User:P64/Baseball/roster

How should we present baseball team roster data either in articles or for editorial reference? This is bound to be unwieldy. Tables --both wiki-tables and handmade tables, see examples below-- are painful to compose or even to tweak by deleting a column (deleting a row is easy). Space is cramped. What is to be done?

Following some discussion of alternatives, using the Morrisania Unions and Rockford Forest Citys for illustration, the "Roll Call" presents some roster data for 15 of the 17 clubs that fielded pro teams in 1869 or 1870.

For some of the teams uppercase cell entries indicate participation in more than 60% of tabulated games, lowercase 40-60% of games, and parentheses less than 40% of games (incompletely implemented).

Known players. Commonly the "known" players on NABBP teams are those listed by Marshall Wright, The National Association of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870 (McFarland 2002). For later seasons he lists everyone who played five or more games on record &mdash; his record, compiled from contemporary game or season reports that he was able to locate.

Some teams and players are known from William J. Ryczek, When Johnny Came Sliding Home: The Post-Civil War Baseball Boom, 1865-1870 (McFarland 1998), or from two volumes of short biographies by SABR

Morrisania, Union
(That is, the Union baseball club of Morrisania, Bronx.


 * Category:Morrisania Unions players includes all known Wikipedia player pages for team members.
 * Category talk:Morrisania Unions players provides some report on Wikipedia coverage.

For some Unions of Morrisania team and player data see
 * Marshall Wright, pages 69 79 89 99 114 147 192 272 302 (entries for 1862-1870)

The Union base ball club of Morrisania, New York was one original and persistent member of the NABBP. The club did not join the new all-professional National Association in 1871 or thereafter so its player are "major leaguers" only by their play for other clubs after 1870. This table gives the teams and numbers of games for every player's first two major league stints, insofar as those data fit conveniently in the '1871' and '1872' columns. If the Unions fielded an amateur team in 1871 with some of its old players, that is not indicated in the righthand columns of this table. Rather, the right-hand columns of this table report the major league experience

The 1868 team
This team was champion until October 5, its second defeat to Atlantic. (Neither team has a good case to be the strongest and Mutual soon beat Atlantic twice.) These ten men played at least twenty games and no other played even five games(#). That is unusual in the Marshall Wright rosters. There were other players, several of them if it is true that none played five. Indeed, Wright gives 20 and 21 games for Bellan and Reynolds, so they fall short of one every day player. Perhaps one layed on the long western tour; one afterward. I have marked both of them as substitutes or part-timers. chief source 1863-1870: Marshall Wright, pages 79 89 99 114 147 192 272 302 (entries for eight teams)

This table concerns the Ten with the Union club in eight columns 1863 to 1870, and concerns their league careers in three columns 1871 to "later" than 1872. Marshall Wright lists some Union players for every season 1857 to 1870 except 1861. By coincidence for this team, Birdsall's 1863 arrivale matches Wright's 1862/1863 matches between listing all players and listing all five-game players, so his rosters imply that none of these men played for the Unions before this table begins in 1863. Within the table there is no such implication; the blank cells mean "fewer than five games" (usually five) rather than "did not play".

How much more information may be added without impairing readability of this table? The extent of the left-hand side, 10 rows with 8 columns left of the player names (NABBP), is derived from focus on the 1868 team alone and reference to Wright alone.

Regular players may be distinguished from substitute and part-season players by a code such as upper and lower case, bold and plain face, etc. For the 1868 season only, the first table uses both uppercase for the regulars and parentheses for the others, two devices. The next table extends those devices to the span 1863-70 (still using only the 'x').

The four substitutes or part-timers marked in 1869-70 played 40-56% of the maximum games reported for any of their teammates; three marked in 1865-66 played 18-33% of maximum games.

Alternatively the next table simply gives the number of Union games played rather than 'x' and the other devices. (Bold numbers lead the entire Association as in modern baseball encyclopedias.) That might work together with the abbreviation for one fielding position. Combined with two or more fielding positions, as here for the 1868 season, the number of games would be too much clutter.

The 1866-68 and 1870 teams
This version differs by including players on the 1866 and 1867 teams as well as 1868 and 1870. It includes 1862 in order to cover the known tenure for two newly included players. It more severely abbreviates the fielding positions for some men who played more than two.

