
The Dodgers: A look back for the New Year

Let’s start the new year with some old-time ball players, all January babies. These gents all played for Brooklyn teams, one for three Brooklyn teams each with a different name and none having the name listed on his internet bio. Another began his career as a pitcher and went 1 and 21 for the season. That was John Cassidy. He changed positions. And one racked up records that stood up well against time. I’ll throw in a fourth just as a holiday present. So come with me as we have a look back.
Let’s start with the team, whose name changed as often as a chameleon changes colors. Just like the lizard’s body was the same, it was the same team, just with different-colored uniforms and different names printed on them.
- Here’s a list of names from the LA Dodgers with some commentary from various sources.
- Brooklyn Grays: 1883–1887
- Brooklyn Bridegrooms: 1888–1890 and 1896–1898
- Brooklyn Grooms: 1891–1895
- Brooklyn Superbas: 1899–1910
- Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers: 1911–1912
- Brooklyn Robins: 1914–1931
- Brooklyn Dodgers: 1932–1957
- Los Angeles Dodgers: 1958–present
The Brooklyn Hartfords or Dark Blues aren’t even on this list. This was a Connecticut team that had one year’s residence in Brooklyn and wore, yes, dark blue uniforms. The Brooklyn Grays who were really the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, sometimes were called the Brooklyn Brides. Even when officially known as the Bridegrooms, a reporter still took to calling them the Grays. You guessed it—uniform color. And why Bridegrooms? Because several of the men had gotten married in the same year. Let’s
Not to forget the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers, so called because several trolley car lines converged in front of the stadium and fans had to dodge the moving cars to get to the ticket booths. Also missing is The Brooklyn Atlantics from 1884. Their field was near the major Brooklyn thoroughfare Atlantic Avenue hence the name. MLB.com says they were the Superbas because a reporter compared them to a popular circus act of the same name and they became the Robins in honor of long time manager Wilber Robinson. So, there you have it. Now to some players.
For no particular reason, we start with Bill Krieg. A righty who stood 5 feet 8 inches tall, he weighed — usually — around 180 pounds. If you guessed he was a catcher, you would be right. Krieg had a short career, only four seasons, one of which was with Brooklyn, but in those four seasons, he played in the three existing major leagues. He also played first and left. His bio says his best year was in 1886, when in 27 games he had a slugging percentage of .408, which was almost twice that of the team.
His year with the Grays was in 1885 and was unremarkable. He had nine hits in 60 trips to the plate and knocked in five runs. What is remarkable is that while he gave up playing baseball he didn’t give up the game. He had a long minor league career, managed in the minors, and was a minor league ump. His claim to fame was that he umpired exactly one major league game. Born before the Civil War, he died in 1930. If you’re looking for a gravesite, try Chillicothe, Ill. Thanks to MLB.com for much of the stats.
Next up is George Pinkney. George Pinkney could be the polar opposite of Bill Krieg. He had a long career, 11 years. By the time he retired, he had played a record 500 consecutive games totaling over 5,000 innings. His 500 consecutive game record which began in 1884 stood until Fred Luderus broke it in 1890 at 533 games.
Baseball America gives us the picture of a steady as-she-goes infielder who had a lifetime batting average of .263 and on-base percentage of .345, and a slugging percentage of .338. He managed 21 home runs, which was nothing to be sneezed at in those days of a ball that was pretty much devoid of specifics when it came to weight and composition. He had over 1,200 hits. Pinkney scored 874 runs and knocked in 539 RBIs. Baseball Reference.com chipped in some stats as well.
Ed Swartwood caught this writer’s interest because he was well covered by the Brooklyn Eagle, which was covering the then Brooklyn Grays. It gives one pause when one realizes he’s reading a newspaper that had been published since before the Civil War. Swartwood came to Brooklyn in 1885. This is what the Eagle had to say about Brooklyn’s new outfield acquisition: “Swartwood … whose record as a batter and fielder is excellent, has made a good impression, but although his position in left field is a little new to him, his natural ability and ambition to excel in anything he undertakes will very shortly place him again in the lead [for the batting title].”
Unfortunately, Swartwood’s bat never did come around, and his batting average dropped to .266 from .357 just two years before. Yet, he was a popular player and was named captain towards the end of the season. It was said the drop in average was because he couldn’t hit lefties. Researchers determined that only three of them pitched against him during those years. Today, we’d call it an extended slump.
Over the winter, Swartwood worked out at home in Pittsburgh. In March 1886, the Brooklyn Eagle looked forward to a new season from Swartwood. The owner’s opinion was not as high. He was traded.
Swartwood broke in with Buffalo at the age of 22 and had a nine-year career. Imposing for his day, he was 5’11″ and weighed 198 pounds, batting left and throwing right.
Even though the Eagle was reporting on the Brooklyn Grays, the team’s history has Swartwood playing for the Trolley Dodgers with whom he tied on for three years 1885, ’85, and ’87. The Baseball Almanac shows three productive years. He stepped up to the plate 302 times and produced 330 hits driving in 151 runs while scoring 247. Almost astonishing for the time, in those three years he hit 35 round-trippers.
Better than average too was his lifespan. In the 1880s, according to Uncle Sam, the life expectancy was 40 years of age. If you made it to 40, your life expectancy jumped to 70. Swartwood almost made it, dying at age 65. He is known as Pittsburgh’s first star baseball player. It is where he finished his career, retired, and died in 1924.
Last but not least we have John Cassidy. Interesting and unusual is that John Cassidy was born, lived, died, and was buried in Brooklyn. He ended his life where I began mine, in Flatbush. Also interesting, but not terribly unusual for those days, is that while he is listed as an outfielder he also pitched a bit and played first base.
Cassidy was born on the very first day of January, a New Year’s Day baby, in 1855. He made it to the majors at age 21, playing his first game in the spring of ’75. The team he broke in with was the Brooklyn Hartfords also known as the Hartford Dark Blues. Also not unusual for those days, ripe old age evaded him. He was planted in Flatbush in July of 1891.
While listed at 5’8” tall, he was a chunky 168 lbs and a ball player with a constant weight problem. He took laxative pills with some effect and freely recommended them to his teammates whose waists were expanding.
According to the Baseball Almanac, he went to the plate 2,354 times, knocking in 336 runs with 618 hits. He pushed across 184 runs and also not unusual for the dead ball era he only hit four (4) home runs in his career. He finished up with a .252 batting average. Another oddity was that he batted right-handed and threw as a lefty, probably making the switch to first an easy call for his manager. He was the only person who thought he could pitch. Not only did he go an awful 1-21, he only managed to strike out 9 batters the entire season.
Some people are known for how they lived, and others for how they died. Cassidy’s cause of death is listed as “Dropsy.” The term is no longer used in medicine, and it is a malady that rarely kills today. His weight problem was more of a fluid retention problem and whatever passed for laxatives and diuretics in the 19th century we can suppose did more harm than good. Now called “edema,” the uncontrolled swelling of his body undoubtedly caused organ failure, something else 1880s medicine was not equipped to deal with. It thus can be said that John Cassidy died before the Dead Ball era did.
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