The 1887 Indianapolis Hoosiers

St. Louis Maroons/Indianapolis Hoosiers

300px|thumb|right|1888 Indianapolis HoosiersThe St. Louis Maroons were a professional baseball club based in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1884-1886. The club, established by Henry Lucas, were the one near-major league quality entry in the Union Association, a league that lasted only one season, due...

finished with a 37-89 record in the National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

, finishing in last place in their first season in Indianapolis. They had played the previous three seasons in St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis, Missouri

St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 as the Maroons.

Offseason

Following the 1886 season, the Maroons franchise was purchased by the National League and subsequently sold to John T. Brush

John T. Brush

John Tomlinson Brush was an American sports executive who was the owner of the New York Giants franchise in Major League Baseball from 1890 until his death. He also owned the Indianapolis Hoosiers in the late 1880s, and the Cincinnati Reds from 1891 to 1902. Under his leadership, the Giants were...

. On March 8, the Hoosiers additionally purchased a number of players who were under league control. Technically, these players were purchased from the Maroons franchise. Among these players were Henry Boyle

Henry Boyle (baseball)

Henry J. Boyle was a professional baseball player. He was a pitcher over parts of 6 seasons with the St. Louis Maroons and Indianapolis Hoosiers. He led the National League in ERA in 1886 while playing for St. Louis...

, John Cahill

John Cahill (baseball)

John Patrick Parnell "Patsy" Cahill was a Major League Baseball outfielder. In addition to playing the outfield, Cahill also played third base, shortstop and he also pitched 10 games....

, Jerry Denny

Jerry Denny

Jeremiah Dennis Denny was a third baseman in Major League Baseball. Denny was a rarity: a left-handed thrower who played a position traditionally reserved for right-handers.Over 13 professional seasons he played for the Providence Grays , St...

, Jack Glasscock

Jack Glasscock

John Wesley "Jack" Glasscock was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for several teams from 1879 to 1895 and was the top player at his position in the 1880s during the sport's bare-handed era...

, Egyptian Healy, John Kirby

John Kirby (baseball)

John F. Kirby , was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played all or part of five seasons in the majors, from -, for the Kansas City Cowboys of the Union Association, St. Louis Maroons, Indianapolis Hoosiers, Cleveland Blues and Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association.-External links:...

, Jack McGeachey

Jack McGeachey

John Charles McGeachey , was a Major League Baseball player who played outfielder from -. He would play for the Detroit Wolverines, St. Louis Maroons, Indianapolis Hoosiers, Brooklyn Ward's Wonders, Philadelphia Athletics, and Boston Reds.-External links:...

, George Myers

George Myers (baseball)

George D. Myers was a Major League Baseball player. He played six seasons in the majors, from until , for the Buffalo Bisons, St. Louis Maroons, and Indianapolis Hoosiers.-Sources:...

, Otto Schomberg

Otto Schomberg

Otto H. Schomberg was a Major League Baseball first basemen who played for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys and the Indianapolis Hoosiers.-Pittsburgh Alleghenys:...

 and Emmett Seery

Emmett Seery

John Emmett Seery was an outfielder in Major League Baseball. He played for the Baltimore Monumentals, Kansas City Cowboys, St. Louis Maroons, Indianapolis Hoosiers, Brooklyn Ward's Wonders, Cincinnati Kelly's Killers, and Louisville Colonels from 1884 to 1892. In 916 career major league games,...

.

Notable transactions

• March 9, 1887: The Hoosiers obtained Mert Hackett
  Mert Hackett
  Mortimer Martin "Mert" Hackett , was an American Major League Baseball player from Cambridge, Massachusetts, who played mainly as a catcher from 1883 to 1887 for three different team; the Boston Beaneaters, Kansas City Cowboys, and Indianapolis Hoosiers...
  
   and Charley Bassett
  Charley Bassett
  Charles Edwin Bassett , was a Major League Baseball infielder. He played all or part of nine seasons in the majors, from -, for the Providence Grays, Kansas City Cowboys, Indianapolis Hoosiers, New York Giants, and Louisville Colonels.-External links:...
  
  , who had been under league control, for $1,000.

Notable transactions

• July 2, 1887: John Kirby
  John Kirby (baseball)
  John F. Kirby , was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played all or part of five seasons in the majors, from -, for the Kansas City Cowboys of the Union Association, St. Louis Maroons, Indianapolis Hoosiers, Cleveland Blues and Kansas City Cowboys of the American Association.-External links:...
  
   was sold by the Hoosiers to the Cleveland Blues
  Cleveland Spiders
  The Cleveland Spiders were a Major League Baseball team which played between 1887 and 1899 in Cleveland, Ohio. The team played at National League Park from 1889 to 1890 and at League Park from 1891 to 1899.- 1887-1891 :...
  
   for $800 to $1000.
• August 15, 1887: Lev Shreve
  Lev Shreve
  Leven Lawrence Shreve , was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues from -. He would play for the Baltimore Orioles and Indianapolis Hoosiers....
  
   was purchased by the Hoosiers from the Baltimore Orioles
  Baltimore Orioles (19th century)
  The Baltimore Orioles were a 19th-century American Association and National League team from 1882 to 1899. The club, which featured numerous future Hall of Famers, finished in first place three consecutive years and won the Temple Cup championship in 1896 and 1897...
  
  .
• August 19, 1887: Tom Brown was signed by the Hoosiers as a free agent.

Roster

1887 Indianapolis Hoosiers
Roster
Pitchers		Catchers Infielders		Outfielders		Manager

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Pos	Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
C		69	235	51	.217	1	20
1B		112	419	129	.308	5	83
2B		119	452	104	.230	1	47
3B		122	510	165	.324	11	97
SS		122	483	142	.294	0	40
OF		122	465	104	.224	4	28
OF		99	405	109	.269	1	56
OF		68	263	54	.205	0	26

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
	43	157	31	.197	0	13
	42	147	35	.238	2	10
	36	140	25	.179	2	9
	20	75	18	.240	0	8
	18	63	11	.175	1	8
	11	42	8	.190	0	3
	10	38	10	.263	0	3
	3	10	2	.200	0	0
	1	2	0	.000	0	0

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	41	341	12	29	5.17	75
	38	328	13	24	3.65	85
	14	122	5	9	4.72	22
	8	62	1	6	6.10	7
	8	65	2	6	5.68	27
	7	57	3	4	7.58	13
	6	50	1	5	3.78	3
	2	15	0	2	12.60	4

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	6	22	0	2	14.32	5
	4	15.2	0	1	10.34	0

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
	1	0	1	0	11.37	3
	1	0	0	0	21.00	0
	1	0	0	0	0.00	1