For 1866 to 1870 Wright names 12, 12, 10, 11, and 12 men who played five or more games. This table covers all of the 5-game men for the 1866-68 heyday and for 1870, with their roles in those seasons. It covers earlier seasons and 1869 only by noting the presence of 1866-68 or 1870 men. The club must have compensated some players before 1869, when the Association first permitted fully professional clubs, but it did not "go pro" in 1869 and consequently fielded a weak team.

Maybe the first column should be labeled 'earlier' or 'prior' or 'prev' rather than '1862'. Abrams and Hannegan are on the 1859 and 1860 rosters. Wright provides no data for 1861.

For the 1866 and 1867 teams Wright gives three or four fielding positions for some players. Here I have simply abbreviated the positions more severely, using a single character for all but the first one. The one entry for four positions ('SS,L,C,1' in 1867) remains too long, given the timespan to cover for the Unions. It needs severe abbreviation of the first position ('S,L,C,1') or truncation ('SS,L,C') or a different approach ('SS,etc' or 'SS,L,&').

The single letter 'C' always means catcher; the one-letter abbreviation for "centerfield" is 'M' (middle). Unfortunately considering the severe purpose, 'm' is a wide character. The severe abbreviation for "leftfield" is 'L', of course. Unfortunately for meaningful use of upper and lower case, 'l' is similar to '1' for firstbase.

For major teams 1865-70, Bill Ryczek names regular players by fielding position. He distinguishes three outfield positions and he is my only source for left, center, and right specifications. For some players the roles listed by Wright and Ryczek differ in ways more important than one or three outfield positions and multiple or single positions. Generally I have not investigated and here I have not noted the disagreements. 'OF' rather than a particular outfield position does mean that Ryczek does not name the player at any outfield position.

annual numbers
These numerical data cover the entire NABBP history 1857 to 1870.

For this club it appears that 1862/1863 marks the break between listing all known players and listing all who played at least about five games. That makes a big difference. After 1862 the number of listed players (row "all") is first very low, because the record barely covers five games, and it never exceeds twelve. The first 1857 roster names 15 men for only five games played.

year	1857	1858 	1859	1860	1861	1862	1863	1864	1865	1866	1867	1868	1869	1870 teamG	5	2	5	10	4	10	6	7	23	28	29	43	15	39 (25 pro)

maxG	4	2	4	10		5	7	7	21	28	29	44	10	27 minG	1	1	1	1		1	5	5	7	5	6	20	4	7

count data all	15	10	10	19	none	14	6	7	11	12	12	10	11	12 5+/Reg				8		5	6	7	8	8	9	8	7	8 2-4/S	9	8	9	5		7			3	4	3	2	4	4 1game	6	2	1	6		2

sum	35	18	35	86		45	39	43	(-16)	(-7)	(-6)	(-34)	67	(-15)

For 1857 the sum of player games is 35 evidently representing 4 matches (not three because the players' maximum is four games). If the data are valid then the team played at least once with eight men.

Rockford, Forest City
(That is, the Forest City baseball club of Rockford, Illinois.)


 * See also a standard table featuring the 1870 team, in the roll call below.

Here are some alternative presentations of roster data using the 1866-1870 Rockford Forest Citys for example. The club did join the pro NA for 1871, including several of these players (marked * in version two), and that was the only major league experience for some of them.

The first two tables cover only the major leaguers who played for the Rockford Forest Citys before 1871.


 * 1870 (pro) - Bob Addy, Al Barker, Ross Barnes, Fred Cone, Tom Foley, Scott Hastings, Joe Simmons, Al Spalding, Gat Stires
 * 1869 - Addy, Barker, Barnes, Cone, Foley, Hastings, Spalding, Stires
 * 1868 - Addy, Barker, Barnes, Cone, Spalding, Stires
 * 1867 (nonmember) - Addy, Barnes, Spalding
 * 1866 (nonmember) - Addy, Barnes, Spalding

Neither one should win any awards but either one may be useful.

