Historic Photos: 1875 Boston Red Stockings and Philadelphia Athletics

Taken at Boston's South End Grounds, this photo shows the top two teams of the National Association in their last year of existence: Boston finished 15 games ahead of the Athletics with a 71-8 record.  The league operated from 1871 to 1876, with the Red Stockings winning the pennant every year except 1871.

The National Association was the first professional baseball league, but its status as a major league is highly questionable - it represented the highest level of competition at the time, but the beginning of Major League Baseball as we know it today is generally considered to be 1876, when the NA folded and was replaced by the National League.  Both Boston and Philadelphia joined the NL for the 1876 season; the Red Stockings later became the Beaneaters and, eventually, the Braves, and are the same franchise that many years later would move to Atlanta by way of Milwaukee.  The Athletics, on the other hand, were expelled from the National League partway through the 1876 season, and are not associated with the modern-day Athletics team, which began play as Philadelphia's American League franchise in 1901.

Player identifications, courtesy of Boston Public Library:

Standing, left to right: George Hall. Athletics, George Bechtel, Athletics, William Craven, Athletics, Adrian "Baby" Anson, Athletics, Ezra Sutton, Athletics, John E. Clapp, Athletics, Jim White, Red Stockings, Al Spalding, Red Stockings, George Wright, Red Stockings, Cal McVey, Red Stockings, Harry Wright, Red Stockings. Seated: Weston Fisler, Athletics, David Force, Athletics, David Eggler, Athletics, Dick McBride, Athletics, Andy Leonard, Red Stockings, Jim O'Rourke, Red Stockings, Ross Barnes, Red Stockings, Harry C. Schafer, Red Stockings.

Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library.

Historic Photos: 1900 Boston Beaneaters

The Boston Beaneaters were a dominant team in the National League throughout the 19th century, and from 1892 to 1898 they finished in first place four times in seven years, in what was at the time a 12-team league. The 1900 team, seen in this photo, didn't quite live up to their potential, finishing in fourth place with a 66-72 record, despite having a Hall of Fame manager and five Hall of Fame players on the roster.

In many ways, this photo represents the end of an era - the last year of the 19th century also marked the last year that the National League existed unopposed.  In 1901, the American League would declare major league status, and Boston's AL franchise would take away many of the Beaneaters' star players.  Hall of Fame third baseman Jimmy Collins (bottom row, far right); outfielders Buck Freeman (middle row, second from left) and Chick Stahl (top row, middle); and pitchers Nig Cuppy (middle row, far left), Ted Lewis (middle row, far right), and Bill Dinneen (middle row, third from right) all left to join the future Red Sox.

In addition to those who left to join the American League, other notable players in this picture include Hall of Famers Hugh Duffy (top row, second from right), Billy Hamilton (bottom row, second from left), Kid Nichols (bottom row, third from left), and Vic Willis (middle row, second from right), along with Hall of Fame manager Frank Selee (bottom row, center).  Backup catcher Jack Clements (bottom row, far right) played his last of 17 major league seasons in 1900; to this day he remains the only left-handed catcher to play any significant amount of time in the majors.

The complete player identification, courtesy of Boston Public Library:

Top, left to right: Bobby Lowe, second baseman, Shad Barry, Chick Stahl, outfielder, Hugh Duffy, outfielder, Boileryard Clarke. Middle row: Nig Cuppy, Buck Freeman, outfielder, Billy Sullivan, Bill Dineen, pitcher, Vic Willis, Ted Lewis, pitcher. Bottom row: Jack Clements, Billy Hamilton, outfielder, Kid Nichols, pitcher, Frank Selee, Manager, Herman Long, shortstop, Fred Tenney, first baseman, Jimmie Collins, third baseman.

Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library.

1953 Cy Young Awards

1953 American League - Billy Pierce, Chicago White Sox

18-12, 2.72 ERA, 186 K

Billy Pierce didn't lead the league in any major statistical category in 1953 other than strikeouts, but he finished close to the top in most of the others, including fifth in wins and second in ERA.  He was also second in ERA+, at 159, second in shutouts (7), and third in innings pitched (271.1).  It was one of the better years in Pierce's career, and he made his first of seven All Star appearances.  Overall, he had a decent career, winning over 200 games, but usually he was the kind of pitcher who was consistently one of the best in the league, but rarely the best.  However, 1953 was an exception to that.

