The Troy Haymakers were an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team.

History

Established in 1860 as the Union Base Ball Club Lansingburgh, located in neighboring

Lansingburgh, New York Lansingburgh was a village in the north end of Troy. It was first laid out in lots and incorporated in 1771 by Abraham Jacob Lansing, who had purchased the land in 1763. In 1900, Lansingburgh became part of the City of Troy. Demographics Lansi ...

, the Haymakers participated in the first professional pennant race of 1869 and joined the first professional league, the 1871

National Association of Professional Base Ball Players The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP), often known simply as the National Association (NA), was the first fully- professional sports league in baseball. The NA was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 se ...

(NAPBBP). They disbanded halfway through the 1872 season "on account of an empty treasury." TroyHaymakers(Bellan)

By 1868 the "Troy Haymakers" nickname for Union of Lansingburgh was common, although the team was sometimes called the Trojans. On the field it was one of the strongest teams in the nominally amateur

National Association of Base Ball Players The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) was the first organization governing American baseball. (The sport was spelled with two words in the 19th century.) The first convention of sixteen New York City area clubs in 1857 effecti ...

. Some players were from New York City; presumably the club compensated them. When the Association permitted openly professional teams for the 1869 season, the Haymakers were one of twelve to go pro. Evidently they were fifth in playing strength for they finished with a 12–8–1 record including two wins, eight defeats, and one tie (2–8–1) against the four strongest teams and ten wins in ten matches with the others. By playing strength they ranked about the same among fifteen professional teams in 1870, at 11–13–1.299, 308 During the former season, a forfeit win over the Haymakers on August 26 in Cincinnati was the only blemish on the record of the first professional team, the undefeated 1869 Red Stockings. (The Haymakers withdrew from the field with the score 17–17 in the sixth inning.) Along with two newcomers, seven of the professional teams from 1870 established a new all-professional National Association early in 1871, known today as the first professional sports league. The rival amateur Association declined rapidly and soon left the government of baseball to the sole leadership of the professionals, but the early pros from Troy/Lansingburgh did not survive to take part. Lip Pike Baseball

During the two NAPBBP season, home games were played at Haymakers' Grounds in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

. The Haymakers were managed by

Lip Pike Lipman Emanuel "Lip" Pike (May 25, 1845 – October 10, 1893) the "Iron Batter", was an American who was one of the stars of 19th-century baseball in the United States. His brother, Israel Pike, played briefly for the Hartford Dark Blues during ...

Bill Craver William H. Craver (June 1844 – June 17, 1901) was an American Major League Baseball player from Troy, New York who played mainly as a middle infielder, but did play many games at catcher as well during his seven-year career. He played for seven ...

, and

Jimmy Wood James ("Jimmy") Leon Wood (December 1, 1842 – November 30, 1927) was an American second baseman and manager in early professional Major League Baseball (MLB) who hailed from Brooklyn, New York. He was the player-manager for four teams in the ...

; they won 28 games and lost 25 for a

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

of .528. Their 15–10 record in 1872 was one of the best for any major team to go out of business. In baseball history today, the 1879–1882 National League club in Troy is sometimes called the Haymakers. There is now a team in the Albany Twilight League known as the Troy Haymaker

References

External links

Baseball Reference Team Index

History

See also

References

External links

Further reading