The Seattle Hustlers were a minor league baseball team based in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

and were Seattle's first professional team. From 1890 to 1892, the Seattle Hustlers were charter members of the

Pacific Northwest League The Pacific Northwest League was a professional Minor League Baseball league based in the Pacific Northwest. It was the first professional baseball league ever in the region. History Founding The Pacific Northwest League was founded in 1890. I ...

. Also referred to as the "Blues", the Seattle Hustlers played home games at Madison Park.

History

The Seattle Hustlers were the first minor league team based in Seattle, Washington. On May 24, 1890, the "Hustlers" played the first professional game in Seattle. Seattle defeated Spokane by the score of 11–8 in the contest, held at Madison Park with 1,200 in attendance. For the occasion, the Seattle, Lake Shore & Eastern Railroad ran special trains from Seattle to the end of Yesler Avenue at

Lake Washington Lake Washington is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle. It is the largest lake in King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington, after Lake Chelan. It borders the cities of Seattle on the west, ...

. From there, two special steamers were provided to take fans to the ballpark. In 1890, Seattle began play in the

, which was a four–team league from 1890 to 1892, featuring the

Portland Webfeet The Portland Webfeet were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Northwest League. They were located in Portland, Oregon and played at Columbia Park (Portland), Columbia Park. They were active from to . In the Webfeet won the league cham ...

Spokane Bunchgrassers The Spokane Bunchgrassers were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Northwest League. They were located in Spokane, Washington and played at the Northwest League Grounds. They won the first ever Pacific Northwest League Championship. Year-b ...

and

Tacoma Daisies The Tacoma Daisies were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Northwest League. They were based in Tacoma, Washington and played in Tacoma Baseball Park. The Daisies were active for three seasons, winning the league championshi ...

joining Seattle in league play. From 1890 to 1892, the Seattle team was called the Hustlers as well as the "Blues," with nicknames in early baseball being largely unofficial. In their first season of play, Seattle finished in 3rd place, their first of three consecutive 3rd place finishes. Playing the season under manager Elmer Rockwell, the Hustlers ended the 1890 season with a record of 48–36, finishing 12.5 games behind the 1st place Spokane Bunchgrassers. The Pacific Northwest League had no playoffs. Pitcher

Kid Camp Winfield Scott "Kid" Camp (December 8, 1869 – March 2, 1895) was an American professional baseball player born in New Albany, Ohio who played two season in Major League Baseball as a pitcher. He appeared in four games for the 1892 Pittsburgh P ...

of Seattle led the league with an ERA of 1.08. In the 1891 season, Seattle again placed 3rd in the Pacific Northwest League. Seattle compiled a record of 45–55, playing under manager

Abner Powell Abner Charles Powell (December 15, 1860 – August 7, 1953) was a Major League Baseball player who was a member of the Washington Nationals of the Union Association in 1884. He later played for the Baltimore Orioles and the Cincinnati Red Stockin ...

and finishing 14.0 games behind the 1st place Portland Gladiators. Kid Camp led the league with 31 pitching wins. The 1892 Pacific Northwest league became a Class B level league. With a final record of 38–37, the Hustlers placed 3rd under managers

and Gil Hatfield, as the team finished 4.0 games behind the 1st place Tacoma Daisies in the final standings. Seattle pitcher Gus McGinnis led the league with 19 wins and 169 strikeouts. The Pacific Northwest League did not play in 1893. It folded until 1896 as a result of the economic depression, known as the

Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pres ...

. The Hustlers were succeeded in Seattle by the

Seattle Yannigans/Rainmakers The Seattle Yannigans/Rainmakers were a Minor League Baseball team in the New Pacific League. They were based in Seattle, Washington and lasted only one season, folding along with the league during mid-season, . They finished last place. Record ...

, who joined the 1898 Pacific Northwest League.

The ballpark

The Seattle Hustlers played minor league home games at Madison Park. Madison Park is still in use today as a public park, located at 4201 East Madison Street, Seattle, Washington. The ballpark itself was across Madison Street from the pavilion.

Timeline

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

Cal Broughton Cecil Calvert Broughton (December 28, 1860 – March 15, 1939) was an American professional baseball player from 1883 to 1891. He played parts of four seasons in Major League Baseball, principally as a catcher, for six major league clubs. His ca ...

(1890) *

(1891–1892) *

Lew Camp Robert Plantagenet Llewellan Camp (February 23, 1868 – October 1, 1948) was a 19th-century Major League Baseball infielder. He played in 1892 for the St. Louis Browns and in 1893 and 1894 for the Chicago Colts The following is a North Ameri ...