1953 National League - Warren Spahn, Milwaukee Braves

23-7, 2.10 ERA, 148 K

The previous year's winner, Robin Roberts, had another great season in 1953, tying with Spahn for the league lead in wins, leading the league in strikeouts, and finishing second to Spahn in ERA.  Along the way, Roberts pitched 346.2 innings, 81 more than runner-up Spahn.  Normally in cases like this I would defer to the player with more innings pitched, but Spahn's ERA of 2.10 was so much lower than Roberts's 2.75 second place finish, so I had to give it to Spahn.  The MVP voters of the day agreed with me too, and Spahn finished fifth overall and first among pitchers, barely beating out Roberts, who finished sixth.  For Spahn and the rest of the Braves, it was their first season in Milwaukee after leaving Boston, and the team responded by improving from a 7th place 64-89 record in 1952 to a second place 92-62 record the next season.

1949 Cy Young Awards

1949 American League - Mel Parnell, Boston Red Sox

25-7, 2.77 ERA, 122 K

As previously mentioned, the Cincinnati Reds are one of only two current teams that have existed since 1901 or earlier that have not yet had a pitcher win at least 200 games for them.  The other team is the Red Sox, whose all-time wins leaders are Cy Young and Roger Clemens, with 192 each.  Next comes Tim Wakefield with 186, and after that it drops steeply to 123, which is Mel Parnell's win total.  He didn't have a long career, but for five seasons from 1949 to 1953 he was one of the best pitchers in the league, and in 1949 he was the best.  He led the league in wins and innings pitched (295.1), which are two statistics that often go hand in hand.  However, he also finished second in ERA (to a pitcher with over 100 fewer innings), second in ERA+ (158), and second in winning percentage, behind teammate Ellis Kinder.  Everyone knows that 1949 was the year that kicked off the Yankees' first of five consecutive World Series titles, but even Red Sox fans tend to forget how good Boston was back then.  After winning the AL pennant in 1946, the Red Sox finished one game out of first place in both 1948 and 1949, and this year Mel Parnell and Ellis Kinder had a lot to do with the close finish; together they had a record of 48-13, but they ended up a game back of the Yankees.

1949 National League - Warren Spahn, Boston Braves

21-14, 3.07 ERA, 151 K

This was a tough call between Spahn and 1946 winner Howie Pollett, but I decided to give it to Spahn on the basis of his greater number of innings pitched (302.1 to Pollett's 230.2).  Pollett did have a better ERA, but Spahn pitched more innings, and he led the league in wins and strikeouts.  Overall, it was one of those years when nobody stood out as amazing, so it was more a matter of finding a pitcher who had a good balance of all of the stats.  Interestingly, although Spahn had a higher ERA, he had a lower WHIP at 1.221, and by far the most complete games (25).  As far as I know, this is the first year that there have been winners from both Boston teams, although it was the 1948 season when it was nearly a Boston v. Boston World Series; the Braves won the NL pennant in 1948, and the Red Sox lost a one-game playoff against the Indians.  They would never face each other in the World Series, though, neither before the Braves moved, nor since.

1947 Cy Young Awards

1947 American League - Bob Feller, Cleveland Indians

20-11, 2.68 ERA, 196 K

This was the sixth time in the past six full seasons of Feller's career that he led the league in strikeouts, and it was also the fourth time that he was the best pitcher in the league.  It wasn't an overly spectacular season, particularly by Feller's standards, but it was still better than anyone else.  Only Joe Page, who pitched just 141.1 innings, finished higher than Feller in MVP voting, who finished eighth.  He led the league in wins (and was the only pitcher to win 20 games), and finished second in ERA (to someone who pitched over 100 innings less than Feller), and led in strikeouts.  Not bad when a "good but not spectacular" season for Feller consists of winning two-thirds of the Triple Crown and finishing second in the third category.

