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CLUB OF THE PRE-PROFESSIONAL ERA

ST. JOHN'S BASEBALL CLUB (Providence, R.I.) – 670-310 (.684), 5x NBBO champs, 13x New England champs, 7x best record

YEAR	 W	 L	 PCT	PLACE	GB/A	NOTES
1857	41	29	.586	 1st	 +3		Won TWC Final 3-0 over Victory
1858	51	19	.729	 1st	 +8		Won TWC Final 3-2 over Knickerbocker
1859	54	16	.771	 1st	+15		Lost NEL Championship Series 3-2 to Shamrock
1860	49	21	.700	 1st	 +3		Lost TWC Final 3-1 to Kings County
1861	49	21	.700	 1st	 +5		Lost NEL Championship Series 3-1 to Alleghany
1862	44	26	.629	 1st	 +3		Finished 2nd in TWC with 7-3 record (1 GB)
1863	50	20	.714	 1st	 +7		Won TWC with 9-1 record
1864	46	24	.657	 1st	 +5		Won TWC in one-game playoff v K.C. (8-3 final record)
1865	36	34	.514	 4th	 -6	
1866	54	16	.771	 1st	 +9		Finished 2nd in TWC with 6-4 record (3 GB)
1867	48	22	.686	 1st	 +5		Finished 3rd in TWC with 5-5 record (4 GB)
1868	50	20	.714	 1st	+11		Finished 2nd in TWC with 7-3 record (1 GB)
1869	46	24	.657	 1st	 +4		Finished 3rd in TWC with 6-4 record (1 GB)
1870	52	18	.743	 1st	+10		Won TWC in one-game playoff v KNI (8-3 final record)
TOTAL   670     310	.684	  -       -

St. John’s was unquestionably the greatest team of the first era of the sport of baseball. Not only do they have those five cup titles to their name, but St. John’s was the Tucker-Wheaton Cup runner-up four times as well. None of the other 47 original NBBO clubs can come close to St. Johns’ CV of league-topping records, cup triumphs, offensive dominance, legendary players, and unforgettable performances. Perhaps more importantly, they proved once and for all that the baseball outside of New York was just as good as the version of the sport played in the United States’ largest metropolitan area.

BATSMAN OF THE PRE-PROFESSIONAL ERA

Konrad Jensen – 5’9”, 160 lbs. OF from Providence, R.I. – St. John’s (1857-70)

• 5x Tucker-Wheaton Cup Winner (1857-58, 63-64, 70)
• 2x NEL Batsman of the Year (1863, 68)
• 2x NEL Most Valuable Player (1864, 66)
• 2x .400 Hitter (1868-69)
• 1x NEL Batting Champion (1868)
• 10x NEL All-Star (1859-61, 63-66, 68-70)
• 10x NEL Team of the Year Nominee (1859-61, 63-66, 68-70)
• 8x NEL leader in On-base % (1860-61, 63-66, 69-70)
• 6x NEL leader in Stolen Bases (1859-60, 65-66, 68-69)
• 6x NEL leader in Bases on Balls (1860, 62-66)
• 5x NEL leader in Runs (1860, 64-66, 68)
• 5x NEL leader in Runs Created (1863-64, 66, 68-69)
• 3x NEL leader in OPS (1863-64, 68)
• 2x NEL leader in Batsman WAR (1864, 66)
• 2x NEL Golden Glove winner at OF (1864, 67)

860 G: .374 AVG, .954 OPS, 1,146 R, 1,354 H, 259 2B, 66 3B, 23 HR, 815 RBI, 520 BB, 719 SB, 53.82 WPA, 45.5 WAR
PER 70: .374/.453/.501, 93 R, 110 H, 21 2B, 5 3B, 2 HR, 66 RBI, 42 BB, 58 SB, 4.38 WPA, 3.7 WAR
TWC (100 G): .364 AVG, .920 OPS, 117 R, 156 H, 25 2B, 9 3B, 3 HR, 111 RBI, 58 BB, 86 SB, 7.69 WPA, 5.2 WAR

St. John’s knew they had something special in Jensen when the then 17-year-old hit .309 with an OPS of .712 playing twenty games in place of an injured outfielder during the NBBO’s inaugural season. He has since developed into the most technical batsman in the NBBO, and Jensen has enjoyed that honor for the more than half a decade now.

Jensen’s patience at the plate combined with his ability to make solid contact, as well as his baserunning instincts, have made him an offensive danger second to none. Over the years, if St. John’s has needed someone on base, Jensen’s reached base via balls or a hit. If St. John’s has needed a Stolen Base to put a runner in scoring position, Jensen has stolen a base. If St. John’s has needed a Run, Jensen has come around to score.

