1888 Louisville Colonels season

March 2026 March 2024 Louisville Colonels 1888 American Association (19th century)American Association Eclipse Park Louisville, Kentucky 48 87 y 7th W. L. Lyons, Zach Phelps, W. L. Jackson, John Phelps, Mordecai Davidson, John R. Botto Kick Kelly, Mordecai Davidson, John Kerins The 1888 Louisville Colonels season was a season in American baseball. The team was coming off a strong 1887 season, in which it won 76 games and lost 60 under new manager John "Kick" Kelly, but the 1888 season proved to be a disappointment. The team's primary problem was a lack of quality pitching. The best pitcher, Thomas "Toad" Ramsey, had won 37 games in 1887; in 1888, plagued by a sore arm, he won only 8. None of the other pitchers proved capable of picking up the slack. The 1888 Colonels finished with a 58–87 record, seventh place in the American Association. Regular season thumb|350px|1888 Louisville Colonels On June 7, shareholder Mordecai Davidson bought out most of the other shareholders, appointing himself president and John R. Botto vice-president. Two days later, he officially took over as manager as well. John Kerins, among others, served as team captain, guiding the team's on-field activities. The most famous member of the 1888 Colonels was outfielder Pete Browning, a ferocious hitter who was noted for excessive drinking and peculiar behavior. One of the best-known stories about Browning concerns an incident which occurred in Kansas City on June 19 of the 1888 season. Browning got up in a Kansas City hotel that morning, following a heavy rainstorm. The gutter in front of the hotel had been overwhelmed by the rain; there was a large puddle of water there. The drunken Browning purchased some fishing gear and tried his hand at fishing in the gutter. It's unclear whether he did this as a joke or whether he really believed that he could catch fish in the gutter, but in any event, the gutter-fishing incident became one of the most often-repeated Pete Browning stories. It's documented in the Louisville Courier-Journal. Season standings Louisville Colonels Record vs. opponents LOU Opening Day lineup Roster 1888 Louisville Colonels Roster Pitchers Ice Box Chamberlain Billy Crowell John Ewing Toad Ramsey Catchers Paul Cook Lave Cross Infielders Wally Andrews Dude Esterbrook Guy Hecker Reddy Mack Harry Raymond Phil Reccius Skyrocket Smith Phil Tomney Joe Werrick Bill White Outfielders Pete Browning Hercules Burnett Hub Collins Joe Cross Eddie Fusselback John Kerins Thomas Long Scott Stratton Farmer Vaughn Farmer Weaver Jimmy Wolf Manager Mordecai Davidson Kick Kelly John Kerins Player stats Batting Starters by position 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 Paul Cook Paul Cook (baseball) 57 185 34 .184 0 13 1B Skyrocket Smith 58 206 49 .238 1 31 2B Reddy Mack 112 446 97 .217 3 34 3B Joe Werrick 111 413 89 .215 0 51 SS Bill White Bill White (shortstop) 49 198 55 .278 1 30 OF Chicken Wolf 128 538 154 .286 0 67 OF Pete Browning 99 383 120 .313 3 72 OF Hub Collins 116 485 149 .307 2 50 Other batters 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 John Kerins 83 319 75 .235 2 41 Guy Hecker 56 211 48 .227 0 29 Farmer Vaughn 51 189 37 .196 1 21 Lave Cross 46 180 41 .228 0 15 Harry Raymond 32 123 26 .211 0 13 Phil Tomney 34 120 18 .150 0 4 Farmer Weaver 26 112 28 .250 0 8 Wally Andrews 26 93 18 .194 0 6 Dude Esterbrook 23 93 21 .226 0 7 Phil Reccius 2 9 2 .222 0 4 Hercules Burnett 1 4 0 .000 0 0 Eddie Fusselback 1 4 1 .250 0 1 Thomas Long Thomas Long (baseball) 1 2 0 .000 0 0 Joe Cross 1 1 0 .000 0 0 Pitching Starting pitchers Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts Player G IP W L ERA SO Toad Ramsey 40 342.1 8 30 3.42 228 Scott Stratton 33 269.2 10 17 3.64 97 Guy Hecker 26 223.1 8 17 3.39 63 Ice Box Chamberlain 24 196.0 14 9 2.53 119 John Ewing John Ewing (baseball) 21 191.0 8 13 2.83 87 Billy Crowell 1 9.0 0 1 6.00 5 References 1888 Louisville Colonels team page at Baseball Reference Category:Louisville Colonels seasons Louisville Colonels season Louisville Colonels Category:1888 in Louisville, Kentucky