1885 MLB Season Leaders

2 leagues · 113 team games · 44 ranking tables

Awards

None of these awards existed yet. The earliest award in this database is from 1911, so a 1885 season has no award to show. That is a fact about the calendar, not about the players on this page.

National League

Led the National League — the first row of every table below.

Batting12 categories

RunsR

1	King Kelly	124
2	Jim O'Rourke	119
3	George Gore	115
4	Abner Dalrymple	109
5	Roger Connor	102
6	Cap Anson	100
7	Ned Hanlon	93
8	Fred Pfeffer	90
8	Hardy Richardson	90
10	Dan Brouthers	87
10	Ed Williamson	87

HitsH

1	Roger Connor	169
2	Dan Brouthers	146
3	Cap Anson	144
4	Jim O'Rourke	143
4	Ezra Sutton	143
6	George Gore	138
7	Hardy Richardson	136
8	Abner Dalrymple	135
9	Ned Hanlon	128
10	King Kelly	126

Doubles2B

1	Cap Anson	35
2	Dan Brouthers	32
3	Jack Rowe	28
4	Abner Dalrymple	27
5	Joe Mulvey	25
6	Charlie Bennett	24
6	King Kelly	24
6	Jack Manning	24
9	Tom Burns	23
9	Roger Connor	23
9	Ezra Sutton	23

Triples3B

1	Jim O'Rourke	16
2	Roger Connor	15
3	Charlie Bennett	13
3	George Gore	13
5	Abner Dalrymple	12
5	Buck Ewing	12
7	Dan Brouthers	11
7	Hardy Richardson	11
9	Sam Wise	10
10	Tom Burns	9
10	Jim Manning	9
10	Sam Thompson	9
10	John Ward	9

Home RunsHR

1	Abner Dalrymple	11
2	King Kelly	9
3	Cap Anson	7
3	Dan Brouthers	7
3	Tom Burns	7
3	Sam Thompson	7
7	Buck Ewing	6
7	Joe Mulvey	6
7	Hardy Richardson	6
10	Charlie Bennett	5
10	George Gore	5
10	Jim O'Rourke	5
10	Fred Pfeffer	5
10	George Wood	5

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Cap Anson	108
2	King Kelly	75
3	Fred Pfeffer	73
4	Tom Burns	71
5	Roger Connor	65
5	Ed Williamson	65
7	Joe Mulvey	64
8	Buck Ewing	63
9	Abner Dalrymple	61
10	Charlie Bennett	60

WalksBB

1	Ed Williamson	75
2	George Gore	68
3	John Morrill	64
4	Roger Connor	51
5	Charlie Bennett	47
5	Ned Hanlon	47
7	Abner Dalrymple	46
7	King Kelly	46
9	Fred Dunlap	41
10	Jim O'Rourke	40

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Roger Connor	6.0
2	George Gore	5.3
3	Dan Brouthers	5.2
4	Hardy Richardson	5.1
5	Ned Hanlon	4.3
6	Ezra Sutton	4.1
7	Charlie Bennett	4.0
8	King Kelly	3.8
9	Fred Dunlap	3.8
10	Jack Glasscock	3.8

Batting Averagemin 350 PA

1	Roger Connor	.371
2	Dan Brouthers	.359
3	Mike Dorgan	.326
4	Hardy Richardson	.319
5	George Gore	.313
5	Ezra Sutton	.313
7	Cap Anson	.310
8	Buck Ewing	.304
9	Ned Hanlon	.302
10	Jim O'Rourke	.300

On-Base Percentagemin 350 PA

1	Roger Connor	.435
2	Dan Brouthers	.408
3	George Gore	.405
4	Ned Hanlon	.372
5	Cap Anson	.357
5	Ed Williamson	.357
7	Charlie Bennett	.356
8	King Kelly	.355
9	Jim O'Rourke	.354
10	Hardy Richardson	.350

Slugging Percentagemin 350 PA

1	Dan Brouthers	.543
2	Roger Connor	.495
3	Buck Ewing	.471
4	Cap Anson	.461
5	Hardy Richardson	.458
6	Charlie Bennett	.456
7	George Gore	.454
8	Abner Dalrymple	.445
9	Jim O'Rourke	.442
10	King Kelly	.436

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 350 PA

1	Dan Brouthers	.951
2	Roger Connor	.929
3	George Gore	.858
4	Cap Anson	.819
5	Charlie Bennett	.812
6	Hardy Richardson	.808
7	Buck Ewing	.800
8	Jim O'Rourke	.796
9	King Kelly	.791
10	Abner Dalrymple	.782

