Cleveland Spiders - 1899: The Debacle

1899: The Debacle

In 1899, the Spiders' owners, the Robison brothers, bought the St. Louis Browns out of bankruptcy and changed their name to the Perfectos. Believing the Perfectos would draw greater attendance in more densely populated St. Louis, the Robisons transferred most of the Cleveland stars, including future Baseball Hall of Famers Cy Young, Jesse Burkett, and Bobby Wallace, to St. Louis. They also shifted a large number of Cleveland home games to the road (for instance, the original Opening Day game was shifted to St. Louis). In 1900, the St. Louis Perfectos changed their name to the Cardinals, the name they use to this day.

With a decimated roster, the Spiders made a wretched showing. They finished 20–134 (.130), the worst in baseball history. The Spiders finished 84 games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn Superbas and 35 games behind the next-to-last (11th) place Washington Senators.

The Spiders' first 16 home games drew a total of 3,049 fans, or 199 fans per game. Due to the wretched attendance figures, the other NL teams refused to come to League Park, as their cut of the revenue wasn't nearly enough to cover their hotel and travel expenses. The Spiders were thus forced to play 85 of their remaining 93 games on the road. The team played only 42 home games during the season, including only eight after July 1.

The 1899 Spiders were 11–101 (.098) on the road, and 9–33 (.214) at home. The 101 road losses is a major-league record, and will never be seriously threatened under current scheduling practices, as teams can only play up to 81 home and 81 away games (excluding one- or three-game playoffs). The team's longest winning streak of the season was two games, which they accomplished once: on May 20–21. Spiders opponents scored ten or more runs 49 times in 154 games. Pitchers Jim Hughey (4–30) and Charlie Knepper (4–22) tied for the team lead in wins. Only 6,088 fans paid to attend Spiders home games in 1899, for a pitiful average of less than 145 spectators per game in 9,000-seat League Park.

The 1962 New York Mets, 40–120 (.250), and 2003 Detroit Tigers, 43–119 (.265), own the modern records in their respective leagues for the most losses, and thus draw frequent comparisons to the 1899 Spiders for futility.