PITTSBURGH — The 1890 Pittsburgh Alleghenys had something to prove — there is a worse team.
They defeated the 1899 Cleveland Spiders 4-1 in a best-of-seven series between arguably two of the worst professional baseball teams ever.
Dave Anderson proved to be the ace for the Alleghenys, winning both games he started and finishing with a 3.55 ERA. Phenomenal Smith proved his worth out of the bullpen, pitching five innings in three games, giving up only two unearned runs.
Offensively for the Alleghenys, first baseman Guy Hecker and catcher Harry Decker led the way, batting .435 and .526, respectively.
The Spiders found little to cheer about, especially on the pitching mound. Their staff combined for a 6.00 ERA. Offensively, however, the Spiders batted .300 as a team. Unfortunately for the Spiders, the Alleghenys batted .382 as a team.
Hecker and Cleveland third baseman Suter Sullivan each had five hits in game one of the series. The Alleghenys outscored the Spiders 8.6 to 5.4 for the series.
Box Scores
Game 1: Cleveland 7, Pittsburgh 5
11-24-2001 12:00:20 # 1 ---------------------------------------
90 Alleghen AB R H BI 99 Clevelan AB R H BI
8 Sunday 4 1 1 0 Errors: 8 Dowd 5 2 2 1 Errors:
5 Miller 5 0 3 1 Sunday 2 (2) 7 Harley 4 1 1 0 Lochhead (1)
9 Berger 4 0 0 0 Miller (1) 4 Quinn 4 1 2 2 Double Play: 2
3 Hecker 4 0 2 1 Berger (1) 5 Sullivan 4 0 1 1 LOB: 6
4 LaRoque 3 0 0 0 Hecker (1) 9 McAllister 3 0 1 1
2 Decker 4 1 2 0 Sales 2 (2) 3 Tucker 4 0 0 0
7 Kelty 4 1 1 0 Triples: 6 Lochhead 4 1 0 0
6 Sales 4 1 1 2 Decker (1) 2 Sugden 4 2 2 1
1 Baker 3 1 1 0 Sales (1) 1 Hughey 1 0 0 0
Wilson 1 0 0 0 Stolen Bases: Zimmer 1 0 0 0
Sunday (1)
Baker (1)
Double Play: 1
LOB: 7
Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO
Baker L(0-1) 8 9 7 4 0 3 Hughey W(1-0) 8 8 2 2 2 2
Colliflower 0 3 3 2 0 0
Hill S(1) 1 0 0 0 0 0
HBP:
Hill(Sunday)
R H E
90 Allegheny 100 010 003 5 11 7
99 Cleveland 001 040 11- 7 9 1
Game 2: Pittsburgh 13, Cleveland 3
11-24-2001 12:50:48 # 1 ---------------------------------------
90 Alleghen AB R H BI 99 Clevelan AB R H BI
8 Sunday 6 3 3 1 Errors: 8 Dowd 4 1 0 0 Errors:
5 Miller 4 3 3 3 Sunday (3) 7 Harley 3 0 1 0 Harley 2 (2)
Roat 0 0 0 0 Miller (2) 4 Quinn 5 0 0 0 Lochhead (2)
9 Berger 5 0 2 1 Sales 2 (4) 5 Sullivan 5 0 1 0 LOB: 10
3 Hecker 6 1 1 1 Doubles: 9 McAllister 4 0 1 0
4 LaRoque 5 2 3 3 Sunday (1) 3 Tucker 4 1 0 0
2 Decker 4 2 4 3 LaRoque (1) 6 Lochhead 2 0 1 0
7 Kelty 4 0 0 0 Sales (1) Schreckengo 2 0 0 0
6 Sales 5 1 3 1 Triples: 2 Sugden 2 0 0 0
1 Anderson 3 1 1 0 Miller (1) Zimmer 2 1 2 0
Smith 1 0 0 0 Hecker (1) 1 Knepper 1 0 1 1
Home Runs: Carsey 1 0 0 0
Decker (1) Colliflower 1 0 0 0
