January–February • January 22 – The
Indianapolis Hoosiers, with $30,000 in debt, surrender control of the franchise to the
National League in the hopes of finding new ownership. • February 2 –
John T. Brush heads up a group that assumes ownership of the
Indianapolis Hoosiers. • February 8 – Demolition crews for the
City of New York begin the dismantling of the
Polo Grounds in order to run
new streets through the property. The
New York Giants will be forced to play their home games at
Oakland Park in
Jersey City and the
St. George Cricket Grounds on
Staten Island until a new Polo Grounds is finished in early July. • February 19 – A tour of baseball players led by
John Ward stages its
first game in Europe, playing in Naples,
Italy.
March–April • March 7 –
Pittsburgh Allegheny players
Bill Kuehne and
Ed Morris are arrested and charged with operating a gambling house out of their billiard parlor. The charges against both are dropped when the prosecution's star witness fails to appear in court to testify against them. • March 20 – A New York City sporting goods house receives an order from Japan for baseball equipment. The corresponding letter states that a league will soon be formed as the game has been played there for several months already. • April 17 – The
American Association season begins. • April 23 –
New York Governor
David Hill vetoes a bill from the state legislature that would block the street construction at the
Polo Grounds. • April 24 – The
New York Giants play their home opener at
Oakland Park in
Jersey City. • April 29 – The
New York Giants play their first home game at the
St. George Cricket Grounds on
Staten Island. The right fielder plays on a stage used for theatre productions in the multi-purpose complex.
May–June • May 1 –
George Keefe of the
Washington Nationals sets a record by walking seven batters in one inning in a game against the
New York Giants. • May 2 –
Yank Robinson of the
St. Louis Browns is fined and suspended after getting into a shouting match with Browns owner
Chris von der Ahe. His teammates nearly refuse to make a trip to
Kansas City and do lose three straight games to the
Cowboys amid suspicion they are throwing the games because of Robinson's suspension. • May 6 –
Chris von der Ahe, owner of the
Browns, rescinds
Yank Robinson's suspension. The Browns respond by beating the
Kansas City Cowboys, their first victory since the suspension. • May 7 –
Yank Robinson returns to the
Browns lineup and goes 4–6 at the plate, leading St. Louis to a 21–0 win over the
Columbus Solons. • May 9 –
Amos Rusie makes his major league debut with the
Indianapolis Hoosiers. • May 14 – The
Pittsburgh Alleghenys suspend pitchers
Ed Morris and
Pete Conway, so they will not have to pay the salaries for the two sore-armed pitchers. Morris will return in three weeks although he will never again be an effective pitcher while Conway, a 30-game winner in
1888, will never pitch again. • May 19 – Most of the seating is destroyed by fire at
Brooklyn's
Washington Park. The stands will be rebuilt within a month. • May 24 –
Bill Kuehne of the
Pittsburgh Alleghenys sets a record by handling 13 chances at third base in one game. • May 25 – When
Dave Orr of the
Columbus Solons refuses to leave the field after being ejected, umpire
Fred Goldsmith declares the game forfeited to the visiting
Brooklyn Bridegrooms. Both teams refuse to abide by the forfeit and complete the game after Orr is replaced by a substitute. • May 30 – The
Brooklyn Bridegrooms defeat the
St. Louis Browns 9–7 in front of the largest crowd in
American Association history. 22,122 fans fill
Washington Park, which has only 3,000 seats available after the fire 11 days earlier that destroyed the stands. • June 7 –
Pete Browning hits for the cycle in a losing cause, as the
Louisville Colonels fall to the
Philadelphia Athletics, 9–7. It is Louisville's 14th consecutive loss and the second time Browning has hit for the cycle in his career. • June 11 –
Dan Brouthers strikes out in a game for the first time this season. Brouthers will end the year with only six strikeouts in over 550 plate appearances. • June 13 – After the
Louisville Colonels lose their 19th straight game, owner-manager
Mordecai Davidson threatens to fine each player $25 if they lose their next game, even though the players are already owed back pay by Davidson. • June 15 – Protesting
Mordecai Davidson's threat of fines, only six
Louisville Colonels players show up for their game against the
Baltimore Orioles. Davidson is forced to pick up three
Baltimore amateurs to play the outfield.
