The 1890 Louisville Cyclones

"In 1889, Louisville's major league baseball team was in terrible shape. That year, the Louisville Colonels won only 27 games while losing 111, and to make matters worse, went bankrupt midseason. When new owners took over, they found that the club had such a poor reputation in baseball circles that no manager with any history of success was willing to take the reins. Two trades were made to bring in veteran players who could help the team; both players refused to report to Louisville. Thus, when the 1890 season arrived, the club's roster comprised only minor leaguers, guided by a manager who had been a consistent loser. The club was essentially a collection of nobodies from the very bottom of the professional baseball barrel. However, over the course of that astonishing year, they surged to the top of the standings, quickly earning a new name that stuck-the Louisville Cyclones. This book tells the history of the Cyclones' record-breakin