1873 in baseball
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Champions
Statistical leaders
| National Association | ||
|---|---|---|
| Stat | Player | Total |
| AVG | Ross Barnes (BOS) | .431 |
| HR | Lip Pike (BAL) | 4 |
| RBI | Deacon White (BOS) | 77 |
| W | Al Spalding (BOS) | 41 |
| ERA | Cherokee Fisher (PHA) | 1.81 |
| K | Bobby Mathews (NY) | 79 |
National Association final standings
| National Association | W | L | T | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Red Stockings | 43 | 16 | 1 | .725 | â |
| Philadelphia White Stockings | 36 | 17 | â | .679 | 4 |
| Baltimore Canaries | 34 | 22 | 1 | .605 | 7½ |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 28 | 23 | 1 | .548 | 11 |
| New York Mutuals | 29 | 24 | â | .547 | 11 |
| Brooklyn Atlantics | 17 | 37 | 1 | .318 | 23½ |
| Washington Blue Legs | 8 | 31 | â | .205 | 25 |
| Elizabeth Resolutes | 2 | 21 | â | .087 | 23 |
| Baltimore Marylands | 0 | 6 | â | .000 | 16½ |
Notable seasons
- Boston Red Stockings second baseman Ross Barnes leads the NA with 138 hits, 43 stolen bases, 125 runs scored, a .431 batting average, a 1.080 OPS, and a 207 OPS+.[1][2]
- Boston Red Stockings pitcher Al Spalding has a record of 41â14, leading the NA with 41 wins and 496.2 innings pitched. His 50 strikeouts rank second in the league. He has a 2.99 earned run average and a 115 ERA+.[3][4]
Events
JanuaryâMarch
- March 3 â For the first time, the NA adopts a standardized ball to be used in all league games.
AprilâJune
- May 14 â Nearly 5,000 fans watch the upstart Philadelphia Club defeat the established Athletics 5â4 in 13 innings. Only once before, in 1865, had that many innings been played in one game.
- June 7 â Mutual and Philadelphia combine for 40 errors. The Philadelphias, aided by the Mutuals' 26 miscues, win 12â10.
- June 11 â 10,000 fans are in attendance see Philadelphia score 5 runs in the 7th inning to defeat Athletic 7â5.
JulyâSeptember
- July 4 â Leading 11â3 over Resolute of Elizabeth, the Bostons score 21 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning for a 32â3 victory. The home-ahead rule would not be instituted for 6 more years.
- July 22 â Tom Barlow of Atlantic lays down 6 bunts, all for hits, in a game against Lord Baltimore.
- July 24 â Bob Ferguson of the Atlantic is the umpire in a game between Mutual of New York and Lord Baltimore which ends with the Mutuals scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th for an 11â10 victory. Ferguson and Mutual's Nat Hicks get into an altercation with Ferguson breaking Hicks' arm by hitting him with a bat. Ferguson requires a police escort to leave the field and Hicks will be out for 2 months due to the incident.
- August 16 â Boston defeats Philadelphia 11â8 in Chicago in front of several thousand fans. After the game, it is announced that Chicago has signed several players in hopes of placing a team in the NA for the 1874 season.
OctoberâDecember
- October 16 â Lord Baltimore turns a triple play in a losing cause against Philadelphia.
- October 22 â Boston wins the pennant for the 2nd year in a row. They clinch on the same date as they had in 1872.
- November 6 â A crosstown benefit game is played between the Philadelphia and Athletic Clubs under a proposed rule of 10 men on the field and 10 innings for a game. The extra player is placed on the infield as a right shortstop and with most observers feeling the extra player unnecessary, the rule is never implemented.
Births
- January 10:
- January 19 â Arlie Pond
- January 23 â Red Donahue
- February 5 â Jack O'Brien
- February 20 â Tom O'Brien
- March 10 â Gene DeMontreville
- March 29 â Duff Cooley
- April 7 â John McGraw
- April 22 â Frank Figgemeier
- May 23 â "Brewery" Jack Taylor
- June 13 â Walter Coleman
- July 11 â Jimmy Slagle
- July 19 â Harry Davis
- August 26 â Chick Fraser
- October 5 â Claude Ritchey
- October 9 â Bill Reidy
- November 4 â Bobby Wallace
- November 10 â Willie McGill
- November 24 â Ed Doheny
- November 29 â Jake Weimer
- December 6 â Harry Wolverton
- December 9 â Oscar Purner
- December 14 â John Anderson
Deaths
- February 26 â Cy Bentley, 22, pitcher and right fielder for the 1872 Middletown Mansfields.