1879 Major League Baseball season

The 1879 major league baseball season was contested from May 1 through September 30, 1879, and saw the Providence Grays as the pennant winner of the fourth season of the National League. There was no postseason.

Over the off-season, the National League was set on expanding from a six-team league to an eight-team league. The Indianapolis Blues and Milwaukee Grays folded, and in its place, the league admitted the Cleveland Blues, the International Association's Buffalo Bisons and Syracuse Stars, and finally (with confirmation Milwaukee was not returning) the Troy Trojans.^[1]

It is suggested by Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) that this season featured the first African-American to play major league baseball, William Edward White, who played one game with the Providence Grays on June 21. He predates brothers Moses Fleetwood Walker and Weldy Walker by five years, and Jackie Robinson by 68 years.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

The 1879 schedule consisted of 84 games for all eight teams of the National League. Each team was scheduled to play 12 games against the other seven teams in the league. This format was an adjustment to the 12-games-each format that had been in place since 1877, as the National League expanded from six to eight teams, adding 24 games to each team's schedule.

Opening Day took place on May 1 featuring all eight teams. The final day of the season was on September 30, featuring six teams.^[7]

The 1879 season saw the following rule changes:

• The number of balls called that would award a base on balls remained nine, but the rule was reworded, so that there simply needed to be nine balls to walk a batter. Previously, three balls were required, but one ball was the same as three "unfair pitches".^[1]
• Any pitcher who hit a batter, "unless it was clearly an accident", would be fined between $10 and $50 (between $346 and $1,728 in 2025), in an effort to reduce intentional hit by pitches.^[1]
• The first batter of any inning of a game will be the batter who followed the last batter of the previous inning. Previously, if a runner was putout on a base, the batter after the runner called out would lead off the next inning.^[1]
• The pitcher's box was changed from a six feet square to an area four feet wide and six feet long, by moving the back line forwards two feet^[1][8]
• The Player reserve clause was for the first time put into a contract.^[9]
• The pitcher had to face a batsman before pitching to him.^[9]

Five tie games, which are not factored into winning percentage or games behind occurred throughout the season (though standings were determined by total wins, not winning percentage).^[11]

The Chicago White Stockings had four tie games. The Troy Trojans had two tie games. The Buffalo Bisons, Cincinnati Reds, Providence Grays, and Syracuse Stars had one tie game each.

• June 10, Chicago White Stockings vs. Troy Trojans, tied at 1.^[12]
• July 21, Providence Grays vs. Chicago White Stockings, scoreless.^[13]
• August 30, Chicago White Stockings vs. Buffalo Bisons, tied at 5.^[14]
• September 3, Cincinnati Reds vs. Syracuse Stars, tied at 2.^[15]
• September 19, Chicago White Stockings vs. Troy Trojans, tied at 6.^[12]

Four teams joined the National League, playing at four venues:

• The Buffalo Bisons played at Riverside Park.
• The Cleveland Blues played at National League Park.
• The Syracuse Stars played at Newell Park.
• The Troy Trojans played at the Putnam Grounds.

The Troy Trojans would play their final game at the Putnam Grounds on September 20 against the Chicago White Stockings, moving to Haymakers' Grounds for the start of the 1880 season.

• 1879 in baseball (Events, Births, Deaths)

• 1879 Major League Schedule at Baseball Reference