The following are the baseball events of the year 1872 throughout the world.

Champions

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National Association final standings

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Pos Team Pld W L T RF RA RD GB
1 Boston Red Stockings (C) 48 39 8 1 521 236 +285
2 Baltimore Canaries 58 35 19 4 617 434 +183 7.5
3 New York Mutuals 56 34 20 2 523 362 +161 8.5
4 Philadelphia Athletics 47 30 14 3 539 349 +190 7.5
5 Troy Haymakers 25 15 10 0 273 191 +82 13
6 Brooklyn Atlantics 37 9 28 0 237 473 −236 25
7 Cleveland Forest Citys 22 6 16 0 174 254 −80 20.5
8 Middletown Mansfields 24 5 19 0 220 348 −128 22.5
9 Brooklyn Eckfords 29 3 26 0 152 413 −261 27
10 Washington Olympics 9 2 7 0 54 140 −86 18
11 Washington Nationals 11 0 11 0 80 190 −110 21
Source: Baseball Reference
(C) Champions

Statistical leaders

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Ross Barnes in 1872
National Association
Type Name Stat
AVG Ross Barnes BOS .430
HR Lip Pike BAL 7
RBI Lip Pike BAL 60
Wins Al Spalding BOS 38
ERA Al Spalding BOS 1.85
Strikeouts Bobby Mathews BAL 57

Notable seasons

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  • Boston Red Stockings pitcher Al Spalding has a record of 38–8 in 404.2 innings pitched and leads the NA in wins. He has a 1.85 earned run average and a 196 ERA+. At the plate, Spalding has a batting average of .354 and an OPS+ of 144.[1][2]
  • Boston Red Stockings second baseman Ross Barnes, in 45 games played, leads the NA with 99 hits, a .430 batting average, a 1.034 OPS, and a 211 OPS+. He has 81 runs scored and 44 runs batted in.[3][4]

Events

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January–March

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  • March 4 – At its annual convention being held in Cleveland, the NA adopts a rule change to allow the use of the wrist in the pitching delivery.

April–June

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July–September

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  • July 6 – Sporting a 22–1 record, Harry Wright takes the Boston club on vacation to an island in Boston Harbor.
  • July 9 – Eckford of Brooklyn commit 13 errors in their 15–3 loss to Union of Troy. It is the fewest errors committed by the 0–11 Eckfords in a game thus far this season.
  • July 23 – Despite a winning record, the Union Club of Troy disbands due to financial problems. Half of the "Haymakers'" roster will move to Eckford of Brooklyn, which saves them from dropping out of the NA.
  • July 26 – In an emergency meeting, the NA revises their scheduling requirements from 5 to 9 games versus each opponent competing for the championship. This is in response to the number of teams that have disbanded and comes 3 days after the first-division Union of Troy had called it quits.
  • August 13 – The Mansfield Club of Middletown, CT announce that they have disbanded and drop out of the NA.
  • August 19 – Forest City of Cleveland disband the club after a loss to Boston. This drops the number of teams still playing in the NA to 6.
  • September 1 – Al Thake, left-fielder batting .295 for Atlantic, drowns in New York harbor after falling from a fishing boat. Thake is the first active major league ballplayer to die. (But Elmer White, active in 1871, had died in winter.)

October–December

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Births

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Deaths

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Abbreviations
Date Individual's death date
Name Individual's name
Age Age at death
Cause Cause of death
Cemetery Place individual is interred
City/State City and state of burial
Seasons Seasons in which individual appeared
Teams Teams the individual played for or managed
Date Name Age Cause Cemetery City/State Seasons Teams Ref
March 17 Elmer White 21 Tuberculosis Elmwood Cemetery Caton, New York 1871 Cleveland Forest Citys [5]
September 1 Al Thake 22 Drowning Green-Wood Cemetery Brooklyn, New York 1872 Brooklyn Atlantics [6][7]

References

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General

  • Ryczek, William J. (1992). Blackguards and Red Stockings; A History of Baseball's National Association 1871–1875. Wallingford, Connecticut: Colebrook Press ISBN 0-9673718-0-5
  • Nemec, David (1997). The Great Encyclopedia of 19th-Century Major League Baseball. New York: Donald I. Fine Books ISBN 1-55611-500-8

Specific

  1. ^ "1872 National Association Pitching Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  2. ^ "Al Spalding Stats". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  3. ^ "1872 National Association Batting Leaders". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  4. ^ "Ross Barnes Stats". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
  5. ^ "Elmer Smith". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  6. ^ "Al Thake". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
  7. ^ "The Obit For Bub McAtee". The New York Times. thedeadballera.com. September 2, 1872. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2011.
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