Baseball’s Wildest Season: Three Leagues, Thirty-Four Teams and the Chaos of 1884

At the end of the 1883 baseball season, things looked rosy–attendance had skyrocketed and the National League and American Association were at peace . A year later the sport was in disarray. A third major league, the Union Association, waged a bitter war that rocked the baseball world. The following season, the UA dissolved in a sea of red ink, the AA dropped four teams, and the minor leagues hoped to survive until spring.

Amid the chaos were some historic moments. Iron-man pitcher Hoss Radbourn won 59 games and led the Providence Grays to victory over the New York Metropolitans in the first World Series. There were a record eight no-hitters. There were fascinating figures–some famous, some lost to history–like Hustling Horace Phillips, Dan O'Leary and Edward (The Only) Nolan. This book tells the story of the momentous yet overshadowed 1884 season.