Prior to the dawn of professional baseball, the sport was finding its footing with amateur teams. In May of 1857, delegates from 16 clubs in the New York area met to set guidelines for the game of baseball. In 1858, they convened again and formed an organization called the National Association of Base Ball Players. This association drafted a constitution and bylaws governing the sport both on and off the field. They also agreed to hold annual meetings every March, when most business was being transacted. The Association continued to grow every year until the outset of the Civil War.
After the Civil War, America's interest in baseball skyrocketed, and by 1867 there were so many interested clubs that the convention passed two new rules governing the Association: that clubs could be represented by state representatives (to decrease the number of delegates), and that teams could apply for probationary membership at any time of the year.
As baseball became more popular in the minds of many Americans, many better teams began to pay some of their players, even though this was strictly forbidden. In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first team to openly pay their players - and won all 57 games they played. By 1870, the National Association was clearly divided into two camps - amateurs and professionals - and it was becoming obvious that they could not continue to coexist.
Shortly before the 1871 season, several professional teams formed the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NA), widely considered the first Major League. Undaunted, the remaining teams formed a new group called the National Association of Amateur Base Ball Players, but as all the best players moved on to the pros, so did national interest, and within two years the amateur association was gone.
In order to properly represent this era of baseball history, I think it is fair to induct its best players into the Hall of Fame. It's true that a handful of Hall of Famers' careers spanned both the pre-pro and early professional eras, so it can be demonstrated that the best pre-professional players were about as good as some of the earliest players currently in Cooperstown.
As statkeeping was far less developed in baseball's early days, the records they kept look quite different from the stats we keep today. At first, only games played (G), runs scored (R), and hands lost (HL; similar to outs) were kept, followed by hits and total bases. In time statkeepers began to keep track of hits per game (the first attempt at a rudimentary "batting average") and runs scored per game. A typical stat line from the 1860's might look like this:
50 G, 160 R (A 3 O 10), 120 HL (A 2 O 20), 170 H (A 3 O 20), 210 TB (A 4 O 10)
Where "A" means "average" and "O" means "over," or the remainder. In time the A's and O's became decimal averages, and this player's hits per game average would simply be portrayed as 3.40.
Without further ado, let me introduce my pre-pro candidates:
Dickey Pearce
1857 (Atlantic - SS)
8 G, 22 HL, 28 R
1858 (Atlantic - SS)
8 G, 26 HL, 21 R
1859 (Atlantic - SS)
12 G, 23 HL, 44 R
1860 (Atlantic - SS / C)
16 G, 46 HL, 37 R
1861 (Atlantic - C / SS)
10 G, 27 HL, 37 R
1862 (Atlantic - C)
5 G, 13 HL, 13 R
1863 (Atlantic - C)
11 G, 32 HL, 30 R