(1890) *

Billy Crowell William Theodore Crowell (November 6, 1865 in Cincinnati – July 24, 1935 in Fort Worth, Texas), was a Major League Baseball pitcher in -. He played for the Cleveland Blues and Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major Leagu ...

(1891) * Fred Demarais (1892) *

Andy Dunning Andrew Jackson Dunning (August 12, 1871 – June 21, 1952) was a professional baseball player Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over ...

(1892) *

Billy Earle William Moffat Earle (November 10, 1867 – May 30, 1946), nicknamed "The Little Globetrotter",James, p. 1891 was an American Major League Baseball player who mainly played as a catcher for five teams from 1889 to 1894. Moffat was known as o ...

(1892) * Warren Fitzgerald (1890) * Pat Flaherty (1890) * Ossie France (1890) *

Bill Hassamaer William Louis Hassamaer (July 26, 1864 – May 25, 1910), was a former professional baseball player who played outfielder in the Major Leagues from 1894 to 1896. He played for the Louisville Colonels and Washington Senators. See also * List of M ...

(1892) * Gil Hatfield (1892) * Tom Hernon (1890–1892) *

Charlie Irwin Charles Edwin Irwin (February 15, 1869 – September 21, 1925) was an American professional baseball third baseman. He played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1893 and 1902 for the Chicago Colts, Cincinnati Reds, Brooklyn Supe ...

(1891–1892) * Bill Lange (1891–1892) *

Sam LaRocque Simeon Henry Jean LaRocque (February 26, 1863 – May 31, 1933) was a professional baseball player. He was a second baseman over parts of three seasons (1888, 1890–91) with the Detroit Wolverines, Pittsburgh Alleghenys/Pirates and Louisville ...

(1892) *

Tom Letcher Frederick Thomas Letcher (born January 1868) was a Major League Baseball outfielder. He played in six games for the 1891 Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–189 ...

(1892) *

Mike Mattimore Michael Joseph Mattimore (1858–1931) was a 19th-century Major League Baseball player. He played for several teams in the National League and American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891) ...

(1891) * Jim McDonald (1891) * Gus McGinnis (1892) *

Dan Minnehan Daniel Joseph Minnehan (November 28, 1865 – August 8, 1929) was a professional baseball player. He played part of one season in Major League Baseball in 1895 as a third baseman for the Louisville Colonels. He played minor league baseball for tw ...

(1892) *

Charlie Newman Charlie Newman (28 February 1857 – 28 September 1922) was a Welsh international three-quarter who played club rugby for Newport. He was awarded ten caps for Wales and captained the team on six occasions. An original member of the Newport squa ...

(1891) *

Tom Parrott Thomas William Parrott (April 10, 1868 – January 1, 1932), nicknamed "Tacky Tom", was a professional baseball player. He was a right-handed pitcher over parts of four seasons (1893–1896) with the Chicago Colts, Cincinnati Reds, and St. Louis ...

(1892) * Charlie Petty (1891) * Dick Phelan (1891) *

Mark Polhemus Mark S. Polhemus (October 14, 1860 – November 14, 1923) nicknamed "Humpty Dumpty", was a Major League Baseball player. Polhemus started the 1887 season with Haverhill of the New England League. He hit .456 in 51 games and was then acquired by ...

(1892) *

(1902–1903, MGR) *

Jumbo Schoeneck Louis W. "Jumbo" Schoeneck (March 3, 1862 – January 20, 1930) was a Major League Baseball first baseman. He played for the Chicago Browns/Pittsburgh Stogies () and Baltimore Monumentals (), both of the Union Association, and for the National Lea ...

(1891) * Ossie France (1892) *

(1892) * Skyrocket Smith (1890) *

Guerdon Whiteley Guerdon W. Whiteley (October 5, 1859 – November 23, 1925) was a Major League Baseball outfielder who played for two seasons. He played for the Cleveland Blues in eight games during the 1884 Cleveland Blues season and for the Boston Beaneaters f ...

(1890)

References

External links

Baseball Reference

Seattle map for 1891, showing the ballpark, across Madison from the pavilion (item 18)

Sanborn map for 1905, showing a portion of the old ballpark and its relationship to the pavilion
{{Teams in the Pacific Northwest League Defunct minor league baseball teams Baseball teams established in 1890 Baseball teams disestablished in 1892 1890 establishments in Washington (state) 1892 disestablishments in Washington (state) Defunct baseball teams in Washington (state) Baseball in Seattle Sports clubs and teams in Seattle