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Cincinnati Reds History, Part IV: Being an Account of pro baseball in Cincinnati during the "Gay 90s," the freewheeling days including a 12-team National League ("the big league") from 1890-1899.

With the threat of the Players' League before them, the National League made a number of moves, and one of those was to invite the Cincinnati Reds to switch back from the American Association to the NL, from which they had been expelled in 1880. Indianapolis and Washington left the NL, while Cincy and Brooklyn entered. It made the NL a stronger loop with bigger cities, but also ended up giving some cities three major league teams (including Brooklyn, then still a separate city from greater New York) and left others, such as the left-behind towns of Washington and Indy, without any major league teams. Cincinnati would only have the one major league franchise in 1890, and so limited competition for attendance. They also held on to most of their players, making for stronger competition.

American Park was renamed League Park to mark the dawning of the new era. The 1890 Reds led the NL in ERA, but were second in runs allowed, owing to some sloppy fielding. John Reilly led the league in triples, while Billy Rhines paced the NL in ERA with Tony Mullane third. The Reds placed fourth, 10.5 games back.

Reilly batted .300 with 86 RBI. Bid McPhee batted .256 but drew 82 walks for an excellent on-base average. Bug Holliday batted .270, and Joe Knight took over the left field job and hit .312. Hugh Nicol batted just .210 and lost his job. Lefty Marr took over for Hick Carpenter at third and hit .298, while Ollie Beard hit .268 as the shortstop. Catching was a problem. Mullane didn't just pitch, but substituted all over the diamond, especially for Nicol in right field. He hit .276.

Rhines was the ace with a 28-17 record and 1.95 ERA. Jesse Duryea was 16-12 with a 2.92 ERA, Frank Foreman was 13-10, 3.95, and Mullane's aging arm got to 12-10, 2.24 as a part-time pitcher. Lee Viau struggled to 7-5, 4.50 before being sold to Cleveland in midseason.

After the 1890 season the Players' League folded (because they blinked first: they had the strongest hand of the three leagues, if they had used it) and the stars came back to the National League. Cincinnati became part of the fight: with PL owners giving up the ghost, those remaining tried one last gambit, buying the Reds from Aaron Stern and announcing plans to make a go of it as a six-team league. However, after more teams folded, that card was played out. For a while, it seemed that Cincinnati would return to the American Association. But at last, John T. Brush bought the team from the PL investors, saving the club for the NL. There was more to be done to get a team into the AA, however.

The Reds sank in the standings in 1891, posting a 56-81 record and avoiding last place by just percentage points to finish seventh. The offense was last in the league, with the pitching in the middle of the pack. The hitters were that bad even with Bug Holliday in a breakout mode, finishing second in the league in batting average and fourth in OPS. Things were bad such that even though they didn't pitch that poorly, Mullane was third in the league in losses and Rhines was fourth.

There was bad news on the field, but the season did mark the first Opening Day parade for a Cincinnati team. Owner John Brush organized a parade with a military band and two horse-drawn wagons, one each for the Reds and their opponents on Opening Day, the Cleveland Spiders. Then, the season started.

A large part of the problem was the collapse of Reilly, the team's best hitter for a decade. The gentlemanly Reilly, just a year removed from a solid season, hit .242 at age 32 and was done in the major leagues. A city native, he would continue to live in Cincinnati the rest of his life. Gone was shortstop Beard, who went to Louisville, while his replacement Germany Smith hit just .201. That put a big hole in the Reds' offense. Holliday, now 24, hit .319 with 84 RBI to keep things going. McPhee hit .256, and Arlie Latham took over third base and hit .272 with 87 steals. Lefty Marr moved to the outfield and hit .259, but was released at midseason. Pete Browning came over from Pittsburgh for the second half of the season and hit .343.

Mullane, back to full-time mound duty, was 23-26 with a 3.23 ERA. Rhines was 17-24, 2.87. There was little else, though. Jesse Duryea was 1-7 and was released at midseason. Charley "Old Hoss" Radbourn pitched like a guy well past his prime at 36 and went 11-13, 4.25. The pitching depth of the previous year was gone.

