Charleston Gulls
The Charleston Gulls and the interchangeable Sea Gulls and Seagulls teams were a minor league baseball franchise based in Charleston, South Carolina from 1886 through 1923.
The 1886 Charleston Seagulls were the first minor league team in Charleston, playing as members of the Southern League between 1886 and 1898, with the 1892 Sea Gulls playing one season in the renamed South Atlantic League. Charleston teams then played as members of the South Atlantic League between 1904 and 1923. The 1904 Sea Gulls were charter members of the modern South Atlantic League.
The 1919 Charleston Gulls continued South Atlantic League membership, as the team became known as the Charleston Palmettos in 1920, followed by the shortened Palms who played in the league from 1921 to 1923. The early Charleston teams preceded today's Charleston RiverDogs in minor league play.
Besides their 1892 Sothern League championship, Charleston teams captured South Atlantic League championships in 1893, 1907 and 1922. Charleston also won South Atlantic League regular season league pennants in 1914, 1917 and 1923.
Beginning in 1904, the Charleston teams hosted home minor league games at College Park, which lies within Hampton Park and is still in use today over a century later.
At age 22, Baseball Hall of Fame member Kiki Cuyler played for the 1922 Charleston Pals and joined the Pittsburgh Pirates at the end of the Charleston season.
History
Organized baseball play began in Charleston, South Carolina as early as 1866. In 1866, the "Palmetto Baseball Club" was formed in the city and the Palmetto team hosted their home baseball games at the Citadel Green, known today as the Marion Square.The baseball site locale was first known as the Citadel Green as The Citadel Military College occupied the adjacent arsenal building from 1843 until 1922 when the Citadel physically relocated to a different location within Charleston. The Palmetto baseball team played their first home game at the Citadel Green on May 23, 1866.
On July 26, 1869, a riot occurred at the Marion Square site. The riot occurred after a baseball game between a Charleston team and a team from Savannah. The riot became known as the "1869 baseball riot."
1886: First season / Southern League / Earthquake
Charleston began minor league play for the first time when the 1886 Charleston "Seagulls" were formed and became members of the Independent level Southern League. The Southern League began play on April 15, 1886, with Charleston joining the Atlanta Atlantas, Augusta Browns, Chattanooga Lookouts, Macon, Memphis Grays, Nashville Americans and Savannah teams as Southern League members.The Seagulls, Gulls and related team nicknames reflect the local indigenous bird species of Charleston, which lies along the Atlantic Ocean. There are 13 types of gulls that are historically native to the Charleston area.
In the early baseball era, team nicknames were not official, and team nicknames were often created informally by local sportswriters or community leaders.
Charleston simultaneously hosted the Fulton Base Ball Club or Charleston Fultons in 1886. The Fultons played the season as a member of the ten-team Southern League of Colored Base Ballists league.
File:Hillers, J.K. 13 - Wrecked brick house on Tradd Street, 1886.jpg|thumb| Tradd Street, Charleston, South Carolina. Damage from the 1886 Charleston earthquake.
The 1886 Southern League season was ended on September 4 because of the 1886 Charleston earthquake that struck the Charleston area on August 31, 1886, killing 60 people. In their first season of play Seagulls ended the 1886 season with a record of 44–49, placing fifth in the eight-team Southern League. Charleston played the season under managers Charlie Cushman and Jim Powell and finished 20.0 games behind the first place Atlanta Atlantas. Charlie Cushman was strictly a manager and not a player in his partial season tenure with Charleston. In replacing Cushman, Jim Powell began a three-season tenure as the Charleston player-manager. Jim Powell batted.240 with 33 stolen bases in 96 games for Charleston in his role as player-manager.
File:Gus Weyhing 1888.jpeg|thumb| Gus Weyhing, Philadelphia Athletics. In 1886, Weyhing had 13 wins and a 0.76 ERA pitching 298 innings for Charleston at age 19. Weyhing won 262 major league games and hit a record 277 batters.
