1884
The Brookly Atlantics joined the American Association in 1884 after winning the Interstate Association title in 1883. The Atlantics would finish in ninth place in the A.A. posting a 40-64 record under Manager George Taylor. The Atlantics ended the season 33 1/2 games behind the champion New York Metropolitans. The Atlantics never challenged for the title and only posted a .500 mark in the month of August when they finished 9-9. The Atlantics used just five pitchers the entire season. Adonis Terry (19/3.55/230), Sam Kimber (18/3.81/122) and Jim Conway (3/4.44/25) would combine to start all 104 games for the Atlantics. Shortstop Billy Geer (0/12.60/1) and catcher Jack Corcoran (0/0.00/0) pitched a combined six inning in spot relief. Kimber made history on October 4th when he pitched a ten-inning no-hitter against the Toledo Blue Stockings. The game was called due to darkness ending in a 0-0 tie.
No Hitter:
Sam Kimber (BKN)
vs. Toledo Blue Stockings (0-0)
10 Innings – Called Due to Darkness
First Extra Inning No Hitter
Outfielder Oscar Walker led the team in batting average (.270) and slugging percentage (.359). First baseman Charlie Householder, second baseman Bill Greenwood and outfielder Jack Remsen each hit three home runs to lead the team in round trippers. The Atlantics struggled to score runs as they tallied 476 on the season while allowing 644.
1885
The Brooklyn ballclub changed its name to the Grays prior to the 1885 American Association season. Grays owner, Charlie Byrne, purchased the now defunct Cleveland Blues and added John Harkins, Pete Hotaling, Bill Phillips, George Pinkney and Germany Smith to the roster. The Brooklyn squad won 53 contests while losing 59 and finished 24 games behind the first place St. Louis Browns.
First baseman Phillips led all batters with a .302 average while clubbing three home runs and driving in a team high 63 runners. Shortstop Germany Smith topped the team in home runs with four while driving in 62 and sporting a .258 average. Second baseman Bill McClellan led the American Association in games played with 112 appearances.
The pitching staff was anchored by Henry Porter (33/2.78/197), John Harkins (14/3.75/141) and Adonis Terry (6/4.26/96). Porter, Harkins and Terry started 111 of the 112 Grays contests. Phenomenal Smith did not live up to his billing in his only start for Brooklyn. Smith allowed 18 runs (11 earned) in eight innings against the St. Louis Browns on June 17th.
1886
The Brooklyn Grays finished third in the American Association in 1886, sixteen games behind the champion St. Louis Browns. The Grays held first place as late as June 12th, but all hope was lost after an 11-14 August dropped them out of contention. The Grays utilized six different pitchers during the ’86 campaign: Henry Porter (27/3.42/163), John Harkins (15/3.60/118), Adonis Terry (18/3.09/162), Hardie Henderson (10/2.90/49), Steve Toole (6/4.41/48) and George Pinkney (0/4.50/0). Starting third baseman Pinkney appeared in only one game, giving up two hits and one run in two innings. Terry made history on July 24th when he twirled a no-hitter against the eventual champion Browns in a 1-0 Grays victory.
No Hitter:
Adonis Terry (BKN)
vs. St. Louis Browns (1-0)
On the offensive side, the Grays were led by first sacker Bill Phillips (.274/0/72) who led the team in RBIs. Phillips, along with teammates Bill McClellan (.255/1/68) and George Pinkney (.261/0/37) led the league in games played with 141 each. Third baseman Pinkney also led the league in plate appearances (667), at-bats (597) and walks (70). Outfielder Ed Swartwood would share the league lead in walks (70) with Pinkney. Swartwood along with catcher Jimmy Peoples would pace the team with three home runs apiece.
