The Baltimore Orioles were a 19th-century

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

team that competed from 1882 to 1899, first in the American Association and later in the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

. This early Orioles franchise, which featured six players (

Wilbert Robinson Wilbert Robinson (June 29, 1864 – August 8, 1934), nicknamed "Uncle Robbie", was an American catcher, coach and manager (baseball), manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Philadelphia Athletics (American Association) ...

—C,

Dan Brouthers Dennis Joseph "Dan" Brouthers (; May 8, 1858 – August 2, 1932) was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball whose career spanned the period from to , with a brief return in . Nicknamed "Big Dan" for his size, he was and weighed , w ...

—1B,

Hughie Jennings Hugh Ambrose Jennings (April 2, 1869 – February 1, 1928) was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager from 1891 to 1925. Jennings was a leader, both as a batter and as a shortstop, with the Baltimore Orioles teams that won N ...

—SS,

John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager (baseball), manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants (NL), New York Giants. He was also the ...

—3B, "Wee Willie" Keeler—RF, and

Joe Kelley Joseph James Kelley (December 9, 1871 – August 14, 1943) was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who starred in the outfield of the Baltimore Orioles teams of the 1890s. Making up the nucleus of the Orioles along with Jo ...

—LF) and a manager ( Ned Hanlon) who were later inducted to the

National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United St ...

, finished in first place for three consecutive seasons (1894–1896) and won the

Temple Cup The Temple Cup was a cup awarded to the winner of an annual best-of-seven postseason championship series for American professional baseball from 1894 to 1897. Competing teams were exclusively from the National League, which had been founded in ...

national championship series in

1896 Events January * January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end as Jameson surrenders to the Boers. * January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. * January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports Wilhelm Röntgen's dis ...

and

1897 Events January * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a punitive expedit ...

. Despite their success, the dominant Orioles were contracted out of the National League after the 1899 season, when the league reduced in size from 12 members to eight. Most of the Orioles' best players moved to the

Brooklyn Superbas The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brookl ...

—Baltimore owner Harry Von der Horst also had an ownership stake in Brooklyn. Upon the foundation of the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

in 1901, a reorganized

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

franchise competed as a charter member for two seasons, before folding and being replaced by the

New York Highlanders The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one ...

, later renamed the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

History

American Association

The team, formally the "Baltimore Base Ball and Exhibition Company", was founded in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association (AA), considered a major league. The Orioles finished last in the league in four of their first five season, the exception being a sixth-place finish in 1884 when 13 different teams played in the league. The team then had its best positional finish, third place, in 1887, followed by two seasons finishing fifth in the then eight-team league. The Orioles dropped out of the league after the 1889 season, and began the 1890 season playing in the

minor-league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

Atlantic Association The Atlantic Association was a minor league baseball organization that operated between 1889 and 1890 and again in 1908 in the Northeastern United States. History First Demise In each of the two seasons 4 or more teams failed to finish the season ...

. However, when the last-place

Brooklyn Gladiators The Brooklyn Gladiators were a Major League Baseball team in the American Association during the 1890 season. They were last in the league with a 26–73 record when the franchise folded on August 27, 1890. History The Gladiators were managed b ...

of the AA folded in late August, the Orioles re-joined the AA and played 38 games to complete the 1890 season, posting a record of 15–19 with four ties. The Orioles remained in the AA for 1891, finishing sixth among nine teams in the AA's final season. Overall, during 10 seasons of AA play, the Orioles had a cumulative record of .

National League

The Orioles were one of four AA clubs (the others being the

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

, and Washington Statesmen) merged into the

(NL) in 1892, formally as a 12-member "League Association". The beginnings of the team can be traced to June 1892, when owner Harry Von der Horst hired Ned Hanlon to be

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

of the Orioles, giving him stock in the team and full authority over baseball operations. Hanlon moved his growing family to a house that stood a block away from the team's ballpark. After finishing last in the league in 1892 and eighth in 1893, the Orioles won three consecutive pennants during 1894–1896, featuring several future

Hall of Fame 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 Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

rs under manager Hanlon. They followed up the title run with two second-place finishes, in 1897 and 1898. Accordingly, they participated in all four editions of the post-season

series, held from 1894 through 1897 between the NL's top two teams, winning in

and

. After the team's 1898 second-place finish, most of the team's stars were moved to the

Brooklyn Bridegrooms The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brookl ...

, who were renamed as the Superbas for 1899 and eventually became known as the Dodgers. The players moved when Von der Horst and Hanlon became part owners of the Brooklyn team, with Hanlon also becoming Brooklyn's manager. Third baseman

and catcher

remained in Baltimore, with McGraw remaining as first-year

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

. Following a fourth-place finish in 1899, the Orioles were one of four clubs eliminated by the NL (the others being the

Cleveland Spiders The Cleveland Spiders were an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team competed at the major league level from 1887 to 1899, first for two seasons as a member of the now-defunct American Association (AA), followe ...

, Louisville Colonels, and the aforementioned Washington Statesmen, then known as the Washington Senators). During their eight seasons of play in the NL, the Orioles compiled an overall record of .