In his first professional season at age 19, pitcher Gus Weyhing played for Charleston in 1886. Weyhing compiled 13 wins and a 0.76 ERA, pitching in 32 games and throwing 298 total innings for the Seagulls. Following his strong showing with Charleston in 1886, Weyhing made his major league debut in 1887 with the Philadelphia Athletics, winning 26 games while pitching 466 total innings with 53 complete games in his rookie season for Philadelphia. In his 14-season major league career, Weyhing won 262 major league games with a 3.88 ERA, while pitching for 11 different teams. Weyhing still holds the major league record for most batters hit in a career, hitting 277 batters, the career leader by a large margin.
Outfielder Jimmy McAleer played for Charleston in 1886, batting.205 in 64 games at age 21. McAleer became a major league player, playing centerfield for the Cleveland Spiders, Cleveland Blues and St. Louis Browns. He became a major league manager and served as manager of the Cleveland Blues, St Louis Browns and Washington Senators. He then became a co-owner of the Boston Red Sox from 1911 to 1913.
1887 to 1889: Southern League
The Charleston Seagulls continued Southern League play in 1887 and ended the season in second place in the final standings of the eight-team league. The 1887 Charleson team was also known by the "Quakers" nickname. Charleston ended the season with a 65–38 record as Jim Powell returned for a second season as manager. No league playoffs were held, and Charleston finished 4.5 games behind the first place New Orleans Pelicans in the standings after four other league teams folded during the season. Serving as the player-manager, Jim Powell excelled as a player, batting.375 in 108 games.Jim Powell began his third season as the Charleston manager in 1888 and the Southern League continued play as a four-team league. The league did not play the full season, folding before the season schedule was concluded. The league folded on July 8, 1888, with the Charleston Seagulls in fourth place. The Seagulls had a record of 20–28 as the league folded, finishing 9.0 games behind the first place Birmingham Maroons. Jim Powell was replaced as manager during the season by John Moran, in Moran's only documented season in baseball.
Despite folding the previous season, the seven-team Southern League returned to play in 1889 only to fold again during the season. On July 6, 1889, Charleston had compiled a 26–19 record and were in second place when the league folded. Managed by player-manager Jake Aydelott, Charleston finished 16.0 games behind the 45–9 New Orleans Pelicans. Charleston played some home games at Macon in 1889 after numerous league members folded and Charleston was renamed after the folded Atlanta team despite playing in Macon.
Player-manager Jake Aydelott had previously pitched briefly in the major leagues prior to his season with Charleston, logging 14 total appearances for the Indianapolis Hoosiers and Philadelphia Athletics. Aydelott compiled a 1–4 record in 5 games pitching for Charleston at age 27.
Charleston native Pat Luby pitched for his hometown team in 1889. In his first professional season, Luby had a record of 9–5 with a 2.88 ERA pitching in 14 games at age 20. The next season, Luby made his major league debut with the Chicago Colts, winning 20 games as a rookie for Chicago. Having pitched 106 total games in the major leagues with the Colts and the Louisville Colonels, Luby died in Charleston of tuberculosis on April 24, 1899, at age 30.
1892: South Atlantic League champions
In 1892, Charleston resumed minor league play as the Sea Gulls became charter members of the four-team South Atlantic League and won the league championship in a shortened season. The Winston Blue Sluggers, Columbia Senators and Charlotte Maroons teams joined the Charleston Sea Gulls in league play. The independent league played for six weeks before Winston folded causing the league to fold.The South Atlantic League regular season schedule began on April 30, 1892. The league was short-lived and folded on June 10, 1892, after playing less than two months of the season. The Winston-Salem Blue Sluggers, who were in second place with an 18–14 record, folded, causing the league itself to fold with only three remaining teams. In the final standings, the Charleston Sea Gulls finished in first place with a 20–13 record, ending the shortened season 1.5 games ahead of second place Winston-Salem. Charleston was managed by "Passailaigue." A Charleston businessman, T.W. Passailaigue, was the superintendent of the Consolidated Company and owned the team.
Second baseman Tom Stouch played for Charleston in 1892. Competing in his first professional season at age 22, Stouch batted.261 on the season. After a brief major league career, Stouch became a long-time player-manager in the minor leagues. In 1907, while managing the Greenville Spinners, Stouch discovered Greenville native Shoeless Joe Jackson in an exhibition game and signed him to a contract with the Spinners, beginning Jackson's professional career.
