# 1885 Cincinnati Red Stockings season

The 1885 Cincinnati Red Stockings season was a season in American baseball. The team finished second in the American Association, 16 games behind the St. Louis Browns.

## Regular season

During the off-season, the Red Stockings hired O. P. Caylor to become the manager of the team, the first time in club history that the club did not have a player-manager. Cincinnati also signed Tony Mullane to a contract. Mullane, who spent the 1884 season with the Toledo Blue Stockings, had a 36–26 record with a 2.52 ERA in 67 starts, striking out 325 batters. Mullane was suspended for the 1885 season for defying his contract, as the Blue Stockings and the St. Louis Maroons, another team he tried to sign with, folded after the 1884 season, and the St. Louis Browns attempted to reclaim Mullane, as he pitched there in 1883. Before the Browns could reclaim him, he signed with the Red Stockings.
Frank Fennelly, who the Red Stockings acquired late in the 1884 season from the Washington Nationals, had a breakout season, hitting .273 with ten home runs and a league high 89 RBI. Charley Jones led the team with a .322 average, and had five home runs and 35 RBI to go along with it, while John Reilly hit .297 with five homers and 60 RBI.
On the mound, nineteen-year-old Larry McKeon led the Red Stockings with 20 wins and a 2.86 ERA in 33 starts, while Will White had eighteen wins and a 3.53 ERA in 34 starts.

### Season summary

Cincinnati began the season very well, putting up an impressive 16–8 record in their first 24 games to sit in second place in the league, two games behind the St. Louis Browns. The Red Stockings then began to slump, as they would win only six of their next sixteen games to slip into third place, seven games behind the Browns. On July 1, the Red Stockings acquired Jim Keenan and Larry McKeon, who both jumped from the Detroit Wolverines to join Cincinnati. The Red Stockings improved with their new acquisitions in the lineup, as the team eventually moved back into second place, however, they were too far behind the Browns, and Cincinnati finished the season with a 63–49 record, good for second place, however, they were sixteen games out of first.

### Season standings

vteAmerican Association :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| St. Louis Browns | 79 | 33 | .705 | — | 44‍–‍11 | 35‍–‍22 |
| Cincinnati Red Stockings | 63 | 49 | .562 | 16 | 35‍–‍21 | 28‍–‍28 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 56 | 55 | .505 | 22½ | 37‍–‍19 | 19‍–‍36 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 55 | 57 | .491 | 24 | 33‍–‍23 | 22‍–‍34 |
| Brooklyn Grays | 53 | 59 | .473 | 26 | 35‍–‍22 | 18‍–‍37 |
| Louisville Colonels | 53 | 59 | .473 | 26 | 37‍–‍19 | 16‍–‍40 |
| New York Metropolitans | 44 | 64 | .407 | 33 | 28‍–‍24 | 16‍–‍40 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 41 | 68 | .376 | 36½ | 29‍–‍26 | 12‍–‍42 |

### Record vs. opponents

1885 American Association recordvte Sources: :
| Team | BAL | BR | CIN | LOU | NY | PHI | PIT | STL |
| Baltimore | — | 7–9 | 6–10 | 7–9 | 7–6 | 6–10–1 | 6–10 | 2–14 |
| Brooklyn | 9–7 | — | 5–11 | 10–6 | 8–8 | 11–5 | 6–10 | 4–12 |
| Cincinnati | 10–6 | 11–5 | — | 8–8 | 10–6 | 9–7 | 9–7 | 6–10 |
| Louisville | 9–7 | 6–10 | 8–8 | — | 9–7 | 8–8 | 6–10 | 7–9 |
| New York | 6–7 | 8–8 | 6–10 | 7–9 | — | 5–11 | 8–7 | 4–12 |
| Philadelphia | 10–6–1 | 5–11 | 7–9 | 8–8 | 11–5 | — | 10–6 | 4–12 |
| Pittsburgh | 10–6 | 10–6 | 7–9 | 10–6 | 7–8 | 6–10 | — | 6–10 |
| St. Louis | 14–2 | 12–4 | 10–6 | 9–7 | 12–4 | 12–4 | 10–6 | — |

