There are good reasons to separate the game of the 20th Century from that of the 19th; there is no good reason to put that separation at 1900 (other than the present shape of home plate). A case can be made for 1901 (the "modern" league set-up and the foul-strike rule in the NL), 1903 (the end of the AL War and the adoption of the foul-strike rule by the AL), for 1893 (creation of the pitcher's rubber at 60½ feet), and for 1895 (extension of the pitcher's rubber to its current 24 inches).
In any case, the Cy Young Award is given for performance in a particular season. Pitcher A in 1895 is compared to Pitcher B in 1895, not to Pitcher C in 1902. Of course, if an award for pitching excellence had been given in the 19th Century, it could not have been called the Cy Young Award. I have two suggestions for a name.
If we begin the awards in 1871 with the National Association, it should be the "Asa Brainard Award," after the ace of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings. If we begin in 1876 with the National League, it should be the "Al Spalding Award," after the ace of the Boston Red Stockings. Since Brainard is cited (however erroneously) as the source of "ace" in its baseball sense, and since Al Spalding is well enough known as it is, I propose that the award be the "Asa Brainard," familiarly known as the Ace. I will also begin with the National Association, recognized by Total Baseball, though not by Major League Baseball, as the first major league.
| 1871 | For much of the run of the NA, teams had only one pitcher; the pitcher's record and the teams are therefore the same. This year, the award boils down to Al Spalding, 19-10 for the 20-10 Red Stockings, George Zettlein, 18-9 for the 19-9 White Stockings, and Dick McBride, 18-5 for the 21-7 Athletics. The Athletics won the pennant, but Chicago led most of the way until the Great Chicago Fire destroyed their ballpark and most of their equipment. Zettlein led the league in ERA and opponents OBP (and the related base-runners per 9 innings, or "ratio"), while McBride led only in winning percentage. Spalding led in wins, but McBride's championship and Zettlein's statistics argue that the crown should be between those two. I'll give it to Zettlein in a close vote. |
| 1872 | With Chicago out of the league because of the Fire, Boston cruises to the championship by 7½ games over Baltimore and Athletic. The Ace comes down to Al Spalding (38-8 for the 39-8 Red Stockings) and Dick McBride (30-14 for the 30-14 Athletics), with Spalding the clear winner: he led the league in ERA, PCT, and shutouts as well as in wins. |
| 1873 | Boston wins again, this time by 4 over the Philadelphias of Philadelphia. Leading pitchers are Spalding (41-14 for the 43-16 Red Stockings) and Zettlein (36-15 for the 36-17 Philadelphias). Spalding again has a clear edge. |
| 1874 | Spalding gets all 52 of Boston's wins, ten more than Bobby Mathews and the Mutual Club of New York can manage. |
| 1875 | Boston romps by 18½ games, with Spalding going an amazing 54-5 (.915 PCT), again ten more wins than the runner-up, this time Dick McBride (44-14) of the Athletics. An expanded schedule means that for the first time a team's second pitcher can accrue significant numbers. Jack Manning, as Spalding's back-up, goes 16-2, a PCT (.889) second only to Spalding's. |
| 1876 | The schedule is shortened in the first National League campaign, so second pitchers again disappear. Spalding goes 47-12 for the champion Chicago White Stockings (52-14). His competition for the Ace is George Bradley (45-19 for St. Louis, getting all his team's decisions), who leads in ERA and ratio, and in shutouts with 16 (a record equaled 40 years later, but not since). Spalding's wins and PCT and Chicago's pennant ought to give Spalding his fifth consecutive Ace, with Bradley a close second. |
