Buffalo Bisons (National League)

Former Major League Baseball team of the National League in Buffalo, New York from 1879–1885 This article is about the National League baseball franchise. For other teams named Buffalo Bisons, see Buffalo Bisons (disambiguation).

Buffalo Bisons
Years 1879–1885
Based in Buffalo, New York
A program cover featuring the 1882 Buffalo Bisons

Major league affiliations
National League
Ballpark
Olympic Park (1884–1885) Riverside Park (1879–1883)
Colors
Gold, black
Managers
Pud Galvin & Jack Chapman (1885) Jim O'Rourke (1881–1884) Sam Crane (1880) John Clapp (1879)
Major league titles
National League pennants: 0

The original Buffalo Bisons baseball club played in the National League between 1879 and 1885. The Bisons played their games at Riverside Park (1879–1883) and Olympic Park (1884–1885) in Buffalo, New York. The NL Bisons are included in the history of the minor-league team of the same name that still plays today; it is thus the only NL team from the 19th century that both still exists and no longer plays in Major League Baseball.

Year-by-year records

Season	Manager	Games	W	L	T	WP	PL	GB
1879	John Clapp	79	46	32	1	.590	3rd	10.0
1880	Sam Crane	85	24	58	3	.293	7th	42.0
1881	Jim O'Rourke	83	45	38	0	.542	3rd	10.5
1882	Jim O'Rourke	84	45	39	0	.536	3rd	10.0
1883	Jim O'Rourke	98	52	45	1	.536	5th	10.5
1884	Jim O'Rourke	115	64	47	4	.577	3rd	19.5
1885	Pud Galvin / Jack Chapman	113	38	74	1	.339	7th	49.0

Players of note

Brouthers, Galvin, O'Rourke, Radbourn, and White are members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Highlights and memorable moments

1877: A precursor to the Bisons played in the League Alliance, finishing with a 79–28–3 record. The team subsequently joined the National League.
1880: Future Hall of Fame pitcher Charlie Radbourn debuted as a second baseman on May 5
1880: Pud Galvin pitched a no-hitter against the Worcester Ruby Legs on Aug. 20
1881: 2B Davy Force recorded 12 putouts, seven assists, two unassisted double plays, participated in a triple play, and made just one error in 20 chances in a 12-inning game against Worcester, on September 15.
1882: Ireland-born Curry Foley became the first major league player ever to hit for the cycle (including a grand slam), on May 25, and Dan Brouthers led the National League with a .368 batting average
1883: Brouthers won his second consecutive NL batting title with a .374 average and Galvin posted 46 wins
1884: Brouthers hit triples in four consecutive games, set a season team-record with 14 home runs, and Galvin won 46 games for the second year in a row. Galvin threw another no-hitter, on August 4. The Bisons' 18–0 score remains the greatest margin of victory in a no-hitter in Major League history. Two years after Foley, Jim O'Rourke became the fourth player in MLB history to hit for the cycle, on June 16.
1885: Brouthers hit .359, ending second in the NL batting race behind Roger Connor (.371)

National Baseball Hall of Fame members

Name	Position	Inducted	Tenure
Charles Radbourn	P	1939	1880
Jim O'Rourke	OF	1945	1881–1884
Dan Brouthers	1B	1945	1881–1885
Pud Galvin	P	1965	1879–1885
Deacon White	3B/C	2013	1881–1885

References

"1877 Buffalo Statistics".
"Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame." Buffalo Bisons. Retrieved on August 19, 2018.

External links

v t e Buffalo Bisons
Based in Buffalo, New York
Notable players	Dan Brouthers Davy Force Pud Galvin Jim O'Rourke Hardy Richardson Jack Rowe Deacon White
The franchise	Managers Players
Ballparks	Riverside Park Olympic Park
Seasons	1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885

Histories of teams in Major League Baseball

American
League

East	Baltimore Orioles • Boston Red Sox • New York Yankees • Tampa Bay Rays • Toronto Blue Jays
Central	Chicago White Sox • Cleveland Guardians • Detroit Tigers • Kansas City Royals • Minnesota Twins
West	Athletics • Houston Astros • Los Angeles Angels • Seattle Mariners • Texas Rangers

National
League

East	Atlanta Braves • Miami Marlins • New York Mets • Philadelphia Phillies • Washington Nationals
Central	Chicago Cubs • Cincinnati Reds • Milwaukee Brewers • Pittsburgh Pirates • St. Louis Cardinals (1875–1919) • (1920–1952) • (1953–1989) • (1990–present)
West	Arizona Diamondbacks • Colorado Rockies • Los Angeles Dodgers • San Diego Padres • San Francisco Giants

Relocated
teams

Milwaukee Brewers (1901) • Boston Braves (1871–1952) • St. Louis Browns (1902–1953) • Philadelphia Athletics (1901–1954) • New York Giants (1883–1957) • Brooklyn Dodgers (1884–1957) • Washington Senators (1901–1960) • Milwaukee Braves (1953–1965) • Kansas City Athletics (1955–1967) • Seattle Pilots (1969) • Washington Senators (1961–1971) • Montreal Expos (1969–2004) • Oakland Athletics (1968–2024)

Defunct
teams

New York Mutuals (1876) • Athletic of Philadelphia (1876) • Hartford Dark Blues (1875–76) • St. Louis Brown Stockings (1876–77) • Louisville Grays (1876–77) • Indianapolis Blues (1878) • Milwaukee Grays (1878) • Syracuse Stars (1878) • Cincinnati Red Stockings (1876–1879) • Cincinnati Stars (1880) • Worcester Worcesters (1880–1882) • Providence Grays (1878–1885) • Buffalo Bisons (1879–1885) • Cleveland Blues (1879–1884) • Troy Trojans (1879–1882) • St. Louis Maroons (1885–86) • Kansas City Cowboys (1886) • Detroit Wolverines (1881–1888) • Indianapolis Hoosiers (1887–1889) • Washington Nationals (1886–1889) • Cleveland Spiders (1887–1899) • Baltimore Orioles (1882–1899) • Louisville Colonels (1892–1899) • Washington Senators (1891–1899) • Baltimore Orioles (1901–1902)

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