1877 Louisville Grays scandal

The 1877 Louisville Grays scandal was an incident in which members of the Louisville Grays baseball team accepted money to lose games. Four players – Bill Craver, Jim Devlin, George Hall, and Al Nichols – were subsequently banned from professional baseball for life.

In the early days of professional baseball, crooked play was not uncommon, and many players were suspected of throwing games in exchange for money. Gambling had undermined the National Association (NA) in the early 1870s, and William Hulbert formed the National League in 1876 with the intention of driving it out of the game. Nevertheless, there were still several gambling-related scandals during the 1876 season.

Jim Devlin started his Major League Baseball career in 1873 and was the Louisville Grays' pitcher in 1876 and 1877. In 1876, he had a win–loss record of 30–35 and an earned run average of 1.56, while leading the league in complete games, innings pitched, and strikeouts. In 1877, he went 35–25 with a 2.25 ERA and again led the league in complete games and innings pitched. He started and completed each of the Grays' 61 games, an accomplishment no other MLB pitcher in history has matched.

Outfielder George Hall was one of the best sluggers in the game's early history. After playing in the NA from 1871 to 1875, he joined the Philadelphia Athletics in 1876. That season, he led the league with five home runs and finished second in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and total bases. In 1877, he played for the Grays and had a .323 batting average.

...
Wikipedia