In the fall of 1874, a group of civic boosters in St. Louis raised $20,000 to organize the creation of the cities first professional ball club. The St. Louis Brown Stockings joined the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players for the 1875 season and finished the season in fourth place. They subsequently joined the new National League for the 1876 season. The Brown Stockings joined the National League as a founding team and thus inspired what is now a rich baseball history in the city of St. Louis.
Preseason acquisitions C. Orrick Bishop, a local St. Louis lawyer, was named as the Brown Stockings Vice President and given the task of going east to recruit top talent. In Brooklyn, Bishop picked up Dickey Pearce, Jack Chapman, Herman Dehlman, and Lip Pike. In and around Philadelphia, Bishop added Ned Cuthbert, Reddy Miller, George Bradley, Bill Hague, and Joe Battin.
Management Dickey Pearce having been signed from the 1874 Brooklyn Atlantics became the first ever manager of the St. Louis Brown Stockings. Dickey Pearce is most known for his cunning managerial mind and creating the position of shortstop which he manned for the Brown Stockings in 1875.
Hitters The St. Louis Brown Stockings worst hitter—starting catcher Tom Miller—had an OPS+ of 24 over 56 games. He hit .164—33 singles, two doubles, and one walk in 214 at-bats. The St. Louis Brown Stockings best hitter, Lip Pike, hit .346/.352/.494, for an OPS+ of 203—74 singles, 22 doubles, 12 triples. Lip Pike was known as the leagues most athletic hitter and for good reason as he is rumored to have raced a trotting horse and won.
Pitchers
Eighteen-year-old Pud Galvin is credited with leading the league in ERA (1.16) while just only pitching 62 innings.
Regular season
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Roster 1875 St. Louis Brown Stockings roster Roster Pitchers
Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager
Player stats
Batting 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 Tom Miller 56 214 35 .164 0 12 Herman Dehlman 67 254 57 .224 0 14 Joe Battin 67 284 71 .250 0 33 Dickey Pearce 70 311 77 .248 0 29 Bill Hague 62 260 57 .219 0 22 Lip Pike 70 312 108 .346 0 44 Jack Chapman 43 195 44 .226 0 30 Ned Cuthbert 68 319 78 .245 0 17 Charlie Waitt 30 113 23 .204 0 12 George Seward 25 96 24 .250 0 8 Frank Fleet 4 16 1 .063 0 1
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 George Bradley 60 535.2 33 26 2.13 60 Pud Galvin 8 62.0 4 2 1.16 8 Frank Fleet 3 27.0 2 1 3.33 3
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 Dickey Pearce 2 0 0 0 3.38 0
References
1875 St. Louis Brown Stockings season at Baseball Reference