Stolen Bases: Cross 1 0 0 0
Sunday (2)
Double Play: 1
LOB: 9
Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO
Anderson W(1-0) 6 2/3 4 1 1 3 1 Knepper L(0-1) 4 2/3 11 6 5 2 0
Smith 2 1/3 3 2 0 0 2 Carsey 1 3 2 2 1 0
Colliflower 1 1/3 5 5 5 0 0
Stivetts 2 1 0 0 1 2
R H E
90 Allegheny 003 212 320 13 20 4
99 Cleveland 010 000 002 3 7 3
Game 3: Pittsburgh 5, Cleveland 4
11-24-2001 14:25:16 # 1 ---------------------------------------
99 Clevelan AB R H BI 90 Alleghen AB R H BI
8 Dowd 4 1 1 0 Errors: 8 Sunday 3 1 1 0 Errors:
7 Harley 4 1 2 1 Dowd (1) 5 Miller 4 0 1 1 LaRoque (1)
4 Quinn 4 0 2 2 Sullivan (1) 9 Berger 4 2 2 0 Decker (1)
5 Sullivan 4 1 3 0 McAllister (1) 3 Hecker 4 0 1 0 Kelty (1)
9 McAllister 4 0 0 0 Lochhead (3) 4 LaRoque 3 0 0 0 Doubles:
3 Tucker 4 0 1 1 Doubles: 2 Decker 4 1 2 2 Sales (2)
6 Lochhead 4 0 1 0 Quinn (1) 7 Kelty 2 1 1 0 Stolen Bases:
2 Sugden 3 0 1 0 Stolen Bases: 6 Sales 3 0 1 2 Sunday (3)
Schreckengo 1 0 0 0 Sullivan (1) 1 Sowders 3 0 0 0 Miller (1)
1 Bates 3 1 0 0 Schreckengo (1) Smith 1 0 0 0 LaRoque 2 (2)
Zimmer 1 0 0 0 Double Play: 1 Double Play: 1
LOB: 5 LOB: 9
Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO
Bates L(0-1) 6 2/3 9 5 5 6 0 Sowders W(1-0) 7 1/3 9 4 4 0 3
Hill 1 1/3 0 0 0 1 0 Smith S(1) 1 2/3 2 0 0 0 1
WP:
Sowders
R H E
99 Cleveland 012 000 010 4 11 4
90 Allegheny 000 003 20- 5 9 3
Game 4: Pittsburgh 11, Cleveland 7
11-24-2001 14:56:53 # 1 ---------------------------------------
99 Clevelan AB R H BI 90 Alleghen AB R H BI
8 Dowd 5 1 1 0 Errors: 8 Sunday 5 2 2 2 Errors:
7 Harley 5 2 2 1 Harley (3) 5 Miller 4 2 3 3 Sunday (4)
4 Quinn 5 0 0 1 Sullivan 2 (3) 9 Berger 4 0 2 0 Miller (3)
5 Sullivan 5 1 5 1 Lochhead (4) 3 Hecker 4 0 1 2 Berger (2)
9 McAllister 4 1 2 1 Sugden 2 (2) 4 LaRoque 2 1 0 0 LaRoque 2 (3)
3 Tucker 5 1 1 2 Doubles: Hemp 1 0 1 0 Kelty (2)
6 Lochhead 5 0 1 1 Harley (1) Crane 2 0 0 0 Sales (5)
2 Sugden 5 0 1 0 Sullivan (1) 2 Decker 4 1 1 0 Doubles:
1 Hughey 1 0 0 0 Tucker (1) 7 Kelty 4 2 2 1 Miller (1)
Zimmer 1 0 1 0 Carsey (1) 6 Sales 4 0 0 0 Kelty (1)
Schreckengo 1 1 1 0 Double Play: 2 1 Baker 0 1 0 0 Stolen Bases:
Carsey 2 0 1 0 LOB: 11 Burke 1 0 0 0 Sunday 2 (5)
Jones 2 2 1 1 Berger (1)
Hecker 3 (3)
Hemp (1)
Double Play: 2
LOB: 6
Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO
Hughey L(1-1) 1 1/3 4 6 0 1 0 Baker 4 7 3 3 0 3
Stivetts 1 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 Jones W(1-0) 4 9 4 4 0 2
Hill 2 2 0 0 0 0 Smith 1 0 0 0 0 1
Colliflower 0 1/3 3 3 2 1 0
Carsey 2 2/3 3 2 0 2 0
R H E
99 Cleveland 102 001 003 7 16 6
90 Allegheny 060 003 02- 11 13 7
Game 5: Pittsburgh 9, Cleveland 6