The third one covers the 1868-1870 teams by fielding position (combining two sources) and provides 1866-1867 sightings from three biographies. 1866	1867	1868	1869	1870				(pro) 66	67	2B	C	2B	Bob Addy LF 	OF	of	Al Barker 66	67 	SS	SS	SS	Ross Barnes 1B	1B	LF	Fred Cone 3B	3B	Tom Foley 2B	C	Scott Hastings CF	Joe Simmons 66	67 	P	P	P	Al Spalding RF	of	RF	Gat Stires

lf,1b	Barstow 1B	Joe Doyle CF		Chesney:Chaney of		Sawyer of:LF		Trumbull 3B:CF	RF		Ballard Osborne of			Waxham C			George King Uppercase denotes a regular player. Comma is part of a complex listing from one source. Colon separates data from two sources, for selected differences only.

=Roll Call= Initially this "roll call" covers the professional teams of 1869 or 1870 except Tri-Mountain of Boston and Riverside of Portsmouth OH.

The tables feature one or more team-seasons by covering everyone who played (usually five or more games) during any of those seasons, and by giving their fielding positions for those seasons.

Baltimore, Maryland
(That is, the Maryland baseball club of Baltimore.)

This table features the 1869 and 1870 teams. This club joined the pro NA for 1873 so there is a column dedicated to that season. Unfortunately no roster data has been compiled for 1871 and 1872 (or 1867, the club's first season as NABBP member). Sam Armstrong may be Bob Armstrong who played 12 games in the outfield at Fort Wayne in 1871. First, that club (Kekionga of Fort Wayne) almost hired a nine from Maryland. Second, Bob Armstrong was born in Baltimore.

Brooklyn, Atlantic
This table features the 1869 and 1870 teams. (Other major leaguers before 1869: Charley Mills)

The 1864 and 1865 teams.

Brooklyn, Eckford
This table features the 1869 and 1870 teams. (Other major leaguers before 1869: Eggler, Charley Mills, Reach, Zettlein)

@ Various sources places four of the Eckford veterans on the independent professional team of 1871; all played for Eckford in 1872 also. Six others were not five-game veterans of the NABBP team: Chapman, Gedney, Hicks, Holdsworth, Shelly, and Swandell. Except Shelly they are also major leaguers.)


 * Three of the Eckford veterans who played for the club again during 1872 returned in mid-season after the Troy Haymakers disbanded. Otherwise these tables provide information on the players first league teams in each season after 1870.

This table features the 1862 and 1863 teams (champions). For 1861 Marshall Wright lists one-game players but the minimum here is two games. minimum two games

Chicago White Stockings
Chicago was founded as a professional baseball club, the first that was not an amateur club electing to "go pro". The club joined the pro NA for 1871 and returned to the field after missing two seasons in the aftermath of the fire.

This table features the 1870 team.

Cincinnati Red Stockings
This table features the 1869 and 1870 teams.

Cleveland, Forest City
This table features the 1869 and 1870 teams. Forest City joined the pro NA for 1871 and survived two seasons so the 1871 and 1872 columns do double duty.

Irvington
(That is, the Irvington baseball club of Irvington, New Jersey.)

This table features the 1866 and 1867 teams. At least one or two other major leaguers played for Irvington, Everett Mills in 1868 and perhaps John Farrow (baseball) in 1869.

Morrisania, Union
(That is, the Union baseball club of Morrisania, Bronx.)


 * This club is covered in the introduction.

New York, Mutual
This table features the 1867 to 1870 teams.

Philadelphia, Athletic
This table features the 1869 and 1870 teams.

One other major leaguer played for Athletic, Lip Pike in 1866.

Remarkably the champion Athletics of 1871 did not use any new men. Ten of their own veterans were the regulars and three played one game each.

Philadelphia, Keystone
The Keystone club did not retain its future major leaguers and they did not play together during any season. Probably the team was strongest sometime before 1869, the club's only professional season.

Rockford, Forest City
(That is, the Forest City baseball club of Rockford, Illinois.)

This club joined the pro NA for 1871 so that column does double duty here.

Troy Haymakers
This table features the 1869 and 1870 teams.

Washington, National
This table features the 1869 and 1870 teams.

Washington, Olympic
This table features the 1869 and 1870 teams. This club joined the pro NA for 1871 and 1872 so those columns do double duty.

The 1870 team used a lot of players. Wright provides records for all games, represented here, and for pro games only, which show six regular players: Burroughs, Ewell, Force, Fox, Hurley, and Leech.

For 1869-70 uppercase entries indicate some participation in 60% of games, lowercase 40% of games, parentheses less than 40%.