Louisville Colonels, 1882–1899

Louisville went from 100 losses to a pennant in one season, produced some of baseball's earliest stars, and gave Honus Wagner his major league start.

First Came the Eclipse

Louisville joined the newly formed American Association in 1882 as the Louisville Eclipse.

The club had already established itself locally before stepping up to major league competition.

Among its early stars was Louisville native Pete Browning, one of the best hitters of baseball's early years.

In 1885, the team adopted the name that would define the rest of its history: the Louisville Colonels.

The name came from the honorary title of Kentucky Colonel.

Baseball's First 100-Loss Team

The 1889 season could hardly have gone worse.

Louisville finished 27–111.

In doing so, the Colonels became the first team in major league history to lose 100 games in a single season.

At one point, they lost five games in just two days, including a tripleheader followed by a doubleheader against Baltimore.

Louisville finished at the bottom of the American Association.

From Last Place to First

Then came one of baseball's greatest one-year turnarounds.

The Colonels rebounded in 1890 and won the American Association pennant.

One year after finishing dead last, Louisville finished first.

They became the first and only team in major league history to go directly from the cellar to the pennant in one season.

Into the National League

When the American Association folded after the 1891 season, Louisville was one of the clubs absorbed into the National League.

The Colonels continued playing there from 1892 through 1899.

By the late 1890s, the roster included two men who would become baseball legends:

Fred Clarke.
Honus Wagner.

Wagner began his major league career with Louisville in 1897 and recorded his first big-league hit as a Colonel.

Louisville Loses the Majors

After the 1899 season, the National League decided to shrink from twelve teams to eight.

Louisville was one of four franchises eliminated.

Colonels owner Barney Dreyfuss acquired controlling interest in the Pittsburgh Pirates and took fourteen Louisville players with him.

Among them were Honus Wagner and Fred Clarke.

Louisville's major league story was over, but several of its best players were about to help build a powerhouse in Pittsburgh.