The really interesting thing was, while Cincinnati had had one major league franchise in 1890, a season when some cities had three, in 1891 after things had contracted, they suddenly had two. The American Association had decided to put a franchise back in the Queen City, and got Mike "King" Kelly to front it. The veteran Kelly, 33, had begun his major league career in Cincinnati before becoming a big star in Chicago and Boston. When the arrangements started to become difficult, the AA tried to convince Kelly to join Boston, but he would only play in his original home in the majors. A young Ban Johnson, who ten years later would debut as President of the new American League, was an office employee.

The franchise found a home on the east side of the city, the only time that has happened for major league baseball (which was always played on the west end). The team at East End Park was christened "Kelly's Killers" in honor of the leader and star. It is sometimes listed in the almanacs as the Cincinnati Kelly's Killers, which just looks ridiculous. Kelly recruited some talent, and the team settled in to play. It wasn't a very successful team. Kelly was more interested in having fun than putting together a winning team, and the club often played the game then enjoyed a fine meal of tasty treats and plenty of beer right at the ballpark. A very popular outing with the largely German populace of Cincinnati, but not always conducive to winning baseball.

Kelly was the best player on his team, with a .297 average. Yank Robinson was one of the few other familiar names on the roster, but he hit worse than usual at .178. Apparently the training regimen didn't agree with him. Emmitt Seery at .285 was about the only other successful batter. Ed Crane was 14-14, 2.45 before the team folded and he signed with the NL franchise. Frank Dwyer, 23, would become a mainstay of the Reds, but in this year he was 13-19, 4.52 for Kelly's Killers.

The team posted a 43-57 record for sixth place before folding in August. A Milwaukee minor league team took over their spot in the schedule, while the players scattered to whatever other work they could find. Kelly went back to Boston. The money had run out,and the party was over.

In the offseason the American Association collapsed. Four of the franchise were admitted into the National League, and the other players and teams scattered. Some franchises joined minor league loops, some retaining their players while other players signed with different teams. It expanded the NL into 12 teams. This had been done before, but only temporarily. It was ungainly, especially without two divisions, but it would last until 1899.

With some teams in disarray, the Reds moved up to fifth in the league with an 82-68 record. Charlie Comiskey, the longtime St. Louis Browns team captain and first baseman, was brought in to play the initial sack and lead the team on the field. Comiskey had won four pennants in St. Louis back in AA days, but had a falling out with ownership. Cincinnati seemed like a good place for now, and he would stay three years. 1892 was his only year as a regular in the lineup, As he hit just .227.

Bid McPhee hit .274, and Bug Holliday was again the star hitter with a .292 average, 13 HR and 91 RBI. Germany Smith returned at shortstop for some reason (he had a good defensive rep) and hit .239. 3B Arlie Latham managed just a .238. The offense struggled again. The team ran a collection of veterans through. Pete Browning started the year in Cincy, but was released even hitting .303. He probably drove Comiskey nuts. Tip O'Neiil, a St. Louis veteran, hit just .251. Curt Welch hit .202 before being released. It was a treadmill.

The pitching fared better. Mullane was 21-13, 2.59. Frank Dwyer began a successful run in Cincinnati with a 19-10, 2.33 mark. Elton "Icebox" Chamberlain, so named for his coolness under pressure, was already a veteran at age 24. He went 19-23, 3.39. Mike Sullivan was 12-4, 3.08. The Reds just needed some more hitters to key the offense.

The 1892 season would end with a big surprise. A young pitcher came to the ballpark and asked for a tryout. In those looser early days, Comiskey decided to let the youngster pitch, since the pennant was already decided. Jones did nothing less than pitch a no-hitter. As often happens, though, a no-hitter is not a sign of future quality and Jones would pitch only 8 major league games with a 2-4 record.

