Baseball’s Golden Age Competition in the major leagues had two main rivals, our present day National League and the American Association, 1882 thru 1891, plus the Union Association came into play for one season 1884. The 1883 National Agreement enabled annual World Series play between the NL and the AA. Clubs from both leagues counted annual profits of more than $100,000. Players averaged around $2,000 per season and team owners sought to limit annual salaries. The Brotherhood of Professional Base Ball Players was strongly against the sale of base ball players from one club to another. During the 1880s The Chicago team sold King Kelly and John Clarkson to the Boston team for $10,000 each. Schedules increased from 84 games in 1880 to 132 games in 1889. In fact, the American Association went to a 140 game schedule. In the 2000s MLB plays 162 games per year. In 1889 over 2 million fans attended major league base ball. 1882 American Association Batting Leaders Pete Browning, Louisville .378 …. Hick Carpenter, Cincinnati .342 … Ed Swartwood, Pittsburgh .329 … Jack O’Brien, Philadelphia .303 … William Chicken Wolf, Louisville .299 1882 National League Batting Leaders Dan Brothers, Buffalo .368 … Cap Anson, Chicago .362 … Roger Connor, Troy, NY .330 … Joe Start, Providence .329 … Jim Whitney, Boston .323 1882 American Association Pitchers Wins Will White, Cincinnati 40-12 record … Tony Mullane, Louisville 30-24 … Sam Weaver, Philadelphia 26-15 … Jumbo McGinnis, St. Louis 25-17 … Harry Salisbury, Pittsburgh 20-18 1882 National League Pitchers Wins Jim McCormick, Cleveland 36-30 record … Charley Old Hoss Radbourn, Providence 33-20 … Fred Goldsmith, Chicago 28-17 … Pud Galvin, Buffalo 28-23 … Larry Corcoran, Chicago 27-12 Baseball Historian Archives Page 4 |