1872 Baltimore Canaries

1872 Baltimore Canaries / BR Team Page

Record: 35-19, Finished 3rd in National Association (1872 NA)

Managed by Bill Craver and Everett Mills

Ballpark: Newington Park

History, Comments, Contributions

The 1872 Baltimore Canaries did quite well, finishing second in the National Association in their first season in the association. The team posted a record of 35-19, tying the New York Mutuals for the most games played that season. However, the Canaries went 0-7 against the Boston Red Stockings, who topped the league standings.

Although the team was new, the players had all played in the Association in 1871, mostly with the Troy Haymakers or the Washington Olympics. The team's average age was 24.5, with three players who were 27 and none who were under 20.

Bobby Mathews and Tom Carey had previously played with the amateur Baltimore Marylands in 1870, before the National Association was started.

The 1872, the team's top hitter, by far, was the diminutive Davy Force who hit .432 on a team which hit .290 and in a league which hit .286. Force had virtually no power, though, with only four extra-base hits, while Lip Pike had 26 extra-base hits. George Hall had the most doubles and triples while Pike had the most homers. Pike led the team in RBI while Dick Higham was the top run-scorer.

The Canaries used only two pitchers. Bobby Mathews, although only 20, was already a veteran of amateur and professional ball; he went 25-18. Cherokee Fisher, one of the oldest players on the team at age 27, was 10-1 with the third-best ERA in the Association.

The Canaries would play well again in 1873 but do terribly in their last year, 1874. Most of the 1872 players would carry over to the 1873 team but not a single one would appear in the 1874 team as they spread around the league to other teams.