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	John Clarkson	53
2	Mickey Welch	44
3	Tim Keefe	32
4	Old Hoss Radbourn	28
5	Ed Daily	26
5	Charlie Ferguson	26
7	Dupee Shaw	23
8	Charlie Buffinton	22
9	Jim McCormick	21
10	Jim Whitney	18

SavesSV

1	Fred Pfeffer	2
1	Ed Williamson	2
3	Lady Baldwin	1
3	Pud Galvin	1
3	Mickey Welch	1

StrikeoutsSO

1	John Clarkson	308
2	Mickey Welch	258
3	Charlie Buffinton	242
4	Tim Keefe	227
5	Jim Whitney	200
6	Charlie Ferguson	197
7	Dupee Shaw	194
8	Old Hoss Radbourn	154
9	George Weidman	149
10	Ed Daily	140

Innings PitchedIP

1	John Clarkson	623.0
2	Mickey Welch	492.0
3	Old Hoss Radbourn	445.7
4	Jim Whitney	441.3
5	Ed Daily	440.0
6	Charlie Buffinton	434.3
7	Charlie Ferguson	405.0
8	Tim Keefe	400.0
9	Dupee Shaw	399.7
10	Pud Galvin	372.3

Complete GamesCG

1	John Clarkson	68
2	Mickey Welch	55
3	Jim Whitney	50
4	Charlie Buffinton	49
4	Ed Daily	49
4	Old Hoss Radbourn	49
7	Dupee Shaw	47
8	Charlie Ferguson	45
8	Tim Keefe	45
10	Pud Galvin	40

ShutoutsSHO

1	John Clarkson	10
2	Tim Keefe	7
2	Mickey Welch	7
4	Charlie Buffinton	6
4	Dupee Shaw	6
6	Charlie Ferguson	5
7	Ed Daily	4
8	Pud Galvin	3
8	Jim McCormick	3
8	George Weidman	3

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	John Clarkson	17.5
2	Mickey Welch	13.5
3	Jim Whitney	12.4
4	Old Hoss Radbourn	11.5
5	Charlie Ferguson	11.4
6	Charlie Buffinton	11.3
7	Tim Keefe	11.1
8	Dupee Shaw	10.2
9	Ed Daily	10.0
10	Pud Galvin	9.8

Earned Run Averagemin 113 IP

1	Tim Keefe	1.57
2	Mickey Welch	1.67
3	John Clarkson	1.85
4	Lady Baldwin	1.86
5	Old Hoss Radbourn	2.20
6	Ed Daily	2.21
7	Charlie Ferguson	2.22
8	Jim McCormick	2.43
9	Dupee Shaw	2.57
10	Henry Boyle	2.75

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 113 IP

1	Lady Baldwin	0.92
2	John Clarkson	0.95
3	Tim Keefe	1.00
4	Mickey Welch	1.02
5	Ed Daily	1.04
6	Charlie Ferguson	1.05
7	Dupee Shaw	1.11
8	Jim McCormick	1.11
9	Old Hoss Radbourn	1.14
10	Charlie Sweeney	1.19

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 113 IP

1	Lady Baldwin	1.99
2	Jim Whitney	2.64
3	Charlie Ferguson	2.67
4	Tim Keefe	2.71
5	Mickey Welch	2.74
6	John Clarkson	2.80
7	George Weidman	2.83
8	Charlie Buffinton	2.84
9	Old Hoss Radbourn	2.87
10	Dupee Shaw	2.88

Other leagues

Led the Other leagues — the first row of every table below.

Batting12 categories

RunsR

1	Harry Stovey	130
2	Henry Larkin	114
3	Charley Jones	108
4	Pete Browning	98
4	Candy Nelson	98
6	John Reilly	92
7	Hick Carpenter	89
8	Bill McClellan	85
8	Pop Smith	85
10	Arlie Latham	84
10	Joe Sommer	84
10	Curt Welch	84

HitsH

1	Pete Browning	174
2	Charley Jones	157
3	Harry Stovey	153
4	Dave Orr	152
5	Henry Larkin	149
6	John Reilly	143
7	Chicken Wolf	141
8	Tom Brown	134
9	Hick Carpenter	131
10	Steve Brady	128

Doubles2B

1	Henry Larkin	37
2	Pete Browning	34
3	Dave Orr	29
4	Harry Stovey	27
5	Joe Sommer	23
5	Chicken Wolf	23
7	Bill McClellan	22
8	Mike Muldoon	20
9	Charley Jones	19
10	Sam Barkley	18
10	Charlie Eden	18
10	John Reilly	18
10	Curt Welch	18