Southern League: 1893 & 1894
In 1893, the Charleston Seagulls rejoined the Class B level Southern League and won the league championship, playing in the 12-team league. The Atlanta Windjammers, Augusta Electricians, Birmingham Grays, Chattanooga Warriors, Macon Central City, Memphis Giants, Mobile Blackbirds, Montgomery Colts, Nashville Tigers, New Orleans Pelicans and Savannah Electrics teams joined with the Charleston Seagulls in beginning the league schedule on April 10, 1893.On June 23, 1893, Charleston native Tom Colcolough pitched a no-hit game for the Seagulls. Pitching at home, Colcolough defeated Montgomery 7–0 in the contest. At age 22, Colcolough compiled a 16–11 record for Charleston on the season and pitched in the major leagues later in the 1893 season, making his major league debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He pitched in the majors with Pittsburgh and the New York Giants.
After beginning play, the 12-team league had numerous franchises in financial trouble and the league ended its season on August 12, 1893, with Charleston in first place in the overall standings. The league was also known as the interchangeable "Central Association." As the league folded, Charleston had a final record of 51–32, finishing the shortened season in first place, playing the season under player-manager Jack Carney. Charleston finished 2.0 games behind the second place Macon Central City team.
Jack Carney batted.308 for Charleston in 1893, playing first base and appearing in 85 games at age 26. Carney played in the early major leagues with the Washington Nationals, Buffalo Bisons, Cleveland Infants, Cincinnati Kelly's Killers and Milwaukee Brewers, batting.273 in 252 games. He later coached collegiately, serving as the baseball coach at both Boston University and Cornell University.
File:Jack-mccarthy.jpg|thumb|left| Jack McCarthy, Chicago Cubs McCarthy batted.310 playing for Charleston in 1893, before making his major league debut with the Cincinnati Reds at the end of the season.
Outfielder Jack McCarthy played for Charleston 1893, batting.310 in 85 games for the Seagulls. McCarthy made his major league debut with the Cincinnati Reds at the end of the 1893 season, following his stint with Charleston. In a lengthy major league career with the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Orphans, Cleveland Naps, Chicago Cubs and Brooklyn Superbas, McCarthy appeared in 1,092 career games, batting.287 with a.365 OBP for his career. At the end of his major league, career, McCarthy had a then record 3,021 at-bats without a home run, hitting his last of his 8 career home runs during the 1899 season. Also during his career, in the 1904 season, McCarthy injured his ankle when he tripped over a broom used by the umpire to clean home plate. Afterwards, a rule was created, specifying that umpires clean home plate with a whisk broom and store it in their pocket. On April 26, 1905, while playing with the Chicago Cubs, McCarthy became the first outfielder to throw out three base runners at home plate in one game, achieving the feat in Chicago's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Charleston returned to play in 1894 as the defending Southern League defending champions and were having a successful season when the Seagulls team folded. On June 27, 1884, Charleston had compiled a 33–22 record when they folded. Charleston played their partial season under the direction of player-manager Ollie Beard. As a player, Beard had a remarkable season for the Seagulls, batting.425 in his 1894 season at age 32. An infielder, Beard had played in the major leagues prior to his season with Charleston. In his major league career, Beard batted.274 playing in 331 total games for the Cincinnati Reds and Louisville Colonels.
Pitcher George Blackburn played for Charleston in 1894 at age 24. In his brief major league career, Blackburn became a part of history in his only big-league season. On July 16, 1897, while pitching for the Baltimore Orioles against the Chicago Colts, today's Chicago Cubs, Blackburn surrendered a single to Chicago's Cap Anson, who became the first player in major league history to record 3,000 total hits with his hit off of Blackburn. Blackwell compiled a 13–9 record with 18 complete games for Charleston.
After folding in the 1894 season, the Charleston Seagulls did not return to the eight-team Southern League in 1895, replaced in the league membership by the Chattanooga Warriors.