That Jensen’s batting in the Tucker-Wheaton Cup over one hundred games has been almost as good as his batsmanship during the season proves that he can do damage against any pitcher at any time, and for that Jensen takes the honor as the #1 Batsman of the inaugural era of baseball.

PITCHER OF THE PRE-PROFESSIONAL ERA

Jim Creighton – 6’2”, 195 lbs. P/1B from New York City – Excelsior (1860-70)

• 4x NYL Most Valuable Player (1863, 66-68)
• 1x NYL Pitcher of the Year (1870)
• 9x NYL All-Star (1862-70)
• 5x NYL Team of the Year (1863-64, 66-68)
• 10x NYL leader in Strikeouts (1861-70)
• 1x NYL Pitching Triple Crown winner (1863)
• 6x NYL leader in Pitching WAR (1863-66, 68, 70)
• 3x NYL leader in Wins (1863, 66, 68)
• 2x NYL leader in ERA (1863, 65)

451 GP: 257-139, 2.98 ERA, 1,228 K, 3,506.0 IP, 289 CG, 12 SHO, 1.16 WHIP, 3.2 K/9, 3.4 K/BB, 79.0 WAR, 91.7 rWAR
TWC (25 GP): 12-11, 2.61 ERA, 67 K, 182.2 IP, 17 CG, 0 SHO, 1.13 WHIP, 3.3 K/9, 5.2 K/BB, 4.8 WAR, 4.9 rWAR

The legendary John McGowan was the Pitcher of the Decade over the first ten seasons of the NBBO, but what Jim Creighton has done over the four years since McGowan’s retirement puts him over the top as the Pre-professional Era’s #1 pitcher, and that’s without even taking into account Creighton’s work with the bat.

It took Creighton a couple of seasons to find his command but by the age of 21 he was already the most intimidating pitcher in the New York League, and in 1863 he became the first, and to date the only, player to win a Triple Crown.

Creighton has become the sport’s most recognizable star, and as he transitions into professional baseball the game’s biggest draw could become even more famous.

PLAYER OF THE PRE-PROFESSIONAL ERA

Edward Huntley – 5’7”, 165 lbs. 3B/SS from Florham Park, N.J. – Orange (1857-64), Knickerbocker (1865-70)

• 3x Tucker-Wheaton Cup Winner (1859, 65, 67)
• 4x NYL Most Valuable Player (1859, 62, 65, 69)
• 3x Tucker-Wheaton Cup MVP (1859, 67, 69)
• 1x NYL Batsman of the Year (1866)
• 12x NYL All-Star Nominee (1859-70)
• 9x NYL Team of the Year Nominee (1859-60, 62-67, 69)
• 9x NYL Golden Glove winner (1857, 59-63, 65, 67, 68)
• 11x NYL leader in Batsman WAR (1857, 59-63, 65-69)

980 G: .347 AVG, .862 OPS, 1,073 R, 1,502 H, 322 2B, 90 3B, 6 HR, 763 RBI, 332 BB, 423 SB, +239.4 ZR, 45.66 WPA, 56.0 WAR
PER 70: .347/.394/.468, 76 R, 107 H, 23 2B, 6 3B, 0 HR, 55 RBI, 23 BB, 30 SB, +17.1 ZR, 3.26 WPA, 4.0 WAR
TWC (74 G): .402 AVG, 1.017 OPS, 96 R, 131 H, 30 2B, 13 3B, 0 HR, 80 RBI, 22 BB, 42 SB, 187 TB, 6.37 WPA, 4.3 WAR

Edward Huntley does not top the career leaderboard in main batting categories like Batting Average (Cormack Alexander), OPS (Konrad Jensen), Hits (Samuel Kessler), or Runs Batted In (Jerald Peterson), but he was the premier batsman of the first decade and a half of baseball.

No middle infielder aside from Anthony Mascherino could match Huntley’s overall ability from day one of the NBBO, and even then Huntley has always been the superior hitter. If one needs any more evidence of Huntley’s talents, note that he has led the New York League in Batsman WAR eleven times in its fourteen seasons of play.

Consider that the above has yet to factor in Huntley’s postseason work. Of all regulars who have appeared in the postseason three or more times Huntley is the only to bat over .375, he is the only 3x Tucker-Wheaton Cup MVP, and he is the only player to have won cup MVP with two different teams.

