Image from Old Judge card set	Harry Staley Born: November 3, 1866 Died: January 12, 1910 Goto Baseball Reference for Harry Staley p-of Majors: Yes
	St. Louis Position: p-of First game: April 28, 1888 Last game: June 19, 1888 # of games: 23	Signed by St. Louis in November, 1887. Sold to Pittsburgh (NL) on June 19, 1888 with Jake Beckley. Player profile from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (March 11, 1888). SABR biography for Harry Staley

Harry Staley was considered one of the best pitchers in the Western Association before even throwing a pitch in a game, and there was speculation that he would be transferred to the Browns from the start of the season. He was the Whites Opening Day starter and star of the game, allowing only a single unearned run while hitting a double and a triple. He made 19 more starts for the Whites, finishing with a record of 9-11. His ERA was 1.76, and he struck out 138 batters in 179 innings, both in the top ten in the league. He also played several games in the outfielder for the Whites towards the end of ther final roadtrip. He was sold with Jake Beckley to Pittsburgh for $4500 on June 19, the last day of the Whites' road final trip. He lost to the Maroons by a score of 8-5 that day, surrendering 14 hits and 7 earned runs in his final start.

Staley started his baseball career playing semi-pro baseball in Illinois. He played for the Springfield Reds in 1886, and in 1887 signed with Decatur. While with Decatur, he was consistantly striking out more than 10 batters per game. It was reported that he struck out 'more than twenty' pitching against Mt. Zion in July of 1887 (Decatur Herald, July 3, 1887). Although he was pursued by several higher level clubs during the season, including Indianapolis in the National League, he choose to stay in Decatur until the club folded in September, at which point he transferred to the Blomington team in the same league. After the season ended, he was signed by Tom Loftus to pitch for the Whites.

Staley made his National League debut on June 23 with 3 innings in relief in a 12-1 loss to Chicago; he allowed just one run, in his first inning pitched in the majors. He made his first start a week later on June 30, with a 6-4 win over Chicago. His best game of the season was a one-hitter against Indianapolis in July, which Pitsburgh won 8-0. He finished the season with a 12-12 record, a 2.69 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 207.1 innings. The next season with Pittsburgh he compiled a 21-26 record. He pitched in 49 games for Pittsburgh in 1889, starting 47 of them, both tops on the club. His ERA of 3.51 was sixth best in the league, his 159 strikeouts ranked third, and his 420 innings was the second most in the league (behind John Clarkson, who pitched 620 innings in 73 games, 72 starts). He jumped to Pittsburgh in the Players League in 1890, where he was one of the top pitchers. His ERA of 3.29 was second in the league behind Silver King. He was in the top ten in strikeouts and led the league in WHIP (1.213). Despite this, he was only 21-25 for a Pittsburgh club that finished at 60-68 in sixth place.

After the Players League folded, Staley returned to Pittsburgh in the National League in 1891. He was 4-5 with them when he was released to Boston in late May. He rebounded to finish at 20-8 with Boston as they won the National League pennant with an 87-51 record. The next season he finished 22-10 with a 3.30 ERA as the #3 starter on a team that won 104 games and its second consecutive title. In 1893, the pitching distance increased. Staley still won 18 games, but his strikeouts dropped for the thrid straight season, his WHIP increased from 1.2 to 1.6, and his ERA jumped from 3.03 to 5.13. In 1894, his final season with Boston, he went 12-10 and it was clear he was no longer the top starter he had been just a few years prior. In 1891, prior to his being released to Boston, the Philadelphia club had passed on a chance to claim him due to his drinking. By the end of the 1894 season, that habit had taken its toll; he weighed over 217 pounds by one report. He was also unhappy with his pay in Boston, which went down each year after his first season. In January of 1895, he signed with the Browns, claiming his last contract with Boston did not include the usual reserve clause; Boston did not contest the signing.