### Game log

Legend :
| Red Stockings Win | Red Stockings Loss | Game Tied/Postponed |
1885 Game Log: 63–49 (Home: 35–21; Away: 28–28) :
April: 5–4 (Home: 3–3; Away: 2–1)
#DateOpponentScoreStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
-April 18ColonelsPostponed (unknown reason); Makeup: April 20
1April 19@ Colonels4–1Eclipse ParkN/A1–0W1
2April 20Colonels3–1American ParkN/A2–0W2
3April 21@ Browns2–1Sportsman's ParkN/A3–0W3
-April 22@ BrownsPostponed (unknown reason); Makeup: April 23
4April 23@ Browns1–2Sportsman's ParkN/A3–1L1
5April 24Alleghenys6–7American ParkN/A3–2L2
6April 25Alleghenys8–2American ParkN/A4–2W1
7April 26Colonels8–1American ParkN/A5–2W2
8April 28Browns0–5American ParkN/A5–3L1
9April 29Browns0–6American ParkN/A5–4L2 :
May: 14–8 (Home: 12–5; Away: 2–3)
#DateOpponentScoreStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
10May 2@ Colonels0–8Eclipse ParkN/A5–5L3
11May 3Alleghenys7-6American ParkN/A6–5W1
12May 4@ Alleghenys3–0Recreation ParkN/A7–5W2
13May 5@ Alleghenys1–8Recreation ParkN/A7–6L1
14May 7Grays7-4American ParkN/A8–6W1
15May 8Grays8-3American ParkN/A9–6W2
16May 9Grays4-0American ParkN/A10–6W3
17May 10Grays7-6American ParkN/A11–6W4
18May 12Metropolitans7-11American ParkN/A11–7L1
19May 13Metropolitans14-10American ParkN/A12–7W1
20May 14Metropolitans8-5American ParkN/A13–7W2
21May 16Metropolitans7-2American ParkN/A14–7W3
22May 17Orioles5-6American ParkN/A14–8L1
23May 19Orioles13-5American ParkN/A15–8W1
24May 20Orioles15-2American ParkN/A16–8W2
25May 21Orioles10-11American ParkN/A16–9L1
-May 23AthleticsPostponed (rain); Makeup: May 25
26May 24Athletics6-7American ParkN/A16–10L2
27May 25Athletics7-2American ParkN/A17–10W1
28May 26Athletics10-5American ParkN/A18–10W2
29May 27Athletics9-16American ParkN/A18–11L1
30May 30 1@ Athletics16–9Jefferson Street GroundsN/A19–11W1
31May 30 2@ Athletics7–9Jefferson Street GroundsN/A19–12L1 :
June: 10–11 (Home: 2–4; Away: 8–7)
#DateOpponentScoreStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
32June 1@ Athletics7–9Jefferson Street GroundsN/A19–13L2
33June 2@ Athletics8–12Jefferson Street GroundsN/A19–14L3
34June 4@ Orioles1–12Oriole ParkN/A19–15L4
35June 5@ Orioles4–3Oriole ParkN/A20–15W1
36June 6@ Orioles5–21Oriole ParkN/A20–16L1
37June 8@ Orioles6–5Oriole ParkN/A21–16W1
38June 10@ Grays6–0Washington ParkN/A22–16W2
39June 11@ Grays4–6Washington ParkN/A22–17L1
40June 13@ Grays9–11Washington ParkN/A22–18L2
-June 14@ GraysPostponed (unknown reason); Makeup: June 15
41June 15@ Grays11–9Washington ParkN/A23–18W1
42June 16@ Metropolitans5–4Polo GroundsN/A24–18W2
43June 17@ Metropolitans3–2[Polo GroundsN/A25–18W3
44June 18@ Metropolitans5–4Polo GroundsN/A26–18W4
45June 19@ Metropolitans10–8Polo GroundsN/A27–18W5
-June 20@ MetropolitansPostponed (unknown reason); Makeup: June 19
46June 22Colonels1-2American ParkN/A27–19L1
47June 23Colonels13-2American ParkN/A28–19W1
-June 24ColonelsPostponed (unknown reason); Makeup: June 22
48June 25Colonels6-8American ParkN/A28–20L1
49June 26Browns4-9American ParkN/A28–21L2
50June 27Browns2-10American ParkN/A28–22L3
51June 28Browns8-4American ParkN/A29–22W1
52June 30@ Alleghenys4–9Recreation ParkN/A29–23L1 :
July: 12–9 (Home: 12–4; Away: 0–5)
#DateOpponentScoreStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
53July 1@ Alleghenys9–11Recreation ParkN/A29–24L2
54July 2@ Alleghenys4–6Recreation ParkN/A29–25L3
55July 4 1Grays5–1American ParkN/A30–25W1
56July 4 2Grays3–2American ParkN/A31–25W2
57July 5Grays6–7American ParkN/A31–26L1
