The Chicago Pirates were a baseball 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 American professional baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Pr ...

for a single season in . The team played their home games at South Side Park (II). Their rivals were 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 ...

Chicago Colts The following is a franchise history of the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball, a charter member of the National League who started play in the National Association of Base Ball Players in 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings, before joining t ...

, which later became the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

. The Pirates recruited most of the Colts' players, and for this reason the Pirates’ attendance was nearly fifty percent higher than the White Stockings. The Pirates’ owner
John Addison
was a wealthy contractor. Although Addison and his partner White Stocking second baseman

Fred Pfeffer Nathaniel Frederick Pfeffer (March 17, 1860 – April 10, 1932), nicknamed "Dandelion" and "Fritz", was an American baseball player. He was a second baseman in Major League Baseball between 1882 and 1897. His final game took place on June 14, 18 ...

had signed mostly White Stocking players, they also signed four players from the

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 ...

of the American Association as well as a pitcher from the Columbus Solons of the American Association. The team was managed by

Charles 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 als ...

Notable players

Hugh Duffy Hugh Duffy (November 26, 1866 – October 19, 1954) was an American outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He was a player or player-manager for the Chicago White Stockings, Chicago Pirates, Boston Reds, Boston Beaneaters, Milwau ...

* Silver King * Jimmy Ryan *

Ned Williamson Edward Nagle Williamson (October 24, 1857 – March 3, 1894) was an American professional baseball infielder in Major League Baseball. He played for three teams: the Indianapolis Blues of the National League (NL) for one season, the Chicago W ...

Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (December 9, 1912 – January 5, 1994) was an American Democratic Party politician from Massachusetts who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, the third-l ...

Comiskey and Duffy are members of the

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 S ...

. On June 21, 1890, Silver King pitched the only ever Player's League

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 ...

. The team had two nicknames: 1) White Stockings — the players wore white hose, which was appropriate because this PL franchise signed away many NL Chicago White Stocking players, 2) Pirates — name applied not for "pirating" away NL players but rather because the team "pirated" many victories with late inning comebacks in games in which they trailed early.BASEBALL TEAM NAMES 1869–2012, Rick Worth.

References

External links

Baseball AlmanacBaseball Reference

Defunct Major League Baseball teams Players' League teams Defunct baseball teams in Chicago Baseball teams disestablished in 1890 Baseball teams established in 1890 {{Illinois-baseball-team-stub

Notable players

See also

References

External links