Kansas City Cowboys (American Association)
The Kansas City Cowboys were a professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri for two seasons from to in the American Association. They were the third, and last incarnation of this franchise name, following the Kansas City Cowboys of the Union Association in and the Kansas City Cowboys of the National League in. The franchise initially used Association Park as their home field in 1888, then moved to Exposition Park for last game that season, and all of 1889.
The team began the 1888 season with part-time outfielder, Dave Rowe, as their player-manager. On April 18, they suffered a 10–3 loss to Tony Mullane and the Cincinnati Reds in their first game, however, they collected their first win the next day. Although they had a win–loss record of 43–89 in their initial season, finishing last out of the league's eight teams, and went through two managerial changes, there were a couple of bright moments; on June 6, Henry Porter threw a no-hitter, and on June 13, Sam Barkley hit for the cycle. The franchise's only future Hall of Fame player, "Slidin'" Billy Hamilton, began his career as a part-time outfielder in 1888, and was their starting right fielder in 1889. Bill Watkins, who had finished the 1888 season as the team's manager, stayed in that role for the full 1889 season, and guided them to an improved win–loss record of 55–82, with two ties, finishing seventh among the league's eight teams.
