London Tecumsehs

• Location: London, ON
• League: International Association 1877-1878, 1888-1890; Canadian League 1896, 1912-1915; International League 1900; Michigan-Ontario League 1919-1924; Ontario League 1930
• Affiliation:
• Ballpark:

Team History

Tecumsehs team, ca. 1924. Fourth from the left is thought to be Charlie Gehringer, who would later play second base for the Detroit Tigers

The London Tecumsehs were the first Canadian team to win a professional baseball title of any type when they became champions of the International Association in its first season in 1877. The International Association was the strongest rival of the National League, established only a year earlier, and some have argued that it should have been considered a major league. The team featured pitcher Fred Goldsmith as its biggest star. Jake Knodell also played for the team.

The Tecumsehs derive their name from Chief Tecumseh (1768-1813) of the Shawnee nation, an ally of the British during the War of 1812 who was killed at the Battle of the Thames which was fought near London, ON.

In 2021, the 1877 Tecumsehs were inducted as a team in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, in recognition of the historic nature of their first championship.

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
1877	14-4	1st	Harry Gorman	League Champs
1878	23-13	NA	Roscoe Barnes
1888	53-53	5th	Phil Powers	League Champs
1889	51-55	6th	Phil Powers / Dude Esterbrook / Wallace Fessenden	none
1890	15-32	--	Wallace Fessenden	Team disbanded July 8
1896	14-18	3rd	A.D. Holman
1900	26-14	1st (tied)	Pete Lohman
1912	48-49	4th	Frank Bowerman / Albert Barrett	none
1913	64-39	2nd	George Deneau	none
1914	71-43	2nd	Frank Reisling	none
1915	50-85	5th	Frank Reisling / Walter Hartwell	none
1919	41-70	7th	Joe Keenan / Starr Mason / Kenneth Hagel / C.E. "Dad" Stewart	none
1920	86-32	1st	Henry "Buzz" Wetzel	none League Champs
1921	72-46	1st	Henry "Buzz" Wetzel	League Champs
1922	83-50	2nd	Henry "Buzz" Wetzel
1923	55-73	6th	Leo Mackey / Jack Beatty	none
1924	62-70	5th	Jack Beatty
1930	37-17	1st	Knotty Lee	Lost League Finals

Further Reading

• Brian Martin: The Tecumsehs of the International Association: Canada’s First Major League Baseball Champions, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2015. ISBN 978-0-7864-9436-1