1864 (Atlantic - C / SS / OF)
20 G, 62 HL, 94 R
1865 (Atlantic - C / SS / 2B)
17 G, 55 HL, 64 R
1866 (Atlantic - SS / OF)
12 G, 39 HL, 41 R
1867 (Atlantic - SS / 3B / C / OF)
23 G, 70 HL, 83 R
1868 (Atlantic - SS / OF)
45 G, 139 HL, 191 R, 185 H, 222 TB
1869 (Atlantic - SS)
47 G, 154 HL, 174 R, 175 H, 236 TB
1870 (Atlantic - SS)
55 G, 129 H, 165 TB
1871 (New York, NA - SS)
33 G, 31 R, 44 H, 49 TB
1872 (New York, NA - SS / OF)
44 G, 32 R, 39 H, 46 TB
1873 (Brooklyn, NA - SS / 1B / 2B)
55 G, 42 R, 72 H, 81 TB
1874 (Brooklyn, NA - SS / 3B / 2B)
56 G, 48 R, 75 H, 76 TB
1875 (St. Louis, NA - SS / P)
70 G, 51 R, 77 H, 89 TB
1876 (St. Louis, NL - SS / 2B / OF)
25 G, 12 R, 21 H, 22 TB
1877 (St. Louis, NL - SS)
8 G, 1 R, 5 H, 5 TB
Joe Start
1860 (Enterprise - 3B / 1B)
6 G, 15 HL, 13 R
1861 (Enterprise - 1B / 3B)
7 G, 12 HL, 29 R
1862 (Atlantic - 1B)
4 G, 11 HL, 6 R
1863 (Atlantic - 1B / OF / SS)
9 G, 26 HL, 23 R
1864 (Atlantic - 1B / 3B)
18 G, 47 HL, 82 R
1865 (Atlantic - 1B)
18 G, 39 HL, 82 R
1866 (Atlantic - 1B)
16 G, 37 HL, 69 R
1867 (Atlantic - 1B)
19 G, 40 HL, 83 R
1868 (Atlantic - 1B)
52 G, 122 HL, 235 R, 233 H, 283 TB
1869 (Atlantic - 1B)
46 G, 119 HL, 202 R, 203 H, 341 TB
1870 (Atlantic - 1B)
56 G, 161 H, 269 TB
1871 (New York, NA - 1B)
33 G, 35 R, 58 H, 68 TB
1872 (New York, NA - 1B)
54 G, 60 R, 75 H, 80 TB
1873 (New York, NA - 1B / OF)
53 G, 42 R, 67 H, 84 TB
1874 (New York, NA - 1B / OF)
63 G, 67 R, 96 H, 121 TB
1875 (New York, NA - 1B)
69 G, 58 R, 90 H, 122 TB
1876 (New York, NL - 1B)
56 G, 40 R, 73 H, 79 TB
1877 (Brooklyn, NL - 1B)
60 G, 55 R, 90 H, 108 TB
1878 (Chicago, NL - 1B)
61 G, 58 R, 100 H, 125 TB
1879 (Providence, NL - 1B / OF)
66 G, 70 R, 101 H, 128 TB
1880 (Providence, NL - 1B)
82 G, 53 R, 92 H, 122 TB
1881 (Providence, NL - 1B)
79 G, 56 R, 114 H, 138 TB
1882 (Providence, NL - 1B)
82 G, 58 R, 117 H, 145 TB
1883 (Providence, NL - 1B)
87 G, 63 R, 105 H, 138 TB
1884 (Providence, NL - 1B)
93 G, 80 R, 105 H, 131 TB
1885 (Providence, NL - 1B)
101 G, 47 R, 103 H, 122 TB
1886 (Washington, NL - 1B)
31 G, 10 R, 27 H, 33 TB
Lip Pike
1866 (Athletic - 3B / OF / 2B)
16 G, 49 HL, 100 R
1867 (Mutual - OF / 3B / 2B / 1B; Irvington - 3B)
27 G, 70 HL, 101 R
1868 (Mutual - OF)
25 G, 83 HL, 60 R, 82 H, 109 TB
1869 (Atlantic - 2B)
48 G, 112 HL, 193 R, 175 H, 325 TB
1870 (Atlantic - 2B)
58 G, 144 H, 266 TB
1871 (Troy, NA - OF / 2B / 1B)
28 G, 43 R, 49 H, 85 TB
1872 (Baltimore, NA - OF / 2B / 3B)
56 G, 68 R, 85 H, 131 TB
1873 (Baltimore, NA - OF / 2B)
56 G, 71 R, 90 H, 133 TB
1874 (Hartford, NA - OF / SS / 2B / 3B)
52 G, 58 R, 83 H, 118 TB
1875 (St. Louis, NA - OF / 2B / 3B / SS)
70 G, 61 R, 108 H, 154 TB
1876 (St. Louis, NL - OF / 2B)
63 G, 55 R, 91 H, 133 TB
1877 (Cincinnati, NL - OF / 2B / SS)
58 G, 45 R, 78 H, 110 TB
1878 (Cincinnati, NL - OF; Providence, NL - 2B)
36 G, 32 R, 52 H, 61 TB
1881 (Worcester, NL - OF)
5 G, 1 R, 2 H, 2 TB
1887 (New York, AA - OF)
1 G, 0 R, 0 H, 0 TB
Levi Meyerle
1867 (Geary)
25 G, 43 HL, 110 R
1868 (Geary - P)
10 G, 21 HL, 41 R
1869 (Philadelphia Athletic - OF / C / P)
34 G, 98 HL, 135 R, 128 H, 205 TB
1870 (Chicago - 3B / P)
Batting: 63 G, 213 H, 327 TB
Pitching: 217 IP, 257 H
1871 (Philadelphia, NA - 3B / P)
26 G, 45 R, 64 H, 91 TB
1872 (Philadelphia, NA - OF / 3B)
27 G, 31 R, 48 H, 71 TB