1947 National League - Warren Spahn, Boston Braves

21-10, 2.33 ERA, 123 K

This was a pretty close call between Spahn and Cincinnati's Ewell Blackwell, but Spahn led Blackwell by narrow margins in most major statistics except for wins, where Spahn finished one behind Blackwell's league leading 22.  The MVP voters in 1947 disagreed with me, though; Blackwell was the MVP runner-up, while Spahn finished a distant 15th, behind five other pitchers.  Still, Spahn led in ERA, ERA+ (170), WHIP (1.136), innings pitched (289.2), shutouts (7), and WAR (9.1).  He also made his first of 14 All Star appearances, and it was his first full season (he had previously pitched 141.1 innings in two seasons) in a 21-year Hall of Fame career.  Interestingly, Spahn is the earliest winner of my retroactive Cy Young Awards who actually won a real Cy Young Award; Spahn won in 1957, the second year of its existence, back when there was only one combined award for both leagues.

1937 Cy Young Awards

1937 American League - Lefty Gomez, New York Yankees

21-11, 2.33 ERA, 194 K

Evidently it wasn't easy being a right-handed pitcher in the AL in the 1930s; the last pitcher not named "Lefty" to receive a retroactive Cy Young Award from me was Waite Hoyt in 1927.  Lefty Grove won most of those, but for the second time, the "other" Lefty G. won the AL pitching triple crown, with the same ERA, although fewer wins and more strikeouts.  He may be a somewhat marginal player by Hall of Fame standards, but in 1934 and 1937 he was undoubtedly the best AL pitcher, and in 1937 he helped lead the Yankees to yet another World Series title.


1937 National League - Jim Turner, Boston Braves

20-11, 2.38 ERA, 69 K

I'll be honest, I had never heard of Jim Turner before in my life.  In fact, I had expected Carl Hubbell, who finished third in MVP voting and won two thirds of the Triple Crown, would probably win the retroactive Cy Young Award.  However, he also had a very unimpressive 3.20 ERA, which didn't even crack the top ten list, and his WHIP was a mediocre 1.208.  However, Boston's Jim Turner, a 33 year old rookie whose lifetime record ended up being 69-60, had a great season.  Along with leading in ERA by nearly a quarter of a run, he also led in WHIP (1.091), WAR (5.2), and finished tied second in wins.  In the end, he finished fourth in MVP voting, behind only Hubbell among pitchers, and undoubtedly would've been Rookie of the Year had it existed in 1937.  Still, his Major League pitching career was less than stellar; he spent 14 seasons in the minors, and he really only had four seasons as an effective starter.  Imagine my surprise, then, when I found out that he was a part of nine World Series winning teams; after his playing career was over, he served as the pitching coach of the Yankees during their late 1940s-1950s dynasty, and was also pitching coach for the Reds from 1961-1965 and the Yankees again from 1966-1973.

1914 Cy Young Awards

1914 American League - Dutch Leonard. Boston Red Sox

19-5, 0.96 ERA, 176 K

Walter Johnson, the winner in the previous two years, had another good season in 1914, but there was no way it could possibly compare to how well Dutch Leonard pitched.  No pitcher in modern baseball history (since 1893) has won the ERA title with an earned run average of less than 1.00.  None, except for Dutch Leonard, of course.  Only Tim Keefe in 1880 had a lower ERA (0.86), and it was in only 105 innings - less than half of the number that Leonard pitched (224.2).  Since the pitchers mound was moved to its current location 60'6" from home plate though, the closest anyone has come to Leonard's record was Mordecai Brown in 1906, when he had an ERA of 1.04.  Leonard's ERA was 0.74 runs lower than anyone else, and his ERA+  of 279 was over 100 points higher than anyone else and the third best of all-time (behind Keefe in 1880 and Pedro Martinez in 2000).  In addition, he led the league in WHIP (0.886), hits per 9 innings (5.568; 6th all-time), strikeouts per 9 innings (7.050), and finished second in shutouts, pitching 7 in 25 starts.  He didn't rank as high in counting stats like wins because he pitched fewer innings than some of the leaders (he pitched 224.2, compared to Walter Johnson's 371.2) but he was so dominating that nobody else even came close to being as valuable to their team as he was.  Apparently the MVP voters in 1914 agreed as well - although he finished a dismal 16th place, it was higher than any other pitcher.  It was definitely the high point of his career, though.  Despite helping Boston win three World Series titles in the four years following his 1914 season, he never again had an ERA that was even under 2.00 (something that was not at all uncommon in the early 20th century) and his ERA+ never went above 123 again.  After Boston, he spent his remaining five seasons as a moderately effective starter in Detroit.


