1.
Billy Sunday
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Born into poverty in Iowa, Sunday spent some years at the Iowa Soldiers Orphans Home before working at odd jobs and playing for local running and baseball teams. His speed and agility provided him the opportunity to play baseball in the leagues for eight years, where he was an average hitter. Converting to evangelical Christianity in the 1880s, Sunday left baseball for the Christian ministry, Sunday held widely reported campaigns in Americas largest cities, and he attracted the largest crowds of any evangelist before the advent of electronic sound systems. He also made a deal of money and was welcomed into the homes of the wealthy. Sunday was a supporter of Prohibition, and his preaching likely played a significant role in the adoption of the Eighteenth Amendment in 1919. Despite questions about his income, no scandal ever touched Sunday and he was sincerely devoted to his wife, who also managed his campaigns, but his three sons disappointed him. His audiences grew smaller during the 1920s as Sunday grew older, religious revivals became less popular, nevertheless, Sunday continued to preach and remained a stalwart defender of conservative Christianity until his death. Billy Sunday was born near Ames, Iowa and his father was the son of German immigrants named Sonntag, who anglicized their name to Sunday when they settled in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. William Sunday was a bricklayer who worked his way to Iowa, where he married Mary Jane Corey, daughter of Squire Martin Corey, a farmer, miller, blacksmith. William Sunday enlisted in the Iowa Twenty-Third Volunteer Infantry on August 14,1862 and he died four months later of pneumonia at an army camp in Patterson, Missouri, five weeks after the birth of his youngest son, William Ashley. Mary Jane Sunday and her children moved in with her parents for a few years, Mary Jane Sunday later remarried, but her second husband soon deserted the family. At the orphanage, Sunday gained orderly habits, a decent primary education, by fourteen, Sunday was shifting for himself. In Nevada, Iowa, he worked for Colonel John Scott, the Scotts provided Sunday a good home and the opportunity to attend Nevada High School. Although Sunday never received a school diploma, by 1880 he was better educated than many of his contemporaries. In 1880, Sunday relocated to Marshalltown, Iowa, where, because of his athleticism, in Marshalltown, Sunday worked at odd jobs, competed in fire brigade tournaments, and played for the town baseball team. In 1882, with Sunday in left field, the Marshalltown team defeated the state champion Des Moines team 13–4, in 1883, on Ansons recommendation, A. G. Spalding, president of the Chicago White Stockings, signed Sunday to the defending National League champions. Sunday struck out four times in his first game, and there were seven more strikeouts, during his first four seasons with Chicago, he was a part-time player, taking Mike King Kellys place in right field when Kelly served as catcher. Sundays speed was his greatest asset, and he displayed it on the basepaths, in 1885, the White Stockings arranged a race between Sunday and Arlie Latham, the fastest runner in the American Association
2.
Recreation Park (Pittsburgh)
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Recreation Park was a sporting grounds and stadium located in what is today Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The stadium existed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, during the parks heyday, the location was considered to be within Allegheny City, but in 1907, the entire municipality was annexed by its larger neighbor and eventually became Pittsburghs North Side. The field was the first National League home for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball and it also hosted many football games of the University of Pittsburgh of the NCAA. In November 1892, the park was the location of the first known American football game that included a professional player. There is only one photograph of the grounds in a baseball stadium configuration. However, several photos of later football games played there survive. Opened in 1865 as a center, the park was adapted for baseball use in 1867. Known prior to 1885 as Union Park, the stadium had a capacity of 2,500. After the Alleghenys moved a few blocks south in 1890, the main tenant became the Allegheny Athletic Association, beyond the turn of the 20th century, it was called the Pittsburgh Coliseum, in line with the cycling phase. The park was located within the blocks of Allegheny, Pennsylvania, in 2001, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pirates built stadiums not far from this site. In the late 1860s and early 70s, no less than three local amateur baseball teams—the Enterprise Club, the Xanthas, and the Olympics—competed, most often at Union Park. In 1876 a professional Allegheny club played its first game against the Xantha club at Union Park and this club lasted for three years, playing mostly other squads from the northeast within the International Association, but occasionally taking on National League teams in exhibition games. One long remembered match took place in early May,1877, the 1882-organized Pittsburgh Alleghenys of the American Association moved from Exposition Park II to Union Park in 1884. The team posted a record of 18–37 at home that season, in 1887, owner William A. Nimick transferred the club into the National League, and on April 30, the Alleghenies defeated the Chicago White Stockings, 6–2 in front of 10,000 spectators. This was the first officially recognized contest of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise by the team, legend has it that, prior to that opening game of the 1887 season, Pittsburghs catcher Fred Carroll buried his pet monkey beneath home plate. On November 12,1892, the Allegheny Athletic Association football team hosted a game here against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, the Allegheny Athletic Association won the game, which was the first in professional football. The team had hired Pudge Heffelfinger, a guard from Yale. In 1902, a Pirates-backed football team, the Pittsburgh Stars of the first National Football League, the Stars would go on to win the leagues only championship against the Philadelphia Athletics, 11-0 at the field
3.
