The 1882 St. Louis Brown Stockings season was the first

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

season played by the team now known as the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was founded in the earlier St. Louis Brown Stockings franchise. It played in the National Association league in 1875 and in 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 ...

from 1876 to 1877. After a scandal over game-fixing, combined with financial problems, the St Louis Brown Stockings left the National League but continued to play as an independent team from 1878 to 1881. Chris von der Ahe, a German immigrant, purchased the team prior to the 1882 season and joined the new

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 ...

. The St. Louis Brown Stockings posted a 37-43 game record in their first season in the American Association, giving them fifth place. The team played at the Grand Avenue Grounds (which was later renamed

Sportsman's Park Sportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri. All but one of these were located on the same piece of land, at the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street, on th ...

) at the corner of Grand Avenue and Dodier Street in north St. Louis.

Building the team

Before the 1882 season, Von der Ahe secured a place for the team in the American Association and provided funds to bring players to St. Louis. Between 1882 and 1892, the team he built went on to win four

titles. Al Spink, the team advisor, recommended Von der Ahe sign

Charlie Comiskey Charles Albert Comiskey (August 15, 1859 – October 26, 1931), nicknamed "Commy" or "The Old Roman", was an American Major League Baseball player, manager and team owner. He was a key person in the formation of the American League, and was also ...

. Comiskey, who later played with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, was a skilled, young, first baseman who had been playing in

Dubuque, Iowa Dubuque (, ) is the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. At the time of the 2020 census, the population of Dubuque was 59,667. The city lies at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a r ...

Ned Cuthbert Edgar Edward Cuthbert (June 20, 1845 – February 6, 1905) was an American professional baseball outfielder. Career Cuthbert's baseball career began in 1865 with the Keystone Club of Philadelphia. After two seasons as a second baseman and outfi ...

was a former professional player in St. Louis. Although he had retired from baseball and worked as a bartender in St. Louis, Cuthbert remained prominent in the local baseball community. He had encouraged Von der Ahe to purchase the team. Von der Ahe hired Cuthbert to be his first captain, with all the duties of a field manager. Cuthbert used his experience to attract several players to St. Louis from the East. Most of the first-year Browns originated in St. Louis, including brothers Jack and Bill Gleason, pitcher Jumbo McGinnis, outfielder George Seward, and catcher Tom Sullivan.

Regular season

In 1866, Gus Solari laid out a professional baseball field at Sportsman's Park, St Louis. Sixteen years later, on May 2, 1882, the opening day of the St. Louis Brown Stockings' 1882 season took place. Approximately 2,000 spectators watched the game for a fee of one quarter each. The team played numerous local teams in April exhibitions. McGinnis was the first pitcher and he started 45 of the team's 80 games. Jack Gleason made the team's first hit. It was a lead off single in the first innings. He also scored the first run on Comiskey's three-base hit. The team won their first game with a score of 9 runs to 7. McGinnis contributed two doubles. In late May 1882, the team was in a tie for first place in its six-team league. They were eight games over .500, putting them one game behind the Cincinnati Reds. There followed a seven-week period when the team lost sixteen more games than they won. They could not contend for the championship. During the season, more than 175,000 spectators attended the team's games. The favorite players on the team were Comiskey and McGinnis.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Roster

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

''Pos= Position, G= Games played, AB= At bats, R= Runs scored, H= Hits, 2B= Doubles, 3B= Triples, HR=

Home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, SB= Stolen bases, BB= Base on balls, Avg.=

Batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, Slg= Slugging percentage''

Other batters

''G= Games played, AB= At bats, R= Runs scored, H= Hits, 2B= Doubles, 3B= Triples, HR=

s, SB= Stolen bases, BB= Base on balls, Avg.=

, Slg= Slugging percentage''

Pitching

Starting pitchers

''W= Wins, L= Losses, ERA=

Earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

, G= Games played, GS=

Games started In baseball statistics, games started (denoted by GS) indicates the number of games that a pitcher has started for his team. A pitcher is credited with starting the game if he throws the first pitch to the first opposing batter. If a player is li ...

, CG= Complete games, IP= Innings pitched, H= Hits allowed, R= Runs allowed, ER=

Earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s allowed, HR=

s allowed, BB= Base on balls, SO= Strikeouts, WHIP=

Walks plus hits per inning pitched In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) is a sabermetric measurement of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. WHIP is calculated by adding the number of walks and hits allowed and divid ...

Other pitchers

''W= Wins, L= Losses, ERA=

, G= Games played, GS=

, CG= Complete games, SV= Saves, IP= Innings pitched, H= Hits allowed, R= Runs allowed, ER=

s allowed, HR=

s allowed, BB= Base on balls, SO= Strikeouts, WHIP=

Relief pitchers

''W= Wins, L= Losses, ERA=

, G= Games played, SV= Saves, IP= Innings pitched, H= Hits allowed, R= Runs allowed, ER=

s allowed, HR=

s allowed, BB= Base on balls, SO= Strikeouts, WHIP=

References

{{St. Louis Cardinals Saint Louis Brown Stockings season St. Louis Cardinals seasons 1882 in sports in Missouri