Charles Fisher,
John Traffley and
Mike Gaule each make the only appearance of their careers as Louisville loses their 20th in a row. • June 17 – After consulting
Baltimore manager,
Billy Barnie, the striking players of the
Louisville Colonels return to the field for a doubleheader. The Colonels blow a ninth inning 6–3 lead in Game 1 to lose and manage only one hit while committing seven errors to drop the second game. • June 19 – Center fielder
Dummy Hoy sets a major league record by throwing three runners out at the plate in one game. • June 22 –
The Sporting News reports that major league players are unhappy with the classification system for pay and no say or share in their sale to other clubs, and that a strike is imminent beginning in early July. • June 22 – The
Louisville Colonels drop a pair of games to the
St. Louis Browns to extend their losing streak to 26 games, which still stands as the major league record. • June 23 –
Louisville finally gets a win in defeating the
Browns 7–3. • June 24 –
Louisville owner-manager
Mordecai Davidson resigns as manager and hires an
Eclipse Park employee as the new manager, although right fielder
Jimmy Wolf will actually run the team. • June 28 –
Billy Hamilton hits three triples in the first game of a doubleheader and then adds another one in the nightcap to set a record for most triples in a doubleheader.
July–August • Early July –
John Montgomery Ward convinces representatives for The
Brotherhood of Professional Base-Ball Players to hold off on their planned strike for a couple of weeks until he can present them with a better long-term solution. • July 2 –
Louisville Colonels owner
Mordecai Davidson, unable to pay the players salaries, turns the team over to the
American Association. The AA will announce new ownership for the team within 3 days. • July 6 – Player-manager
John Morrill, with his team in last place in the
National League at 13–40 and a personal batting average of .185, is let go by the
Washington Nationals after leaving the team to go see ailing relatives in
Worcester. • July 8 – The
New York Giants play their first game at the newly relocated
Polo Grounds. The stadium will remain a fixture in major league baseball until its demolition in
1964. • July 12 –
John Clarkson of the
Boston Beaneaters is taken out after pitching five innings of no-hit ball in order to rest him for his next start. His teammate, reliever
Bill Sowders, allows one hit over the last four innings for the combined one-hitter. • July 14 –
Albert Spalding publishes his ideas for the classification and structure of the minor leagues. His ideas will be the foundation of minor league baseball that last to the present day. • July 14 – At a secret meeting of the
Brotherhood of Professional Base-Ball Players held at the
Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York City,
John Montgomery Ward instructs Brotherhood representatives that "each player look up the feasibility of securing capital in his own city" for the purpose of starting a competing league that would give the players an equal say in all baseball matters. • July 24 –
Joe Dowie will collect only 17 hits in his one season of major league baseball, but five of them come on this day as he helps the
Baltimore Orioles to an easy 17–3 win over the
Louisville Colonels. • July 26 –
Jay Faatz hits possibly the shortest
grand slam ever when he hits a ball that ricochets off of the third baseman's foot and rolls under some temporary bleachers placed close to third base. Faatz circles the bases as the ball is still in play according to the park's ground rules. • July 29 –
Mike "King" Kelly of the
Boston Beaneaters robs the
Philadelphia Quakers of a victory when, after
Sam Thompson had apparently hit a long drive over the right field fence for a home run, he manages to throw a ball back into the infield that holds Thompson on the bases. While the Quakers argue that Kelly used a different ball, the umpire rules it is the game ball and allows the play to stand. Thompson is stranded on base as the Beaneaters go on to win 7–6 in extra innings. • August 7 – The
Cleveland Spiders score 14 runs in the third inning, still a record for that inning, during a 20–6 win over the
Washington Nationals. • August 8 – Shortstop
Jack Glasscock of the
Indianapolis Hoosiers hits for the cycle against the
New York Giants. Indianapolis wins, 14–4. • August 12 – The first-place
St. Louis Browns complete a three-game sweep in
St. Louis over the second place
Brooklyn Bridegrooms, with an 11–0 win in front of 32,911 fans. • August 15 –
Cleveland Spiders outfielder
Larry Twitchell hits for the cycle in a 19–8 victory over the
Boston Beaneaters. In addition, the Spiders become the first National League team to
score a run in every inning of a game. • August 18 – The
Cincinnati police stop a scheduled
Cincinnati Red Stockings Sunday game after a court ruling prohibits Sunday baseball. The ban will be a factor in the Red Stockings' decision to jump to the
National League in
1890, due to its policy against Sunday games. • August 25 – The
Red Stockings are again stopped by police from playing a Sunday game.
