Joe Start Marquee

b. October 14, 1842 · New York Mutuals 1871–1875, New York Mutuals 1876, Hartford Dark Blues 1877, Chicago White Stockings 1878, Providence Grays 1879–1885, Washington Nationals 1886

Start was already an established first baseman when the National League began in 1876. Two years later, at thirty-five, he led the league with 100 hits for Chicago. He remained a regular into his forties, collecting 117 hits for Providence in 1882 and hitting .329.

His eleven National League seasons produced 1,031 hits, 107 doubles, 55 triples, 590 runs and a .300 average across 798 games. He spent seven of those seasons with Providence, the stable center of a career that otherwise moved through New York, Hartford, Chicago and Washington.

Before that recognized major-league record, Start played five National Association seasons with the New York Mutuals. Those earlier records add 386 hits, 262 runs and a .295 average in 272 games, but the archive keeps them separate because MLB does not count the Association as a major league. Start died in 1927, at eighty-four.

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1871*	NYU	33	161	35	58	5	1	1	34	3	0	4	.360
1872*	NYU	54	277	60	75	5	0	0	48	0	0	3	.271
1873*	NYU	53	252	42	67	8	3	1	29	4	0	1	.266
1874*	NYU	63	306	67	96	13	3	2	46	4	0	5	.314
1875*	NYU	69	314	58	90	10	5	4	30	3	0	1	.287
1876	NYU	56	264	40	73	6	0	0	21	1	2	0	.277
1877	HAR	60	271	55	90	3	6	1	21	6	2	0	.332
1878	CHC	61	285	58	100	12	5	1	27	2	3	0	.351
1879	PRO	66	317	70	101	11	5	2	37	7	4	0	.319
1880	PRO	82	345	53	96	14	6	0	27	13	20	0	.278
1881	PRO	79	348	56	114	12	6	0	29	9	7	0	.328
1882	PRO	82	356	58	117	8	10	0	48	11	7	0	.329
1883	PRO	87	370	63	105	16	7	1	57	22	16	0	.284
1884	PRO	93	381	80	105	10	5	2	32	35	25	0	.276
1885	PRO	101	374	47	103	11	4	0	41	39	10	0	.275
1886	WHS	31	122	10	27	4	1	0	17	5	13	4	.221
Major leagues	—	798	3433	590	1031	107	55	7	357	150	109	4	.300
All seasons	—	1070	4743	852	1417	148	67	15	544	164	109	18	.299

Seasons outside MLB's recognized major leagues appear in All seasons, but not in Major leagues or the leaderboards. For Joe Start, that is 1871–1875. Why totals can differ.

On this day & linked events

1842

Born October 14, 1842

New York, NY, USA

1927

Died March 27, 1927

1871

Major-league debut: Joe Start

Joe Start made a major-league debut on May 18, 1871.

1886

Final major-league game: Joe Start

Joe Start played a final major-league game on July 9, 1886.

Image: Unknown author Unknown, public domain