1914 National League - Bill James, Boston Braves

26-7, 1.90 ERA, 156 K

No, not that Bill James.  I had never even heard of this particular Bill James before I started doing research on the 1914 season.  And there isn't much reason why I would have heard of him; unique among all of the pitchers that I've featured so far, his Retroactive Cy Young Award winning season was also his only full season in the majors. However, he was certainly effective, finishing second in wins and ERA (and ERA+ with 150), fifth in strikeouts, and first in winning percentage and WAR.  There were other pitchers who did well in 1914, but overall James was the best.  His successful season didn't come in vain either; he was the ace of the "Miracle Braves."  In early July, the Braves were 26-40 and in last place; they then went 70-19 for the rest of the season and won the pennant by 10.5 games, and beat the A's in the World Series, for the only title that the Braves won while in Boston.  It was his second year in the majors, and his first full season (he pitched 135.2 innings in 24 games in 1913), but the next year he pitched just 68.1 ineffective innings, and other than a one game stint in 1919, was out of the majors after that.  As far as one hit wonders go, it was a pretty good season though.  In addition to winning my Retroactive Cy Young Award, he finished third in MVP voting (the real one), behind two of his teammates, Hall of Famers Johnny Evers and Rabbit Maranville, making James the highest-ranked pitcher in the league.

1914 Federal League - Claude Hendrix, Chicago Chi-Feds

29-10, 1.69 ERA, 189 K

 The Federal League was the most recent "third league" to compete with the AL and NL, playing for two seasons from 1914 to 1915.  In 1914, their best pitcher was Claude Hendrix of Chicago's unusually-named Chi-Feds (which were renamed the Chicago Whales the next season).  The Chi-Feds played at a brand-new ballpark named Weeghman Park, which was later sold to the Cubs after the Federal League folded and renamed Wrigley Field.  Hendrix, who had previously pitched for the Pirates, was the winning pitcher in the first game ever played at the ballpark, and in 1914 he led the league in wins, ERA, games pitched (49), and complete games (34).  He also finished second in WHIP (0.934), WAR (9.2), and third in strikeouts and shutouts (6).  It would be by far the best season of his career though; the following year his ERA was significantly under the league average (ERA+ of 93), and after the Federal League folded he spent his last three years in the majors with the Cubs as a moderately effective if unspectacular starter.

1899 Cy Young Award

1899 National League - Vic Willis, Boston Beaneaters

27-8, 2.50 ERA, 120 K

This wasn't too hard to decide; although there were other pitchers who pitched nearly as well as Willis in 1899, he stands out as the best.  Cy Young in particular had an impressive season, but he seemed to fall right behind Willis in just about every major statistic.  Willis led the league in ERA and ERA+ (167, to Young's 2nd place 154), shutouts (5), hits per 9 innings (7.275), and WAR (8.9).  He also finished third in wins, third in WHIP (with Young finishing first), third in winning percentage (.771), and tied for fourth in strikeouts.  In addition, he pitched a no-hitter on August 7 against the Washington Senators, the last no-hitter of the 19th century.  Willis played alongside fellow Hall of Famer and 3-time retroactive Cy Young Award winner Kid Nichols, but Nichols was only somewhat effective, with a 21-19 record, and the Beaneaters finished 8 games behind Brooklyn in the pennant race.

