Among the players on that team: Hall of Famers Albert Spalding (a 47-game winner that season) and Cap Anson (who batted .356). Neither of them were the biggest star of that team, however. That honor went to second baseman Ross Barnes, who led the league in hitting (.429), runs, hits, doubles, triples, and walks.
Of course, modern day fans would barely recognize the 1876 game because they played with very different rules. Very different.
For instance, the pitchers mound was only 45 feet away from home plate. The pitchers threw underhand, and batters could request either high or low pitches. If a ball bounced over the fence, it was a homer...and some fences were less than 200 feet away from home. It also took nine balls to get a walk, and a foul ball was an out if it was caught on one bounce.
Like we said, very different.
But a championship is a championship, and no one can take away Chicago's glorious 1876 title.
