IN THE NEWS: John McGraw threatens that if the National League drops Baltimore, which is controlled by the owners of the Brooklyn Superbas, he will form an American League team. Two weeks later the NL Circuit Committee recommends buying out Baltimore, Washington, Cleveland, and Louisville and going to an 8-team league. McGraw then organizes a Baltimore club in the AL.
IN THE NEWS: Marty Bergen, Boston's regular catcher, kills his wife and two children, then takes his own life. Bergen, 28, had suffered an apparently career-ending broken hip during a game last season.
IN THE NEWS: The National League Reduction Committee has a secret meeting in Cleveland, supposedly to discuss dropping Louisville, Baltimore, Washington, and Cleveland from the league roster.
The A.J. Reach company is granted a patent for protective headgear known as the "Reach Pneumatic Head Protector." It won't gain acceptance, though a few players, notably Roger Bresnahan, will occasionally wear it.