| 1896 Philadelphia Phillies | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | National League |
| Ballpark | National League Park |
| City | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Record | 62–68 (.477) |
| League place | 8th |
| Owners | Al Reach,John Rogers |
| Managers | Billy Nash |
The1896 Philadelphia Phillies did well at home, but had difficulty on the road during a season which kicked off with a pre-season tribute to former Phillies managerHarry Wright, who had died during the fall of 1895.
Baseball pioneer and former Phillies managerHarry Wright had died in October 1895. The National League declared April 13, 1896 to be "Wright Day," and the Phillies, along with the other clubs playing that day, dedicated their gate receipts to a memorial in Wright's memory. Wright's arrival as Phillies manager in 1884 brought immediate credibility to the fledging organization, and he exerted a positive influence on the growth of baseball in the area.
ThePhiladelphia Inquirer wrote, "Harry Wright came to this city in the zenith of his powers as a base ball manager, and what he did for the development of the local end of the national game of base ball is a matter of history. It was here that he passed the evening of his life, beloved by all whose good fortune it was to know him. Here it was that he had his little home staked, and here in the impressive silence of beautiful West Laurel Hill his mortal remains lie buried. His work was an honor to Philadelphians, who will doubtless turn and give substantial evidence of their appreciation of that honor."[1]
TheInquirer rallied the city's amateur baseball organizations to attend the game in numbers.[2] Four thousand fans attended the Phillies exhibition game atPhiladelphia Ball Park against the Atlantic League Philadelphia Athletics, raising $1,400 for the Wright memorial.[3]
On July 13, 1896, Phillies outfielder and firstbasemanEd Delahanty hit four home runs at Chicago'sWest Side Park, only the second player to do so. In contrast toBobby Lowe's feat two years earlier, which was aided by a short foul line, two of Delahanty's were inside-the-park. After Delahanty's third, center fielderBill Lange drew a laugh by calling "time", stationing himself in deep-deep center, near the clubhouse, seemingly a mile away, and then waving the pitcher to continue. Delahanty then got the laugh on Lange by knocking it between the clubhouse and the fence, again circling the bases while Lange scurried for the ball. The normally partisan home fans cheered Delahanty's effort.[4] Chicago would win the game, 9–8.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Orioles | 90 | 39 | .698 | — | 49–16 | 41–23 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 80 | 48 | .625 | 9½ | 43–19 | 37–29 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 77 | 50 | .606 | 12 | 51–15 | 26–35 |
| Boston Beaneaters | 74 | 57 | .565 | 17 | 42–24 | 32–33 |
| Chicago Colts | 71 | 57 | .555 | 18½ | 42–24 | 29–33 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 66 | 63 | .512 | 24 | 35–31 | 31–32 |
| New York Giants | 64 | 67 | .489 | 27 | 39–26 | 25–41 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 62 | 68 | .477 | 28½ | 42–27 | 20–41 |
| Washington Senators | 58 | 73 | .443 | 33 | 38–29 | 20–44 |
| Brooklyn Bridegrooms | 58 | 73 | .443 | 33 | 35–28 | 23–45 |
| St. Louis Browns | 40 | 90 | .308 | 50½ | 27–34 | 13–56 |
| Louisville Colonels | 38 | 93 | .290 | 53 | 25–37 | 13–56 |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BSN | BRO | CHI | CIN | CLE | LOU | NYG | PHI | PIT | STL | WAS | |||||
