Rochester Blackbirds

Between being the Rochester Browns and Rochester Patriots, the Rochester, NY team in the Eastern League in 1897 was called the Rochester Blackbirds. On July 16, the club's ballpark burned down and they moved to Montreal, QC, becoming the Montreal Royals. Managed by Dan Shannon, George Weidman and Charles Dooley, they were a miserable 45-76 overall (24-42 in Rochester), 32 games out of first and 7th in the 8-team EL. Their two most-used pitchers (Bill Banks, 16-16 and Dan McFarlan, 12-12) somehow managed .500 records. SS Frank Shannon (.301, 31 SB, 114 R, .397 SLG) was one of the better offensive performers.