Allegheny, Pennsylvania
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Allegheny City is the name of a former Pennsylvania municipality now reorganized and merged into the larger community, the modern City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907, the City of Allegheny was laid out in 1788 according to a plan by John Redick. The lots were sold in Philadelphia by the State government or given as payment to Revolutionary War veterans and it was incorporated as a borough in 1828 and as a city in 1840. Prior to the 1850s, most of the area was largely farmland. It was commonly referred to as Deutschtown, derived from the German word Deutsch, referring to the language and ethnicity. The annexation of Allegheny City by Pittsburgh began in 1906 and was effected in 1907 and it was approved by the United States Government in 1911. The annexation was controversial at the time, as a majority of Allegheny City residents were opposed to the merger. Previous Pennsylvania law had directed that a majority of the voters in each merging municipality had to approve an annexation agreement, in 1906, the State Assembly passed a new law that authorized annexations if a majority of the total voters in both combined municipalities approved the merger. The annexation was rejected by the residents of Allegheny City by a 2,1 margin, but was approved by more populous Pittsburgh residents. Allegheny City residents tried unsuccessfully for years to have the annexation overturned in court. The population of Pittsburgh rose from 321,616 in 1900 to 533,905 in 1910, which included the 132,283 who lived in Allegheny in 1910, when the two cities were joined, both of the old ward systems were discarded. A new ward system was established made up of 27 wards, in the new ward system, Allegheny was divided into wards 21 to 27. Its past territory is seen by viewing a map of the city wards. The Carnegie Library, the Old Post Office Building, and the Buhl Planetarium buildings were not demolished, the H. J. Heinz Company built its factory in Allegheny City, close to the Chestnut Street bridge. Heyl & Patterson Inc. a manufacturer of railcar dumpers and ship unloaders, the surviving structures are now occupied by a furniture warehouse and a bus garage. Railroad lines were built along the side of the Allegheny for the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago. When workers in Pittsburgh struck against the Pennsylvania Railroad after wage cuts in July 1877, the Teutonia Männerchor Hall in the East Allegheny neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a building constructed in 1888. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004, the Teutonia Männerchor is a private membership club with the purpose of furthering choral singing, German cultural traditions and good fellowship
4.
Road (sports)
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A road game or away game is a sports game where the specified team is not the host and must travel to another venue. Most professional teams represent cities or towns and amateur sports teams often represent academic institutions, each team has a location where it practices during the season and where it hosts games. When a team is not the host, it must travel to games. Thus, when a team is not hosting a game, the team is described as the team, the visiting team, or the away team. The venue in which the game is played is described as the stadium or the road. The host team is said to be the home team, major sporting events, if not held at a neutral venue, are often over several legs at each teams home ground, so that neither team has an advantage over the other. Occasionally, the team may not have to travel very far at all to a road game. These matches often become local derbies, a few times a year, a road team may even be lucky enough to have the road game played at their own home stadium or arena. This is prevalent in college athletics where many schools will play in regional leagues or groundshare. The related term true road game has seen increasing use in U. S. college sports in the 21st century, while regular-season tournaments and other special events have been part of college sports from their creation, the 21st century has seen a proliferation of such events. These are typically held at sites, with some of them taking place outside the contiguous U. S. or even outside the country entirely. In turn, this has led to the use of true road game to refer to contests played at one home venue. In some association football leagues, particularly in Europe, the teams fans sit in their own section. Depending on the stadium, they will either sit in a designated section or be separated from the home fans by a cordon of police officers. However, in the leagues in England, supporters may be free to mix. When games are played at a site, for instance the FA Cup final in England which is always played at Wembley Stadium. This results in each team occupying one half of the stadium and this is different from other sports, particularly in North America, where very few fans travel to games played away from their home stadium. Home and away fans are not separated at these games
5.
