1871 Fort Wayne Kekiongas season

February 2026 Fort Wayne Kekiongas 1871 National Association of Professional Base Ball Players Kekionga Ball Grounds Fort Wayne, Indiana 7 12 y 7th Bill Lennon, Harry Deane The Fort Wayne Kekiongas played their first and only season in 1871 as a charter member of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players. They finished seventh in the league with a record of 7−12 7 wins and 12 losses. First game The honor of playing the first game of the newly organized National Association of Professional Baseball Players was decided by coin flip. Bobby Mathews, 5 ft 5 in on, 140 lbs, and 20 years old, hurled a 2−0 shutout for the Kekiongas. Deacon White, catcher for the Cleveland Forest Citys got 3 hits in 4 at-bats; the other Cleveland players only shared 2 hits among them. Deacon White scored the first hit, the first extra-base hit (a double) and was the first to hit into a double-play. The game was rained out in the top of the 9th inning. Attendance was 200. Bobby Mathews, who went on to play five seasons each in the National Association, National League, and American Association, is the only player ever to pitch 100 games or to win at least 50 in three different major leagues. He is credited with inventing the spitball and the out-curve. Deacon White was another historic player, ending his 22-year career as playing owner of Buffalo's Brotherhood team. Regular season thumb|200px|right|Picture of the 1871 Fort Wayne Kekiongas Season standings National Association standings Record vs. opponents FW Roster 1871 Fort Wayne Kekiongas Roster Pitchers Bobby Mathews Catchers Bill Barrett Bill Lennon Paddy Quinn Infielders Charles Bierman Tom Carey Harry Deane Jim Foran Wally Goldsmith Jimmy Hallinan James McDermott Nealy Phelps Frank Sellman Outfielders Bob Armstrong Pete Donnelly Bill Kelly Henry Kohler Ed Mincher Manager Harry Deane Bill Lennon 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 Bill Lennon 12 48 11 .229 0 5 1B Jim Foran 19 89 31 .348 1 18 2B Tom Carey Tom Carey (shortstop) 19 87 20 .230 0 10 SS Wally Goldsmith 19 88 18 .205 0 12 3B Frank Sellman 14 65 15 .231 1 10 OF Pete Donnelly Pete Donnelly (baseball) 9 34 7 .206 0 3 OF Robert Armstrong Robert Armstrong (baseball) 12 49 11 .224 0 5 OF Bill Kelly Bill Kelly (outfielder) 18 67 15 .224 0 7 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 Ed Mincher 9 36 8 .222 0 5 Jimmy Hallinan 5 25 5 .200 0 2 Harry Deane 6 22 4 .182 0 2 Paddy Quinn Paddy Quinn (baseball) 5 17 4 .235 0 2 Henry Kohler 3 12 2 .167 0 1 Joe McDermott Joe McDermott (baseball) 2 8 2 .250 0 1 Bill Barrett Bill Barrett (utility player) 1 5 1 .200 0 1 Nealy Phelps 1 3 0 .000 0 0 Charles Bierman 1 2 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 Bobby Mathews 19 169.0 6 11 5.17 17 References 1871 Fort Wayne Kekiongas season at Baseball Reference Fort Wayne Kekiongas Category:1871 in Indiana