From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The following are the
baseball
events of the year
1878
throughout the world.
Overview of the events of 1878 in baseball
Champions
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Inter-league playoff: Boston (NL) and Buffalo (IA) each won 1 game in 2-game series.
National League final standings
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Statistical leaders
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Notable seasons
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- Providence Grays center fielder
Paul Hines
wins the NL triple crown with a .358 batting average, 4 home runs, and 50 runs batted in. He leads the league with a .849 OPS. His 177 OPS+ ranks second in the league.
[1]
[2]
- Boston Red Stockings pitcher
Tommy Bond
has a record of 40?19 and leads with NL with 532.2 innings pitched, 40 wins, 182 strikeouts, and 9 shutouts. He has a 2.06 earned run average and a 115 ERA+.
[3]
[4]
Events
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January?March
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- February 6 ? The
Providence Grays
are accepted into the
National League
.
- February 12 ? Fred Thayer,
Harvard
team manager, receives a patent for the catching mask.
- March 8 ? Devastated by the gambling scandal from
1877
, The
Louisville Grays
withdraw from the
National League
after being unable to assemble a competitive team.
- March 27 ? The National Association of Amateur Base Ball Players disbands.
April?June
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- April 2 ? The
National League
announces a group of 18 umpires who are eligible to umpire league games. The scheduling of those umpires is left to the individual clubs to decide.
- May 1 ? In front of 5,500 fans at the brand new
Messer Street Grounds
, the
Providence Grays
lose the season opener to the defending champion
Boston Red Caps
1?0.
Mike "King" Kelly
makes his major league debut in the home opener at Cincinnati.
- May 1 ?
Will White
and
Deacon White
become the first brother pitcher-catcher battery in the
Cincinnati Reds
6?4 win over the
Milwaukee Grays
.
- May 2 ? The International Association commences regular season play with 12 teams as follows ? Auburn, Binghamton Crickets, Brooklyn Blues, Buffalo Bisons, London Tecumsehs, Manchester Reds, New Bedford Whalers, New Haven Elm Citys, Pittsburgh Alleghenies, Rochester Flour Citys, Syracuse Stars and the Worcester Reds. The New York Clipper declares the new IA to be a "major league".
- May 7 ? The IA's Auburn and Brooklyn teams disband leaving the circuit with 10 teams.
- May 8 ?
Paul Hines
of the
Providence Grays
, who will win baseball's first triple crown in 1878, pulls off (arguably) the first
unassisted triple play
in major league history against the
Boston Red Caps
.
- May 9 ? Sam Weaver of the
Milwaukee Grays
pitches a no-hitter against the
Indianapolis Blues
for Milwaukee's first
National League
victory. One scorer credited
John Clapp
with a single, but Weaver is generally recognized today with throwing the no-hitter.
July?September
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- July 15 ?
John Montgomery Ward
makes his debut for the
Providence Grays
. Ward will later start the Brotherhood of Professional Base-Ball Players in
1885
, which leads to the formation of the
Players' League
in
1890
. Ward would be elected to the Hall-of-Fame in
1964
.
- August 14 ? "The Only" Nolan is released by the
Indianapolis Blues
after lying to the team about attending a funeral.
- August 19 ? In an embarrassing day for the
National League
, teams from the NL lose 3 of the 4 exhibition games played against non-league teams.
- August 25 ?
Bill Craver
is certified eligible for play in the International Association. Craver had been kicked out of the
National League
after his involvement in a gambling scandal with the
Louisville Grays
in
1877
.
- August 31 ?
Albert Spalding
plays in the final game of his career, going 2?4 at the plate while committing 4 errors in the field.
- September 12 ? The
Boston Red Caps
clinch the pennant with a 4?2 victory over the
Indianapolis Blues
.
- September 14 ? The
Indianapolis Blues
and
Boston Red Caps
play an experimental exhibition game in which every pitch thrown is called a ball or strike and only allowing 6 balls before a walk is issued.
- September 30 ? The
National League
completes its schedule, marking the first time in professional baseball that a full schedule has been played by all member teams.
October?December
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- October 2 ? The
Buffalo Bisons
of the International League defeat the
National League
champion
Boston Red Caps
behind the pitching of
Pud Galvin
. The victory over the Red Caps gives Galvin a win over each team in the NL. He finishes the 1878 season with a combined 10?5 record against the NL clubs. Buffalo will become a member of the National League in
1879
.
- October 3 ? The
Syracuse Stars
defeat Lowell 12-1 and claim the International Association championship. The Stars will join the
National League
in
1879
.
- October 8 ? The
Buffalo Bisons
defeat Utica and lay claim to the International Association pennant as well. The league will ultimately award the pennant to Buffalo in early 1879.
- October 18 ? The
Indianapolis Blues
come up short $2,500 and are unable to account for the money. The players receive $60 each as payment for the remainder of the season. This event signals the end of the Blues.
- November 1 ? The
Boston Red Caps
and the
Providence Grays
play an exhibition game with no outs on foul bounds and 6 balls for a walk to be given.
- November 10 ? In the Pacific Coast championship game in
California
, the Athletics defeat the Californias in front of 8,000 fans at the San Francisco National Trotting Park.
- December 4 ? The
National League
votes to accept the
Buffalo Bisons
,
Syracuse Stars
and the
Cleveland Blues
for the
1879
season.
- December 4 ? The
National League
changes the rules so that now every pitched ball is called a ball or a strike. 9 balls will now result in a walk to the batter. The rules are also changed regarding the batting order. The first batter in a new inning shall now be the next batter in the order after the last batter that ended the previous inning.
- December 5 ? The
National League
abolishes all bound outs, including foul balls on 3rd strikes.
- December 10 ? The
Troy Trojans
apply for membership to the
National League
.
- December 29 ? The Professional Baseball League of
Cuba
is founded in
Havana
with
Habana
defeating
Almendares
21?20. The league is known today as the
Cuban League
and ran continuously until March,
1961
, when the Cuban government, ran by
Fidel Castro
, abolished professional baseball.
Births
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Deaths
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References
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External links
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