1880 Chicago White Stockings

1880 Chicago White Stockings / Franchise: Chicago Cubs / BR Team Page

Record: 67-17-2, Finished 1st in National League (1880 NL)

Clinched Pennant: September 16, 1880, At Cincinnati Red Stockings

Managed by Cap Anson

Ballpark: Lake Front Park

History, Comments, Contributions

The 1880 Chicago White Stockings utterly dominated their competition. They got their season off to a tremendous start by winning 14 of their first 15 games, then from June 2nd to July 8th, they were unbeaten in 22 consecutive games, including 20 straight wins starting on June 5th. Some sources, such as the Elias Sports Bureau consider this to be a 21-game winning streak (ignoring the tie on June 4th against the Providence Grays) which would make it the second longest in major league history (after the 26 games - also including a tie - put together by the 1916 New York Giants). At 20 consecutive wins, the streak would be matched by those of the 1884 Providence Grays as the longest in National League history and that of the 1884 St. Louis Maroons of the Union Association for the major league record. It would only be eclipsed by the 1935 Chicago Cubs, who won 21 straight games to claim the NL record, and the 2017 Cleveland Indians who set a new major league record with 22 straight wins. They also set a record which still stands by winning their first 21 home games of the season.

At the end of the winning streak, the White Stockings were 35-3, and had a 13 1/2 games lead. They finished at 67-17, for a winning percentage of .798, with a 15-game lead on Providence.

The team leaders were OF George Gore, who hit .360, OF Abner Dalrymple who hit .330 and scored 91 runs, and 1B Cap Anson, who hit .337 with 74 RBIs. Dalrymple also led the team in hits (126), doubles (25) and triples (12). SS Tom Burns was the other player to hit above .300, at .309. As a team, the White Stockings only hit 4 home runs, but that was a normal total for that decade. On the mound, pitching duties were split between Larry Corcoran, who went 43-14, 1.95, and Fred Goldsmith (21-3, 1.75). They left only 28 1/3 innings to be divided among four other players.