| 1877 | Spalding retires as a pitcher and Bradley takes his place. The White Stockings nevertheless plummet, finishing 15½ games behind Boston. The clear Ace winner is Boston's Tommy Bond, who finishes 40-17 (Boston was 42-18), with a 2.11 ERA, 6 shutouts, and 170 strikeouts, leading the league in each. Bond is the first to win the "pitcher's Triple Crown." |
| 1878 | Bond adds league leadership in complete games and innings pitched as he continues his domination (40-19 for the 41-19 Red Stockings) and Boston wins again. He fails to win the triple crown, as rookie John Ward of Providence bests him in ERA, 1.51 to 2.06. |
| 1879 | The new 84-game schedule leads most teams to use a two-man pitching rotation (with one man pitching 2 of 3), although Cincinnati tries to maintain the one-man staff (and Will White pitches 75 complete games and 680 innings). John Ward (47-19) leads Providence to the pennant by 5 games over Boston and Tommy Bond (43-19). This year, Bond leads in ERA while Ward leads in strikeouts. The Ace goes to Ward for the wins and the flag. |
| 1880 | This year Cleveland tries a one-man staff, and Jim McCormick leads the league with 45 wins. Rookie Larry Corcoran (43-14) leads Chicago's two-man staff (with Fred Goldsmith, at 21-3 -- the best record ever for the second starter in an unbalanced 2-man staff) to a 15-game triumph over Providence's two-man staff of John Ward (39-24) and George Bradley (13-8). The Ace goes to Corcoran, with a nod of respect to iron-man McCormick. |
| 1881 | This year sees the emergence of the balanced two-man rotation in Chicago, Providence, and Troy. These teams finish first, second, and fourth, as even first starters in unbalanced rotations spiral to mediocrity. Chicago's Larry Corcoran (31-14) and Fred Goldsmith (24-13) best Providence's Charley Radbourn (25-11) and John Ward (18-18) by 9 games; the Ace goes to Corcoran, with Radbourn second. |
| 1882 NL |
Goldsmith and Corcoran again hold off Radbourn and Ward, this time by only 3 games. Top Ace candidates are Radbourn (33-20, 2.09, 201 K), Goldsmith (28-17, 2.42), and Corcoran (27-12, 1.95, 170 K). Jim McCormick wins 36 games in another iron-man season with Cleveland, but the Brainard Award goes to Radbourn in a close vote over the Chicago pair. |
| AA | In the first American Association season, Will White's 40 wins leads the Cincinnati Reds to the championship, 11½ games ahead of the Philadelphia Athletics. White dominates the AA's No. 1 starters, though his 1.54 ERA is bettered by three No. 2 starters (including Cincinnati's). |
| 1883 NL |
This year Goldsmith and Corcoran finish just one game ahead of Radbourn, but four games behind Boston's pair of Grasshopper Jim Whitney and Charlie Buffinton. Ace consideration goes to Whitney (37-21, 2.24, 345 K), Jim Galvin (46-29 for fifth place Buffalo), and the Chicago pair, but it goes to Radbourn again (48-25, 2.05, 315 K). |
| AA | In the American Association, Cincinnati slips to third, but Will White, pitching a supplemented one-man staff, leads the league in wins (43-22, 2.09). St. Louis finished in second by one game with a balanced two-man rotation of Tony Mullane (35-15) and Jumbo McGinnis (28-16). The difference in rotational patterns will continue to confound the Ace Awards for the next few years: is winning 45 out of 65 better than winning 35 out of 50? White and his two supplements went a combined 61-36, while the Browns' duo went 63-31. And all things considered, the Ace goes to Tony Mullane, the Apollo of the Box. |
| 1884 | This is a wild year on all fronts. Not only is the season expanded, but there is another league as well, and four more teams in the AA. In all, 28 major league teams will take the field this year, a number not matched until 1993. |
| NL | In the National League, Charley Radbourn's mound-mate, Charlie Sweeney, decamped for the upstart Union Association in midseason, and Radbourn pitched practically every game the rest of the way (finishing 59-12, 1.38, 441 K, 73 CG: a Triple Crown). Leading the league in everything but shutouts (he was one behind Jim Galvin) and his team to the pennant by 10½ games, Radbourn walks off with his third consecutive Ace. |
| AA | The American Association was not as affected by desertions to the UA, but here too an iron man dominated the pitching charts. Guy Hecker (52-20, 1.80, 385 K, 72 CG: a Triple Crown), without a reliable follow-up, led Louisville to a third-place finish behind the New York Mets, who had the year's best tandem (Jack Lynch, 37-15, and Tim Keefe, 37-17). Hecker's one-man show gets the Asa nod. |
| UA | The Union Association's lone campaign was over early. The St. Louis Maroons go 94-19, the best record ever in a major league, and finish 21 games ahead of second and 32 ahead of third. The Maroons' No. 1 starter, at 49-11, is a shoo-in for the Ace -- except that it's two people. Billy Taylor went 25-4 in the first half before jumping to the AA Philadelphia Athletics; Radbourn's runaway mate Charlie Sweeney came over for the second half and went 24-7. The only logical thing is to split the award, too. |
| 1885 NL |
Things settle down in the NL, and again the Ace comes down to an unbalanced two-man and a balanced two-man. John Clarkson (53-16, 1.85, 308 K) leads Chicago to a 2-game win over New York and its pair of Mickey Welch (44-11, 1.66) and Tim Keefe (32-13, 1.58). The flag gives it to Clarkson in a close vote over Welch. |
| AA | In the AA, Bob Caruthers (40-13, 2.07) and Dave Foutz (33-14) lead St. Louis in a 16-game romp over Cincinnati. There is no reasonable alternative, and Caruthers gets the Ace. |
| 1886 NL |
In the NL, it comes down to John Clarkson (36-17 for champion Chicago), Lady Baldwin (42-13 for second-place Detroit), and Tim Keefe (42-20 for third-place New York). Baldwin wins, and it's not that close. |
| AA | St. Louis again runs away with the AA pennant, led this time by Dave Foutz (41-16, 2.11). Ed Morris (41-20 for second-place Pittsburgh) gets some consideration, as does Guy Hecker for his 499 strikeouts. |
| 1887 NL |
This year Detroit wins the pennant, led by Cherlie Getzien (29-13), but Chicago's John Clarkson (38-21, 3.08, 237 K) wins the Asa. |
| AA | St. Louis again romps, this time with a balanced three-man rotation: Silver King (32-12), Bob Caruthers (29-9), and Dave Foutz (25-12) -- and Caruthers and Foutz each hit .357. Baltimore's Matt Kilroy, however, had by far his best year, going 46-19 with 66 complete games -- though his 217 K pale beside the 513 he racked up the year before. |
| 1888 NL |
Tim Keefe of the pennant-winning Giants is the clear Ace of the National League (35-12, 1.74, 335 K: the Triple Crown). |
| AA | With Foutz and Caruthers gone to Brooklyn, St. Louis returns to an unbalanced rotation, and Silver King (45-21, 1.64, 254 K) leads them to another pennant. |
| 1889 NL |
Boston's John Clarkson dominates the pitching lists and runs away with the Asa Brainard, though New York's Keefe-Welch duo brings the Giants the championship by one game (Boston lost two more; they each won 83). Clarkson went 49-19 with a 2.73 ERA, 68 CG, 8 shutouts, and 284 K in 620 innings -- all league-leading. |
| AA | Bob Caruthers (40-11) returns to the top with Brooklyn, as St. Louis and Silver King (35-16) slip to second. |
| 1890 NL |
With other NL teams weakened by defections to the Players League, Brooklyn, champions of the AA in 1889, win the NL with a balanced three-man rotation, led this year by Tom Lovett (30-11). Other Brainard Award candidates are Kid Gleason (38-17 for third-place Philadelphia), and Bill Hutchison (42-25 for second-place Chicago). The vote is close and scattered, but Gleason edges Lovett. |
| AA | In a shambles due to the defection of teams to the National League rather than of players to the Players League, the AA sees Louisville, losers of 111 games the year before, win the pennant by 10 games. Louisville is led by Brainard Award winner Scott Stratton (34-14, 2.36). |
| PL | The Players League had the best players, the best teams, and the most stability in 1890. Boston won the only PL flag, led by Charley Radbourn (27-12) and Ad Gumbert (23-12). Fourth-place Chicago had a pair of 30-game winners in Mark Baldwin (33-24) and Silver King (30-22), while Gus Weyhing went 30-16 for second-place Philadelphia. Radbourn wins his fourth Ace, with Weyhing second. |
| 1891 NL |
The National League returns to something like normal as John Clarkson (33-19) again leads Boston to the championship. The Ace, however, goes to Wild Bill Hutchison, who went 44-19 for second-place Chicago. |
| AA | In its last season, the American Association is led by Boston, the Players League champion of the previous year, with long-time power St. Louis in second. In the race for the Ace, Boston's George Haddock (34-11, 2.49) finishes just ahead of his teammate Charlie Buffinton (29-9, 2.55). |
| 1892 | One league, 12 teams, a 154-game split season, and an interesting race between two 3-deep rotations. Boston won the first half, led by Kid Nichols (35-16), Jack Stivetts (35-16), and Harry Staley (22-10), with long-time ace John Clarkson (8-6) departing for Cleveland in midseason. Cleveland won the second half, with Cy Young (36-12), Nig Cuppy (28-13), and John Clarkson (17-10 after leaving Boston). There is little to separate Nichols and Stivetts, but Young wins the Brainard. |
| 1893 | The schedule is reduced to 132 games, but the pitching distance is increased to 60 feet 6 inches. Boston wins another pennant, led by Kid Nichols (34-14), with Pittsburgh and Frank Killen (36-14) in second, and Cleveland and Cy Young (34-16) in third. It's really a toss-up between Nichols and Killen, with what little edge there is to Nichols. |
| 1894 | Baltimore wins the pennant behind Sadie McMahon's 25-8, but the Ace comes down to Amos Rusie of the second-place Giants (36-13, 2.78, 195 K: a Triple Crown) and his teammate Jouett Meekin (33-9). The Triple Crown easily gets it for Rusie. |
| 1895 | Baltimore wins again, this time behind rookie Bill Hoffer's 31-6, but the Ace goes to Cy Young of second-place Cleveland (35-10). |
| 1896 | Hoffer goes 25-7 as Baltimore wins its third pennant in a row. The Ace comes down to Boston's Kid Nichols (30-14, 2.83), Pittsburgh's Frank Killen (30-18, 3.41), and Cleveland's Cy Young (28-15, 3.24), with Nichols taking home the hardware. |
| 1897 | Kid Nichols (31-11, 2.64) and Fred Klobedanz (26-7, 4.60) lead Boston to a 2-game win over Baltimore. Also in the running for the Ace is New York's Amos Rusie (28-10, 2.54), but Nichols is the clear winner. |
| 1898 | In a crowded Brainard field, Kid Nichols (31-12, 2.13) edges teammate Ted Lewis (26-8, 2.90) as Boston wins another pennant. |
| 1899 | In the last year of the 12-team NL and the worst year of syndicate ball, second-year pitcher Jay Hughes (28-6, 2.68) leads Brooklyn (syndicated with Baltimore) to the title. Boston's Vic Willis (27-8, 2.50) also gets consideration. |
| # | Name | Hall of Fame? |
| 5 | Al Spalding | Yes |
| 4 | Charley Radbourn | Yes |
| 4 | Kid Nichols | Yes |
| 3 | John Clarkson | Yes |
| 2 | Tommy Bond | No |
| 2 | Larry Corcoran | No |
| 2 | Will White | No |
| 2 | Bob Caruthers | No |
| 2 | Cy Young | Yes |
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