Louisville Colonels
| Louisville Colonels | |
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| Years 1882–1899 | |
| Based in Louisville, Kentucky | |
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| Colors | |
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Red, Yellow |
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| Past team names | |
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| Ownership | |
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| Executives | |
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| Major league titles | |
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Red, Yellow
The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as the Louisville Colonels from 1885 to 1891. The latter name derived from the historic Kentucky colonels. After the AA folded in 1891, the Colonels joined the National League and played through the 1899 season.
"Colonels" was also the name of several minor league baseball teams that played in Louisville, Kentucky, in the 20th century.
After spending several years as a well-known semi-pro team, the Eclipse joined the new American Association in 1882. The team's backer, local distiller J. H. Pank, was named vice-president of the AA, and the team was to be run by a consortium led by W. L. Lyons. Accompanying them to the major leagues was their star player, infielder Pete Browning, who had already achieved some measure of local fame. The team got off to a good start, finishing in second place that first season. That would be their best finish for several seasons.
Ownership troubles were also afoot, as managing partner Lyons resigned in mid-1888, with team secretary Mordecai Davidson taking over. The following season, the team sank to a 27–111 record and a last place finish, and Davidson surrendered control of the team to the AA. A rare feat was made in the 1896 season when the Colonels lost five straight games in two days, including a tripleheader on September 7 and a doubleheader the next day, all against the Baltimore Orioles. With the prohibition of triple headers in the early 1920s, this record stands permanent. Three years later, the 1889 Colonels were the first team in major-league history to lose 100 games in a season.
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