Another new hire for 1892 would stay longer. He was Frank Bancroft, commonly known as "Banny." Bancroft had made a name as an innovator, successfully leading teams in the field and in the front office. Banny even led a group to Cuba, introducing baseball to the island. He had led Worcester into the NL, certainly no small feat. He also took over Detroit in their first two seasons in the NL. Bancroft would be the manager for seven teams, but each time left over front office interference. But Cincinnati hired him as business manager, and for 29 years he held the job, until his death in 1921. Bancroft even stepped in a few times as an interim manager. Few executives were more respected.

1893 brought big changes to the game. The distance from home plate to the pitcher's mound, long set at 50 feet, was extended to 60 feet, 6 inches, the current distance. The effect was revolutionary. Batting averages and ERAs both jumped through the roof. The league average went from .245 in 1892 to .380 in 1893. Offense would become the name of the game throughout the 1890s. Teams frequently scored 10 runs in a game, not just because it was easier to hit but because errors were much more frequent then in the days of primitive gloves. It was a game of frequent baserunners. And, with just one umpire being the rule, the rules were frequently ignored by the players. The game began to turn violent.

The 1893 Reds finished 6th, just making the first division, and posted a 65-63 record. Comiskey batted just .220, terrible for the new offensive era, but finding an adequate replacement proved tough. McPhee hit .281, Latham .282, and Germany Smith a typical .236. Farmer Vaughn had a career year as the catcher, batting .280 with 108 RBI. Bug Holliday hit .310 with 89 RBI. Jim Canavan was given the left field job, but hit just .226 to give it back. Finding outfielders to go with Holliday was still proving to be tough.

Dwyer was 18-15 with a 4.13 ERA, but in the new era that ERA was pretty good, 15% better than average. Chamberlain was 16-12, 3.73. Mullane started 6-6, 3.41 and was sent to Baltimore for $1500. Silver King, another St. Louis veteran, was tried but found wanting at 5-6, 4.89.

Mike Sullivan, 8-8, 5.07 for 1893, was traded in the offseason to get a new centerfielder, Dummy Hoy. Hoy, christened William, was deaf and mute. He was a little guy, very fast, and quick and athletic. He would fill an outfield job for most of the rest of the decade, easing one concern.

The Reds built a new grandstand at League Park for 1894, which increased park capacity, but also provided some shade for batters. To accomplish this, the park was swung around about 180 degrees but on the same site: the old stands were left intact while a new playing field was constructed. Now, rather than home plate being in the southeast corner of the lot (now referred to as League Park I) it was put in the southwest corner of the lot (referred to as League Park II). Same site, different orientation. This was done largely because one game had to be postponed when batters could not see due to the sun.

Even with a new outfielder, the Reds sank to 10th in 1894, with a 55-75 record. Comiskey would be let go at the end of the season. It was Comiskey's last managing stint, though he would hook up with the Western League, which would become the American League with Comiskey in charge of the Chicago franchise. Comiskey batted .264 in his last playing stint.

Offense continued to surge. McPhee batted .304, Latham .313, and just to prove offense was up Smith hit .263. Catcher Vaughn was more limited by injuries (catching in the 19th century was tough work) but hit .310 with 64 RBI in 72 games. Holliday had a big year, a .372 average and 119 RBI. Hoy hit .299. Jim Canavan did much better with a .272 average. Still, even with the fat averages, the conditions of the time meant that only Holliday had a really strong year.

Frank Dwyer was 19-22, 5.07, but that ERA was still better than average. Tom Parrott was 17-19, 5.60, and Chamberlain 10-9, 5.77. Chamberlain even got tagged for four home runs by Bobby Lowe in one game, on May 30. Those were bad even with inflated offense. The Reds gave up 1085 runs and had the worst pitching in the league. That led to their collapse.

The season marked another milestone, somewhat behind the scenes. A young man named Matty Schwab came to work for this father on the League Park groundskeeping crew, and stayed on...and on....and so on. Schwab would become Park Superintendent in 1903 for the new Palace of the Fans, stay on for Crosley Field, and be the Reds' groundskeeper until he retired in 1963 at age 83. He died in 1970, the year Crosley Field closed. Schwab spanned nearly the entire history of baseball at Findlay and Western.

