1881 Buffalo Bisons season

The 1881 Buffalo Bisons finished the season with a 45–38 record, good for third place in the National League.

1881 Buffalo Bisons
Major League affiliations
National League (since 1879)
Location
Riverside Park (since 1879) Buffalo, New York (since 1879)
Other information
Manager(s)	Jim O'Rourke
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A highlight from this season occurred on September 15. In a 12-inning game against Worcester, Buffalo second baseman Davy Force recorded 12 putouts, seven assists, two unassisted double plays, participated in a triple play, and made just one error in 20 chances.

Regular season

Season standings

National League	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Chicago White Stockings	56	28	0.667	—	32–10	24–18
Providence Grays	47	37	0.560	9	23–20	24–17
Buffalo Bisons	45	38	0.542	10½	25–16	20–22
Detroit Wolverines	41	43	0.488	15	23–19	18–24
Troy Trojans	39	45	0.464	17	24–18	15–27
Boston Red Caps	38	45	0.458	17½	19–22	19–23
Cleveland Blues	36	48	0.429	20	20–22	16–26
Worcester Worcesters	32	50	0.390	23	19–22	13–28

Record vs. opponents

1881 National League Records Sources:
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 Buffalo Bisons
Roster
Pitchers Pud Galvin Jack Lynch Catchers Jack Rowe Sleeper Sullivan		Infielders Davy Force John Morrissey Jim O'Rourke John Peters Pop Smith Deacon White		Outfielders Dan Brouthers Curry Foley Jack Manning Blondie Purcell Hardy Richardson Ed Swartwood		Manager Jim O'Rourke

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	Jack Rowe	64	246	82	.333	1	43
1B	Dan Brouthers	65	270	86	.319	8	45
2B	Davy Force	75	278	50	.180	0	15
3B	Jim O'Rourke	83	348	105	.302	0	30
SS	John Peters	54	229	49	.214	0	25
OF	Hardy Richardson	83	344	100	.291	2	53
OF	Curry Foley	83	375	96	.256	1	25
OF	Blondie Purcell	30	113	33	.292	0	17

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
Deacon White	78	319	99	.310	0	53
Sleeper Sullivan	35	121	23	.190	0	15
John Morrissey	12	47	10	.213	0	3
Pop Smith	3	11	0	.000	0	1
Ed Swartwood	1	3	1	.333	0	0
Jack Manning	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
Pud Galvin	56	474	28	24	2.37	136
Jack Lynch	20	165.2	10	9	3.59	32

Other 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
Curry Foley	10	41	3	4	5.27	2
Blondie Purcell	9	61.2	4	1	2.77	15

References

• 1881 Buffalo Bisons season at Baseball Reference