The Pittsburgh Burghers were a

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 t ...

team in the

Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...

, a short-lived Major League that existed only for the

1890 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa. ** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River. * January 2 ** The steamship '' ...

season. The team included a number of players who had jumped from the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

's Pittsburgh Alleghenys (now the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

), including

Hall of Famers A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Pud Galvin James Francis "Pud" Galvin (December 25, 1856 – March 7, 1902) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher in the 19th century. He was MLB's first 300-game winner and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965. Baseball career Ga ...

, Ned Hanlon, and Jake Beckley. Hanlon served as the team's

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 activitie ...

. Meanwhile, John Tener, who would go on to represent Pittsburgh in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

and be elected the 25th Governor of Pennsylvania, finished his pitching career with the Burghers in 1890. Later Tener would become the president of the National League, and a director of the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. In its only season, the Burghers finished in 6th place with a 60-68 record. Hall Of Fame first baseman Jake Beckley was a powerhouse slugger for the Burghers. He hit .324 with 10 home runs and 120 RBIs. In addition, he led the PL by hitting 22 triples. But even Beckley's fine work could not overcome the weak hitting of the Pittsburgh team in general. The Burghers finished tied for the worst batting average in the league with a .260 mark. The team played at the Alleghenies' former home, Exposition Park. The stadium and the team was located in

Allegheny, Pennsylvania Allegheny City was a municipality that existed in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1788 until it was annexed by Pittsburgh in 1907. It was located north across the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, with its southwest border formed by ...

, which was not incorporated into the city of Pittsburgh until 1907. The area is currently known today as the North Side of Pittsburgh, and the site of Exposition Park was later used for

Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Buil ...

. When the Players' League came to an end, the Burghers and Alleghenys merged to form a reorganized Pittsburgh National League club, with the owners of both predecessor organizations receiving stock in the consolidated club. Thus the Players' League franchise forms part of the ownership lineage of today's Pirates. The reorganized Pittsburgh team scooped up Lou Bierbauer, a second baseman from the Brooklyn Ward's Wonders of the defunct PL, inadvertently left off the roster of 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 ...

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakla ...

, who as his prior team claimed his rights. This led an AA official to denounce Pittsburgh's actions as "piratical"—an accusation that gained the team the nickname "Pirates".

References

External links

Baseball ReferenceWas there a baseball field that the Pittsburgh Pirates played in before Forbes Field in Oakland? -Pittsburgh City Paper June 12, 2008Baseball In Pennsylvania Chapter One: Baseball in Pittsburgh -ExplorePAHistory.com
{{Defunct Pennsylvania sports teams Defunct Major League Baseball teams Players' League teams Burghers Baseball teams in Pittsburgh 1890 establishments in Pennsylvania 1890 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Baseball teams established in 1890 Sports clubs disestablished in 1890 Defunct baseball teams in Pennsylvania Baseball teams disestablished in 1890

See also

References

External links