues have had the same teams in 2 consecutive seasons.
  • September 27 – The Troy Trojans lose to the champion Chicago White Stockings 10–8 in a heavy rain storm in front of 12 spectators, setting a record for the least attended game.
  • September 29 – The National League issues a list of 10 blacklisted players who will require unanimous league approval for reinstatement. The reason given for the blacklisting is "confirmed dissipation and general insubordination."

October

November

December

Births

January–April

May–August

September–December

Deaths

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