1887 Season

16 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1887 Major League Baseball season was played by 16 teams. The Detroit Wolverines won the World Series, defeating the St. Louis Browns. Billy O'Brien led with 19 home runs, Sam Thompson led with 166 RBI, and Tip O'Neill led with 225 hits. This page carries the 1887 standings, league leaders, postseason results, 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

🏆 Postseason

1887 Bracket
World Series DTN def. SL4 (10-5)

📂 Quick Links

📊 Full Leaders 📋 Standings ⚾ Batting 🎯 Pitching

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⚾ Batting Leaders

1887 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 — 399 plate appearances at 129 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Tip O'Neill .435 2 Pete Browning .402 3 Sam Thompson .372 4 Denny Lyons .367 5 Bob Caruthers .357

OPS qualified

1 Tip O'Neill 1.180 2 Pete Browning 1.011 3 Bob Caruthers 1.010 4 Dan Brouthers .988 5 Sam Thompson .982

Home Runs all players

1 Billy O'Brien 19 2 Roger Connor 17 3 Fred Pfeffer 16 4 Tip O'Neill 14 5 George Wood 14

RBI all players

1 Sam Thompson 166 2 Tip O'Neill 123 3 Pete Browning 118 4 Jumbo Davis 109 5 Dave Foutz 108

Hits all players

1 Tip O'Neill 225 2 Pete Browning 220 3 Denny Lyons 209 4 Sam Thompson 203 5 Arlie Latham 198

Runs all players

1 Tip O'Neill 167 2 Arlie Latham 163 3 Dan Brouthers 153 4 Mike Griffin 142 5 Tom Poorman 140

Stolen Bases all players

1 Hugh Nicol 138 2 Arlie Latham 129 3 Charlie Comiskey 117 4 John Ward 111 5 Pete Browning 103
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1887 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 129 innings at 129 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 Dan Casey 2.86 2 Pete Conway 2.90 3 Elmer Smith 2.94 4 Charlie Ferguson 3.00 5 Matt Kilroy 3.07

WHIP qualified

1 Tim Keefe 1.12 2 John Clarkson 1.16 3 Charlie Ferguson 1.16 4 Jim Whitney 1.17 5 Bob Caruthers 1.17

Wins all pitchers

1 Matt Kilroy 46 2 John Clarkson 38 3 Toad Ramsey 37 4 Tim Keefe 35 5 Elmer Smith 34

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Toad Ramsey 355 2 John Clarkson 237 3 Matt Kilroy 217 4 Phenomenal Smith 206 5 Gus Weyhing 193

Saves all pitchers

1 Adonis Terry 3 2 Mark Baldwin 1 3 Lou Bierbauer 1 4 Frederick Fass 1 5 Charlie Ferguson 1
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

AA

St. Louis Browns ★ 95-40 Cincinnati Red Stockings 81-54 Baltimore Orioles 77-58 Louisville Colonels 76-60 Philadelphia Athletics 64-69 Brooklyn Grays 60-74 New York Metropolitans 44-89 Cleveland Blues 39-92

National League

Detroit Wolverines ★ 79-45 Philadelphia Quakers 75-48 Chicago White Stockings 71-50 New York Giants 68-55 Boston Beaneaters 61-60 Pittsburg Alleghenys 55-69 Washington Nationals 46-76 Indianapolis Hoosiers 37-89

The 1887 season in brief

1887 belonged, by record, to the St. Louis Browns: 95-40. The Indianapolis Hoosiers finished at the bottom of the 1887 table at 37-89. Race by race in 1887, the Detroit Wolverines (79-45) held off the Philadelphia Quakers (75-48) in the National League and the American Association was not close, the St. Louis Browns finishing 95-40 to the Cincinnati Red Stockings's 81-54. In the World Series, the Detroit Wolverines beat the St. Louis Browns, 10 games to 5. On the home run tile, Billy O'Brien sat first with 19, ahead of Roger Connor with 17. Tip O'Neill's .435 is the best average on the qualified board, with Pete Browning next at .402. The board counts only hitters with 399 or more plate appearances, which is what 129 team games require. Tip O'Neill topped several batting tiles at once: batting average, OPS, hits, and runs. The ERA board, limited to qualified pitchers, starts with Dan Casey at 2.86; Pete Conway followed at 2.90. The other 1887 pitching tiles are led by Matt Kilroy in wins (46) and Toad Ramsey in strikeouts (355). Hugh Nicol had the most stolen bases, 138. Full batting and pitching tables are on the 1887 leaders page.

1887 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

Who won the World Series in 1887?
The Detroit Wolverines won the 1887 World Series, beating the St. Louis Browns.
How many teams played in 1887?
16 teams played in the 1887 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1887?
Billy O'Brien led with 19 home runs in 1887.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1887?
Sam Thompson led with 166 RBI in 1887.
Who led MLB in hits in 1887?
Tip O'Neill led with 225 hits in 1887.
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