1897 in baseball

Champions

• National League : Baltimore Orioles over Boston Beaneaters
• *NL pennant: Boston Beaneaters

  Statistical leaders

• Batting: Willie Keeler.424
• Home Runs: Hugh Duffy 11
• Wins: Kid Nichols 31
• ERA: Amos Rusie 2.54

  National League final standings

Events

• June 24 – Dick Harley of the St. Louis Browns collects six hits in one game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
• June 29 – The Chicago Colts defeat the Louisville Colonels 36-7, the most lopsided victory in MLB history.
• July 18 – Cap Anson of the Chicago Colts collects his 3,000th career hit with a single off of Baltimore Orioles pitcher George Blackburn.
• September 18 – Cy Young pitches the first no-hitter of his career as the Cleveland Spiders defeat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-0, in the first game of a doubleheader.

  Births

January

• January 1 – Monty Swartz
• January 3 – Pete Turgeon
• January 5 – Art Delaney
• January 6 – Buck Crouse
• January 6 – By Speece
• January 7 – Topper Rigney
• January 9 – Dave Keefe
• January 15 – Joe Genewich
• January 24 – George Ellison
• January 29 – Pat Patterson

  February

• February 9 – Adrian Lynch
• February 11 – Red Miller
• February 11 – Joe Shannon
• February 11 – Red Shannon
• February 14 – Earl Smith
• February 15 – Art Johnson
• February 15 – Chuck Wolfe
• February 16 – Paul Castner
• February 16 – Alex Ferguson
• February 17 – Ike Boone
• February 18 – Huck Betts
• February 25 – Bob Vines

  March

• March 1 – Howie Jones
• March 4 – Neal Brady
• March 4 – Lefty O'Doul
• March 5 – Virgil Barnes
• March 5 – Lu Blue
• March 6 – Cliff Brady
• March 9 – Joe Dawson
• March 10 – Russ Ennis
• March 13 – Lew Malone
• March 14 – Bruce Hitt
• March 19 – Elmer Bowman
• March 21 – Gus Ketchum
• March 21 – Bill Lamar
• March 27 – Joe Lucey
• March 27 – Effa Manley
• March 30 – Ed Sicking

  April

• April 4 – Ray Miner
• April 8 – Dick Attreau
• April 10 – Joe Price
• April 10 – Ross Youngs
• April 15 – Walt Lynch
• April 20 – Lou Vedder
• April 26 – Epp Sell
• April 30 – Walt Walsh

  May

• May 3 – Ray Shepardson
• May 12 – Joe Dugan
• May 13 – Hugh Canavan
• May 17 – Harry Riconda
• May 20 – Wilcy Moore
• May 30 – Wally Kimmick

  June

• June 6 – Ray Pierce
• June 12 – Guy Lacy
• June 13 – George Foss
• June 15 – Cy Twombly
• June 17 – Bill Hubbell
• June 22 – Bill Mizeur
• June 25 – Camp Skinner
• June 29 – Grady Adkins

  July

• July 3 – Chet Nichols
• July 3 – Heinie Sand
• July 5 – Tom Miller
• July 9 – Glenn Myatt
• July 12 – Hod Fenner
• July 16 – Hi Bell
• July 18 – Hank Hulvey
• July 18 – Pat Murray
• July 18 – Ed Sherling
• July 22 – Ed Gerner
• July 23 – Hod Ford
• July 23 – Cy Fried
• July 26 – Chick Bowen
• July 27 – Biz Mackey
• July 29 – Jim Hamby

  August

• August 8 – Charlie Eckert
• August 8 – Ken Holloway
• August 10 – Frank Welch
• August 16 – Bob Fothergill
• August 17 – Joe Bradshaw
• August 17 – Ed Lennon
• August 18 – Mandy Brooks
• August 22 – Bob Clark
• August 24 – Al Bool
• August 24 – Frank Pratt
• August 29 – Arthur Henderson
• August 29 – John Quinn
• August 31 – William Bell

