Early season woes The 1889 season was a tumultuous one for the Colonels. Manager Esterbrook fined several players, and was fired just ten games into the season.
Outfielder Jimmy "Chicken" Wolf was appointed team captain, although Davidson traveled with the team as well to ensure their good behavior – which proved quite unpopular. Davidson continued to attempt to sell the club as the season progressed, but to no avail. On May 22, the team began a losing streak that would eventually reach 26 straight games, which still stands as the all-time Major League record as of 2024. Most of the losses came during a stretch from May 24 until July 1 in which the team played just three games at home. During this time, Davidson began levying fines on his players for minor infractions, including routine errors on the playing field.
The strike Things were no better from the perspective of the AA. Financial difficulties had caused the team to miss payroll on three occasions, and the players alerted AA president
Wheeler C. Wyckoff to the problem. This led the AA to call a meeting to discuss the issue on June 14. On the way to the meeting, Davidson was confronted by his players calling for the rescinding of previous fines, threatening to strike if refused. Davidson instead upped the ante, threatening to fine the players further if they lost. The team was scheduled to play against the
Baltimore Orioles on June 15. The Colonels had 12 men available for duty that day, but six of them refused to play. Three local semi-pro players,
Walter Fisher,
Mike Gaule and
John Traffley, were recruited to join the remaining players on the field to allow the game to commence. The resulting game was shortened to five innings by rain; Baltimore won it by a score of 4–2. (None of the three replacement players ever played in another major league game.) The six striking Louisville players were persuaded to call off their strike the next day, when the directors of the American Association agreed to review their grievances against Davidson.
Continuing problems Davidson met payroll on June 21, but only by accounting for new fines to the team's players. In some cases, the fines exceeded the players' salary, and they were told they owed the club money. Star outfielder
Pete Browning was fined $335, and total team fines came to $1,800, $1,200 of which was attributed to the walkout.
Guy Hecker began taking steps towards founding a branch of
John Montgomery Ward's
Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players for the AA. On June 24, Davidson hired local bouncer Buck McKinney, ostensibly as team manager. While Wolf continued to handle on-field duties, McKinney traveled with the team to keep an eye on the players for the owner.
Davidson gives up By July 2, however, another payroll was due, and when it became apparent that he would be unable to meet it, Davidson decided to turn the team over to the AA. He did so officially on July 5, at the same time that the players received their hearing from Wyckoff. On July 10, all previous fines were remitted, with the exception of those associated with the June 15 walkout. The team was sold to a consortium of ten Louisville businessmen who set about the task of rebuilding it. Late in the season a new manager, Jack Chapman, was hired. He guided the Colonels for the last seven games of the 1889 season, and continued to serve as the club's manager until June 20, 1892.
Season standings Record vs. opponents Opening Day lineup Roster ==Player stats==