List of nineteenth-century Major League Baseball players with unidentified given names
# List of nineteenth-century Major League Baseball players with unidentified given names

Thirty-four individuals who played professional baseball at the major league level before 1900 lack identified given names (there are hundreds of other players of which this is true from the twentieth-century Negro leagues). All 34 played between 1872 and 1892; 17 played in the National Association, which folded in 1875. Identification of players remains difficult due to a lack of biographical information. A Brooklyn, New York, directory, for instance, lists more than 30 men who could be the professional player "Stoddard". Philadelphia Athletics manager Bill Sharsig signed four of the 34, "local players" McBride, Stafford, Sterling, and Sweigert, for Philadelphia's last game of the season against the Syracuse Stars on October 12, 1890. Sterling pitched five innings for the Athletics and conceded 12 runs. McBride, Philadelphia's center fielder, and Stafford, the team's right fielder, both failed to reach base, but left fielder Sweigert reached base on a walk and stole a base. Society for American Baseball Research writer Bill Carle "doubt[s] we will ever be able to identify them". David Nemec has commented on this phenomenon with both major league and minor league players, noting, for example, that a McGuire (not on this list because he was a minor league player) is probably the player with an unknown first name whose appearances came closest to the twentieth century.

Despite their relative anonymity, several of these players received media coverage describing their games. Sporting Life noted that "the visitors took kindly to the curves of Sterling", as "the Athletics were easily beaten by the Stars" in Philadelphia's contest against Syracuse. In 1872, The New York Times described O'Rourke as a new player on Eckford of Brooklyn who "appear[ed] to be an improvement over the recent incumbents": in his only game, the pitcher allowed 15 runs to score in a complete game against the Troy Trojans. Lewis received a mention in Sporting Life (pictured) that recapped his performance, and another in the Pittsburgh Press, with a synopsis that summarized the game as "one of the greatest slugging matches ever seen since curve pitching came into vogue".

Of the 34 athletes with an unidentified given name, Baltimore Monumentals right fielder Scott played in the most games at the major league level, with 13, followed by Wills with 9. Scott also has the most hits among players without an identified given name, with 12, followed by both Wills and Jones with 5 each. Among pitchers, Lewis has the highest earned run average, 60.00, whereas McDoolan has the lowest, 3.00.

## Players without identified given names

### National Association

**1872–1874**

| Name | Position | Team | League | Year |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Higby | Right fielder | Brooklyn Atlantics | National Association | 1872 |
| Summary: 1 game played 4 plate appearances 1 error |||||
| O'Rourke | Pitcher | Eckford of Brooklyn | National Association | 1872 |
| Summary: 0–1 win–loss record 9.0 innings pitched 8.00 earned run average 15 runs allowed |||||
| Spencer | Shortstop | Washington Nationals | National Association | 1872 |
| Summary: 1 game played 1 run 4 errors |||||
| McDoolan | Pitcher | Baltimore Marylands | National Association | 1873 |
| Summary: 0–1 win–loss record 9.0 innings pitched 3.00 earned run average 24 runs allowed |||||
| McGovern (Gavern) | Second baseman | Brooklyn Atlantics | National Association | 1874 |
| Summary: 1 game played 4 plate appearances 1 run |||||
| Quinlan | Shortstop | Philadelphia White Stockings | National Association | 1874 |
| Summary: 1 game played 1 hit 1 run batted in |||||
| Wood | Second baseman | Baltimore Canaries | National Association | 1874 |
| Summary: 1 game played 5 plate appearances 0 hits |||||

