Introduction To The Pre-Pros (And An Announcement)

    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! 

Hey Y'all

Hey... I've been pretty busy lately traveling all over the United States, first to Virginia, then to California, then all the way across Texas for my brother's baseball tournament, so I haven't been able to put much research into longer posts lately. When three of your last four posts are requiems, you know that something is wrong. That said, I'm using this post to try and make my readers keep me accountable and publish a bit more than I have lately. You can't always control your schedule, but you can control your commitment. 

    I've got a really cool post in progress about the pre-pros, the amateur teams from 1857 through 1870. To get your reading palates warmed up, I suggest you read two old posts about Joe Start and Dickey Pearce, who were two of the biggest stars of the pre-pro era and carried their success into the first primitive Major Leagues in the 1870's. Hopefully my upcoming post will give everyone a rare and unique look into baseball's earliest days, and the enterprise that made it what it is today. 

WHY I THINK DICKEY PEARCE SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK DICKEY PEARCE SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Dickey Pearce was the man who made shortstop the position it is today. Before Pearce came along in 1856, the first baseman manned first base, the second baseman was in charge of second base, and the third baseman held third base. The shortstop was a kind of fourth outfielder whose job was to stop the ball short before it reached the outfield grass. Instead, Pearce moved in a lot closer to the plate and started to rob scores of hits from opposing hitters. Everyone else followed suit, and the old philosophy behind the shortstop was soon abandoned. To keep the man who invented the modern shortstop out of the Hall of Fame is totally unbelievable. People should know about a man who changed baseball so much and helped make it the game it is today. Pearce did much more than that, however, as he was one of baseball’s best players in the game’s pre-professional era. Also a catcher, Pearce was selected to multiple “all-star games” during his time with the Brooklyn Atlantics. He would be a good representative from that era to make the Hall of Fame as a player, too. Pearce was also a master strategist who invented the fair-foul hit (which was outlawed in 1877). When the first established “Major League”, the National Association, was formed in 1871, Pearce was chosen by the New York Mutuals, and played the entire season at shortstop. One of the most famous players in the game, 35 year old Pearce was five years older than anyone else on the club, but proved his worth by hitting .270. Pearce led NA shortstops in fielding in 1872 and again in 1874. He batted a career high .294 in 1874 and two years later became the first 40 year old player in NL history. He played eight more games in 1877 before retiring. Dickey Pearce was a fine player, one of the most famous men in the early days of baseball, and the first true shortstop. He would be a fine addition to the Hall of Fame. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS (MLB TOTALS ONLY) 

Games career: 291 season high: 70 in 1875 led NA: 33 in 1871 

At Bats career: 1,328 season high: 311 in 1875 

Hits career: 333 season high: 77 in 1875 

Doubles career: 21 season high: 6 in 1873 and 1875 

Triples career: 4 season high: 3 in 1875 

Home Runs career: 2 season high: 1 in 1872 and 1873 

Runs career: 217 season high: 51 in 1875 

Runs Batted In career: 134 season high: 29 in 1875 

Stolen Bases career: 13 season high: 8 in 1875 (Pearce’s stolen base information from 1876-77 NL is unavailable) 

Walks career: 33 season high: 8 in 1873 

Strikeouts career: 21 season high: 7 in 1875 

Batting Average career: .251 season high: .294 in 1874 

On Base Percentage career: .269 season high: .310 in 1874 

Slugging Percentage career: .277 season high: .309 in 1873 

Total Bases career: 368 season high: 89 in 1875 

Sacrifice Hits career: N/A 

Fielding Percentage career: .826 season high: .891 in 1876 led NA SS: .844 in 1872, .845 in 1874 

Double Plays career: 66 season high: 17 in 1875 led NA SS: 8 in 1871 

Putouts career: 272 season high: 74 in 1875 

Assists career: 1,079 season high: 263 in 1875 led NA SS: 204 in 1874, 262 in 1875 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-had an ERA of 3.38 in 5 ⅓ career innings across two games 

-led the NA in assists at any position in 1874 and 1875 

-also played one game at first base, three at second base, two at third base, two in leftfield, and one in rightfield

