1870s on the Diamond Trivia Quiz

Answer: Philadelphia Athletics

Of the nine teams who were in the league, the Athletics won the first pennant with their 21-7 record under the management and pitcher Dick McBride who went 18-5 in the season. Levi Meyerle led the team and league with his .492 batting average also. The Chicago White Stockings was the runner-up team with their 19-9 record.

Answer: Paul Hines

Hines spent 20 seasons in professional baseball from 1872-1891. In 1878 as an outfielder for the Providence Grays of the NL, he led the league in home runs, RBIs, and batting average which makes up the batting Triple Crown Award. Paul retired with a .302 batting average along with 855 RBIs. He died in 1935 at the age of 80.

Answer: Ross Barnes

Barnes led the league as a Boston Red Stocking second baseman and shortstop in 1872, 1873, and 1875. He would win his fourth hits title in 1876 with the new National League and the Chicago White Stockings. Teammate Cal McVey would win the other two hits titles in the NA in 1871 and 1874.

Answer: Boston Red Stockings

After the Philadelphia Athletics won the inaugural pennant in 1871, the Red Stockings won the remaining four pennants from 1872-1875. With Harry Wright as the manager and in the outfield, the team was led by the bats of Ross Barnes and Cal McVey, and the tremendous arm of pitcher Al Spalding.

After the National Association closed their doors in 1875, most of the team joined the Boston Red Stockings of the new National League in 1876 under Harry Wright again. The team won the second and third NL pennant in 1877 and 1878.

Answer: Al Spalding

Although going just 19-10 and leading the league, Spalding led his Boston Red Stockings to a third place finish behind the pennant-winning Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Stockings. Not only did Spalding win the first season's pitching title, he won them all from 1871-1875.

He won 50+ games in two of those seasons also. Al wasn't done though. When the NA closed their doors in 1875, he joined the new National League's Chicago White Stockings as a manager and pitcher and went 47-12 to win the title again in 1876.

At 26 years of age in 1877, he decided to play first base and went only 1-0 from the mound in the season. Al walked away from baseball as a player and manager after the season with only seven seasons under his belt. He died in 1915 and the Hall of Fame inducted him in 1939.

Answer: Cincinnati Reds

Apparently nobody told the Reds that the league wasn't a joke. They completed the first season with a 9-54 record under the management of Charlie Gould. They watched the Chicago White Stockings win the NL pennant by 42.5 games ahead of them. The Reds couldn't hire anyone to their roster that hit .275 or a pitcher that could win five games.

The Reds would close the doors on their own team in 1880. A brand new unaffiliated franchise would emerge in 1882 in the American Association that went to the National League in 1890. That was the Reds franchise known throughout the 20th Century.

Answer: Boston Red Stockings

There were only four seasons left in the 1870s after the league started in 1876. The first pennant-winner was the Chicago White Stockings in 1876, then the Red Stockings won two consecutive, and the Providence Grays won the final NL pennant of the decade in 1879.

The Boston Red Stockings were in the National Association from 1871-1875, then joined the NL when the NA closed their doors. The Red Stockings won four of five pennants in the NA, then picked up where the left off by continuing to dominate in the National League.

Answer: Frank Chance

Chance played and managed in the big leagues from 1898-1923. Frank Leroy Chance was born on September 9th in Fresno, California. He spent most of his career at first base and debuted with Chicago in 1898. He was player/manager in the Cubs' heyday from 1906-1910 when he took the team to four National League crowns including two World Series titles.

He died in 1924 just one season after managing the Red Sox. The Hall inducted him in 1946.

Answer: Buffalo Bisons

The Bisons appeared in the Players League in 1890. They were never in the National Association. Ironically, the Buffalo Bisons were rostered by catcher Connie Mack, third baseman Deacon White, and outfielder Dummy Hoy. The team still finished in last place of eight teams in the only season of the league with their dismal 36-96 record.

The Boston Reds won the only pennant led by manager King Kelly with their 81-48 record, then the league closed their doors.

Answer: Levi Meyerle

Meyerle was in his first season of professional baseball as was the National Association in 1871. As a Philadelphia Athletic, Levi batted an amazing .492. He finished just four RBIs short of being baseball's first-ever Triple Crown hitter. He retired after eight seasons with a .356 batting average.

A tremendous hitter, Levi's career average did not qualify for the record books as he played in only 307 career games, short of the 500-game appearance requirement. The other requirement is a minimum of 3000 career plate appearances.

He had only 1453. He also did not qualify for season marks in the record books. Meyerle played in the National Association, the National League, and the Union Association in the league's only season in 1884.