1887
The 1887 edition of the Brooklyn Grays tumbled to sixth place in the American Association. The Grays finished fourteen games under .500 and 34.5 games behind the front-running St. Louis Browns. Despite a 6-2 start in April, the Grays only managed a 54-72 record the rest of the season. Shortstop Germany Smith (.294/4/72) led the regulars in home runs (4) and batting average (.294). First baseman Bill Phillips (.266/2/101) topped the team in RBIs with 101. Second baseman Bill McClellan swiped a team high 70 bases edging out outfielder Jim McTamany who nabbed 66 bags.
The pitching staff was anchored again by the five starters from the prior campaign to different results. Henry Porter won only 15 of 39 decisions while posting a 4.21 ERA and fanning just 74 batters. Adonis Terry finsihed 16-16 on the year with a 4.02 ERA and 138 strikeouts. John Harkins won 10 of 24 games while his ERA ballooned to 6.02 and his strikeouts dropped to 36. Steve Toole had the staff’s only winning record, by going 14-10 with a 4.31 ERA and 48 K’s. Hardie Henderson recorded a team best ERA of 3.95 but managed only a 5-8 record for the season. Bert Cunningham started three games for the Grays and went 0-2 while giving up thirteen runs over 23 innings.
1888
The Brookly Grays changed their name to the Bridegrooms for the 1888 season. The change was attributed to the marriage of several players on the squad. Team Owner/Manager Charlie Byrne gave up his managerial duties and Bill McGunnigle was hired to lead the Bridegrooms on the field. Byrne purchased Jim Donahue, Bill Fagan, Frank Hankinson, Bill Holbert, Al Mays Darby O’Brien and Paul Radford from the now defunct New York Metropolitans. With their new name and new player additions, the Bridegrooms show marked improvement, winning 88 games and finishing in second place, 6.5 games behind the St. Louis Browns.
Third baseman George Pinkney (.271/4/52) paced the offense with a team best four home runs. Pinkney led the American Association in games played (143), plate appearances (653) and runs scored (134). First baseman Dave Orr topped the starters with a .305 batting average. Outfielder Dave Foutz drove in a team high 99 runs and swiped 35 bases. Newcomer Darby O’Brien stole 55 bags to lead the team in thievery.
The Bridegroom pitching staff put together a tremendous campaign posting a combined 2.33 team ERA. Bob Caruthers went 29-15 with a 2.39 ERA and 140 strikeouts. Mickey Hughes recorded a 25-13 record with a 2.13 ERA and 159 whiffs. Adonis Terry won 13 of 21 decisions with a miniscule 2.03 ERA and 138 punchouts. Dave Foutz went 12-7 on the year with a 2.51 ERA and 73 strikeouts. Al Mays won half of his 18 starts with a 2.80 ERA and 67 K’s.
Washington Park hosted game four of the 1888 World Series Between the New York Giants and the St. Louis Browns. The Giants would win the contest 6-3 and would eventually win the series by taking six of ten from the Browns.
Hosted World Series
Neutral Site – Game 4
New York Giants (NL) 6
St. Louis Browns (AA) 3
1889
The 1889 Bridegrooms ascended to the top of the American Association, ending the season with 93 wins, two games clear of the St. Louis Browns. Despite a 3-7 start in April, the Bridegrooms won 18 of 25 in May and remained dominant the rest of the year.
The pitching staff was led by righthander Bob Caruthers (40/3.13/118). Caruthers won a league high 40 games against 11 losses. Caruthers also topped the A. A. in winning percentage (.784), shutouts (7) and walks per 9 innings (2.1)
A. A. Wins Leader (40)
Bob Caruthers (BKN)
Fellow righty, Adonis Terry (22/3.29/186) won 22 of 37 decisions in 326 innings pitched. Tom Lovett posted a 17-10 mark despite a 4.32 ERA along with 92 strikeouts. Fourth starter, Mickey Hughes went 9-8 on the season with a 4.35 ERA and 54 K’s. First baseman Dave Foutz sported a 3-0 record in 12 games as a spot starter and in relief.
Outfielder Thomas Burns (.304/5/100) led the team in batting average with a .304 mark. Dave Foutz (.275/6/113) topped the team in RBIs with 113 on the season. Outfielder John Corkhill led the Grays batters with 8 home runs. Outfielder Darby O’Brien stole a team high 91 bags.
