1879 Season

8 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1879 Major League Baseball season was played by 8 teams. Charley Jones led with 9 home runs, Charley Jones and John O'Rourke led with 62 RBI, and Paul Hines led with 146 hits. This page carries the 1879 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

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

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⚾ Batting Leaders

1879 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 — 254 plate appearances at 82 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Paul Hines .357 2 Jim O'Rourke .348 3 King Kelly .348 4 John O'Rourke .341 5 Deacon White .330

OPS qualified

1 John O'Rourke .877 2 Charley Jones .877 3 King Kelly .855 4 Paul Hines .851 5 Jim O'Rourke .829

Home Runs all players

1 Charley Jones 9 2 John O'Rourke 6 3 Dan Brouthers 4 4 Charlie Eden 3 5 Lew Brown 2

RBI all players

1 Charley Jones 62 2 John O'Rourke 62 3 Buttercup Dickerson 57 4 Cal McVey 55 5 Paul Hines 52

Hits all players

1 Paul Hines 146 2 Jim O'Rourke 126 3 King Kelly 120 4 Charley Jones 112 5 Deacon White 110

Runs all players

1 Charley Jones 85 2 Paul Hines 81 3 George Wright 79 4 King Kelly 78 5 Buttercup Dickerson 73

Stolen Bases all players

1 George Adams 0 2 Jack Allen 0 3 Doug Allison 0 4 Cap Anson 0 5 Ross Barnes 0
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1879 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 82 innings at 82 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Tommy Bond 1.96 2 Will White 1.99 3 John Ward 2.15 4 Harry Salisbury 2.22 5 Pud Galvin 2.28

WHIP qualified

1 Tommy Bond 1.02 2 John Ward 1.03 3 Pud Galvin 1.04 4 Terry Larkin 1.06 5 Bill McGunnigle 1.07

Wins all pitchers

1 John Ward 47 2 Tommy Bond 43 3 Will White 43 4 Pud Galvin 37 5 Terry Larkin 31

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 John Ward 239 2 Will White 232 3 Jim McCormick 197 4 Tommy Bond 155 5 Terry Larkin 142

Saves all pitchers

1 Bobby Mathews 1 2 John Ward 1 3 Tommy Bond 0 4 George Bradley 0 5 Dan Brouthers 0
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

National League

Providence Grays ★ 59-25 Boston Red Caps 54-30 Buffalo Bisons 46-32 Chicago White Stockings 46-33 Cincinnati Reds 43-37 Cleveland Blues 27-55 Syracuse Stars 22-48 Troy Trojans 19-56

The 1879 season in brief

The Providence Grays set the pace in 1879 with a 59-25 record. Nobody in 1879 fared worse than the Troy Trojans (19-56). Group by group, nobody in the National League came near the Providence Grays's 59-25. The data holds no postseason results for 1879. On the home run tile, Charley Jones sat first with 9, ahead of John O'Rourke with 6. The qualified batting-average board starts with Paul Hines at .357, with Jim O'Rourke next at .348. Qualification for that 1879 board is 254 plate appearances at 82 team games. Charley Jones topped several batting tiles at once: home runs, RBI, and runs. Tommy Bond's 1.96 ERA led the qualified pitchers; Will White followed at 1.99. 1879's pitching counting leaders: John Ward in wins (47) and John Ward in strikeouts (239). Beyond the top five in each tile, the 1879 leaders page ranks the whole 1879 field.

1879 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

How many teams played in 1879?
8 teams played in the 1879 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1879?
Charley Jones led with 9 home runs in 1879.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1879?
Charley Jones and John O'Rourke tied for the lead with 62 RBI in 1879.
Who led MLB in hits in 1879?
Paul Hines led with 146 hits in 1879.
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