1874 Season

8 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1874 Major League Baseball season was played by 8 teams. Jim O'Rourke led with 5 home runs, Cal McVey led with 71 RBI, and Cal McVey led with 123 hits. This page carries the 1874 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

📂 Quick Links

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⚾ Batting Leaders

1874 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 — 176 plate appearances at 57 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Levi Meyerle .394 2 Cal McVey .359 3 Lip Pike .355 4 Jack Manning .346 5 John McMullin .346

OPS qualified

1 Levi Meyerle .889 2 Lip Pike .872 3 Bill Craver .851 4 Cal McVey .842 5 George Wright .816

Home Runs all players

1 Jim O'Rourke 5 2 John Clapp 3 3 Cal McVey 3 4 Deacon White 3 5 Ned Cuthbert 2

RBI all players

1 Cal McVey 71 2 Jim O'Rourke 61 3 Bill Craver 56 4 Al Spalding 54 5 Deacon White 52

Hits all players

1 Cal McVey 123 2 Al Spalding 119 3 Andy Leonard 106 4 Deacon White 106 5 Jim O'Rourke 104

Runs all players

1 Cal McVey 91 2 Jim O'Rourke 82 3 Al Spalding 80 4 George Wright 76 5 Deacon White 75

Stolen Bases all players

1 Tom Barlow 17 2 Bill Craver 11 3 Andy Leonard 11 4 Jim O'Rourke 11 5 Scott Hastings 10
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1874 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 57 innings at 57 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Dick McBride 1.64 2 Bobby Mathews 1.90 3 Al Spalding 1.92 4 Candy Cummings 1.96 5 Tommy Bond 2.03

WHIP qualified

1 Dick McBride 1.12 2 Bobby Mathews 1.20 3 Tommy Bond 1.24 4 Al Spalding 1.25 5 Candy Cummings 1.31

Wins all pitchers

1 Al Spalding 52 2 Bobby Mathews 42 3 Dick McBride 33 4 Candy Cummings 28 5 George Zettlein 27

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Bobby Mathews 101 2 Candy Cummings 61 3 Tommy Bond 42 4 Dick McBride 37 5 Al Spalding 31

Saves all pitchers

1 Harry Wright 3 2 George Bechtel 0 3 Tommy Bond 0 4 Asa Brainard 0 5 Dan Collins 0
View Complete Pitching Stats →

The 1874 season in brief

Jim O'Rourke led the majors with 5 home runs, ahead of John Clapp with 3. The qualified batting-average board starts with Levi Meyerle at .394, with Cal McVey next at .359. Levi Meyerle cleared the 176-plate-appearance line that 1874's 57 team games set. The batting tiles keep returning to Cal McVey, first in RBI, hits, and runs. Dick McBride's 1.64 ERA led the qualified pitchers; Bobby Mathews followed at 1.90. First place on the remaining pitching boards: Al Spalding in wins (52) and Bobby Mathews in strikeouts (101). Beyond the top five in each tile, the 1874 leaders page ranks the whole 1874 field.

1874 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

How many teams played in 1874?
8 teams played in the 1874 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1874?
Jim O'Rourke led with 5 home runs in 1874.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1874?
Cal McVey led with 71 RBI in 1874.
Who led MLB in hits in 1874?
Cal McVey led with 123 hits in 1874.
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