Later developments

In the eight-team NL of 1900, McGraw and Robinson joined the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. In 1901, McGraw followed through on his threats to abandon the NL and form a club in the rival

(AL), being formed by new president

Ban Johnson Byron Bancroft "Ban" Johnson (January 5, 1864 – March 28, 1931) was an American executive in professional baseball who served as the founder and first president of the American League (AL). Johnson developed the AL—a descendant of th ...

out of the former minor-league Western League. These newly formed Orioles of the AL only stayed in Baltimore for two seasons. In 1903, a team was established in New York City as "the price of peace" as agreement between the older circuit (the NL) and its new upstart rival (the AL) allowing the "Americans" to have a team based in the city as a sign of respectability. The AL team in New York became known as the

(or occasionally the New York Americans), later renamed in 1913 as the

. The Yankees do not consider the 1901–1902 Baltimore team as part of their history. In 1903, an Orioles franchise in the old minor-league Eastern League filled the void left by the departure of the major-league Orioles. These minor-league Orioles included local product and future baseball icon

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

and

Lefty Grove Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (March 6, 1900 – May 22, 1975) was an American professional baseball pitcher. After having success in the minor leagues during the early 1920s, Grove became a star in Major League Baseball with the American League's ...

. The team won a string of seven straight titles, 1919–1925, at the then highest level of the minor leagues in the reorganized

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 (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

(known as such from 1912 onward). A major-league franchise did not return to Baltimore until the

(not the Browns of the AA, but a team that had its origins in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

) relocated to the city in 1954 and was renamed as the current

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

Ballparks

The Orioles of the American Association first played at

Newington Park Newington Park was a baseball grounds in Baltimore, Maryland. It was home to the Lord Baltimore baseball club of the National Association from to and to the Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an America ...

for the 1882 season. Starting in 1883, the team played at the old

Oriole Park Oriole Park was the name of multiple baseball parks in Baltimore, Maryland, all built within a few blocks of each other. Oriole Park I, 1883–1889 The first field called Oriole Park I was built on the southwest corner of Sixth Street and Hunt ...

, in Harwood, south of the Waverly neighborhood at 29th and Barclay Streets, just a block west from Greenmount Avenue, remaining there into the 1891 season. The 1901–1902 American League team played at Oriole Park a decade later. During the 1891 season, the Orioles moved a few blocks away to Union Park on Huntington Avenue (later renamed 25th Street) and Greenmount Avenue. The team remained at Union Park for its entire time in the National League, 1892 through 1899.

Stars

The original Orioles were one of the most storied teams in the history of the game. Managed by Ned Hanlon, they won NL pennants in 1894, 1895, and 1896, and sported some of the most colorful players in history including

Wee Willie Keeler William Henry Keeler (March 3, 1872 – January 1, 1923), nicknamed "Wee Willie" because of his small stature, was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1892 to 1910, primarily for the Baltimore Orioles and Brooklyn ...

, and

. They were rough characters who practically invented "scientific" baseball, the form of baseball played before the

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

became the norm in the 1920s. Like the style known today as " small ball", the " inside baseball" strategy of Orioles featured tight pitching,

hit and run In traffic laws, a hit and run or a hit-and-run is the criminal act of causing a traffic collision and not stopping afterwards. It is considered a supplemental crime in most jurisdictions. Additional obligation In many jurisdictions, there ma ...

tactics,

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions 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 out ...

s, and precise bunting. One such play, where the batter deliberately strikes the pitched ball downward onto the infield surface with sufficient force such that the ball rebounds skyward, allowing the batter to reach first base safely before the opposing team can field the ball, remains known as a

Baltimore chop This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

Matt Kilroy Matthew Aloysius "Matches" Kilroy (June21, 1866March2, 1940) was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. During his rookie season in 1886, he had 513 strikeouts, which remains the MLB single-season record. Early life Kilroy was ...

pitched a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

for the Orioles on October 6, 1886;

Bill Hawke William Victor Hawke (April 28, 1870 – December 11, 1902) was an American Major League Baseball player who pitched for three seasons, all in the National League, with a career record of 32 wins and 31 losses. Career Born in Elsmere, De ...

threw one on August 16, 1893, the first from the modern pitching distance of 60feet, 6inches; and

Jay Hughes James H. "Jay" Hughes (January 22, 1874 – June 2, 1924) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who played four seasons from to . Career Hughes was born in Sacramento, California, in 1874. He attracted attention in 1897 when he thr ...

threw a no-hitter for the Orioles on April 22, 1898.

Baseball Hall of Famers

Sources

* Solomon, Burt (1999), ''Where They Ain't: The Fabled Life And Untimely Death Of The Original Baltimore Orioles.'' New York: Free Press. *Rosenberg, Howard W. (2005); ''Cap Anson 3: Muggsy John McGraw and the Tricksters: Baseball's Fun Age of Rule Bending.'' Arlington, Virginia: Tile Books.

References

External links

Team index
at Baseball Reference * Excerpt from ''Where They Ain't: The Fabled Life And Untimely Death Of The Original Baltimore Orioles'' by Burt Solomon a
BaseballLibrary.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baltimore Orioles (1882-99) Baseball teams established in 1882 Baseball teams disestablished in 1899 Baseball teams in Baltimore American Association (1882–1891) teams 1882 establishments in Maryland 1899 disestablishments in Maryland Defunct baseball teams in Maryland Professional baseball teams in Maryland