Cincinnati native and NL star Buck Ewing was brought in to manage the team for 1895, and would stay for five years. Ewing had built a reputation as the finest catcher in history, and perhaps the best player in baseball. Now at age 35, Ewing's catching days were behind him. He took over at first base, but that would only last a couple of years. His leadership skills and talent evaluation boosted the franchise, however. Ewing would also convince owner Brush that the Reds would benefit from a spring training regimen, so the Reds had their first ever ST at Mobile, Alabama in 1895.

Cincinnati in 1895 produced an above-.500 record at 66-64, but it was still just 8th place. There were three teams filling the bottom of the league and boosting the others' records. The offense went to slightly above average, while the pitching recovered to just slightly below the league average.

Ewing batted .318 as the new Reds first baseman, the best work they'd had there since the glory days of Long John Reilly. The team was hit hard, however, by Bug Holliday's appendicitis. Bug required surgery, and back then that was a big deal. He was never the same player. He was struck down after 32 games, hitting .299. McPhee hit .299, Latham .311, Smith .300, Hoy .277, Vaughn .305. Dusty Miller was picked up from the minors and became the new big bat, hitting .335 with 112 RBI. It was his best year, but he would be a good right fielder for some time.

Ewing put together a four-man pitching rotation that did solid work. Billy Rhines returned and was 19-10, 4.81. Frank Dwyer continued his good work at 18-15, 4.24. Tom Parrott struggled a bit at 11-18, 5.47, while Frank Foreman was 11-14, 4.11.

The Reds topped the league in attendance in 1896, with 373,000 paid admissions. The fans got excited by a third-place finish, 12 games off pennant-winning Baltimore. The offense was down, but the pitching did very well, with Rhines taking another ERA title. Dwyer was fourth.

The offense didn't have a real standout. Ewing batted .278 in 69 games, and mostly left the field afterward. Farmer Vaughn alternated between catching and first base, hitting .293. Heinie Peitz did the other catching and hit .299. McPhee, 36, hit .305, Smith .287, Hoy .298, Dusty Miller .321. Charlie Erwin took over at third base and hit .296. With Bug Holliday ill, Eddie Burke took over the other outfield spot and had his best year at .340.

It was the pitching that powered the Reds. Dwyer was 24-11, 3.15. Red Ehret came over from St. Louis and was great at 18-14, 3.42. Frank Foreman was 14-7, 3.97. Rhines pitched just 19 games, but was 8-6, 2.45. Chanucey Fisher was 10-6, 4.45.

After the season, the Reds bought the contract of Ted Breitenstein from St. Louis, then trade Germany Smith and Chauncy Fisher to Brooklyn for shortstop Tommy Corcoran. Corcoran, like Smith, was a glove man, but much younger. He would hold the shortstop job for a decade.

The 1897 Reds finished fourth, at 76-56. Again, pitching and defense were the team's strengths, with the offense not as impressive. In second place on May 27, the Reds picked up Jake Beckley, after his release by New York. Beckley would hit .345 the rest of the way, and eventually gain election to the Hall of Fame, but his performance did not allow the team to move up. They were making moves to improve, however. Some of the old guard was just getting too old.

Aside from Beckley, there wasn't a lot of offense. McPhee hit .301, but was limited to 81 games by an injury. On his return, he was convinced to wear a fielding glove, something he had never done before. He would set a record for fielding percentage in 1898 that would stand for years.

Irwin hit .289, Hoy .292, Burke .266, Miller .316, and Peitz .293. Corcoran hit .288. Bug Holliday hit .313 in 61 games.

Breitenstein took over as the top pitcher with a 23-12 record and 3.62 ERA. Billy Rhines was 21-15, 4.08. Frank Dwyer was 18-13, 3.78. Red Ehret was 8-10, 4.78 and pitched a lot of mop-up.

