Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | July | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec
1881 | 1882 | 1883 | 1884 | 1885 | 1886 | 1887 | 1888 | 1889 | 1890 | 1891
MARCH
1886
IN THE NEWS: The American Association meets and overrules president Denny McKnight (also owner of the Pittsburgh club) and suspends Sam Barkley for signing with Pittsburgh before the dispute over his sale is settled.
The AA adopts new rules. The number of balls needed for a walk is reduced from seven to 6; the pitcher's box is one foot deeper, giving the pitcher seven feet behind the 50-foot front line in which to execute his delivery; Stolen bases are adopted as an official statistic, although the definition is rather vague initially.
IN THE NEWS: The NL meets and adopts the stolen base and the four foot by seven foot pitcher's box. But the NL retains seven balls for a walk and rejects the AA rule giving a batter first base on HPB.
IN THE NEWS: A business wrangle in the NL ends in a weakening of the league's famous 50 cents admission standard. St. Louis and Philadelphia, the two clubs facing rival AA teams with an admission of 25 cents, are allowed to charge a minimum of a quarter. Newcomers Washington and Kansas City are stuck with the 50 cents minimum, but are given the option of selling three tickets for a buck.
IN THE NEWS: Louisville opens the spring training season by playing a game in Savannah, Georgia.
IN THE NEWS: Via a transatlantic telegraph from Paris, 40-game winner Bob Caruthers agrees to terms with St. Louis Browns owner Von der Ahe. Caruther's well-publicized holdout will earn him the nickname "Parisian Bob."
IN THE NEWS: The Sporting News, the weekly that will become "The Baseball Paper of the World," publishes its first issue.
IN THE NEWS: The New York State League admits Buffalo, Toronto, and Hamilton. The inclusion of the Canadian teams causes the league to change its name to the International League.
IN THE NEWS: The AA ousts H.D. McKnight from the presidency for his partisan handling of the Barkley case. Wheeler Wikoff is the new president.
IN THE NEWS: The Cincinnati Reds announce that the pennant they won in 1882 will be flown at home games this season "for luck."
IN THE NEWS: According to today's Sporting News, the Reds are placing "telephone bulletins" in the suburbs to inform fans of the "exact conditions of the grounds" one hour before game time.
|
BALLPLAYERS | TEAMS | CHRONOLOGY | TODAY | BOOKS | NEWSLETTER | ERRATA | FAQ
