Louisville Grays - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Louisville Grays

Founded: 1876
Folded: 1877
League: 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...
Stadium: Louisville Baseball Park Louisville Baseball Park Louisville Baseball Park is a former baseball ground located in Louisville, Kentucky. The ground was home to the Louisville Grays of the National League from 1876 to 1877. The ground was on a piece of property that was later developed into an upper-class neighborhood known as St. James Court.... , (1876–1877)
Championships: None

The Louisville Grays were a 19th century U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

team and charter member of the National League

19th century National League teams

The following is a list of United States Major League Baseball teams that played in the National League during the 19th century.-Major league:*Boston Red Stockings 1876–1900 – now Atlanta Braves...

, based in Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

. They played two seasons, 1876 and 1877, and compiled a record of 65–61. Their home games were at the Louisville Baseball Park

Louisville Baseball Park

Louisville Baseball Park is a former baseball ground located in Louisville, Kentucky. The ground was home to the Louisville Grays of the National League from 1876 to 1877. The ground was on a piece of property that was later developed into an upper-class neighborhood known as St. James Court....

. The Grays were owned by businessman Walter N. Haldeman, owner and publisher of the Louisville Courier-Journal

The Courier-Journal

The Courier-Journal, locally called "The C-J", is the main newspaper for the city of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. According to the 1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook, the paper is the 48th largest daily paper in the United States and the single largest in Kentucky.- Origins :The...

newspaper.

The Grays were undone by major league baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

's first gambling

Gambling

Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...

scandal. The team was in first place in August 1877, then suddenly lost seven games and tied one against the Boston Red Stockings

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

and Hartford Dark Blues

Hartford Dark Blues

The Hartford Dark Blues were a 19th century baseball team. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut.-History:They were a member of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in 1874 and 1875 and the National League in 1876 and 1877...

. Boston ended up winning the pennant, seven games ahead of the second-place Grays. A Courier-Journal story questioning the team's conduct was written by John Haldeman, the owner's son.

Team president Charles Chase received two anonymous telegrams. One noted that gamblers were favoring the less talented Hartford team in an upcoming series. The second telegram predicted Louisville would throw

Match fixing

In organised sports, match fixing, game fixing, race fixing, or sports fixing occurs as a match is played to a completely or partially pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. Where the sporting competition in question is a race then the incident is referred to as...

the next game versus Hartford on August 21. The Grays committed a number of suspicious errors and lost that game 7–0. League president William Hulbert

William Hulbert

William Ambrose Hulbert was one of the founders of the National League, recognized as baseball's first major league, and was also the president of the Chicago White Stockings franchise....

investigated and ordered players to authorize Western Union

Western Union

The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...

to release all telegrams sent or received during the 1877 season. All players complied except shortstop

Shortstop

Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...

Bill Craver

William H. Craver was an American Major League Baseball player from Troy, New York who played mainly as an infielder, but did play many games at catcher as well during his seven year career. He played for seven different teams, in two leagues...

, the team's captain.

The telegrams indicated that pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

Jim Devlin

James Alexander Devlin was an American Major League Baseball player who played mainly as a first baseman early in his career, then as a pitcher in the latter part...

, left fielder

Left fielder

In baseball, a left fielder is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...

George Hall

George Hall (baseball player)

George William Hall was a professional baseball player who played in the National Association and later the National League. Born in Stepney, England, Hall later immigrated to the U.S...

, and utility player Al Nichols

Al Nichols

Alfred Henry Nichols was an English Major League Baseball player for three seasons. Born in Worcester, England, he played for three different teams, and mainly played as a third baseman...

intentionally lost games in exchange for money. No direct evidence was found implicating Craver. All four were banned from baseball for life, Craver for refusing to comply with the investigation.

Jim Devlin pitched every inning for the 1877 Grays, leading the league in games and innings pitched. Hall played every inning in left field; he was a good batter, the 1876 home run "champion" with five. The original St Louis Brown Stockings had signed Devlin and Hall for 1878 and went out of business with the Grays after the investigation.

See also