| 1885 St. Louis Browns | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Association Champions | ||||
| League | American Association | |||
| Ballpark | Sportsman's Park | |||
| City | St. Louis, Missouri | |||
| Record | 79–33 (.705) | |||
| League place | 1st | |||
| Owner | Chris von der Ahe | |||
| Manager | Charlie Comiskey | |||
| Stats | ESPN.com BB-reference | |||
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The 1885 St. Louis Browns season was the team's fourth season in St. Louis, Missouri, and the fourth season in the American Association. The Browns went 79–33 during the season, best in the American Association, and won their first AA pennant. In the World Series, the Browns played the National League champion Chicago White Stockings. The series ended in dispute, with each club winning 3 games with 1 tie.
Manager Charlie Comiskey finally was able to assemble and direct a team from start to finish the way he wanted.[citation needed] The result: a runaway championship.
The team was built on daring baserunning, clutch hitting, and the best pitching in the league. The team as a whole led the league in both earned run average (ERA) and overall runs allowed by a healthy margin over second-best Louisville.[1] Individually, Dave Foutz was outstanding, as he won 33 of the 46 games he started and ranked fifth in ERA. His teammate Bob Caruthers was even better, compiling league-leading totals in wins (40), ERA (2.07) and winning percentage (a stellar .755).[2]
The Browns took over first place to stay in the second week of May, but they made a joke of the race in July. On successive home stands, they had winning streaks of 17 and 12 games, combining for a major-league record 27-game winning streak at home that still stands as the best ever.[3] They finished games laps ahead of the second-place Cincinnati Red Stockings and earned a berth in the World Series against the National League champion Chicago White Stockings.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Louis Browns | 79 | 33 | .705 | — | 44–11 | 35–22 |
| Cincinnati Red Stockings | 63 | 49 | .562 | 16 | 35–21 | 28–28 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 56 | 55 | .505 | 22½ | 37–19 | 19–36 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 55 | 57 | .491 | 24 | 33–23 | 22–34 |
| Brooklyn Grays | 53 | 59 | .473 | 26 | 35–22 | 18–37 |
| Louisville Colonels | 53 | 59 | .473 | 26 | 37–19 | 16–40 |
| New York Metropolitans | 44 | 64 | .407 | 33 | 28–24 | 16–40 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 41 | 68 | .376 | 36½ | 29–26 | 12–42 |
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Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BR | CIN | LOU | NY | PHI | PIT | STL | |||||||||
| Baltimore | — | 7–9 | 6–10 | 7–9 | 7–6 | 6–10–1 | 6–10 | 2–14 | |||||||||
| Brooklyn | 9–7 | — | 5–11 | 10–6 | 8–8 | 11–5 | 6–10 | 4–12 | |||||||||
| Cincinnati | 10–6 | 11–5 | — | 8–8 | 10–6 | 9–7 | 9–7 | 6–10 | |||||||||
| Louisville | 9–7 | 6–10 | 8–8 | — | 9–7 | 8–8 | 6–10 | 7–9 | |||||||||
| New York | 6–7 | 8–8 | 6–10 | 7–9 | — | 5–11 | 8–7 | 4–12 | |||||||||
| Philadelphia | 10–6–1 | 5–11 | 7–9 | 8–8 | 11–5 | — | 10–6 | 4–12 | |||||||||
| Pittsburgh | 10–6 | 10–6 | 7–9 | 10–6 | 7–8 | 6–10 | — | 6–10 | |||||||||
| St. Louis | 14–2 | 12–4 | 10–6 | 9–7 | 12–4 | 12–4 | 10–6 | — | |||||||||
| 1885 St. Louis Browns | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers
Infielders |
Outfielders | Manager | ||||||
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Doc Bushong | 85 | 300 | 80 | .267 | 0 | 21 |
| 1B | Charlie Comiskey | 83 | 340 | 87 | .256 | 2 | 44 |
| 2B | Sam Barkley | 106 | 418 | 112 | .268 | 3 | 53 |
| SS | Bill Gleason | 112 | 472 | 119 | .252 | 3 | 53 |
| 3B | Arlie Latham | 110 | 485 | 100 | .206 | 1 | 35 |
| OF | Curt Welch | 112 | 432 | 117 | .271 | 3 | 69 |
| OF | Yank Robinson | 78 | 287 | 75 | .261 | 0 | 35 |
| OF | Hugh Nicol | 112 | 425 | 88 | .207 | 0 | 45 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tip O'Neill | 52 | 206 | 72 | .350 | 3 | 38 |
| Dan Sullivan | 17 | 60 | 7 | .117 | 0 | 3 |
| Mike Drissel | 6 | 20 | 1 | .050 | 0 | 0 |
| Cal Broughton | 4 | 17 | 1 | .059 | 0 | 1 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Caruthers | 53 | 482.1 | 40 | 13 | 2.07 | 190 |
| Dave Foutz | 47 | 407.2 | 33 | 14 | 2.63 | 147 |
| Jumbo McGinnis | 13 | 112.0 | 6 | 6 | 3.38 | 41 |
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1885 MLB season by team
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St. Louis Browns 1885 American Association champions
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