Wikipedia

1891 Major League Baseball season

This article is about the 1891 Major League Baseball season only. For information on all of baseball, see 1891 in baseball.

The 1891 major league baseball season was contested from April 8 through October 6, 1891. It was the final season for the American Association (AA), with the Boston Reds winning the AA pennant. In the National League (NL), in operation since 1876, the Boston Beaneaters won the NL pennant. There was no postseason. The Reds, following the 1890 Brooklyn Bridegrooms consecutive pennant wins 1889–1890 in different leagues, also followed such a feat, winning the since folded Players' League's 1890 pennant and becoming the second and last team to win consecutive pennants in different leagues.

1891 MLB season
LeagueAmerican Association (AA)
National League (NL)
SportBaseball
DurationApril 8 – October 6, 1891 (AA)
April 22 – October 3, 1891 (NL)
Number of games140
Number of teams17 (8 active per league, 9 AA total)
Pennant winner
AA championsBoston Reds
  AA runners-upSt. Louis Browns
NL championsBoston Beaneaters
  NL runners-upChicago Colts
MLB seasons
Locations of teams for the 1891 American Association season
American Association
Locations of teams for the 1891 National League season
National League

This was the first season since 1883 which saw no postseason, due to a breakdown in relations between the American Association and National League prior to the start of the season. The next championship series would take place the following season in a unique split season format, due to negotiations during the merger of the AA into the NL.

The 1891 season saw the aftermath of the single-season Players' League disbanding during the offseason, with most teams either folding or merging with existing American Association and National League teams; the Boston Reds and Philadelphia Athletics would join the AA for the 1891 season, with the latter replacing the financially struggling original AA Philadelphia Athletics.

The unstable American Association would see that 1891 would be its final season, before merging into the National League the following season; the four clubs that would continue on were the Baltimore Orioles, Louisville Colonels, St. Louis Browns, and Washington Statesmen. The other four AA clubs, the Boston Reds, Columbus Solons, Milwaukee Brewers, and Philadelphia Athletics), saw their owners paid $135,000 (equivalent to $4,724,500 in 2024) and their players dispersed to the surviving twelve clubs.

Schedule

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See also: Major League Baseball schedule

The 1891 schedule consisted of 140 games for all teams in the American Association and National League, each of which had eight active teams (the Milwaukee Brewers would finish the Cincinnati Kelly's Killers' schedule once they folded following their last game on August 16). Each team was scheduled to play 20 games against the other seven teams of their respective league. This continued the format put in place by the American Association since the 1886 season and by the National League since the 1888 season, and was the last season this format would be used until the National League contracted from twelve to eight teams in 1900.

American Association Opening Day took place on April 8 featuring all eight teams, while National League Opening Day would not take place for another two weeks on April 22, also featuring all eight teams. The American Association would see its final day of the regular season on October 6, while the National would see its final day of the season on October 3.[1]

Rule changes

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The 1891 season saw the following rule changes:

  • Substituting players could now happen at any point in the game.[2]
  • Large, padded mitts were allowed for catchers.[2]

Teams

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An asterisk (*) denotes the ballpark a team played the minority of their home games at
A dagger (†) denotes a team that folded mid-season
A double dagger (‡) denotes a team joined mid-season

League Team City Stadium Capacity Manager[3]
American Association Baltimore Orioles Baltimore, Maryland Union Park 6,500 Billy Barnie
Oriole Park* 7,000*
Boston Reds Boston, Massachusetts Congress Street Grounds 14,000 Arthur Irwin
Cincinnati Kelly's Killers† Cincinnati, Ohio Pendleton Park 5,000 King Kelly
Columbus Solons Columbus, Ohio Recreation Park 6,500 Gus Schmelz
Louisville Colonels Louisville, Kentucky Eclipse Park 5,860 Jack Chapman
Milwaukee Brewers‡ Milwaukee, Wisconsin Brewer Field 10,000 Charlie Cushman
Philadelphia Athletics Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Forepaugh Park 5,000 Bill Sharsig
George Wood
St. Louis Browns St. Louis, Missouri Sportsman's Park 12,000 Charles Comiskey
Washington Statesmen Washington, D.C. Boundary Field 6,500 Sam Trott
Pop Snyder
Dan Shannon
Sandy Griffin
National League Boston Beaneaters Boston, Massachusetts South End Grounds 6,800 Frank Selee
Brooklyn Grooms Brooklyn, New York Eastern Park 12,000 John Ward
Chicago Colts Chicago, Illinois South Side Park 6,450 Cap Anson
Cincinnati Reds Cincinnati, Ohio League Park (Cincinnati) 3,000 Tom Loftus
Cleveland Spiders Cleveland, Ohio League Park (Cleveland) 9,000 Robert Leadley
Patsy Tebeau
New York Giants New York, New York Polo Grounds 16,000 Jim Mutrie
Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia Base Ball Grounds 12,500 Harry Wright
Pittsburgh Pirates Allegheny, Pennsylvania Exposition Park 6,500 Ned Hanlon
Bill McGunnigle

Standings

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American Association

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American Association
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Boston Reds 93 42 .689 — 51‍–‍17 42‍–‍25
St. Louis Browns 85 51 .625 8½ 52‍–‍21 33‍–‍30
Baltimore Orioles 71 64 .526 22 44‍–‍24 27‍–‍40
Philadelphia Athletics 73 66 .525 22 43‍–‍26 30‍–‍40
Milwaukee Brewers 21 15 .583 22½ 16‍–‍5 5‍–‍10
Cincinnati Kelly's Killers 43 57 .430 32½ 24‍–‍21 19‍–‍36
Columbus Solons 61 76 .445 33 33‍–‍29 28‍–‍47
Louisville Colonels 54 83 .394 40 39‍–‍32 15‍–‍51
Washington Statesmen 44 91 .326 49 28‍–‍40 16‍–‍51