  September

• September 13 – Eddie Rommel
• September 17 – Joe Green
• September 17 – Earl Webb
• September 19 – Astyanax Douglass
• September 23 – Walt Irwin
• September 25 – Walter Anderson
• September 27 – Chick Gagnon
• September 30 – Eddie Kenna
• September 30 – Mike Kircher

  October

• October 7 – Bill Jackman
• October 9 – Harry Biemiller
• October 13 – Elliot Bigelow
• October 14 – Vance McIlree
• October 15 – Dinty Gearin
• October 15 – Sam Gray
• October 16 – Garland Buckeye
• October 18 – Sumpter Clarke
• October 19 – Tom Lovelace
• October 20 – Tom Connelly
• October 20 – Jigger Statz
• October 22 – Myles Thomas
• October 26 – Skipper Friday
• October 26 – George Winn
• October 29 – Ty Pickup
• October 30 – Kettle Wirts
• October 31 – Tony Rego

  November

• November 4 – Ted Menze
• November 4 – Dolly Stark
• November 5 – Jack Ogden
• November 9 – Johnny Gooch
• November 9 – Harvey Hendrick
• November 17 – Davey Claire
• November 17 – Rube Lutzke
• November 20 – Larry Benton
• November 21 – Andy High
• November 23 – Bubber Jonnard
• November 23 – Claude Jonnard
• November 23 – Freddy Leach
• November 23 – Beans Reardon
• November 26 – Bill Warwick
• November 30 – Win Ballou
• November 30 – Dud Branom

  December

• December 10 – Jocko Conlon
• December 10 – Tim Griesenbeck
• December 11 – Slim Harriss
• December 14 – Syl Simon
• December 16 – Fred Wigington
• December 18 – Lance Richbourg
• December 19 – Mike Herrera
• December 20 – Snooks Dowd
• December 21 – Hal Haid
• December 21 – Pete Scott
• December 22 – Harvey Freeman
• December 23 – Nemo Gaines
• December 25 – Allen Elliott
• December 27 – Jackie Tavener

  Deaths

• February 5 – Old Hoss Radbourn, 42, Hall of Fame pitcher who won over 300 games including a record 60 for the 1884 Providence Grays, leading the National League in wins, strikeouts, winning percentage and games twice each and in shutouts, innings and ERA once each; completing 489 out of 503 starts, pitching three shutouts in the 1884 World Championship Series, while holding single-season records for games pitched with 76 in 1883, going 27–12 for the 1890 Players' League champions.
• February 8 – Fleury Sullivan, 35. pitcher.
• March 5 – Dave Foutz, 40, first baseman/outfielder/pitcher who played from 1884 through 1896 for the St. Louis Browns and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms/Grooms, a three-time.300 hitter and manager for the Brooklyn teams between 1893 and 1896 for a 690 career winning percentage, while pitching 41 wins for the 1886 champion Browns.
• March 10 – Wes Blogg, 42, catcher.
• March 21 – Andy Allison, 49, first baseman.
• March 22 – Dave Anderson, 28, pitcher.
• March 25 – Bill Quarles, 28, pitcher.
• April 13 – Charles Yingling, 31, shortstop.
• July 10 – Kid Baldwin, 32, catcher.
• August 1 – Jake Seymour, 43, who played for the Pittsburgh Alleghenys of the American Association in the 1882 season.
• August 4 – John Gilroy, 27, pitcher.
• August 9 – Jack Scheible, 31, pitcher.
• August 19 – Jim McKeever, 36, catcher.
• August 22 – Tricky Nichols, 47, pitcher who posted a 28–73 record and a 3.06 ERA in 106 games for six different teams between 1875 and 1882.
• August 27 – Sam Moran, 26, pitcher.
• October 9 – Milo Lockwood, 39, outfielder and pitcher.
• October 19 – O. P. Caylor, 47, one of the founders of the American Association.
• November 2 – Joe Sullivan, 27, shortstop.
• November 15 – Charlie Smith, 56, infielder who appeared in 14 games for the 1871 New York Mutuals.
• November 19 – Frank McGinn, 28, infielder.
• December 20 – William Brown, 31, catcher.