Pud Galvin
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James Francis Pud Galvin was an American Major League Baseball pitcher in the 19th century. He was MLBs first 300-game winner and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965, Galvin grew up in Kerry Patch, an Irish neighborhood in St. Louis. He debuted for St. Louis of the National Association in 1875, the inaugural season. He spent the next 6½ seasons with Buffalo in the International Association, in his first full MLB season in 1879, Galvin had a win–loss record of 37-27 and a 2.28 earned run average in 593 innings pitched. On August 20,1880, he became the first major league pitcher to throw a no-hitter on the road and he pitched over 400 innings in 1880,1881, and 1882. In 1883, Galvin went 46-29 with a 2.72 ERA, setting highs in wins, games started, complete games. The following season, in 1884, he went 46-22 with a 1.99 ERA in 72 games started,71 complete games, Galvin was traded to the Pittsburg Alleghenys midseason in 1885. He played for the Allegheny club from 1885 to 1889, pitching over 300 innings each year and he jumped to the Pittsburgh Burghers before the 1890 season and then returned to the Alleghenys after only one season. On June 14,1892 Galvin was traded to the St. Louis Browns and he retired after the 1892 season, though he made a brief return to Buffalo in 1894. Galvin played in an era where two-man pitching rotations were common – hence his 6,003 innings pitched and 646 complete games, upon his retirement, Galvin held all-time records in several pitching categories, including wins, innings pitched, games started, games completed and shutouts. He became MLBs first 300-game winner in 1888, Galvin holds the record for most games started in a single season by a pitcher before 1893,75. Galvin is the player in baseball history to win 20 or more games in 10 different years without winning a pennant. The nickname Pud originated because Galvin was said to make look like pudding. Galvin was also nicknamed The Little Steam Engine, a tribute to his power in spite of his small size and he was sometimes known as Gentle Jeems because of his kind disposition. Galvin died poor at age 45 on March 7,1902, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965 by the Veterans Committee. In honor of his achievements in Buffalo, Galvin was posthumously inducted into the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985, a 2006 NPR article referred to Galvin as the first baseball player to be widely known for using a performance enhancer. The Washington Post reported that Galvin used the Brown-Séquard elixir, which contained monkey testosterone, before a single game in 1889
6.
Jake Beckley
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Jacob Peter Beckley, nicknamed Eagle Eye, was a Major League Baseball player at the turn of the 20th century. He played for major league teams between 1888 and 1907. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1971, Beckley was born in Hannibal, Missouri. He was the son of Bernhart and Rosina Beckley, Beckley began playing semi-pro baseball while still a teenager. A former Hannibal teammate, Bob Hart, suggested the 18-year-old Beckley to the Leavenworth Oilers of the Western Association. After playing one and a half seasons for the Alleghenys, Beckley and eight of his teammates jumped to the Pittsburgh Burghers, manager Ned Hanlon crossed over as well. Beckley stated he was willing to go to the PL because after all, the league lasted only one season, and Beckley spent the next five and a half seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. His days in Pittsburgh finished, on July 25,1896, Beckley was traded to the New York Giants for Harry Davis, Beckley was released by the Giants the following season on May 22, and he signed as a free agent with the Cincinnati Reds five days later. In his first season with the Reds, Beckley was unsuccessful in getting rookie Honus Wagner out with the ball trick. But later when Wagners Louisville Colonels came to play at Cincinnati, Beckley was successful in getting Wagner out, employing a strategy that involved the use of two baseballs. Against the St. Louis Cardinals, Beckley belted three home runs in the game on September 26,1897, a feat not again matched until 1922 by Ken Williams. He played with Cincinnati for seven seasons and was purchased by the St. Louis on February 11,1904. Beckley retired after the 1907 season with 2,930 career hits and he continues to rank fourth all-time among major leaguers in triples with 244. As of the 2014 season, Beckley holds the all-time best batting average amongst Pirates first basemen, Beckley married Molly Murphy of Hannibal in 1891. She died of tuberculosis a few months after their wedding and he served as an umpire in the Federal League in 1913 and also served as a baseball coach at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. In addition to his umpiring and coaching after retirement from professional play and he died of heart disease in Kansas City, Missouri at the age of 50. He was interred at the Riverside Cemetery in Hannibal, elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971. Member of Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Fame, elected into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2014 First all-time, Career putouts
7.