Triples3B

1	Dave Orr	21
2	Bill Kuehne	19
3	Frank Fennelly	17
3	Charley Jones	17
3	Chicken Wolf	17
6	John Kerins	16
7	Henry Larkin	14
7	James Roseman	14
9	Pop Smith	13
10	Tom Brown	12

Home RunsHR

1	Harry Stovey	13
2	Frank Fennelly	10
3	Pete Browning	9
4	Henry Larkin	8
5	Dave Orr	6
6	Thomas Burns	5
6	Charley Jones	5
6	John Reilly	5
9	Tom Brown	4
9	James Roseman	4
9	Germany Smith	4

Runs Batted InRBI

1	Frank Fennelly	89
2	Henry Larkin	88
3	Dave Orr	77
4	Harry Stovey	75
5	Pete Browning	73
6	John Coleman	70
7	Curt Welch	69
8	Tom Brown	68
9	Bill Phillips	63
10	Germany Smith	62

WalksBB

1	Candy Nelson	61
2	Pete Hotaling	49
2	Jimmy Macullar	49
4	Dan Stearns	46
5	Harry Stovey	39
6	Frank Fennelly	38
7	Ed Swartwood	36
8	Tom Brown	34
8	Hugh Nicol	34
10	Fred Mann	31

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Pete Browning	6.6
2	Henry Larkin	5.6
3	Charley Jones	5.0
4	Harry Stovey	4.9
5	Dave Orr	4.8
6	Candy Nelson	4.2
7	Germany Smith	4.2
8	Frank Fennelly	4.1
9	Tom Brown	3.9
10	Pop Smith	3.6

Batting Averagemin 350 PA

1	Pete Browning	.362
2	Dave Orr	.342
3	Henry Larkin	.329
4	Charley Jones	.322
5	Harry Stovey	.315
6	Tom Brown	.307
7	Bill Phillips	.302
8	John Coleman	.299
9	John Reilly	.297
10	Steve Brady	.295

On-Base Percentagemin 350 PA

1	Pete Browning	.393
2	Henry Larkin	.373
3	Harry Stovey	.371
4	Tom Brown	.366
5	Bill Phillips	.364
6	Charley Jones	.362
7	Dave Orr	.358
8	Candy Nelson	.353
9	Pete Hotaling	.350
10	John Coleman	.345

Slugging Percentagemin 350 PA

1	Dave Orr	.543
2	Pete Browning	.530
3	Henry Larkin	.525
4	Harry Stovey	.488
5	Charley Jones	.462
6	Frank Fennelly	.445
7	Tom Brown	.426
8	Bill Phillips	.422
9	Chicken Wolf	.416
10	John Coleman	.415

On-Base Plus Sluggingmin 350 PA

1	Pete Browning	.923
2	Dave Orr	.901
3	Henry Larkin	.899
4	Harry Stovey	.858
5	Charley Jones	.824
6	Tom Brown	.792
7	Bill Phillips	.786
8	Frank Fennelly	.778
9	John Coleman	.760
10	James Roseman	.742

Pitching10 categories

WinsW

1	Bob Caruthers	40
2	Ed Morris	39
3	Dave Foutz	33
3	Henry Porter	33
5	Guy Hecker	30
5	Bobby Mathews	30
7	Hardie Henderson	25
8	Jack Lynch	23
9	Larry McKeon	20
10	Will White	18

SavesSV

1	Thomas Burns	3
2	John Corkhill	1
2	Phil Reccius	1
2	Joe Sommer	1
2	Adonis Terry	1

StrikeoutsSO

1	Ed Morris	298
2	Bobby Mathews	286
3	Hardie Henderson	263
4	Guy Hecker	209
5	Henry Porter	197
6	Bob Caruthers	190
7	Jack Lynch	177
8	Ed Cushman	170
9	Dave Foutz	147
10	John Harkins	141

Innings PitchedIP

1	Ed Morris	581.0
2	Hardie Henderson	539.3
3	Bob Caruthers	482.3
4	Henry Porter	481.7
5	Guy Hecker	480.0
6	Bobby Mathews	422.3
7	Dave Foutz	407.7
8	Jack Lynch	379.0
9	Will White	293.3
10	John Harkins	293.0

Complete GamesCG

1	Ed Morris	63
2	Hardie Henderson	59
3	Bob Caruthers	53
3	Henry Porter	53
5	Guy Hecker	51
6	Dave Foutz	46
6	Bobby Mathews	46
8	Jack Lynch	43
9	John Harkins	33
9	Will White	33