1897 Cy Young Award

1897 National League - Kid Nichols, Boston Beaneaters

31-11, 2.64 ERA, 127 K

The future Hall of Fame pitcher Kid Nichols had already won two retroactive Cy Young Awards and was in strong contention for a third, but 1897 was probably his finest season so far.  Both he and Amos Rusie put up great numbers in 1897, but Nichols was somewhat better.  He led the league in wins and finished second in ERA to Rusie, although when adjusted for ERA+ he actually comes out on top, 170 to 163.  He also led the league in innings pitched (368), WHIP(1.168), WAR (10.0), and, for what it's worth, his 3 saves were enough to lead the league as well.  For Nichols, it was his 6th 30+ win season in the past 7 years, and he would go on to win another 31 games in 1898.  He reached his 300th career win at the age of 30, the youngest pitcher ever to do so, and he retired in 1906 with 361 wins, good for 7th all-time.

1896 Cy Young Award

1896 National League - Kid Nichols, Boston Beaneaters

30-14, 2.83 ERA, 102 K

Nichols was previously ranked as the NL's best pitcher in 1891, and was one of the top 3 in 1893, and in 1896 was once again the league's best pitcher, although it was a pretty close call.  It's always easy to recognize the best pitcher when they win the Triple Crown, or lead the league in a significant category by an enormous margin, but when there's no single pitcher that is at the top of most of the major statistics, it becomes harder to balance one pitcher's accomplishments over another pitcher's. However, Nichols put up the best overall numbers, leading the league in wins, finishing second in ERA (and first among pitchers with over 150 innings pitched) had an impressive 160 ERA+ (first among pitchers over 150 innings pitched, and 13 points higher than the next pitcher), and finished 4th in WHIP and 5th in WAR.  An argument certainly could be made that Cy Young, Nig Cuppy, or Frank Dwyer was the best in the league, but it was Nichols's ERA in particular that stood out above everything else, being nearly a third of a run lower than any of the competition.

1891 Cy Young Awards

1891 American Association - George Haddock, Boston Reds

34-11, 2.49 ERA, 169 K

This was the last season for the American Association, the longest that any of the four now-defunct major leagues lasted.  Between 1892 and the emergence of the American League in 1901, the NL was again the only league at the highest level of professional baseball.  There was no pitcher in the AA in 1891 that clearly dominated over the rest; in fact, Haddock did not lead the league in any significant categories except shutouts, but he was, across the board, the best pitcher in the league.  He finished second in ERA, wins, and WAR, with a different pitcher finishing first in each category; he was the only one to finish in the top 3 in all 3 categories.  An argument could be made for teammate Charlie Buffinton, who finished the season with a slightly higher WAR (9.3 to 8.7) and finished first in WHIP, but overall Haddock put up better numbers.  The Reds, who are unrelated to either the modern Cincinnati Reds or the Boston Red Sox, played the previous year in the Players League, where they won the league pennant, and then moved to the AA where, behind the strong pitching of Haddock and Buffinton, they won the league pennant again.  When the AA was disbanded after the 1891 season, four of the teams joined with the NL, but the Reds were not among them, putting an end to the team that won two league pennants from two different leagues in their only two years of existence.

1891 National League - Kid Nichols, Boston Beaneaters

30-17, 2.39 ERA, 240 K

This was a good season for Boston teams; both the Boston Reds and the Boston Beaneaters (now the Atlanta Braves) won the pennant in their respective leagues, and the Reds' George Haddock and the Beaneaters' Kid Nichols were the best pitchers in their leagues.  Like Haddock, Nichols did not lead the league in many categories, other than saves (3), walks per 9 innings pitched (2.180), and ERA+ (154), none of which were calculated until many years later.  However, he had the second lowest ERA, fourth most wins, second lowest WHIP, third highest WAR, and second most shutouts.  Like Haddock, there were other pitchers who were higher than him in most categories, but none who were consistently as high as he was, which earned him the retroactive Cy Young Award without too much hesitation.