Fred Dunlap
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Sure Shot Dunlap was a second baseman and manager in Major League Baseball from 1880 to 1891. He was the highest paid player in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1889 and he has also been rated by some contemporary and modern sources as the greatest overall second baseman of the 19th century. He earned the nickname Sure Shot for the strength and accuracy of his throws to first base and he played for the Cleveland Blues from 1880 to 1883, where he secured his reputation as one of the best players in the game. As a rookie in 1880, he led the National League in doubles, while playing for Cleveland, he also compiled batting averages of.325 and.326 in 1881 and 1883 and led the league in assists by a second baseman and range factor. When the Union Association was formed in 1884, Dunlap was lured to play for the St. Louis Maroons where he became the highest paid player in baseball. His.412 batting average in 1884 was the highest ever recorded to that time in Major League Baseball and 56 points higher than any player in the major leagues in 1884 due to the lack of talent. After three years in St. Louis, Dunlap was sold to the Detroit Wolverines and helped that team win the 1887 National League pennant, Dunlaps baseball career ended in 1891 when he broke his leg sliding into a base. He went into the business and bet on the horses in the 1890s. By 1902, Dunlap was penniless and living in a boarding house. He died of consumption of the bowels in December 1902, Dunlap was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1859. Both of his parents died when he was age 10, Dunlap did not attend school after his parents died and spent his youth playing baseball. Lacking formal education, Dunlap remained illiterate throughout his life, Dunlap began playing semi-pro baseball at age 15 in 1874 for the Gloucester Club in Gloucester City, New Jersey. In 1875, he started the season with the Greighers of Camden, New Jersey and he played for Chester at the start of the 1876 season before joining the Quicksteps of Wilmington, Delaware, as a pitcher. In 1877, he began playing baseball as a second baseman for the Auburns of Auburn. In 1878, he played for teams in Hornellsville and Albany and he remained with Albany in 1879. In May 1880, Dunlap began a 12-year career in Major League Baseball with the Cleveland Blues, in his first season, Dunlap immediately established himself as one of the games best players. For the 1880 season, Dunlap led the National League in doubles and ranked second in extra base hits and he also made a strong debut on defense, leading the National League in assists by a second baseman. Dunlap remained with the Cleveland Blues for four seasons and consistently ranked as one of the leading hitters and defensive second basemen in the National League
8.
National League
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Both leagues currently have 15 teams. The two league champions of 1903 arranged to compete against each other in the inaugural World Series, after the 1904 champions failed to reach a similar agreement, the two leagues formalized the World Series as an arrangement between the leagues. National League teams have won 48 of the 112 World Series contested from 1903 to 2016, the 2016 National League champions are the Chicago Cubs. By 1875, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was dangerously weak, additionally, Hulbert had a problem—five of his star players were threatened with expulsion from the NAPBBP because Hulbert had signed them to his club using what were considered questionable means. Hulbert had a vested interest in creating his own league. After recruiting St. Louis privately, four western clubs met in Louisville, Kentucky, Boston Red Stockings, the dominant team in the N. A. Hartford Dark Blues from the N. A. Mutual of New York from the N. A. St. Louis Brown Stockings from the N. A, the only strong club from 1875 excluded in 1876 was a second one in Philadelphia, often called the White Stockings or Phillies. The first game in National League history was played on April 22,1876, at Philadelphias Jefferson Street Grounds, 25th & Jefferson, the new leagues authority was tested after the first season. The National League operated with six clubs during 1877 and 1878, over the next several years, various teams joined and left the struggling league. By 1880, six of the eight members had folded. The two remaining original NL franchises, Boston and Chicago, remain in operation today as the Atlanta Braves, in 1883 the New York Gothams and Philadelphia Phillies began National League play. Both teams remain in the NL today, the Phillies in their original city, the NL encountered its first strong rival organization when the American Association began play in 1882. The A. A. played in cities where the NL did not have teams, offered Sunday games and alcoholic beverages in locales where permitted, the National League and the American Association participated in a version of the World Series seven times during their ten-year coexistence. These contests were less organized than the modern Series, lasting as few as three games and as many as fifteen, with two Series ending in disputed ties, the NL won four times and the A. A. only once, in 1886. Starting with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1887, the National League began to raid the American Association for franchises to replace NL teams that folded and this undercut the stability of the A. A. Other new leagues that rose to compete with the National League were the Union Association, the Union Association was established in 1884 and folded after playing only one season, its league champion St. Louis Maroons joining the NL. The NL suffered many defections of star players to the Players League, the Brooklyn, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and New York franchises of the NL absorbed their Players League counterparts. The labor strife of 1890 hastened the downfall of the American Association, after the 1891 season, the A. A. disbanded and merged with the NL, which became known legally for the next decade as the National League and American Association
9.
Horace Phillips (baseball)
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Horace B. Phillips was an American manager in Major League Baseball for eight seasons, from 1879 to 1889. He managed one season for the Troy Trojans, one season for the Columbus Buckeyes and he was born in Salem, Ohio. On June 6,1882, Phillips was arrested in Philadelphia for not paying a bill from 1882. He claimed that A. J. Reach was put in charge of paying it, shortly after his time in Pittsburgh, Phillips was institutionalized for mental illness in the Kirkbrides Asylum in Philadelphia, then later in a private hospital in Merchantville, New Jersey. His wife divorced him in 1894, horace Phillips managerial career statistics at Baseball-Reference. com Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
10.
1888 New York Giants season
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The 1888 New York Giants season was the franchises 6th season. Claiming six future Hall of Famers, the won the National League pennant by nine games. Keefe led the league in major statistical categories, including wins, winning percentage, strikeouts. Note, Pos = Position, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in Note, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. Louis Browns in the World Series,1888 New York Giants season at Baseball Reference