A section of seating at Washington Park was destroyed by fire early in the 1889 season.
Seating Destroyed by Fire
After winning the American Association title, the Bridegrooms faced the New York Giants in the 1889 World Series. The Giants defeated the Grooms 6 games to 3.
1890
The Bridegrooms jumped to the National League in 1890 and enjoyed similar success as they had in their last season in the American Association. The Brooklyn club won 86 games and finished 6.5 games in front of the second place Chicago Colts. The Grooms won back-to-back championships albeit in different leagues. The Bridegrooms had a winning record in each month of the season and spent 71 days in first place in the National League. The Bridegroom offense was solid throughout the season scoring 884 runs in 129 games. Second baseman, Hub Collins (.278/3/69), led the league in runs scored with 148. Outfielder Thomas “Oyster” Burns (.284/13/128) led the National League in home runs (13) and RBIs (128).
N. L. Co-Home Run Leader (13)
Oyster Burns (BKN)
N. L. RBI Leader (128)
Oyster Burns (BKN)
First baseman Dave Foutz (.303/5/98), third baseman George Pinkney (.309/7/83) and outfielder Darby O’Brien (.314/2/63) all had batting averages above the .300 mark. Pinkney would see his consecutive games (577) and consecutive innings (5,152) streaks some to an end on May 1st.
Consecutive Games (577)
and Innings (5,152)
Streak Ends
George Pinkney (BKN)
The Grooms utilized six pitchers during the course of the season. Tom Lovett (30/2.78/124) led the league in winning percentage at .732 with his 30-11 record. Adonis Terry (26/2.94/185) and Bob Caruthers (23/3.09/64) teamed with Lovett to start 118 of the teams 129 games. Mickey Hughes (4/5.16/22), Dave Foutz (2/1.86/4) and Lady Baldwin (1/7.04/4) started the other 11 games to varying results.
Oyster Burns secured his place in the record book on August 1st when he hit for the cycle against the Pittsburgh Alleghenys at Washington Park.
Cycle:
Oyster Burns (BKN)
vs. Pittsburgh Alleghenys
The Alleghenys and the Bridegrooms would make history again on September 1st when the two teams played the first tripleheader in professional baseball with the Brookly squad taking all three games.
1st Tripleheader:
Pittsburgh Alleghenys
vs. Brooklyn Bridegrooms
The Bridegrooms went on to face the American Association champion Louisville Colonels in the 1890 World Series. The Grooms won the first two games in Louisville while the third game ended in a tie. Louisville bounced back to take game four at home before the series moved on to Brooklyn. Brooklyn took game five before dropping games six and seven leaving the series deadlocked at 3-3-1.
Bridegrooms and Colonels
Tie World Series 3-3-1
1891
The Brooklyn club would see many changes after the 1890 season. George Chauncey, formerly owner of the Brooklyn Ward’s Wonders, purchased controlling interest and shortened the team’s name to Grooms. John Montomery Ward would take over as Manager of the team despite Bill McGunnigle’s back-to-back championship seasons at the helm. Lastly, the team played half of their games in the larger Eastern Park before moving to the stadium full-time in 1892. All of the changes did not fare well for the team on the field as they dropped to sixth place in the National League winning only 61 games on the year.
The team ERA was almost a full point higher than the previous season. Tom Lovett (23/3.69/129), Bob Caruthers (18/3.12/69), George Hemming (8/4.96/83), Adonis Terry (6/4.22/65) and Bert Inks (3/4.02/47) started the bulk of the games for the Grooms with Dave Foutz (3/3.29/14) spot starting five more.
Outfielder Thomas “Oyster” Burns (.285/4/83) led the team in batting average (.285) and RBIs (83). Darby O’Brien (.253/5/57) led the team in home runs with five. Outfielder Mike Griffin (.267/3/65) led the National League in doubles with 36.
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