National League

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National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Boston Beaneaters 87 51 .630 — 51‍–‍20 36‍–‍31
Chicago Colts 82 53 .607 3½ 43‍–‍22 39‍–‍31
New York Giants 71 61 .538 13 39‍–‍28 32‍–‍33
Philadelphia Phillies 68 69 .496 18½ 35‍–‍34 33‍–‍35
Cleveland Spiders 65 74 .468 22½ 40‍–‍28 25‍–‍46
Brooklyn Grooms 61 76 .445 25½ 41‍–‍31 20‍–‍45
Cincinnati Reds 56 81 .409 30½ 26‍–‍41 30‍–‍40
Pittsburgh Pirates 55 80 .407 30½ 32‍–‍34 23‍–‍46

Managerial changes

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Off-season

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Team Former Manager New Manager
Boston Reds King Kelly Arthur Irwin
Brooklyn Grooms Bill McGunnigle John Ward
Brooklyn Ward's Wonders John Ward Team folded
Buffalo Bisons Jay Faatz Team folded
Chicago Pirates Charles Comiskey Team folded
Cleveland Infants Patsy Tebeau Team folded
Columbus Solons Pat Sullivan Gus Schmelz
New York Giants (PL) Buck Ewing Team folded
Philadelphia Athletics
(original AA team) 		Bill Sharsig Team folded
Philadelphia Athletics
(formerly PL team) 		Charlie Buffinton Bill Sharsig
Philadelphia Phillies Bob Allen Harry Wright
Pittsburgh Burghers Ned Hanlon Team folded
Pittsburgh Pirates Guy Hecker Ned Hanlon
Rochester Broncos Patrick Powers Team transferred to minor league Western League
St. Louis Browns Joe Gerhardt Charles Comiskey
Syracuse Stars Wallace Fessenden Team folded
Toledo Maumees Charlie Morton Team folded

In-season

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Team Former Manager New Manager
Cincinnati Kelly's Killers King Kelly Team folded
Cleveland Spiders Robert Leadley Patsy Tebeau
Milwaukee Brewers Team transferred from minor league Western Association Charlie Cushman
Philadelphia Athletics Bill Sharsig George Wood
Pittsburgh Pirates Ned Hanlon Bill McGunnigle
Washington Statesmen Sam Trott Pop Snyder
Pop Snyder Dan Shannon
Dan Shannon Sandy Griffin

League leaders

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Any team shown in small text indicates a previous team a player was on during the season.
Any team shown in italics indicates a team a player was on from a different league. Any stat from said different league is not calculated to determine the league leader.

American Association

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Hitting leaders[4]
Stat Player Total
AVG Dan Brouthers (BSR) .350
OPS Dan Brouthers (BSR) .983
HR Duke Farrell (BSR) 12
RBI Hugh Duffy (BSR)
Duke Farrell (BSR) 		110
R Tom Brown (BSR) 177
H Tom Brown (BSR) 189
SB Tom Brown (BSR) 106
Pitching leaders[5]
Stat Player Total
W Sadie McMahon (BAL) 35
L Kid Carsey (WSH) 37
ERA Ed Crane (CIN/CKK) 2.45
K Jack Stivetts (STL) 259
IP Sadie McMahon (BAL) 503.0
SV Joe Neale (STL) 3
WHIP Charlie Buffinton (BSR) 1.163

National League

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Hitting leaders[6]
Stat Player Total
AVG Billy Hamilton (PHP) .340
OPS Mike Tiernan (NY) .882
HR Harry Stovey (BSB)
Mike Tiernan (NY) 		16
RBI Cap Anson (CHI) 120
R Billy Hamilton (PHP) 141
H Billy Hamilton (PHP) 179
SB Billy Hamilton (PHP) 111
Pitching leaders[7]
Stat Player Total
W Bill Hutchinson (CHI) 44
L Silver King (PIT) 29
ERA John Ewing (NY) 2.27
K Amos Rusie (NY) 337
IP Bill Hutchinson (CHI) 561.0
SV John Clarkson (BSB)
Kid Nichols (BSB) 		3
WHIP Harry Staley (BSB/PIT) 1.213

Home field attendance

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Only records for National League teams are available.

Team name Wins %± Home attendance %± Per game
Philadelphia Phillies[8] 68 −12.8% 217,282 46.4% 3,149
New York Giants[9] 71 12.7% 210,568 247.1% 3,052
Boston Beaneaters[10] 87 14.5% 184,472 25.0% 2,527
Brooklyn Grooms[11] 61 −29.1% 181,477 49.5% 2,521
Chicago Colts[12] 82 −1.2% 181,431 76.9% 2,708
Cleveland Spiders[13] 65 47.7% 132,000 178.0% 1,913
Pittsburgh Pirates[14] 55 139.1% 128,000 696.8% 1,939
Cincinnati Reds[15] 56 −27.3% 97,500 −26.1% 1,455

References

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  1. ^ "1891 Major Leagues Schedule". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "MLB Rule Changes | Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  3. ^ "1891 Major League Managers". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  4. ^ "1891 American Association Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  5. ^ "1891 American Association Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  6. ^ "1891 National League Batting Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  7. ^ "1891 National League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 5, 2025.
  8. ^ "Philadelphia Phillies Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  9. ^ "San Francisco Giants Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  10. ^ "Atlanta Braves Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  11. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  12. ^ "Chicago Cubs Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  13. ^ "Cleveland Spiders Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 22, 2025.
  14. ^ "Pittsburgh Pirates Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  15. ^ "Cincinnati Reds Attendance, Stadiums, and Park Factors". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
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