58July 7Grays12–7American ParkN/A32–26W1
59July 9Athletics4–2American ParkN/A33–26W2
60July 10Athletics10–4American ParkN/A34–26W3
61July 11Athletics9–8American ParkN/A35–26W4
62July 12Athletics6–5American ParkN/A36–26W5
63July 14Metropolitans5–2American ParkN/A37–26W6
64July 15Metropolitans13–3American ParkN/A38–26W7
65July 16Metropolitans5–7American ParkN/A38–27L1
66July 18Metropolitans8–3American ParkN/A39–27W1
67July 19Orioles3–0American ParkN/A40–27W2
68July 21Orioles7–8American ParkN/A40–28L1
-July 22OriolesPostponed (rain); Makeup: July 24
69July 23Orioles3–2American ParkN/A41–28W1
70July 24Orioles1–5American ParkN/A41–29L1
71July 26@ Colonels4–6Eclipse ParkN/A41–30L2
72July 28@ Colonels1–3Eclipse ParkN/A41–31L3
73July 29@ Colonels4–6Eclipse ParkN/A41–32L4
-July 31@ BrownsPostponed (rain); Makeup: August 3 :
August: 12–8 (Home: 6–5; Away: 6–3)
#DateOpponentScoreStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
74August 1@ Browns4–0Sportman's ParkN/A42–32W1
75August 2@ Browns3–4Sportman's ParkN/A42–33L1
76August 3@ Browns3–1Sportman's ParkN/A43–33W1
77August 4Alleghenys4–1American ParkN/A44–33W2
-August 5AlleghenysPostponed (unknown reason); Makeup: May 3
-August 6AlleghenysPostponed (rain); Makeup: August 7
78August 7Alleghenys3–2American ParkN/A45–33W3
79August 8Colonels4–3American ParkN/A46–33W4
80August 9Colonels10–2American ParkN/A47–33W5
81August 11Colonels2–12American ParkN/A47–34L1
82August 13@ Browns3–2Sportman's ParkN/A48–34W1
83August 15@ Browns1–4Sportman's ParkN/A48–35L1
84August 16@ Browns11–3Sportman's ParkN/A49–35W1
85August 18@ Colonels7–9Eclipse ParkN/A49–36L1
86August 19@ Colonels5–4Eclipse ParkN/A50–36W1
87August 20@ Colonels9–1Eclipse ParkN/A51–36W2
88August 22Browns6–8American ParkN/A51–37L1
89August 23Browns1–6American ParkN/A51–38L2
-August 25BrownsPostponed (rain); Makeup: August 26
90August 26Browns1–2American ParkN/A51–39L3
91August 27Alleghenys2–8American ParkN/A51–40L4
92August 28Alleghenys14–6American ParkN/A52–40W1
-August 29AlleghenysPostponed (unknown reason); Makeup: August 28
93August 30Alleghenys10–0American ParkN/A53–40W2 :
September/October: 10–9 (Home: 0–0; Away: 10–9)
#DateOpponentScoreStadiumAttendanceRecordStreak
94September 2@ Alleghenys6–9Recreation ParkN/A53–41L1
95September 3@ Alleghenys6–5Recreation ParkN/A54–41W1
96September 5@ Alleghenys6–2Recreation ParkN/A55–41W2
97September 8@ Athletics7–8Jefferson Street GroundsN/A55–42L1
-September 9@ AthleticsPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 11
-September 10@ AthleticsPostponed (rain); Makeup: September 14
98September 11@ Athletics3–10Jefferson Street GroundsN/A55–43L2
99September 12@ Athletics8–3Jefferson Street GroundsN/A56–43W1
100September 14@ Athletics6–3Jefferson Street GroundsN/A57–43W2
101September 15@ Orioles1–0Oriole ParkN/A58–43W3
102September 16@ Orioles10–9Oriole ParkN/A59–43W4
103September 17@ Orioles6–4Oriole ParkN/A60–43W5
104September 19@ Orioles6–3Oriole ParkN/A61–43W6
-September 20@ GraysPostponed (unknown reason); Makeup: September 21
105September 21@ Grays3–6Washington ParkN/A61–44L1
106September 22@ Grays3–2Washington ParkN/A62–44W1
107September 24@ Metropolitans2–5Polo GroundsN/A62–45L1
108September 26@ Metropolitans2–7Polo GroundsN/A62–46L2
-September 27@ GraysPostponed (unknown reason); Makeup: September 28
109September 28@ Grays10–2Washington ParkN/A63–46W1
110September 29@ Grays7–8Washington ParkN/A63–47L1
111September 30@ Metropolitans1–3Polo GroundsN/A63–48L2
112October 1@ Metropolitans1–5Polo GroundsN/A63–49L3 :

