Cincinnati Kelly's Killers

Officially: Cincinnati Reds (March 10 - August 17, 1891)

(Also known as: Cincinnati Kelly's Killers, Cincinnati Porkers, Kelly's Wonders, Kelly's Braves, Kelly's Hustlers)

Win-Loss Record: 43-57-1-1 (.426)

Ballpark: Pendleton Park (April 25 - August 13 1891)

When the Cincinnati Reds were near bankruptcy in 1891, they were sold to a group that attempted to move them to the American Association. The National League threatened to put another team in Cincinnati and the owners promptly returned the Reds to the NL. This left the AA with just 7 teams, so a new team was formed in Cincinnati with King Kelly as manager. The team was called Kelly's Klippers but the media dubbed them Kelly's Killers in a satirical slant at the team's low talent level. Ban Johnson was the Sporting Life writer who followed the Killers. The team surprised, holding the lead in June at one point, before fading away.

Kelly was an agressive leader - he knocked out pitcher Cannonball Crane, retrieved Willie McGill from a "drunk tank" and released Yank Robinson for alcoholism. The Killers disbanded after an August 17 loss and a new franchise was placed in their stead, the Milwaukee Brewers.

Boston Reds president Charles Prince offered Kelly the team captaincy but a week later the former Killers leader jumped ship, joining the Reds instead. It was one of several major blows that led to the death of the already-fading AA as a major league.

Source:

• Lee Allen: The Cincinnati Reds, Kent State University Press, 1948
• Peter Filichia: Green Cathedrals: The Ultimate Celebrations of All 273 Major League and Negro League Ballparks Past and Present, Addison Wesley Publishing Company (March 1993)