Champions

* National Association: Boston Base Ball Club

National Association final standings

Statistical leaders

Notable seasons

*Boston Red Stockings pitcher Al Spalding has a record of 52-16, leading the NA with 52 wins and 617.1 innings pitched. He has a 1.92 earned run average and a 111 ERA+. *Chicago White Stockings second baseman

Levi Meyerle Levi Samuel Meyerle (July 1849 – November 4, 1921) was an American Major League Baseball player who played for eight seasons in organized professional league play. During his career he played for the Philadelphia Athletics of the National A ...

leads the NA with a .394 batting average, a .889 OPS, and a 183 OPS+. He has 65 runs scored and 45 runs batted in."Levi Meyerle Stats"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2020.

Events

January–March

*January 29 – Albert Spalding arrives in England to set up a tour for the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

Athletic Athletic may refer to: * An athlete, a sportsperson * Athletic director, a position at many American universities and schools * Athletic type, a physical/psychological type in the classification of Ernst Kretschmer * Athletic of Philadelphia, a ba ...

Clubs to demonstrate American baseball to the English.

April–June

*May 5 – Tommy Bond makes his professional debut, throwing a 4-hitter and defeating Lord Baltimore. *May 6 – Dick McBride of

throws a 1-hitter in a win against crosstown rival

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

. *May 13 – The

Chicago Club The Chicago Club, founded in 1869, is a private social club located at 81 East Van Buren Street at Michigan Avenue in the Loop neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Its membership has included many of Chicago's most prominent ...

plays the first professional game in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

by a Chicago team since the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 1 ...

of 1871. The "White Stockings" win 4-0 over

before 4,000 fans. *June 18 – Playing without suspended pitcher

George Zettlein George Zettlein (July 12, 1844 – May 22, 1905) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played six seasons in Major League Baseball from 1871 to 1876 for the Chicago White Stockings, Troy Haymakers, Brooklyn Eckfords, Philadelphia W ...

, the Chicagos are humiliated by Mutual 38-1. The Mutuals collect 33 hits, but are outdone by Chicago defensive miscues as they commit 36 errors in the game.

July–September

*July 10 –

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 ...

, player-manager for several teams in the NA, has his right leg amputated above the knee due to infection. Wood would be re-hired by

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

to replace

Fergy Malone Fergus G. Malone (August, 1844 – January 1, 1905) was a professional baseball player in the 1860s and 1870s. He was the catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1871, champion of the first professional league season. Born 1842 in Northern Ire ...

and be on the bench managing 5 weeks after the amputation. *July 16 – The

and

Clubs depart from

for England for their baseball exhibition tour. *September 9 –

John Radcliff John Young Radcliff (June 29, 1848 – July 26, 1911) was an American professional baseball player who played for the Philadelphia Athletics (), Baltimore Canaries (–), Philadelphia Whites (), and Philadelphia Centennials (). He was primarily ...

is dismissed from the

Club after umpire William McLean testified that Radcliff had offered him $175 to fix a game. *September 9 –

and

return from their England trip, arriving in New York.

October–December

*October 20 – The Boston Base Ball Club win their 3rd consecutive pennant with a 14-7 victory over

Athletic of Philadelphia Athletic may refer to: * An athlete, a sportsperson * Athletic director, a position at many American universities and schools * Athletic type, a physical/psychological type in the classification of Ernst Kretschmer * Athletic of Philadelphia, a ba ...

Births

*January 14 – Jack Taylor *January 22 – Jay Hughes *February 1 –

Harry Bemis Harry Parker Bemis (February 1, 1874 – May 23, 1947) was a catcher in Major League Baseball. Nicknamed "Handsome Harry,"Bill Klem William Joseph Klem, born William Joseph Klimm (February 22, 1874 – September 16, 1951), known as the "Old Arbitrator" and the "father of baseball umpires", was a National League (NL) umpire in Major League Baseball from 1905 to 1941. He worked ...

*February 23 –

Billy Lauder William Lauder (February 23, 1874 – May 20, 1933) was an American professional baseball third baseman and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics, and New York Giants. Career After ...

*February 24 –

Honus Wagner Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner (; February 24, 1874 – December 6, 1955), sometimes referred to as "Hans" Wagner, was an American baseball shortstop who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1897 to 1917, almost entirely for the Pitts ...

*March 12 –

Charles Weeghman Charles Henry Weeghman (March 8, 1874 – November 1, 1938) was a German American restaurant entrepreneur and sports executive. Beginning in 1901, he began opening quick-service lunch counters throughout downtown Chicago. After failing to acquire ...

*March 16 –

Bill Duggleby William James Duggleby (March 16, 1874 – August 30, 1944), nicknamed "Frosty Bill", was a pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies. He played from 1898 to 1907. He also played two games for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1902 and nine games for the ...

*March 18 –

Nixey Callahan James Joseph Callahan (March 18, 1874 – October 4, 1934) was an American pitcher and left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Colts/Orphans, and Chicago White Sox. He also managed the White Sox, a ...

*March 24 –

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor, who was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics. He is possibly ...

*April 7 –

John Ganzel John Henry Ganzel (April 7, 1874 – January 14, 1959) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. Ganzel batted and threw right-handed. He played with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1898), Chicago Cubs (1900), New York Giants ...

*April 8 –

Bert Myers James Albert Myers (April 8, 1874 – October 12, 1915) was an American professional baseball player who played in parts of three seasons for the St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators and Philadelphia Phillies. He was born in Frederick, Mary ...

*May 8 – Eddie Boyle *June 5 –

Jack Chesbro John Dwight Chesbro (June 5, 1874 – November 6, 1931) was an American professional baseball pitcher. Nicknamed "Happy Jack", Chesbro played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1899–1902), the New York Highlanders (1903–1909), and the Boston Red So ...

*June 5 –

Frank Huelsman Frank Elmer Huelsman (June 5, 1874 – June 9, 1959) was an American professional baseball left fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Browns (NL), Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Browns (AL), and Washin ...

*June 20 –

Win Mercer George Barclay "Win" Mercer (June 20, 1874 – January 12, 1903) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1894 to 1902. Born in Chester, West Virginia, he played primarily with the National League Washington Senators (1894–1899), winning 2 ...

*June 26 – Topsy Hartsel *July 8 – Jay Parker *July 9 – Jack Powell *July 13 – William G. Bramham *July 14 – Jesse Tannehill *September 5 –

Nap Lajoie Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie (; September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959), also known as Larry Lajoie and nicknamed "The Frenchman", was an American professional baseball second baseman and player-manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for t ...

*September 17 – Willie Sudhoff *September 21 – Grant "Home Run" Johnson *October 12 – Jimmy Burke *October 15 – Emil Frisk *October 19 – Tom McCreery *October 31 – Harry Smith

Deaths

*April 9 – Charlie Mills, age unknown, catcher for the

1871 Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War – Battle of Bapaume: Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...

New York Mutuals The Mutual Base Ball Club of New York was a leading American baseball club almost throughout its 20-year history. It was established during 1857, the year of the first baseball convention, just too late to be a founding member of the National Ass ...

References

External links

1874 season at Baseball-Reference.comCharlton's Baseball Chronology at BaseballLibrary.comRetrosheet.org
{{Year in baseball, this year=1874