TEAM OF THE PRE-PROFESSIONAL ERA

C: Joe Feuerstein – 1/1/1832 from Tewksbury, Mass. – Portland (1857-69)
• 829 G: .288/.329/.378, 543 R, 941 H, 218 2B, 18 3B, 13 HR, 540 RBI, 180 BB, 42 SB, +67.7 ZR, 11.55 WPA, 17.0 WAR
• 8x All-Star, 4x Team of the Year

1B: Cormack Alexander – 5/2/1840 from Skerries, Ireland – Kings County (1864-67), Quaker State (1868-70)
• 489 G: .391/.421/.505, 505 R, 844 H, 172 2B, 20 3B, 11 HR, 461 RBI, 96 BB, 35 SB, +20.0 ZR, 27.92 WPA, 18.4 WAR
• 2x Batsman of the Year, 6x All-Star, 4x Team of the Year, 2x Golden Glove, 3x .400 Hitter, 1864 NEL GotY

2B: Anderson MacGyver – 6/27/1834 from New York City – St. John’s (1858-64, 69-70), Mutual (1865-68)
• 869 G: .345/.384/.452, 973 R, 1,298 H, 265 2B, 45 3B, 16 HR, 737 RBI, 235 BB, 418 SB, -2.8 ZR, 45.32 WPA, 28.8 WAR
• 4x TWC winner, 2x Batsman of the Year, 7x All-Star, 4x Team of the Year, 1858 NEL GotY

3B: Samuel Kessler – 5/6/1836 from Merrimack, N.H. – Sons of the Ocean (1857-64), Alleghany (1865-70)
• 974 G: .360/.414/.490, 1,053 R, 1,527 H, 311 2B, 108 3B, 8 HR, 809 RBI, 326 BB, 290 SB, +52.4 ZR, 51.01 WPA, 42.6 WAR
• 1x TWC winner, 1x Batsman of the Year, 1x MVP, 12x All-Star, 10x Team of the Year, 2x Golden Glove

SS: Edward Huntley – 1/5/1836 from Florham Park, N.J. – Orange (1857-64), Knickerbocker (1865-70)
• 980 G: .347/.394/.468, 1,073 R, 1,502 H, 322 2B, 90 3B, 6 HR, 763 RBI, 332 BB, 423 SB, +239.4 ZR, 45.66 WPA, 56.0 WAR
• 3x TWC winner; 4x MVP, 1x Batsman of the Year, 12x All-Star, 9x Team of the Year, 9x Golden Glove

OF: Konrad Jensen – 6/4/1839 from Providence, R.I. – St. John’s (1857-70)
• 860 G: .473/.453/.501, 1,146 R, 1,354 H, 259 2B, 66 3B, 23 HR, 815 RBI, 520 BB, 719 SB, +34.3 ZR, 53.82 WPA, 45.5 WAR
• 5x TWC winner; 2x Batsman of the Year, 2x MVP, 10x All-Star, 10x Team of the Year, 2x Golden Glove, 2x .400 Hitter

CF: Willie Davis – 10/29/36 from Philadelphia – Susquehanna (1858-64), American (1865-70)
• 909 G: .363/.395/.500, 1,041 R, 1,506 H, 325 2B, 95 3B, 17 HR, 719 RBI, 210 BB, 533 SB, +90.7 ZR, 50.45 WPA, 43.5 WAR
• 2x Batsman of the Year, 2x Most Valuable Player, 10x All-Star, 5x Team of the Year, 4x Golden Glove, 1x .400 Hitter

OF: Thomas Maloney – 7/12/1835 from Boston – Shamrock (1857-64), Reading (1865-66), Massachusetts Bay (1867-70)
• 980 G: .357/.394/.470, 1,011 R, 1,524 H, 289 2B, 83 3B, 10 HR, 768 RBI, 255 BB, 393 SB, +37.3 ZR, 47.01 WPA, 32.5 WAR
• 1x TWC winner, 1x Batsman of the Year, 10x All-Star, 4x Team of the Year, 1x .400 Hitter

P1: Jim Creighton – 4/15/1841 from New York City – Excelsior (1860-70)
• 451 GP: 257-139, 2.98 ERA, 1,228 K, 3,506.0 IP, 289 CG, 12 SHO, 1.16 WHIP, 3.4 K/BB, 79.0 WAR, 91.7 rWAR
• 4x MVP, 1x Pitcher of the Year, 9x All-Star, 5x Team of the Year, 1x .400 Hitter

P2: John McGowan – 7/10/1830 from Milford, Conn. – St. John’s (1857-63), Knickerbocker (1864-66)
• 345 GP: 215-88, 3.05 ERA, 305 K, 2,680.2 IP, 218 CG, 12 SHO, 1.25 WHIP, 1.0 K/BB, 46.3 WAR, 67.8 rWAR
• TWC (41 GP): 27-6, 2.72 ERA, 32 K, 324.2 IP, 27 CG, 2 SHO, 1.21 WHIP, 0.9 K/BB, 5.5 WAR, 11.1 rWAR
• 4x TWC winner, 6x All-Star, 5x Team of the Year