11-24-2001 15:35:34 # 1 ---------------------------------------
99 Clevelan AB R H BI 90 Alleghen AB R H BI
8 Dowd 5 1 1 1 Errors: 8 Sunday 5 1 3 0 Errors:
7 Harley 4 1 1 0 Lochhead (5) 5 Miller 5 1 2 2 Sunday (5)
4 Quinn 5 2 1 0 Doubles: 9 Berger 5 1 1 0 Miller (4)
5 Sullivan 5 0 4 2 Harley (2) 3 Hecker 5 2 5 2 LaRoque 2 (5)
9 McAllister 4 0 1 0 Quinn (2) 4 LaRoque 5 0 1 2 Doubles:
3 Tucker 5 0 0 0 Knepper (1) 2 Decker 3 2 1 1 Kelty (2)
6 Lochhead 3 1 2 0 LOB: 9 7 Kelty 3 0 2 0 Sales (3)
Schreckengo 1 0 0 0 6 Sales 4 1 2 1 Triples:
2 Sugden 3 1 2 0 1 Anderson 2 0 0 0 LaRoque (1)
Duncan 1 0 0 0 Osborne 1 1 1 0 Stolen Bases:
1 Knepper 2 0 1 1 Jones 1 0 0 0 Sunday 3 (8)
Hemphill 1 0 1 0 Hecker 2 (5)
Double Play: 3
LOB: 8
Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO Pitcher IP H R ER BB SO
Knepper L(0-2) 5 2/3 14 7 5 1 1 Anderson W(2-0) 6 12 6 4 1 0
Stivetts 1 1/3 2 2 0 1 0 Jones S(1) 3 2 0 0 1 1
Colliflower 1 2 0 0 0 0
WP:
Jones
Jones
Passed Ball:
Decker
R H E
99 Cleveland 112 011 000 6 14 1
90 Allegheny 021 006 00- 9 18 4
Team Stats
1890 Allegheny
Batting
Name Avg G AB R H TB 2B 3B HR BI SH SF HB BB SO SB CS GIDP ERR OB Slg
Anderson, Dave .200 2 5 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .200 .200
Baker, Kirtley .333 2 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 .500 .333
Berger, Tun .318 5 22 3 7 7 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 0 1 2 .375 .318
Burke, Eddie .000 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000
Crane, Sam .000 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000
Decker, Harry .526 5 19 7 10 15 0 1 1 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 .571 .789
Hecker, Guy .435 5 23 3 10 12 0 1 0 6 0 0 0 1 0 5 1 1 1 .458 .522
Hemp, Ducky 1.000 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1.000 1.000
Jones, Henry .333 2 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 .333
Kelty, John .353 5 17 4 6 8 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 1 0 2 0 2 .476 .471
LaRoque, Sam .222 5 18 3 4 7 1 1 0 5 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 0 5 .300 .389
Miller, Doggie .545 5 22 6 12 15 1 1 0 10 0 1 0 4 0 1 1 0 4 .615 .682
Osborne, Fred 1.000 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000
Roat, Fred 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 .000 .000
Sales, Ed .350 5 20 3 7 12 3 1 0 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5 .381 .600
Smith, Phenomen .000 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .000 .000
Sowders, Bill .000 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 .000
Sunday, Billy .435 5 23 8 10 11 1 0 0 3 0 0 1 2 1 8 3 0 5 .500 .478