ShutoutsSHO

1	Ed Morris	7
2	Bob Caruthers	6
3	Jumbo McGinnis	3
4	Dave Foutz	2
4	Guy Hecker	2
4	Bobby Mathews	2
4	Larry McKeon	2
4	Bill Mountjoy	2
4	Henry Porter	2
4	Will White	2

Wins Above ReplacementWAR

1	Ed Morris	17.1
2	Hardie Henderson	14.5
3	Bobby Mathews	14.4
4	Bob Caruthers	13.9
5	Guy Hecker	13.9
6	Henry Porter	11.6
7	Dave Foutz	9.4
8	Jack Lynch	9.1
9	Ed Cushman	8.4
10	John Harkins	7.8

Earned Run Averagemin 113 IP

1	Bob Caruthers	2.07
2	Guy Hecker	2.17
3	Ed Morris	2.35
4	Bobby Mathews	2.43
5	Dave Foutz	2.63
6	Al Mays	2.76
7	Henry Porter	2.78
8	Larry McKeon	2.85
9	Ed Cushman	3.01
10	Hardie Henderson	3.19

Walks and Hits per Inningmin 113 IP

1	Ed Morris	0.96
2	Bob Caruthers	1.01
3	Guy Hecker	1.06
4	Bobby Mathews	1.07
5	Dave Foutz	1.09
6	Henry Porter	1.11
7	Ed Cushman	1.11
8	Larry McKeon	1.11
9	Al Mays	1.15
10	Jack Lynch	1.19

Fielding Independent Pitchingmin 113 IP

1	Bobby Mathews	2.17
2	Ed Cushman	2.40
3	Ed Morris	2.56
4	Guy Hecker	2.62
5	Bob Caruthers	2.65
6	Hardie Henderson	2.83
7	John Harkins	2.87
8	Jack Lynch	2.89
9	Larry McKeon	2.95
10	Henry Porter	3.13

How this page is built

The qualifying line for 1885 is 350 plate appearances and 113 innings pitched. It comes from the length of the schedule — 113 games per team, measured from the season files themselves — at the official rate of 3.1 plate appearances and one inning per team game. Batting average, on-base, slugging, OPS, earned run average and WHIP all use it; a player who came to the plate twice and got two hits does not appear at the top of the batting average table, which is exactly what that line is for. Counting statistics such as home runs and strikeouts have no minimum, because none is needed.

How the rankings were made

Wins above replacement in these tables is ours rather than the source database's, so it will not match a published figure exactly. Also: why every ranking stops at one league, and why some categories are missing on purpose.

Every ranking on this page is worked out inside one league. 1885 is counted as 2 separate leagues — National League and Other leagues, and a player is ranked only against the men in his own. Leading the American League and leading baseball are different claims, and the one we can make from these files is the first. There is no combined table anywhere on this page, because adding two leagues together would produce a number that no record book recognises.

There are 44 ranking tables here, 14 places deep. Players tied on a value share a place, so a table can run past ten rows when the tenth spot is shared, and a league with fewer than ten qualified players in a category is left out rather than shown as a top ten that is not one. A player who did none of the thing is not ranked in it either — a shutout table lists the pitchers who threw one, not the hundreds who threw none tied on zero. Some categories are missing on purpose: nobody leads a league in strikeouts at the plate, in losses, or in home runs allowed. A ranking is meant to mark an achievement, so only achievements are ranked.

Wins above replacement on this page is ours, not the source database's. The hitting and pitching files carry a WAR column that we compute here from the same season lines you see, using park factors and a run environment worked out per season. Published versions elsewhere use different methods and will not match ours exactly. Every other column is the record as the database supplies it.

Names on this page lead to that player's own record. Most of them open a full career page with every season he appeared in. Some open a summary screen instead — we pre-build pages for the players people look for, and everyone else is assembled on demand from the same files, so the numbers are identical either way even though the address looks different.

Data for 1871 to 2025: Lahman Baseball Database 2025, compiled by SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) and licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported. Negro Leagues data licensed from Seamheads.com and included under SABR major-league recommendations (2021-02-11, 2024-06-03). This page ranks the 1885 season lines published on this site, league by league, with WAR worked out here. — the WAR columns are computed here — and they are published under the same CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported licence, as ShareAlike requires. That database is published once a season is complete, so the 2026 figures on this site come from a different place: the MLB Stats API, whose notice reads “Copyright 2026 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Use of any content on this page acknowledges agreement to the terms posted here http://gdx.mlb.com/components/copyright.txt”. Those numbers are MLB Advanced Media, L.P.’s, not SABR (Society for American Baseball Research)’s, and they carry that notice rather than the CC BY-SA 3.0 Unported licence above. Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Major League Baseball or any of its clubs.