1881 Providence Grays season

1881 Providence Grays
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1878)
Location
Messer Street Grounds (since 1878)
Providence, Rhode Island (since 1878)
Other information
Owner(s)	Henry Root
Manager(s)	Jack Farrell, Tom York
< Previous season     Next season  >

The Providence Grays finished the 1881 season in second place in the National League for a second straight season. However, management strife and sagging attendance hurt the team's bottom line and they occasionally had trouble meeting payroll.

Regular season

Season standings

National League	W	L	GB	Pct.
Chicago White Stockings	56	28	--	.667
Providence Grays	47	37	9	.560
Buffalo Bisons	45	38	10.5	.542
Detroit Wolverines	41	43	15	.488
Troy Trojans	39	45	17	.464
Boston Red Caps	38	45	17.5	.458
Cleveland Blues	36	48	20	.429
Worcester Worcesters	32	50	23	.390

Record vs. opponents

1881 National League Records Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
Team	BOS	BUF	CHI	CLE	DET	PRV	TRO	WOR
Boston	—	4–8	2–10	8–4	4–8	5–7	7–5	8–3
Buffalo	8–4	—	5–7	7–5	9–3	7–5	3–9	6–5
Chicago	10–2	7–5	—	6–6	7–5	9–3	8–4	9–3
Cleveland	4–8	5–7	6–6	—	5–7	3–9	6–6–1	7–5
Detroit	8–4	3–9	5–7	7–5	—	4–8	7–5	7–5
Providence	7–5	5–7	3–9	9–3	8–4	—	6–6	9–3
Troy	5–7	9–3	4–8	6–6–1	5–7	6–6	—	4–8
Worcester	3–8	5–6	3–9	5–7	5–7	3–9	8–4	—

Roster

1881 Providence Grays
Roster
Pitchers Bobby Mathews Charles Radbourn Catchers Barney Gilligan Emil Gross		Infielders Jerry Denny Jack Farrell Bill McClellan Henry Myers Joe Start		Outfielders Lew Brown Paul Hines John Ward Tom York		Manager Jack Farrell Tom York

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

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	Emil Gross	51	182	50	.275	1	24
1B	Joe Start	79	348	114	.328	0	29
2B	Jack Farrell	84	345	82	.238	5	36
3B	Jerry Denny	85	320	77	.241	1	24
SS	Bill McClellan	68	259	43	.166	0	16
OF	Tom York	85	316	96	.304	2	47
OF	Paul Hines	80	361	103	.285	2	31
OF	John Ward	85	357	87	.244	0	53

Other batters

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
Charles Radbourn	72	270	59	.219	0	28
Barney Gilligan	46	183	40	.219	0	20
Lew Brown	18	75	18	.240	0	10
Henry Myers	1	4	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned Run Average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Charles Radbourn	41	325.1	25	11	2.43	117
John Ward	39	330	18	18	2.13	119
Bobby Mathews	14	102.1	4	8	3.17	28

References

• 1881 Providence Grays season at Baseball Reference