September–October • September 1 – After having led the
American Association all but three days of the season, the
St. Louis Browns fall out of first place by losing in extra innings to the
Columbus Solons. • September 3 –
Con Daily of the
Indianapolis Hoosiers makes the final out in a 7–6 loss to the
Boston Beaneaters just after the umpire had apparently called time. Given a second chance, Daily hits a two-run single to give the Hoosiers an 8–7 win. • September 7 – In a critical two-game series, the
St. Louis Browns leave the field in
Brooklyn in the ninth inning leading 4–2 claiming it is too dark to continue play. Umpire
Fred Goldsmith disagrees and forfeits the game to the
Brooklyn Bridegrooms. Several Browns players are hit by thrown bottles as they leave the park. • September 8 – Citing safety concerns, the
Browns fail to show for their game against
Brooklyn and forfeit for the second day in a row, giving the Bridegrooms a 4½ game lead over the Browns. • September 11 – In a season that will have 135 rainouts between the two leagues, every scheduled game in both leagues is postponed due to rain on this day. • September 23 – The
American Association, in an emergency meeting, overturns the forfeit by the
St. Louis Browns on September 7 and awards them a 4–2 victory. The ruling draws the Browns back to within 4½ games of the
Brooklyn Bridegrooms. • September 25 – The
Brotherhood of Professional Base-Ball Players' organizational plan for a new
Players' League is leaked to the press in New York City. It calls for clubs to be owned jointly by players and capitalists. • September 27 – Out of the pennant race, the
Philadelphia Quakers make a largely symbolic move by releasing
Brotherhood activists outfielder
George Wood, who is batting .251, and pitcher
Dan Casey, who has a 6–10 record. • October 5 – The
New York Giants clinch the
National League pennant on the last day of the season with a 5–3 win coupled with the
Boston Beaneaters 6–1 loss. It was the first time in major league history that the pennant was determined on the last day of the season. • October 6 – The
Brooklyn Bridegrooms complete their home schedule with a 9–0 victory. Brooklyn sets a new
National League season attendance record by drawing 353,690 fans in a season. • October 15 – Having to win their final five games to win the
American Association pennant, the
St. Louis Browns lose in their first try, giving the flag to the
Brooklyn Bridegrooms who have already completed their season. • October 18 – The
Brooklyn Bridegrooms take Game 1 of the best-of-11 World Series with a 12–10 victory over the
New York Giants. • October 19 – The
Giants even the series by taking Game 2 by a score of 6–2. • October 22 – The
Bridegrooms take Game 3 by a score of 8–7 in a game called because of darkness that ends with the
Giants having the bases loaded and one out in the top of the ninth inning. • October 23 – In another game called early by darkness,
New York scores five runs in the top of the sixth inning to tie the game at seven, only to see the
Bridegrooms win it on a three-run homer by
Oyster Burns in the bottom of the sixth. • October 24 – The
Giants win Game 5 by a score of 11–3. • October 25 –
New York evens the series at three games apiece by tying the game at 1 with a run in the ninth inning. The Giants then win it in the 11th inning as
Hank O'Day outlasts
Adonis Terry in the 2–1 extra inning thriller. • October 26 –
New York wins again, taking an 11–7 triumph over the
Bridegrooms. • October 28 – The
Giants win their fourth straight game by defeating
Brooklyn 16–7. • October 29 – The
New York Giants win their second consecutive World Series title by beating the
Brooklyn Bridegrooms, 3–2, for their fifth straight win in taking the series 6 games to 3.
November–December • November 4 – The
Brotherhood of Professional Base-Ball Players issues its Manifesto stating that "players have been bought‚ sold and exchanged as though they were sheep instead of American citizens." • November 7 – The
Brotherhood meets to begin formal preparation for their new
Players' League to begin in the
1890 season. • November 13 – The
Brooklyn Bridegrooms and the
Cincinnati Red Stockings jump from the
American Association to the
National League in the middle of an AA league meeting. • November 14 – The
Kansas City Cowboys drop out of the
American Association in order to join the
Western League. • November 21 – The
National League issues its reply to the
Players' League manifesto. Claiming that the League saved baseball in and that under the reserve rules players' salaries had "more than trebled", the NL denounces the
Brotherhood movement as "the efforts of certain overpaid players to again control [baseball] for their own aggrandizement. . . to its ultimate dishonor and disintegration." • November 25 – Former
Indianapolis Hoosiers shortstop
Jack Glasscock, claiming that his pledge to the
Players' League does not constitute a binding contract, becomes the first defection from the
Brotherhood when he signs with the
New York Giants of the
National League, thus becoming the first "double jumper" in major league history. • November 30 – The
Baltimore Orioles drop out of the
American Association, leaving the AA with only four teams. • December 16 – The
Players' League is formally organized, selecting Colonel
Edwin A. McAlpin as president. • December 17 – The
Players' League votes to utilize a two-man umpiring crew for their
1890 season and also set their pitching distance at 57 feet, a 1½ foot increase over the NL and AA. • December 18 – The
Players' League votes to expel any
Brotherhood member who has signed an
1890 contract with either the
National League or
American Association. Some of these players will be later reinstated after they jump back to the PL. • December 20 – The
Toledo Maumees are admitted to the
American Association, bringing the AA to five teams. • December 20 – In the first of many court battles,
Charlie Buffinton and
Bill Hallman are served with papers for allegedly breaking their contracts with the
National League Philadelphia Quakers. • December 23 – The
New York Giants go to court seeking an injunction to prevent
John Montgomery Ward from playing baseball for another team in
1890. ==Births==