1891 Season

19 teams competing in 2 leagues

The 1891 Major League Baseball season was played by 19 teams. Harry Stovey and Mike Tiernan led with 16 home runs, Cap Anson led with 120 RBI, and Tom Brown led with 189 hits. This page carries the 1891 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

⏳ Browse Seasons

1881 1886 1890 1891 1892 1896 1901

⚾ Batting Leaders

1891 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 — 427 plate appearances at 138 team games. Home runs, RBI, hits, runs and stolen bases are counting totals and list every player.

Batting Average qualified

1 Dan Brouthers .350 2 Billy Hamilton .340 3 Hugh Duffy .336 4 Tip O'Neill .323 5 Tom Brown .321

OPS qualified

1 Dan Brouthers .983 2 John Milligan .903 3 Denny Lyons .900 4 Mike Tiernan .882 5 Billy Hamilton .874

Home Runs all players

1 Harry Stovey 16 2 Mike Tiernan 16 3 Duke Farrell 12 4 Denny Lyons 11 5 John Milligan 11

RBI all players

1 Cap Anson 120 2 Hugh Duffy 110 3 Duke Farrell 110 4 Dan Brouthers 109 5 John Milligan 106

Hits all players

1 Tom Brown 189 2 Hugh Duffy 180 3 George Van Haltren 180 4 Billy Hamilton 179 5 Tommy McCarthy 176

Runs all players

1 Tom Brown 177 2 Billy Hamilton 141 3 George Van Haltren 136 4 Hugh Duffy 134 5 Billy Hoy 134

Stolen Bases all players

1 Billy Hamilton 111 2 Tom Brown 106 3 Arlie Latham 87 4 Hugh Duffy 85 5 George Van Haltren 75
View Complete Batting Stats →

🎯 Pitching Leaders

1891 Strikeout Leaders

Top 10 — click a bar to view the player.

ERA and WHIP list qualified pitchers only: 1 inning pitched per team game — 138 innings at 138 team games. Wins, strikeouts and saves are counting totals and list every pitcher.

ERA qualified

1 John Ewing 2.27 2 Kid Nichols 2.39 3 George Haddock 2.49 4 Charlie Buffinton 2.55 5 Amos Rusie 2.55

WHIP qualified

1 Charlie Buffinton 1.16 2 Harry Staley 1.21 3 Kid Nichols 1.21 4 Bill Hutchison 1.22 5 George Haddock 1.23

Wins all pitchers

1 Bill Hutchison 44 2 Sadie McMahon 35 3 George Haddock 34 4 John Clarkson 33 5 Amos Rusie 33

Strikeouts all pitchers

1 Amos Rusie 337 2 Bill Hutchison 261 3 Jack Stivetts 259 4 Kid Nichols 240 5 Phil Knell 228

Saves all pitchers

1 John Clarkson 3 2 Joe Neale 3 3 Kid Nichols 3 4 Bill Daley 2 5 Clark Griffith 2
View Complete Pitching Stats →

📋 Standings

AA

Boston Reds ★ 93-42 St. Louis Browns 85-51 Milwaukee Brewers 21-15 Baltimore Orioles 71-64 Philadelphia Athletics 73-66 Columbus Solons 61-76 Cincinnati Kelly's Killers 43-57 Louisville Colonels 54-83 Washington Statesmen 44-91

National League

Boston Beaneaters ★ 87-51 Chicago Colts 82-53 New York Giants 71-61 Philadelphia Phillies 68-69 Cleveland Spiders 65-74 Brooklyn Grooms 61-76 Cincinnati Reds 56-81 Pittsburgh Pirates 55-80

IND

New York Gorhams ★ 8-5 Cuban Giants 5-8

The 1891 season in brief

At 93-42, the Boston Reds had the top winning percentage of the 1891 season. Nobody in 1891 fared worse than the Washington Statesmen (44-91). Race by race in 1891, the New York Gorhams topped the IND group at 8-5, a few games clear of the Cuban Giants, National League honors went to the Boston Beaneaters, whose 87-51 beat the Chicago Colts's 82-53, and nobody in the American Association came near the Boston Reds's 93-42. The data holds no postseason results for 1891. Harry Stovey and Mike Tiernan shared the home run lead at 16. Among qualified hitters, Dan Brouthers had the top batting average, .350, with Billy Hamilton next at .340. The board counts only hitters with 427 or more plate appearances, which is what 138 team games require. Among qualified pitchers, John Ewing had the lowest ERA, 2.27; Kid Nichols followed at 2.39. The other 1891 pitching tiles are led by Bill Hutchison in wins (44) and Amos Rusie in strikeouts (337). The stolen-base tile is headed by Billy Hamilton with 111. For the complete tables behind these tiles, see the 1891 leaders page.

1891 MLB Season: Frequently Asked Questions

How many teams played in 1891?
19 teams played in the 1891 major league season.
Who led MLB in home runs in 1891?
Harry Stovey and Mike Tiernan tied for the lead with 16 home runs in 1891.
Who led MLB in RBI in 1891?
Cap Anson led with 120 RBI in 1891.
Who led MLB in hits in 1891?
Tom Brown led with 189 hits in 1891.
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