1873 (Philadelphia, NA - 3B / SS)
48 G, 53 R, 83 H, 114 TB
1874 (Chicago, NA - 2B / 3B / SS / OF)
53 G, 65 R, 100 H, 124 TB
1875 (Philadelphia Whites, 2B / 3B / 1B)
68 G, 55 R, 95 H, 128 TB
1876 (Philadelphia, NL - 3B / 2B / P / OF)
55 G, 46 R, 87 H, 115 TB
1877 (Cincinnati, NL - SS / 2B / OF)
27 G, 11 R, 35 H, 46 TB
1884 (Philadelphia, UA - 1B / OF)
3 G, 0 R, 1 H, 2 TB
Cal McVey
1868 (Active - P / 2B / 3B)
13 G, 30 HL, 68 R
1869 (Cincinnati - OF)
57 G, 146 HL, 262 R, 217 H, 348 TB
1870 (Cincinnati - OF)
72 G, 262 H, 389 TB
1871 (Boston, NA - C / OF / 3B)
29 G, 43 R, 66 H, 85 TB
1872 (Boston, NA - C / OF / 3B)
46 G, 56 R, 76 H, 90 TB
1873 (Boston, NA - C / OF / SS / 2B / 3B / 1B)
38 G, 49 R, 73 H, 94 TB
1874 (Boston, NA - OF / C)
70 G, 91 R, 123 H, 165 TB
1875 (Boston, NA - 1B / OF / C / P)
82 G, 89 R, 138 H, 201 TB
1876 (Chicago, NL - 1B / P / C / 3B / OF)
63 G, 62 R, 107 H, 125 TB
1877 (Chicago, NL - C / 3B / P / 1B / 2B)
60 G, 58 R, 98 H, 121 TB
1878 (Cincinnati, NL - 3B / C)
61 G, 43 R, 83 H, 107 TB
1879 (Cincinnati, NL - 1B / OF / P / 3B / C)
81 G, 64 R, 105 H, 135 TB
Ross Barnes
1868 (Forest City - SS)
15 G, 35 HL, 75 R
1869 (Forest City - SS)
23 G, 62 HL, 134 R, 111 H, 174 TB
1870 (Forest City - SS)
56 G, 177 H, 243 TB
1871 (Boston, NA - 2B / SS)
31 G, 66 R, 63 H, 91 TB
1872 (Boston, NA - 2B)
45 G, 81 R, 99 H, 134 TB
1873 (Boston, NA - 2B / 3B)
60 G, 125 R, 138 H, 197 TB
1874 (Boston, NA - 2B / OF)
51 G, 72 R, 88 H, 108 TB
1875 (Boston, NA - 2B / OF / SS)
78 G, 115 R, 143 H, 174 TB
1876 (Chicago, NL - 2B / P)
66 G, 126 R, 138 H, 190 TB
1877 (Chicago, NL - 2B)
22 G, 16 R, 25 H, 26 TB
1879 (Cincinnati, NL - SS / 2B)
77 G, 55 R, 86 H, 102 TB
1881 (Boston, NL - SS / 2B)
69 G, 42 R, 80 H, 96 TB
As the title suggests, I have an announcement to make. This will be the final post on The Cooperstown Advocate until further notice. When I started this blog in 2020, I was a thirteen-year-old with very little responsibility and all the enthusiasm in the world about baseball and the Hall of Fame. I owe it to this blog for keeping me sane during the lockdown, helping me refine my writing skills, and finding new friends.
Alas, as they say, all things must come to an end. I have been relatively inactive here for the past year, a reality which has saddened me. I am now eighteen years old with a job, hopefully another one in the new future, a girlfriend (hopefully not another one in the near future), and will be heading off to college in the fall. This was a great part of my life, but I am heading into the next chapter. It is a bittersweet reality, but a reality nevertheless.
While this will be my farewell post, I may post every once in a while if something extraordinary happens, or simply to keep google from deleting this blog (which may not be in my power anyway). I still enjoy this blog, but simply do not have the time for it anymore. I may still try to use this content to publish a book, but only time will tell.
I would finally just like to thank all my readers, especially my brother Dominic and my friends John and Santi, who have kept this blog interesting with their insightful comments. I may not have continued blogging for so long if they had not read and commented on my work.
Thanks for the ride, everybody, and so long!