Wilson, Bill .000 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000
TEAM TOTALS: .382 186 43 71 92 8 5 1 39 1 2 1 19 5 19 9 4 25 .442 .495
Pitching
Name W L S BS ERA G GS CG ShO IP H R ER HR HB BB SO SO/9 Avg Slg OB
Anderson, Dave 2 0 0 0 3.55 2 2 0 0 12.7 16 7 5 0 0 4 1 0.71 .296 .352 .345
Baker, Kirtley 0 1 0 0 5.25 2 2 1 0 12.0 16 10 7 0 0 0 6 4.50 .281 .298 .281
Jones, Henry 1 0 1 0 5.14 2 0 0 0 7.0 11 4 4 0 0 1 3 3.86 .324 .412 .343
Smith, Phenomen 0 0 1 0 0.00 3 0 0 0 5.0 5 2 0 0 0 0 4 7.20 .250 .250 .250
Sowders, Bill 1 0 0 0 4.91 1 1 0 0 7.3 9 4 4 0 0 0 3 3.68 .300 .333 .300
TEAM TOTALS: 4 1 2 0 4.09 1 0 44.0 57 27 20 0 0 5 17 3.48 .292 .333 .310
Fielding
Games-By-Position
Name Tot P C 1B 2B 3B SS LF CF RF DH Errs Assts POs Pct%
Anderson, Dave 2 2 - - - - - - - - - 0 2 0 1.000 Anderson
Baker, Kirtley 2 2 - - - - - - - - - 0 1 1 1.000 Baker
Berger, Tun 5 - - - - - - - - 5 - 2 0 4 .667 Berger
Crane, Sam 1 - - - 1 - - - - - - 0 4 2 1.000 Crane
Decker, Harry 5 - 5 - - - - - - - - 1 2 20 .957 Decker
Hecker, Guy 5 - - 5 - - - - - - - 1 5 49 .982 Hecker
Jones, Henry 2 2 - - - - - - - - - 0 1 2 1.000 Jones
Kelty, John 5 - - - - - - 5 - - - 2 1 14 .882 Kelty
LaRoque, Sam 5 - - - 5 - - - - - - 5 21 13 .872 LaRoque
Miller, Doggie 5 - - - - 5 - - - - - 4 13 2 .789 Miller
Roat, Fred 1 - - - - 1 - - - - - 0 0 0 1.000 Roat
Sales, Ed 5 - - - - - 5 - - - - 5 17 14 .861 Sales
Smith, Phenomen 3 3 - - - - - - - - - 0 0 0 1.000 Smith
Sowders, Bill 1 1 - - - - - - - - - 0 2 2 1.000 Sowders
Sunday, Billy 5 - - - - - - - 5 - - 5 1 9 .667 Sunday
TEAM TOTALS: 25 70 132 .890
1899 Cleveland
Batting
Name Avg G AB R H TB 2B 3B HR BI SH SF HB BB SO SB CS GIDP ERR OB Slg
Bates, Frank .000 1 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .000 .000
Carsey, Kid .333 2 3 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .333 .667
Colliflower, Ha .000 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000
Cross, Lave .000 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000
Dowd, Tommy .217 5 23 6 5 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 .250 .217
Duncan, Jim .000 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000
Harley, Dick .350 5 20 5 7 9 2 0 0 2 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 3 .435 .450
Hemphill, Charl .000 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000
Hill, Still Bil 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000
Hughey, Jim .000 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 .000 .000
Knepper, Charli .667 2 3 0 2 3 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .667 1.000
Lochhead, Harry .278 5 18 2 5 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 1 5 .278 .278
