The 1888 Louisville Colonels season was a season in American baseball. The team was coming off a strong 1887 season, in which it won 76 games and lost 60 under new manager John "Kick" Kelly, but the 1888 season proved to be a disappointment. The team's primary problem was a lack of quality pitching. The best pitcher, Thomas "Toad" Ramsey, had won 37 games in 1887; in 1888, plagued by a sore arm, he won only 8. None of the other pitchers proved capable of picking up the slack. The 1888 Colonels finished with a 58–87 record, seventh place in the American Association.
Regular season
On June 7, shareholder Mordecai Davidson bought out most of the other shareholders, appointing himself president and John R. Botto vice-president. Two days later, he officially took over as manager as well. John Kerins, among others, served as team captain, guiding the team's on-field activities.
The most famous member of the 1888 Colonels was outfielder Pete Browning, a ferocious hitter who was noted for excessive drinking and peculiar behavior. One of the best-known stories about Browning concerns an incident which occurred in Kansas City on June 19 of the 1888 season. Browning got up in a Kansas City hotel that morning, following a heavy rainstorm. The gutter in front of the hotel had been overwhelmed by the rain; there was a large puddle of water there. The drunken Browning purchased some fishing gear and tried his hand at fishing in the gutter. It's unclear whether he did this as a joke or whether he really believed that he could catch fish in the gutter, but in any event, the gutter-fishing incident became one of the most often-repeated Pete Browning stories. It's documented in the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Season standings
Record vs. opponents
Opening Day lineup
Roster 1888 Louisville Colonels Roster Pitchers
Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager
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 57 185 34 .184 0 13 1B Skyrocket Smith 58 206 49 .238 1 31 2B Reddy Mack 112 446 97 .217 3 34 3B 111 413 89 .215 0 51 SS 49 198 55 .278 1 30 OF Chicken Wolf 128 538 154 .286 0 67 OF 99 383 120 .313 3 72 OF 116 485 149 .307 2 50
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 83 319 75 .235 2 41 56 211 48 .227 0 29 Farmer Vaughn 51 189 37 .196 1 21 Lave Cross 46 180 41 .228 0 15 Harry Raymond 32 123 26 .211 0 13 Phil Tomney 34 120 18 .150 0 4 Farmer Weaver 26 112 28 .250 0 8 26 93 18 .194 0 6 Dude Esterbrook 23 93 21 .226 0 7 Phil Reccius 2 9 2 .222 0 4 Hercules Burnett 1 4 0 .000 0 0 Eddie Fusselback 1 4 1 .250 0 1 1 2 0 .000 0 0 Joe Cross 1 1 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 40 342.1 8 30 3.42 228 33 269.2 10 17 3.64 97 26 223.1 8 17 3.39 63 24 196.0 14 9 2.53 119 21 191.0 8 13 2.83 87 1 9.0 0 1 6.00 5
References 1888 Louisville Colonels team page at Baseball Reference