### Notable transactions

* July 1, 1885: Jim Keenan jumped to the Red Stockings from the Detroit Wolverines.

### 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 | Pop Snyder | 39 | 152 | 36 | .237 | 1 | 19 |
| 1B | John Reilly | 111 | 482 | 143 | .297 | 5 | 60 |
| 2B | Bid McPhee | 110 | 431 | 114 | .265 | 0 | 46 |
| 3B | Hick Carpenter | 112 | 473 | 131 | .277 | 2 | 61 |
| SS | Frank Fennelly | 112 | 454 | 124 | .273 | 10 | 89 |
| OF | Charley Jones | 112 | 487 | 157 | .322 | 5 | 35 |
| OF | Pop Corkhill | 112 | 440 | 111 | .252 | 1 | 53 |
| OF | Jim Clinton | 105 | 408 | 97 | .238 | 0 | 34 |

#### 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 |
| Jim Keenan | 36 | 132 | 35 | .265 | 1 | 15 |
| Kid Baldwin | 34 | 126 | 17 | .135 | 1 | 8 |
| Phil Powers | 15 | 60 | 16 | .267 | 0 | 7 |
| Jimmy Peoples | 7 | 22 | 4 | .182 | 0 | 1 |

### 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 |
| Will White | 34 | 293.1 | 18 | 15 | 3.53 | 80 |
| Larry McKeon | 33 | 290.0 | 20 | 13 | 2.86 | 117 |
| Bill Mountjoy | 17 | 153.2 | 10 | 7 | 3.16 | 50 |
| Gus Shallix | 13 | 91.1 | 6 | 4 | 3.25 | 15 |
| George Pechiney | 11 | 98.0 | 7 | 4 | 2.02 | 49 |
| Jimmy Peoples | 2 | 15.0 | 0 | 2 | 12.00 | 4 |
| Bill McCaffrey | 1 | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 6.00 | 2 |

#### 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 |
| Kid Baldwin | 2 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 |

#### 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 |
| Pop Corkhill | 8 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3.65 | 12 |
| Jim Keenan | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.13 | 0 |