THE 1878 MILWAUKEE GRAYS

June 12, 1878 at Chicago
Grays lose to White Stockings, 1-0
Season record: 5-13-1

Baseballlibrary.com had this to say about the game:

“A great throw for a CF and catcher DP by White Stocking OF John Cassidy in the bottom of the 10th inning saves a 1-0 decision over Milwaukee.” Sounds like it was a great game.

Cassidy is one of those rare players (along with Rickey Henderson) who threw left, but batted right. He was just 21 in 1878 and would play only until he was 28. In 1877 with Hartford, he hit a mighty .378 … but he’d never hit higher than .266 again (and that was in 1878).

Cassidy actually began his career as a pitcher, but went 1-20 (yes, 1-20) with the Brooklyn Atlantics of the National Association in 1875.

He would eventually die at the age of 36 of dropsy, better known as Edema. His obit says he was ill for over a year. Interestingly, his obit notes that he was “a good fielder, being noted particularly for the frequency with which he retired men at first base on hits to right field.”