1872 Season

11 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1872 Major League Baseball season was played by 11 teams. Lip Pike led with 7 home runs, Lip Pike led with 60 RBI, and Ross Barnes led with 99 hits. This page carries the 1872 standings, league leaders, and a link to every team's season.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
L (Losses):
Games charged to the pitcher of record when the opposing team took a lead it never surrendered.
Win% (Winning Percentage):
Wins divided by games decided.
GB (Games Back):
How far a team trailed the division or league leader.

Data updated

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⚾ Batting Leaders

1872 Home Run Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

Batting average and OPS list qualified hitters only: 3.1 plate appearances per team game — 89 plate appearances at 29 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Ross Barnes .430 2 Davy Force .418 3 Cap Anson .415 4 Scott Hastings .362 5 Mike McGeary .360

OPS qualified

1 Ross Barnes 1.034 2 Cap Anson .980 3 Davy Force .916 4 Jimmy Wood .833 5 George Wright .816

Home Runs all players

1 Lip Pike 7 2 Count Gedney 3 3 Tom Carey 2 4 Dick Higham 2 5 Andy Leonard 2

RBI all players

1 Lip Pike 60 2 Cap Anson 48 3 Wes Fisler 48 4 Joe Start 48 5 Ned Cuthbert 47

Hits all players

1 Ross Barnes 99 2 Dave Eggler 97 3 Davy Force 94 4 John Hatfield 93 5 Cap Anson 90

Runs all players

1 Dave Eggler 94 2 George Wright 87 3 Ned Cuthbert 83 4 Ross Barnes 81 5 John Hatfield 76

Stolen Bases all players

1 Dave Eggler 18 2 Ned Cuthbert 14 3 George Wright 14 4 Mike McGeary 13 5 Ross Barnes 12
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1872 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 29 innings at 29 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Cherokee Fisher 1.80 2 Al Spalding 1.85 3 George Zettlein 2.57 4 Dick McBride 2.85 5 Candy Cummings 3.01

WHIP qualified

1 Cherokee Fisher 0.95 2 Al Spalding 1.10 3 George Zettlein 1.24 4 Dick McBride 1.27 5 Candy Cummings 1.28

Wins all pitchers

1 Al Spalding 38 2 Candy Cummings 33 3 Dick McBride 30 4 Bobby Mathews 25 5 George Zettlein 15

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Bobby Mathews 57 2 Candy Cummings 45 3 Dick McBride 44 4 Al Spalding 28 5 George Zettlein 25

Saves all pitchers

1 Harry Wright 4 2 Cherokee Fisher 1 3 John McMullin 1 4 George Zettlein 1 5 Cy Bentley 0
View Complete Pitching Stats →

The 1872 season in brief

The home run board is topped by Lip Pike at 7, ahead of Count Gedney with 3. Among qualified hitters, Ross Barnes had the top batting average, .430, with Davy Force next at .418. That 1872 rate board needs 89 plate appearances (29 team games times the per-game rule). The batting tiles keep returning to Ross Barnes, first in batting average, OPS, and hits. Cherokee Fisher's 1.80 ERA led the qualified pitchers; Al Spalding followed at 1.85. First place on the remaining pitching boards: Al Spalding in wins (38) and Bobby Mathews in strikeouts (57). Full batting and pitching tables are on the 1872 leaders page.

1872 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

How many teams played in 1872?
11 teams played in the 1872 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1872?
Lip Pike led with 7 home runs in 1872.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1872?
Lip Pike led with 60 RBI in 1872.
Who led MLB in hits in 1872?
Ross Barnes led with 99 hits in 1872.
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