The current day Pittsburgh Pirates franchise started in 1882 as a member of the American Association, a rival league to the National League and one that existed for ten seasons. The Pittsburgh Alleghenys were one of the teams that played in the leagues first season and they remained as a member of the AA until being invited to join the National League for the 1887 season. This is a follow up to the first ten seasons article I did back in April which can be read here. In this article I’m going to sum up the first 25 seasons of the Pittsburgh Pirates franchise, 1882 through the end of the 1906 season. If you have been following the Sunday history articles, this is just a summary of everything you have read in one easy place with links to many of the articles. If you’re new to the site, you have plenty of catching up to do.
The Pirates won three league titles in their first 25 seasons, all as a member of the NL. They won their first title in 1901 then followed it up with their best win-loss record ever in 1902, a 103-36 mark. They won their third straight NL title in 1903 and made their first World Series appearance that year as well. Five teams from this era are among the top 10 single season win-loss percentages in franchise history:
1902: 103-36 .741 1st overall
1903: 91-49 .650 3rd
1901: 90-47 .647 4th
1893: 81-48 .628 6th
1905: 96-57 .627 7th
In the 130 year history of the franchise three teams from this era rank among the worst ten in franchise history including the 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys who were the worst team by a wide margin in franchise history with their 23-113 record. They are also the third worst team ever since 1876(first year of NL) surpassed only by the 1876 Reds who went 7-56 and the 1899 Cleveland Spiders who went 20-134. The three worst teams from this era are:
1890: 23-113 .169 130th overall
1884: 30-78 .278 128th
1883: 31-67 .367 127th
The team saw many future Hall of Famers during the 25 year period. Among them was Honus Wagner who came to the team in the most one-sided trade in baseball history. The players/managers who went on to be elected to the Hall of Fame by year are as follows:
1885: Pud Galvin
1886: Galvin
1887: Galvin
1888: Galvin, Jake Beckley
1889: Galvin,Beckley, Ned Hanlon
1891: Galvin, Beckley, Hanlon, Connie Mack
1892: Galvin, Beckley, Mack, Joe Kelley
1893: Beckley, Mack
1894: Beckley, Mack
1895: Beckley, Mack
1896: Beckley, Mack
1899: Jack Chesbro
1900: Chesbro, Rube Waddell, Honus Wagner, Fred Clarke
1901: Chesbro, Waddell, Wagner, Clarke
1902: Chesbro, Wagner, Clarke
1903: Wagner, Clarke
1904: Wagner, Clarke
1905: Wagner, Clarke
1906: Wagner, Clarke, Vic Willis
There were many single season marks on the offensive side during this era that still rank among the top ten in franchise history. The numbers along with season and all-time ranks are as follows:
Batting Average:
1900: Honus Wagner .381 2nd overall
1895: Jake Stenzel .371 5th
1905: Honus Wagner .363 9th
1896: Mike Smith .362 10th
Runs Scored:
1894: Jake Stenzel 150 1st
1894: Patsy Donovan 147 2nd
1903: Ginger Beaumont 137 6th
1893: George Van Haltren 129 10th
Hits:
1899: Jimmy Williams 220 7th
Doubles:
1900: Honus Wagner 45 7th
1904: Honus Wagner 44 10th
Triples:
1897: Harry Davis 28 2nd
1899: Jimmy Williams 27 3rd
1893: Mike Smith 23 5th
1900: Honus Wagner 22 7th
1902: Tommy Leach 22 7th
Runs Batted In:
1901: Honus Wagner 126 4th
1894: Jake Beckley 122 9th
1894: Jake Stenzel 121 10th
Stolen Bases:
1888: Billy Sunday 71 3rd
1894: Jake Stenzel 61 8th
There are also plenty of pitching records that were set during this era due to the durability of starting pitchers back then. They were expected to start as much as possible and finish what they started so lists such as the top ten for wins and innings pitched are all from this era. The franchise records that were set were as follows and they all have a common theme:
Wins: Ed Morris, 41 in 1886
Innings Pitched: Morris 581 in 1885
Strikeouts: Morris 326 in 1886
Games Started: Morris 63 in 1885 and 1886
Complete Games: Morris 63 in 1885 and 1886
Shutouts: Morris 12 in 1886
Many individual players of note from this era have already been covered here in their own articles which can be viewed in the links provided below:
