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Columbus Buckeyes
From BR Bullpen
After being left out of the American Association in 1882, Columbus, OH joined the loop the next year with the Columbus Buckeyes. Managed by Horace Phillips, the expansion club finished sixth at 32-65. With Gus Schmelz running the show in 1883, the team finished second at 69-39 and once won 31 of 36 games. Much of the roster was the same but one significant addition was Cannonball Ed Morris, who went 34-13 and struck out 302 batters. Despite being a success on the field, the team drew poorly (in part due to a battle against Sunday baseball by Christian elements in town) and declared bankruptcy. Many players joined the Pittsburgh Alleghenies, including Morris, Bill Kuehne, Pop Smith and Fred Carroll.
The Buckeye name was reused for the 1896 season when the Terre Haute Hottentots moved to the Columbus. The name was used for that season. The next year the team changed it to the Columbus Senators.
In 1921 the Buckeyes name was briefly revived by a team in the Negro National League. The Columbus team went 30-39, tied for 5th in the NNL. The clear star was 37-year-old SS Pop Lloyd, who managed the team part of the year (George Brown also managed). Lloyd hit .331, the only batter over .300, and finished among the league leaders in doubles (18, tied for 5th) and steals (20, tied for 5th). Also finishing among the leaders were 2B Clint Thomas (.264, tied for third with 11 triples) and P Roy Roberts (5th with 73 strikeouts, just a 7-16 record). The club did not return the next year.
Sources: "The Beer and Whisky League" by David Nemec, "The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues" by John Holway, "The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues" by James Riley
- Eugene C. Murdock Ban Johnson: Czar of Baseball (Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture)
Greenwood Press; annotated edition (Oct. 28, 1982)