| Baltimore | — | 5–7 | 6–6 | 7–4–2 | 10–2 | 3–8–1 | 10–2 | 9–3 | 12–0 | 9–2 | 9–3 | 10–2 | |||||
| Boston | 7–5 | — | 10–2 | 3–9 | 5–6 | 5–7–1 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 7–5 | 8–4 | 7–5 | |||||
| Brooklyn | 6–6 | 2–10 | — | 6–6 | 2–10 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 6–5–1 | 7–5 | 4–8–1 | |||||
| Chicago | 4–7–2 | 9–3 | 6–6 | — | 4–6–1 | 2–9–1 | 9–3 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 11–1 | 9–3 | 8–4 | |||||
| Cincinnati | 2–10 | 6–5 | 10–2 | 6–4–1 | — | 6–5 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 12–0 | 7–4 | |||||
| Cleveland | 8–3–1 | 7–5–1 | 5–7 | 9–2–1 | 5–6 | — | 8–3–2 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 4–8–1 | 10–2 | 9–3–1 | |||||
| Louisville | 2–10 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 3–9 | 3–9 | 3–8–2 | — | 4–8–1 | 7–5 | 2–10 | 3–9 | 3–9 | |||||
| New York | 3–9 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–4–1 | — | 3–8 | 4–8 | 9–3–1 | 6–6 | |||||
| Philadelphia | 0–12 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 8–4 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–3 | — | 6–6 | 8–3 | 8–4 | |||||
| Pittsburgh | 2–9 | 5–7 | 5–6–1 | 1–11 | 7–5 | 8–4–1 | 10–2 | 8–4 | 6–6 | — | 8–3 | 6–6 | |||||
| St. Louis | 3–9 | 4–8 | 5–7 | 3–9 | 0–12 | 2–10 | 9–3 | 3–9–1 | 3–8 | 3–8 | — | 5–7 | |||||
| Washington | 2–10 | 5–7 | 8–4–1 | 4–8 | 4–7 | 3–9–1 | 9–3 | 6–6 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–7 | — | |||||
| 1896 Philadelphia Phillies | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders | Manager | ||||||
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Mike Grady | 71 | 242 | 77 | .318 | 1 | 44 |
| 1B | Dan Brouthers | 57 | 218 | 75 | .344 | 1 | 41 |
| 2B | Bill Hallman | 120 | 469 | 150 | .320 | 2 | 83 |
| 3B | Billy Nash | 65 | 227 | 56 | .247 | 3 | 30 |
| SS | Billy Hulen | 88 | 339 | 90 | .265 | 0 | 38 |
| OF | Sam Thompson | 119 | 517 | 154 | .298 | 12 | 100 |
| OF | Ed Delahanty | 123 | 499 | 198 | .397 | 13 | 126 |
| OF | Duff Cooley | 64 | 287 | 88 | .307 | 2 | 22 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lave Cross | 106 | 406 | 104 | .256 | 1 | 73 |
| Joe Sullivan | 48 | 191 | 48 | .251 | 2 | 24 |
| Jack Clements | 57 | 184 | 66 | .359 | 5 | 45 |
| Nap Lajoie | 39 | 175 | 57 | .326 | 4 | 42 |
| Jack Boyle | 40 | 145 | 43 | .297 | 1 | 28 |
| Sam Mertes | 37 | 143 | 34 | .238 | 0 | 14 |
| Phil Geier | 17 | 56 | 13 | .232 | 0 | 6 |
| William Gallagher | 14 | 49 | 15 | .306 | 0 | 6 |
| Tuck Turner | 13 | 32 | 7 | .219 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Ellis | 4 | 16 | 1 | .063 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Leahy | 2 | 6 | 2 | .333 | 0 | 1 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Taylor | 45 | 359.0 | 20 | 21 | 4.79 | 97 |
| Al Orth | 25 | 196.0 | 15 | 10 | 4.41 | 23 |
| Kid Carsey | 27 | 187.1 | 11 | 11 | 5.62 | 36 |
| Harry Keener | 16 | 113.1 | 3 | 11 | 5.88 | 28 |
| Willie McGill | 12 | 79.2 | 5 | 4 | 5.31 | 29 |
| Ad Gumbert | 11 | 77.1 | 5 | 3 | 4.54 | 14 |
| Con Lucid | 5 | 42.0 | 1 | 4 | 8.36 | 3 |
| Jerry Nops | 1 | 7.0 | 1 | 0 | 5.14 | 1 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Wheeler | 3 | 16.1 | 1 | 1 | 3.86 | 2 |
| Ned Garvin | 2 | 13.0 | 0 | 1 | 7.62 | 4 |
| Bert Inks | 3 | 10.1 | 0 | 1 | 7.84 | 2 |
| Bill Whitrock | 2 | 9.0 | 0 | 1 | 3.00 | 1 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlie Jordan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.71 | 3 |
| Bill Hallman | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.00 | 0 |
