The 1887 St. Louis Browns season was the team's sixth season in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, and the sixth season in the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. The Browns went 95–40 during the season and finished first in the American Association, winning their third pennant in a row. The team amassed 581

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s, the most for any team whose records are recognized by Major League Baseball (MLB). In a postseason series (now referred to as the

1887 World Series The 1887 World Series was won by the Detroit Wolverines of the National League, over the St. Louis Browns of the American Association, 10 games to 5. It was played between October 10 and 26, and played in numerous neutral cities, as well as in De ...

), the Browns played the National League champion Detroit Wolverines, losing the series 10 games to 5.

Regular season

Drawing the color line in baseball

Racial segregation started to become a custom in baseball about the time that eight members of the Browns withdrew from playing exhibition game in September against the Cuban Giants, a prominent 'colored' team. During this time, it was a popular practice to refer to teams of African American players as Cuban, Hispanic, or Arabian to deflect the racial stigma of the time, even though many were predominantly none of the three. News accounts reported that "for the first time in the history of base ball the color line has been drawn, and that by the St. Louis Browns, who have established the precedent that white players must not play with colored men." The Browns were in Philadelphia with plans to travel to New York City to play the Cuban Giants in an exhibition game. Scheduled long in advance with a "big guarantee", a crowd was anticipated in excess of 15,000 spectators. However, the night before departure to New York, eight Browns players signed a letter addressed to owner Chris von der Ahe and delivered it in person. The letter read: The letter was signed by eight players: Arlie Latham, Jack Boyle,

Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (December 9, 1912 – January 5, 1994) was an American politician who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, representing northern Boston, Massachusetts, as ...

Bob Caruthers Robert Lee Caruthers (January 5, 1864 – August 5, 1911), nicknamed "Parisian Bob", was an American right-handed pitcher and right fielder in Major League Baseball who played primarily for the St. Louis Browns and Brooklyn Bridegrooms. The star p ...

Bill Gleason William G. Gleason (November 12, 1858 – July 21, 1932) was a shortstop in Major League Baseball who played from through for three different teams of the American Association. Listed at , 170 lb., Gleason batted and threw right-handed. H ...

Yank Robinson William H. "Yank" Robinson (September 19, 1859 – August 25, 1894) was an American professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1884 to 1892 for the Detroit Wolverines, Baltimore Monumentals, St. Louis Browns, Pi ...

, Silver King, and

Curt Welch Curtis Benton Welch (February 10, 1862 – August 29, 1896) was a Major League Baseball center fielder for the Toledo Blue Stockings, St. Louis Browns, Philadelphia Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, Cincinnati Reds, and Louisville Colonels. Career W ...

Manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

and first baseman Charlie Comiskey was reportedly unaware of the letter and

Ed Knouff Edward Augustine "Fred" Knouff (June 1867 – September 14, 1900) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher from 1885 to 1889. He played for the Philadelphia Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Browns, and Cleveland Blues. Biography Knou ...

refused to sign it. The Cuban Giants had previously played numerous exhibition games against other 'white' teams including Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit, Louisville, Philadelphia. This was the first reported account that any club refused to play them because of their race. The cancellation of the game with the Cuban Giants was merely symptomatic of a larger trend occurring in professional baseball. The

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

occurred during the same season in which Cap Anson of the Chicago White Stockings threatened not to play any 'white' professional teams who hired black players and just months after the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

prohibited further signing of black players. Clearly the tide was moving toward segregation in baseball, so the St. Louis Browns' withdrawal brought wider attention to what was to become a norm in the United States. Ironically, it would be by an act 60 years later by then-former Cardinals executive in

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

that broke the color barrier in MLB when he débuted

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

in 1947 with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Roster

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''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Relief pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

References

External links

1887 St. Louis Browns at Baseball Reference1887 St. Louis Browns team page at www.baseball-almanac.com
{{St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis Cardinals seasons Saint Louis Browns season St Louis