| Louisville Grays | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| League | National League |
| Location | Louisville, Kentucky |
| Ballpark | Louisville Baseball Park |
| Founded | 1876 |
| Folded | 1877 |
| Colors | |
| Ownership | Walter Newman Haldeman and Charles Chase |
| Management | Jack Chapman |
TheLouisville Grays were a 19th-century United Statesbaseball team and charter member of theNational League, based inLouisville, Kentucky. They played two seasons, 1876 and 1877, and compiled a record of 65–61. Their home games were at theLouisville Baseball Park. The Grays were owned by businessmanWalter Newman Haldeman, owner and publisher of theLouisville Courier-Journal newspaper.
The Grays were undone byMajor League Baseball's firstgambling scandal. The team was in first place in August 1877, then suddenly lost seven games and tied one against theBoston Red Stockings andHartford Dark Blues. Boston ended up winning the pennant, seven games ahead of the second-place Grays. ACourier-Journal story questioning the team's conduct was written byJohn Haldeman, the owner's son.[1]
Team president Charles Chase received two anonymoustelegrams. One noted that gamblers were favoring the less talented Hartford team in an upcoming series. The second telegram predicted Louisville wouldthrow the next game versus Hartford on August 21. The Grays committed a number of suspicious errors and lost that game 7–0. League presidentWilliam Hulbert investigated and ordered players to authorizeWestern Union to release all telegrams sent or received during the 1877 season. All players complied exceptshortstopBill Craver, the team's captain.
The telegrams indicated thatpitcherJim Devlin,left fielderGeorge Hall, and utility playerAl Nichols intentionally lost games in exchange for money. No direct evidence was found implicating Craver. All four were banned from baseball for life, Craver for refusing to comply with the investigation.
Devlin pitched every inning for the 1877 Grays, leading the league in games and innings pitched. Hall played every inning in left field; he was a good batter, and was the 1876 home run leader with five. The originalSt. Louis Brown Stockings had signed Devlin and Hall for 1878 and went out of business with the Grays after the investigation.[2]
