Flashback: Michigan Baseball wins games 75-10, 61-41
Doing some research for my Baseball guide I'm building.
I have found a somewhat disturbing stat from the 1886 season.
On May 2nd, Michigan played someone named Hiawatha. They went on to score 75 runs on them in a 75-10 win.
Obviously, there is very limited information on Baseball since I've been planning some trips to Bentley to dig up some info on Michigan's oldest sport, but this is something I really thought was a typo it is so outrageous.
This is not the only instance of Michigan pouring it on someone. In 1881, they beat Dexter 40-17. However, Michigan lost to the Detroit Detroits, 28-0 earlier in the year. BASEBALL.
Other incredible scores:
- 1866- Michigan 61 Jackson 41........BASEBALL
- 1867- Michigan 70 Detroit-Mercy 18.....
Michigan-Jackson's 61-41 creation in 1866 wasn't the only time it happened.....it happened again in 1905 with the same score.
I'd love to see that boxscore.
“Head Coach: None”
Would have been wild to watch these old games.
Was baseball played home-run derby style back then, while drinking?
Wow. According to the record book, we beat Jackson not once but twice by a score of 61-41, the other time being in 1905, unless that is some sort of typo. I am guessing that Jackson was not known for having lockdown starting pitching then, or perhaps ever for all I know. We also had some wild games against the Detroit Detroits in the late 19th century as well with scores like 70-18 and what must have been a nailbiter of 26-24.
Interesting data actually. Thanks for sharing!
This is really cool. Thanks for bringing it up.
Florida-era Steve Spurrier would be so proud of those scores.
In 1866, pitchers were required to pitch the ball underhanded. A rule book at the time said that umpires should ensure that pitchers pitch the ball "for the batter" rather than "to the catcher." Note that the word "pitching" was also applied to "pitching horseshoes"--it implied an underhand toss.
It was essentially slow-pitch softball with no gloves. Even though fielders could catch the ball either on the fly or on the bound (i.e., if a ball was caught on one bounce, the batter was out), the batting team had a massive advantage.