WHY I THINK JOE START SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

 WHY I THINK JOE START SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Joe Start was the initial first baseman ever to play off the bag when the bases were empty. Period. He changed the way the position was played, and baseball would be remarkably different without Start’s innovation. Think about how many hits and runs he saved defensively. That is what you call a valuable player. Besides the fact that he changed the way that first base is played, he was also a great hitter in an era with very few great hitters. Start had a lifetime batting average of .299, scored 829 runs in only 1,070 games, and didn’t strike out once until his sixth MLB season. Joe Start began his career in 1859, but professional baseball wasn’t instituted until 1869, and he wasn’t in the Majors until 1871, when he played with the New York Mutuals of the National Association at the age of 28. He batted .360 that year but didn’t top the .300 mark again until 1874, when he recorded a .314 mark. Start fell below .300 again in his next two seasons and was traded to the Hartfords of Brooklyn for the 1877 season. The move proved to be a costly mistake for the Mutuals, as he batted .332 in 1877 for the Hartfords and .351 in 1878 for the Chicago White Stockings. He was past his prime soon afterwards but had a few more good seasons, and even batted over .325 two more times before retiring. Joe Start was a fantastic baseball player, but I really decided to put him in my personal Hall of Fame as a pioneer. His innovation of standing off the base changed the way that all first basemen play the position, and it was important enough to ensure Start of a place in the Hall of Fame, though the practice of doing so now is so normal that it is not even seen as a defensive advantage.  

LIFETIME STATISTICS (MLB TOTALS ONLY)  

Games career: 1,070 season high: 101 in 1885 led NA: 33 in 1871 

At Bats career: 4,743 season high: 381 in 1884 led NL: 285 in 1878 

Hits career: 1,417 season high: 117 in 1882 led NL: 100 in 1878 

Doubles career: 148 season high: 16 in 1883 

Triples career: 67 season high: 10 in 1882 

Home Runs career: 15 season high: 4 in 1875 

Runs career: 829 season high: 80 in 1884 

Runs Batted In career: 544 season high: 57 in 1883 

Stolen Bases career: 18 season high: 5 in 1874 (stolen bases weren’t counted in the NL until  1885) 

Walks career: 164 season high: 39 in 1885 

Strikeouts career: 109 season high: 25 in 1884 

Batting Average career: .299 season high: .360 in 1871 

On Base Percentage career: .322 season high: .372 in 1871 

Slugging Percentage career: .368 season high: .422 in 1871 

Total Bases career: 1,744 season high: 145 in 1882 led NL: 125 in 1878 

Sacrifice Hits career: N/A 

Fielding Percentage career: .963 season high: .980 in 1884 led NA 1B: .958 in 1872, .961 in 1874 led NL 1B: .964 in 1876 and 1877, .973 in 1879, .980 in 1884 

Double Plays career: 449 season high: 54 in 1882 

Putouts career: 11,197 season high: 1,036 in 1885 led NL 1B: 704 in 1877, 719 in 1878, 954 in 1880, 905 in 1882 

Assists career: 229 season high: 35 in 1885 led NA 1B: 18 in 1873, 13 in 1874 

Pre-Professional Statistics

Joe Start (Enterprise) 

1860 (page 50) 

Pos     GP HL  A O  R   A O 

3B,1B  6    15  2  3  13  2 1  

1861 (58) 

Pos     GP HL  A O  R   A  O 

1B,3B  7    12  1  5  29  4  1 

Joe Start (Atlantic) 

1862 (70) 

Pos  GP  HL   A  O  R   A  O 

1B     4    11   2   3  6   1   2 

1863 (77) 

Pos           GP  HL   A  O  R    A  O 

1B,OF,SS   9    26   2   8  23   2  5 

1864 (85) 

Pos     GP  HL   A  O   R    A  O 

1B,3B  18   47   2  11   82  4  10 

1865 (98) 

Pos  GP  HL   A  O  R    A  O 

1B    18   39   2   3  82   4  10 

1866 (115) 

Pos  GP  HL   A  O  R    A  O 

1B    16   37   2   5  69   4   5 

1867 (149) 

Pos  GP  HL   A  O  R    A  O 

1B    19   40   2   2  83   4  7 

1868 (191) 

Pos  GP  HL   A  O   R     A  O   H    A   O  TB   A  O 

1B    52   122  2  8  235   4  27  233  4  25  283  5  23 

1869 (246) 

Pos  GP  HL    A  O    R     A  O    H     A   O   TB    A  O 

1B    46   119  2  27   202   4  18  203   4   19  341   7  19 

1870 (298) 

Pos GP HL AVG R AVG  H     AVG  TB   AVG 

1B   56   -     -     -    -     161  2.88  269  4.41 

DID YOU KNOW?

-nicknamed “Old Reliable” or “Rocks” 

-won a “World Series” ring in 1884 with the Providence Grays 

-led the NL in singles in 1878 (82) and 1882 (99) 

-aside from his first five seasons, he was also the hardest batter to strike out in the NL in 1877 and 1882 

-his at bats per strikeout rate in 1877 is the 14th best of all time, his 1876 mark ranks 15th, and his 1879 mark 50th 

-was the oldest player in the NL from 1878 through 1886 

-also played five games in the outfield 

-went 18-7 (.720) as a manager