# 1897 Chicago Colts season

The 1897 Chicago Colts season was the 26th season of the Chicago Colts franchise, the 22nd in the National League and the fifth at West Side Park. The Colts finished ninth in the National League with a record of 59–73.
While on the surface the season seemed to be uneventful, on June 29, the Colts beat the Louisville Colonels 36–7, the most runs ever scored by a team in a single game.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteNational League :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Boston Beaneaters | 93 | 39 | .705 | — | 54‍–‍12 | 39‍–‍27 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 90 | 40 | .692 | 2 | 51‍–‍15 | 39‍–‍25 |
| New York Giants | 83 | 48 | .634 | 9½ | 51‍–‍19 | 32‍–‍29 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 76 | 56 | .576 | 17 | 49‍–‍18 | 27‍–‍38 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 69 | 62 | .527 | 23½ | 49‍–‍16 | 20‍–‍46 |
| Washington Senators | 61 | 71 | .462 | 32 | 40‍–‍26 | 21‍–‍45 |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | 61 | 71 | .462 | 32 | 38‍–‍29 | 23‍–‍42 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 60 | 71 | .458 | 32½ | 38‍–‍27 | 22‍–‍44 |
| Chicago Colts | 59 | 73 | .447 | 34 | 36‍–‍30 | 23‍–‍43 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 55 | 77 | .417 | 38 | 32‍–‍34 | 23‍–‍43 |
| Louisville Colonels | 52 | 78 | .400 | 40 | 34‍–‍31 | 18‍–‍47 |
| St. Louis Browns | 29 | 102 | .221 | 63½ | 18‍–‍41 | 11‍–‍61 |

### Record vs. opponents

1897 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BOS | BR | CHI | CIN | CLE | LOU | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | WSH |
| Baltimore | — | 6–6 | 9–3–2 | 9–3–3 | 6–6 | 7–4 | 10–1 | 5–7 | 10–2–1 | 9–3 | 10–2 | 9–3 |
| Boston | 6–6 | — | 9–3 | 8–4–1 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 9–3 | 8–4 | 10–2–1 | 10–2 | 10–2 | 7–5–1 |
| Brooklyn | 3–9–2 | 3–9 | — | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 5–7 | 3–9–2 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 |
| Chicago | 3–9–3 | 4–8–1 | 6–6 | — | 5–7 | 4–8 | 6–6–1 | 5–7–1 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 7–5 |
| Cincinnati | 6–6 | 3–9 | 5–7 | 7–5 | — | 7–5 | 9–3 | 7–5–1 | 8–4 | 5–7–1 | 11–1 | 8–4 |
| Cleveland | 4–7 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 5–7 | — | 5–7 | 3–9 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 11–1–1 | 8–4 |
| Louisville | 1–10 | 3–9 | 7–5 | 6–6–1 | 3–9 | 7–5 | — | 6–6–1 | 3–9 | 4–8–2 | 8–3–1 | 4–8–1 |
| New York | 7–5 | 4–8 | 9–3–2 | 7–5–1 | 5–7–1 | 9–3 | 6–6–1 | — | 7–5 | 8–3–1 | 12–0 | 9–3–1 |
| Philadelphia | 2–10–1 | 2–10–1 | 6–6 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 9–3 | 5–7 | — | 5–7 | 8–4 | 4–8 |
| Pittsburgh | 3–9 | 2–10 | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–5–1 | 6–6 | 8–4–2 | 3–8–1 | 7–5 | — | 8–4 | 5–7 |
| St. Louis | 2–10 | 2–10 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 1–11 | 1–11–1 | 3–8–1 | 0–12 | 4–8 | 4–8 | — | 3–9 |
| Washington | 3–9 | 5–7–1 | 5–7 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 8–4–1 | 3–9–1 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 9–3 | — |

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting
#### 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 | Malachi Kittridge | 79 | 262 | 53 | .202 | 1 | 30 |
| 1B | Cap Anson | 114 | 424 | 121 | .285 | 3 | 75 |
| 2B | Jim Connor | 77 | 285 | 83 | .291 | 3 | 38 |
| SS | Bill Dahlen | 75 | 276 | 80 | .290 | 6 | 40 |
| 3B | Bill Everitt | 92 | 379 | 119 | .314 | 5 | 39 |
| OF | George Decker | 111 | 428 | 124 | .290 | 5 | 63 |
| OF | Jimmy Ryan | 136 | 520 | 156 | .300 | 5 | 85 |
| OF | Bill Lange | 118 | 479 | 163 | .340 | 5 | 83 |

#### 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 |
| Barry McCormick | 101 | 419 | 112 | .267 | 2 | 55 |
| Nixey Callahan | 94 | 360 | 105 | .292 | 3 | 47 |
| Walter Thornton | 75 | 265 | 85 | .321 | 0 | 55 |
| Tim Donahue | 58 | 188 | 45 | .239 | 0 | 21 |
| Fred Pfeffer | 32 | 114 | 26 | .228 | 0 | 11 |
| Tom Hernon | 4 | 16 | 1 | .063 | 0 | 2 |

### Pitching
#### 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 |
| Clark Griffith | 41 | 343.2 | 21 | 18 | 3.72 | 102 |
| Danny Friend | 24 | 203.0 | 12 | 11 | 4.52 | 58 |
| Nixey Callahan | 23 | 189.1 | 12 | 9 | 4.03 | 52 |
| Buttons Briggs | 22 | 186.2 | 4 | 17 | 5.26 | 60 |
| Walter Thornton | 16 | 130.1 | 6 | 7 | 4.70 | 55 |
| Roger Denzer | 12 | 94.2 | 2 | 8 | 5.13 | 17 |
| Jim Korwan | 5 | 34.0 | 1 | 2 | 5.82 | 12 |
| Adonis Terry | 1 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 10.13 | 1 |
| Dave Wright | 1 | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 15.43 | 4 |