1889 Cy Young Awards

1889 American Association - Jesse Duryea, Cincinnati Red Stockings

32-19, 2.56 ERA, 183

Unlike 1888, there was no clear-cut winner for the AA in 1889.  I ended up choosing Duryea because, although he did not lead the league in any significant category, he was close to the top in most categories, finishing second in ERA and ERA+, third in wins, and fourth in WHIP and WAR. I considered Bob Caruthers, the 1885 winner, but his ERA was fairly high, and his ERA+ of 112 shows that, while he was above average, Duryea, at 155, was far above average.  While there was no single pitcher who clearly dominated the AA in 1889, Duryea was the best all-around pitcher, and I feel would have deserved the Cy Young Award.  This year was certainly the high point of his career though; it was his rookie year, but he only pitched for four more seasons, and more than half of his career wins came in 1889.

1889 National League - John Clarkson, Boston Beaneaters

49-19, 2.73 ERA, 284 K

Little doubt about this one.  Clarkson, who previously won in 1885 and 1887, once again dominated the league.  He led almost every significant pitching category, and most of them weren't even close.  There have only been four seasons in which a pitcher has won 49 or more games, and Clarkson did it twice, winning 53 in 1885 and 49 in 1889.  His 49 were 21 more than the nearest competition, but that's not all he did.  He led the other two Triple Crown categories as well; his ERA was nearly a quarter run lower than anyone else, and he struck out 29 more than the second place pitcher.  He also had 25 more starts than anyone else, 22 more complete games, 200 more innings pitched, and twice as many shutouts.  He even led in sabermetrically oriented statistics, like WHIP and WAR (finishing an astonishing 6.3 wins above anyone else).  Clarkson's numbers would've looked good 5 to 10 years earlier, but as pitchers began starting fewer games each year, 45+ wins and 600+ innings pitched were rarely seen by 1889.  His new team for the 1889 season, the Boston Beaneaters, only had three pitchers all year, with Clarkson starting more than half of the team's games.  All but 19 of the remaining games were started by another future Hall of Famer, Old Hoss Radbourn, but despite the strong pitching staff and Hall of Fame outfielder King Kelly, Boston finished a game behind New York in the pennant race.

1879 Cy Young Award

1879 National League - Tommy Bond, Boston Red Stockings

43-19, 1.96 ERA, 155 K

For the third consecutive year, Tommy Bond was the best pitcher in baseball, leading the NL in ERA for the second time in three years and shutouts for the third consecutive year.  With an expanded schedule, Bond was no longer to pitch virtually all of Boston's games, but he still started 64 of the team's 84 games, completing all but five of them and throwing 11 shutouts in the process.  Still, Boston was unable to win their third consecutive pennant, finishing second, five games behind the Providence Grays, who were led by my choice as the runner-up for the 1879 Cy Young Award, Hall of Famer John Montgomery Ward.  Although Bond never joined him in the Hall of Fame (he received 1.3% of the vote in 1936 and did not appear on the ballot again) he certainly put together an impressive three consecutive seasons in which he was the best pitcher in baseball.

1878 Cy Young Award

1878 National League - Tommy Bond, Boston Red Stockings

40-19, 2.06 ERA, 182 K

The Boston Red Stockings repeated as National League champions in 1878, and had the Cy Young Award existed then, Tommy Bond likely would have repeated the award as well.  Although he finished fifth in the league in ERA, he was still the leader in wins and strikeouts, and started all but one of his team's games, leading the league with 59 games started.  He also led the league in shutouts for the second consecutive year, and he had by far the highest WAR (Wins Above Replacement) for any pitcher in the league, with 10.8 wins, over the next highest, which was 6.4.  Incidentally, his 10.8 WAR on the season is tied for 48th all-time, alongside Sandy Koufax in 1963 and 1966.

1877 Cy Young Award

1877 National League - Tommy Bond, Boston Red Stockings

40-17, 2.11 ERA, 170 K

Since the Cy Young Award was first given out in 1956, 13 pitchers have won the Triple Crown - leading the league in wins, earned run average, and strikeouts.  All 13 won the Cy Young Award, so it would be safe to assume that, had the award existed in 1877, Tommy Bond's Triple Crown season would have guaranteed him the award.  Bond started 58 of Boston's 61 games, something that was not at all uncommon in the early days of professional baseball, but he did so while leading his team to their first National League pennant.  At the time, there was no other major league, and therefore no World Series, making the Red Stockings the de facto world champions of baseball.