**1875**

| Name | Position | Team | League | Year |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Boland | Third baseman | Brooklyn Atlantics | National Association | 1875 |
| Summary: 1 game played 4 plate appearances 1 error |||||
| Booth | Shortstop | New Haven Elm Citys | National Association | 1875 |
| Summary: 1 game played 2 plate appearances 1 error |||||
| Edwards | Center fielder / Pitcher | Brooklyn Atlantics | National Association | 1875 |
| Summary: 1 game played 5 plate appearances 1 hit 0–1 win–loss record 2.0 innings pitched 4.50 earned run average |||||
| Evans | Left fielder | New Haven Elm Citys | National Association | 1875 |
| Summary: 1 game played 2 hits 1 run batted in |||||
| Hellings | Second baseman | Brooklyn Atlantics | National Association | 1875 |
| Summary: 1 game played 4 plate appearances 1 hit |||||
| Quinn | Outfielder / Shortstop | Brooklyn Atlantics | National Association | 1875 |
| Summary: 2 games played 1 hit 2 runs |||||
| Shaffer | Right fielder | Brooklyn Atlantics | National Association | 1875 |
| Summary: 1 game played 4 plate appearances 1 error |||||
| Sheridan | Left fielder | Brooklyn Atlantics | National Association | 1875 |
| Summary: 1 game played 4 plate appearances 0 hits |||||
| Stoddard | Outfielder | Brooklyn Atlantics | National Association | 1875 |
| Summary: 2 games played 9 plate appearances 1 hit |||||
| Sullivan | Right fielder | New Haven Elm Citys | National Association | 1875 |
| Summary: 2 games played 3 hits 3 runs batted in |||||

### Union Association, American Association and Players' League

**1884–1885**

| Name | Position | Team | League | Year |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Carroll | Left fielder | Washington Nationals | Union Association | 1884 |
| Summary: 4 games played 16 plate appearances 4 hits 4 errors |||||
| Franklin | Center fielder | Washington Nationals | Union Association | 1884 |
| Summary: 1 game played 3 plate appearances 2 putouts |||||
| Jones | Left fielder | Washington Nationals | American Association | 1884 |
| Summary: 4 games played 5 hits .294 batting average |||||
| McRemer | Right fielder | Washington Nationals | Union Association | 1884 |
| Summary: 1 game played 3 plate appearances 0 hits |||||
| Murphy | Catcher / Left fielder | Boston Reds | Union Association | 1884 |
| Summary: 2 games played 4 plate appearances 1 walk |||||
| Pierce | Third baseman | Washington Nationals | Union Association | 1884 |
| Summary: 2 games played 1 hit 7 at bats |||||
| Scott | Right fielder / Third baseman | Baltimore Monumentals | Union Association | 1884 |
| Summary: 13 games played 12 hits 1 home run |||||
| Smith | Pitcher / Right fielder | Baltimore Monumentals | Union Association | 1884 |
| Summary: 1 game played 5 plate appearances 1 hits 0–0 win–loss record 6.0 innings pitched 9.00 earned run average |||||
| Wills | Center fielder | Washington Nationals | American Association Kansas City Cowboys (UA) | 1884 |
| Summary: 9 games played 36 plate appearances 5 hits |||||
| Jones | Third baseman | New York Metropolitans | American Association | 1885 |
| Summary: 1 game played 4 plate appearances 1 hit |||||

**1890–1892**

| Name | Position | Team | League | Year |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Lewis | Left fielder / Pitcher | Buffalo Bisons | Players' League | 1890 |
| Summary: For broader coverage of this topic, see 1890 Buffalo Bisons season § Brooklyn vs Buffalo game and the story of Lewis. 1 game played 5 plate appearances 1 hit 0–1 win–loss record 3.0 innings pitched 60.00 earned run average |||||
| Macey | Catcher | Philadelphia Athletics | American Association | 1890 |
| Summary: 1 game played 1 plate appearance 0 hits |||||
| McBride | Center fielder | Philadelphia Athletics | American Association | 1890 |
| Summary: 1 game played 2 plate appearances 0 hits |||||
| Stafford | Right fielder | Philadelphia Athletics | American Association | 1890 |
| Summary: 1 game played 2 plate appearances 0 hits |||||
| Sterling | Pitcher | Philadelphia Athletics | American Association | 1890 |
| Summary: 0–1 win–loss record 5.0 innings pitched 21.60 earned run average Known to have been from Camden, New Jersey |||||
| Sweigert | Left fielder | Philadelphia Athletics | American Association | 1890 |
| Summary: 1 game played 2 plate appearances 1 stolen base |||||
| Leonard | Right fielder | St. Louis Browns | American Association | 1892 |
| Summary: 1 game played 1 walk 1 stolen base |||||