Cincinnati made a big deal in the offseason, sending Billy Rhines and four other players to Pittsburgh for Elmer Smith and Pink Hawley. Smith had been a teenage pitcher for the Reds a decade before, but he was now a solid outfielder. Hawley was a solid pitcher. Then they sent Red Ehret and Dummy Hoy to Louisville for pitcher Bill Hill. Hoy would return to live in Cincinnati, and would live long enough to throw out the first ball at a 1961 World Series game. He died soon after. The remaking seemed to help the team. The 1898 team surged back up to third place with a 92-60 record, 11.5 games out.

Smith was the team's best hitter, posting a .342 average. Beckley hit .294, McPhee .249, Irwin .240, Corcoran .250, Miller .299, Peitz .273, and OF Algie McBride .302. Young third baseman Harry Steinfeldt had a strong debut, batting .295 in 88 games at age 20. He served as the top reserve. Farmer Vaughn hit .305 in 78 games.

Hawley was 27-11, 3.37, and Breitenstein 20-14, 3.42. Ted pitched a no-hitter in his second start of the season. Dwyer was 16-10, 3.04, Bill Damman 16-10, 3.61. Hill was 13-14, 3.98. It was a solid year for the team, which didn't fall very much short. Most of the players were in their primes, but McPhee at 38 and Vaughn at 34 were nearing the end.

After the season, the Reds sent Hill and $3500 to St. Louis to get P Jack Taylor, and picked up Columbus native and OF Kip Selbach from Washington for $5000. It was obviously a loading up for the pennant run. Instead, the Reds slipped to 6th with an 83-67 record. The offense improved, but the pitching sagged. Though the Reds had been more careful than most teams, pitching arms still blew out far too often. Offense was now on the way back down, as pitching reasserted itself with an adjustment to the pitching distance.

Beckley was the team's best hitter at .333. Selbach hit .296, Corcoran .277 but with no power. Peitz hit .272. McPhee hit .279 but was having more trouble staying in the lineup. Miller hit .251. Irwin slipped to .232. If manager Ewing made a big mistake, it was not utilizing Harry Steinfeldt better. He batted .244 in 107 games. Farmer Vaughn hit just .176 and was released in midseason. Elmer Smith hit .298 in 87 games, but missed the last month to be with his wife who was dying of tuberculosis.

The bright new rookie pitcher was Noodles Hahn, 23-8 with a 2.60 ERA. Hawley slipped to 14-17, 4.24. Bill Phillips was 17-9, 3.32, while Breitenstein dropped to 13-9, 3.59. Jack Taylor, acquired at no small expense, was just 9-10, 4.12.

And this was, in many ways, the end of an era. Bid McPhee retired, no longer able to play as he thought he should. Buck Ewing was let go after the disappointing season. After 1899, the NL dumped four teams, shaving bottom-feeders Cleveland, Louisville, and Washington, as well as Baltimore, which was doing much better. This was the opening the Western League needed, as those cities would help fill out their list of franchises. That was still to come however.

McPhee played his whole major league career in Cincinnati, first in the American Association, then the National League, a total of 18 seasons. He finished with a .271 batting average and 2250 hits. He was one of the great defensive second basemen of all time, even playing most of his career without a glove. McPhee got his due in 2000, being elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

In many ways, the 1890s were disappointing for Cincinnati, but for all the right reasons. The team was a contender most of the decade, and made several runs for the top spot, but could never convert. There was also that little abortive attempt at having two major league franchises. Cincinnati was still without a pennant since that first AA year of 1882. Things would not get better as the calendar turned to a new century. Instead, the Reds were entering a period of mediocrity. In a time of "syndicate ownership," Reds owner John T. Brush also was a part-owner of the New York Giants, and the Reds would lose some of their players to the big city. We will look at that in our next segment.

Research for this article from David Nemec's book The Beer and Whiskey League, the SABR publication Nineteenth Century Stars, and the baseball-reference.com website.

Labels: cincinnati reds history

posted by Shawn at 10:42 AM