Staley returned to St. Louis in 1895 with hopes on both sides that he could revive his career. His weight was down to 170 pounds, and he was working himself back into condition in the off-season. Hope didn't turn into success, and he was 6-13 for the Browns before being released August 3. St. Louis was 28-57 at the time, so Staley wasn't the only player underperforming on the club. The Browns had three managers that season as they finished 11th in the 12 team National League. Their first manager, Al Buckenberger, signed Staley to play for his new club, Wheeling, after Staley was released. Staley played four more seasons in he minors, finishing his career in 1899 at age 32. He was given a tryout with Baltimore in 1901, but failed to make the club. His career was over. But for at least a few years, he was one of the top pitchers in baseball, fulfilling the promise he showed in 1888.

After leaving baseball, Staley stayed in Pittsburgh before moving to Battle Creek, Michigan, where he worked for Post cereal. (His sister was married to one of the members of the Post family.) He died in 1910 of complications from stomach surgery.

Date	Pos	AB	R	BH	2B	3B	HR	SB	PO	A	E	BB	HPB	K
4-28-1888	p	4	1	2	1	1		0	0	5	1			1
5-2-1888	p	4	0	0				0	0	9	2			1
5-6-1888	p	4	0	1				0	0	6	0			1
5-8-1888	rf	4	0	0				0	1	0	2
5-9-1888	p	3	0	1	1			0	0	7	4		1
5-12-1888	p	4	1	1				0	0	11	4			1
5-15-1888	p	3	0	0				0	0	9	3
5-18-1888	p	4	0	0				0	0	11	7
5-20-1888	p	3	1	0				0	0	12	7			1
5-22-1888	p	4	0	1				0	0	10	3
5-25-1888	p	4	0	1				0	0	6	2
5-27-1888	p	4	0	0				0	0	6	1
5-29-1888	p	3	0	0				0	0	6	3
5-30-1888	p	4	0	0				0	0	9	1			4
6-2-1888	p	3	0	2	1			0	0	14	3
6-5-1888	p	4	0	1				0	1	14	3
6-8-1888	p	3	0	0				0	1	8	4
6-10-1888	p	4	0	1				0	0	11	5
6-12-1888	cf	4	1	1				1	1	0	1
6-13-1888	p	3	1	2	2			0	0	8	2
6-15-1888	rf	4	0	1				0	0	0	0
6-16-1888	p	4	2	1				0	3	8	2
6-19-1888	p	3	0	1		1		0	1	8	2
23 Games		84	7	17	5	2	0	1	8	178	62	0	1	9

Date	Pos	IP	H	R	ER	K	BB	HPB	WP
4-28-1888	p	9	6	1	0	5	1	1	0
5-2-1888	p	8	8	5	2	7	2	1	0
5-6-1888	p	9	7	2	1	6	0	0	0
5-9-1888	p	9	3	2	0	5	4	0	3
5-12-1888	p	9	6	7	3	6	3	0	2
5-15-1888	p	9	6	10	1	8	2	2	2
5-18-1888	p	9	5	1	0	7	6	0	0
5-20-1888	p	9	7	6	4	12	7	0	0
5-22-1888	p	9	7	3	2	9	3	0	0
5-25-1888	p	9	2	2	1	6	2	0	0
5-27-1888	p	9	3	0	0	6	1	1	0
5-29-1888	p	9	8	2	1	4	2	2	2
5-30-1888	p	9	13	11	4	6	1	0	1
6-2-1888	p	9	6	3	2	11	2	1	0
6-5-1888	p	9	7	7	3	10	3	0	2
6-8-1888	p	9	6	3	1	6	3	0	1
6-10-1888	p	9	9	5	1	6	5	1	1
6-13-1888	p	9	5	5	1	5	2	0	0
6-16-1888	p	9	7	10	1	8	0	0	1
6-19-1888	p	9	14	8	7	6	0	0	1
20 Games		179	135	93	35	139	49	9	16