| Baltimore Orioles | |
|---|---|
| Baltimore Base Ball and Exhibition Company | |
 Logo | |
| Information | |
| League | National League (1892–1899) |
| Location | Baltimore, Maryland |
| Ballpark | Union Park (1891–1899) |
| Founded | 1882 |
| Folded | 1899 |
| Temple Cup championships | 2 |
| National League pennant | 3 |
| Former league | American Association (1882–1891) |
| Former ballparks |
|
| Colors | Gold, black, white |
| Ownership | Harry Von der Horst |
| Manager |
|
TheBaltimore Orioles were a 19th-centuryprofessional baseball team that competed from 1882 to 1899, first in theAmerican Association and later in theNational League. This early Orioles franchise, which featured six players (Wilbert Robinson—C,Dan Brouthers—1B,Hughie Jennings—SS,John McGraw—3B,"Wee Willie" Keeler—RF, andJoe Kelley—LF) and a manager (Ned Hanlon) who were later inducted to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame, finished in first place for three consecutive seasons (1894–1896) and won theTemple Cup national championship series in1896 and1897.
Despite their success, the dominant Orioles were contracted out of the National League after the 1899 season, when the league reduced in size from 12 members to eight. Most of the Orioles' best players moved to theBrooklyn Superbas—Baltimore ownerHarry Von der Horst also had an ownership stake in Brooklyn.
Upon the foundation of theAmerican League in 1901, a reorganizedBaltimore Orioles franchise competed as a charter member for two seasons, before folding and being replaced by theNew York Highlanders, later renamed theNew York Yankees.
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The team, formally the "Baltimore Base Ball and Exhibition Company",[1] was founded in 1882 as a charter member of theAmerican Association (AA), considered a major league. The Orioles finished last in the league in four of their first five season, the exception being a sixth-place finish in 1884 when 13 different teams played in the league.[2] The team then had its best positional finish, third place, in 1887, followed by two seasons finishing fifth in the then eight-team league.
The Orioles dropped out of the league after the 1889 season, and began the 1890 season playing in theminor-leagueAtlantic Association.
However, when the last-placeBrooklyn Gladiators of the AA folded in late August, the Orioles re-joined the AA and played 38 games to complete the 1890 season, posting a record of 15–19 with four ties.[2] The Orioles remained in the AA for 1891, finishing sixth among nine teams in the AA's final season.[2]
Overall, during 10 seasons of AA play, the Orioles had a cumulative record of 489–602 (.448).[2]
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The Orioles were one of four AA clubs (the others being theLouisville Colonels,St. Louis Browns, andWashington Statesmen) merged into theNational League (NL) in 1892, formally as a 12-member "League Association". The beginnings of the team can be traced to June 1892, when ownerHarry Von der Horst hiredNed Hanlon to bemanager of the Orioles, giving him stock in the team and full authority over baseball operations. Hanlon moved his growing family to a house that stood a block away from the team's ballpark.
After finishing last in the league in 1892 and eighth in 1893, the Orioles won three consecutive pennants during 1894–1896,[2] featuring several futureHall of Famers under manager Hanlon. They followed up the title run with two second-place finishes, in 1897 and 1898.[2] Accordingly, they participated in all four editions of the post-seasonTemple Cup series, held from 1894 through 1897 between the NL's top two teams, winning in1896 and1897.
After the team's 1898 second-place finish, most of the team's stars were moved to theBrooklyn Bridegrooms, who were renamed as the Superbas for 1899 and eventually became known as the Dodgers. The players moved when Von der Horst and Hanlon became part owners of the Brooklyn team, with Hanlon also becoming Brooklyn's manager. Third basemanJohn McGraw and catcherWilbert Robinson remained in Baltimore, with McGraw remaining as first-yearplayer-manager. Following a fourth-place finish in 1899,[2] the Orioles were one of four clubs eliminated by the NL (the others being theCleveland Spiders, Louisville Colonels, and the aforementioned Washington Statesmen, then known as the Washington Senators).
During their eight seasons of play in the NL, the Orioles compiled an overall record of 644–447 (.590).[2]
In the eight-team NL of 1900, McGraw and Robinson joined theSt. Louis Cardinals.
In 1901, McGraw followed through on his threats to abandon the NL and form a club in the rivalAmerican League (AL), being formed by new presidentBan Johnson out of the former minor-leagueWestern League. These newly formed Orioles of the AL only stayed in Baltimore for two seasons.
In 1903, a team was established in New York City as "the price of peace" as agreement between the older circuit (the NL) and its new upstart rival (the AL) allowing the "Americans" to have a team based in the city as a sign of respectability. The AL team in New York became known as theNew York Highlanders (or occasionally the New York Americans), later renamed in 1913 as theNew York Yankees. The Yankees do not consider the 1901–1902 Baltimore team as part of their history.
In 1903, an Orioles franchise in the old minor-leagueEastern League filled the void left by the departure of the major-league Orioles.
These minor-league Orioles included local product and future baseball iconBabe Ruth andLefty Grove. The team won a string of seven straight titles, 1919–1925, at the then highest level of the minor leagues in the reorganizedInternational League (known as such from 1912 onward).
A major-league franchise did not return to Baltimore until theSt. Louis Browns (not the Browns of the AA, but a team that had its origins inMilwaukee) relocated to the city in 1954 and was renamed as the currentBaltimore Orioles ofMajor League Baseball.
The Orioles of the American Association first played atNewington Park for the 1882 season.
Starting in 1883, the team played at the oldOriole Park, inHarwood, south of theWaverly neighborhood at 29th and Barclay Streets, just a block west fromGreenmount Avenue, remaining there into the 1891 season. The 1901–1902 American League team played at Oriole Park a decade later.
During the 1891 season, the Orioles moved a few blocks away toUnion Park on Huntington Avenue (later renamed 25th Street) and Greenmount Avenue. The team remained at Union Park for its entire time in the National League, 1892 through 1899.
The original Orioles were one of the most storied teams in the history of the game. Managed byNed Hanlon, they won NL pennants in 1894, 1895, and 1896, and sported some of the most colorful players in history includingJohn McGraw,Wee Willie Keeler,Hughie Jennings,Joe Kelley,Wilbert Robinson, andDan Brouthers.
They were rough characters who practically invented "scientific" baseball, the form of baseball played before thehome run became the norm in the 1920s. Like the style known today as "small ball", the "inside baseball" strategy of Orioles featured tightpitching,hit and run tactics,stolen bases, and precisebunting. One such play, where the batter deliberately strikes the pitched ball downward onto the infield surface with sufficient force such that the ball rebounds skyward, allowing the batter to reach first base safely before the opposing team can field the ball, remains known as aBaltimore chop.[3]
Matt Kilroy pitched ano-hitter for the Orioles on October 6, 1886;Bill Hawke threw one on August 16, 1893, the first from the modern pitching distance of 60 feet, 6 inches; andJay Hughes threw a no-hitter for the Orioles on April 22, 1898.[4]
| Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Inductee | Position | Tenure | Inducted |
| Dan Brouthers | 1B | 1894–1895 | 1945 |
| Ned Hanlon | CF / Manager | 1892–1898 | 1996 |
| Hughie Jennings | SS/1B | 1893–1899 | 1945 |
| Willie Keeler | RF | 1894–1898 | 1939 |
| Joe Kelley | LF | 1892–1898 | 1971 |
| Joe McGinnity | P | 1899 | 1946 |
| John McGraw | 3B / Manager | 1891–1899 | 1937 |
| Wilbert Robinson | Catcher / Manager | 1890–1899 | 1945 |