McAllister, Spo .263 5 19 1 5 5 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 .300 .263
Quinn, Joe .217 5 23 3 5 7 2 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .217 .304
Schreckengost, .200 4 5 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .200 .200
Stivetts, Jack 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000
Sugden, Joe .353 5 17 3 6 6 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 .353 .353
Sullivan, Suter .609 5 23 2 14 15 1 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 .609 .652
Tucker, Tommy .091 5 22 2 2 3 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 .091 .136
Zimmer, Chief .600 4 5 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .600 .600
TEAM TOTALS: .300 190 27 57 65 8 0 0 22 3 2 0 5 17 2 1 7 15 .318 .342
Pitching
Name W L S BS ERA G GS CG ShO IP H R ER HR HB BB SO SO/9 Avg Slg OB
Bates, Frank 0 1 0 0 6.75 1 1 0 0 6.7 9 5 5 0 0 6 0 0.00 .333 .370 .455
Carsey, Kid 0 0 0 0 4.91 2 0 0 0 3.7 6 4 2 0 0 3 0 0.00 .375 .563 .474
Colliflower, Ha 0 0 0 0 30.38 4 0 0 0 2.7 13 11 9 1 0 1 0 0.00 .591 .909 .609
Hill, Still Bil 0 0 1 0 0.00 3 0 0 0 4.3 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0.00 .154 .154 .267
Hughey, Jim 1 1 0 0 1.93 2 2 0 0 9.3 12 8 2 0 0 3 2 1.93 .300 .375 .349
Knepper, Charli 0 2 0 0 8.71 2 2 0 0 10.3 25 13 10 0 0 3 1 0.87 .481 .558 .509
Stivetts, Jack 0 0 0 0 0.00 3 0 0 0 5.0 4 2 0 0 0 2 2 3.60 .222 .389 .300
TEAM TOTALS: 1 4 1 0 6.00 0 0 42.0 71 43 28 1 1 19 5 1.07 .378 .489 .438
Fielding
Games-By-Position
Name Tot P C 1B 2B 3B SS LF CF RF DH Errs Assts POs Pct%
Bates, Frank 1 1 - - - - - - - - - 0 0 1 1.000 Bates
Carsey, Kid 2 2 - - - - - - - - - 0 0 1 1.000 Carsey
Colliflower, Ha 4 4 - - - - - - - - - 0 0 1 1.000 Colliflower
Dowd, Tommy 5 - - - - - - - 5 - - 1 0 11 .917 Dowd
Duncan, Jim 1 - 1 - - - - - - - - 0 0 0 1.000 Duncan
Harley, Dick 5 - - - - - - 5 - - - 3 2 16 .857 Harley
Hill, Still Bil 3 3 - - - - - - - - - 0 0 1 1.000 Hill
Hughey, Jim 2 2 - - - - - - - - - 0 0 3 1.000 Hughey
Knepper, Charli 2 2 - - - - - - - - - 0 0 0 1.000 Knepper
Lochhead, Harry 5 - - - - - 5 - - - - 5 16 8 .828 Lochhead
McAllister, Spo 5 - - - - - - - - 5 - 1 1 1 .667 McAllister
Quinn, Joe 5 - - - 5 - - - - - - 0 13 17 1.000 Quinn
Schreckengost, 3 - 1 - - - 2 - - - - 0 1 1 1.000 Schreckengost
Stivetts, Jack 3 3 - - - - - - - - - 0 0 1 1.000 Stivetts
Sugden, Joe 5 - 5 - - - - - - - - 2 8 7 .882 Sugden
Sullivan, Suter 5 - - - - 5 - - - - - 3 21 3 .889 Sullivan
Tucker, Tommy 5 - - 5 - - - - - - - 0 9 52 1.000 Tucker
Zimmer, Chief 1 - 1 - - - - - - - - 0 1 2 1.000 Zimmer
TEAM TOTALS: 15 72 126 .930