JAYSON

                          BECOMES 

                            A TEAM

                          MANAGER

                          STEPHEN POLLARD

April 5, 1890

Near Ohio River Recreation Park

Cincinnati, Ohio

The details were being finalized, Cincinnati Knights team owner Roderick Hampton was signing Jayson Gannon to become the player - manager of his team.

After moving his team from out of Cleveland where it was floundering two years earlier, Roderick Hampton moved his team to the town of Cincinnati, hoping for the team to play and draw baseball fans much better and be able to compete with the top teams in the American Baseball Conference League.

Jayson Gannon, now 36 years and the star leader of the conference league, had put together a renown record, first with the Philadelphia Diamonds and then with the Pittsburgh Gold Stockings, in the last 20 years between the two teams, 15 regular season pennant winners and 13 championship team titles.

As a player, compiling an overall .368 batting average from his time with Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and being a team leader, Roderick Hampton just knew that Jayson Gannon was the one to lead his team and be in charge of the players, helping to make the Knights into a perennial contender for the western divisional pennant and the conference league championship title.

After the signing of Jayson Gannon had become official, team owner  Roderick Hampton called all of the players together for a team meeting so that they could meet Jayson who was the new Cincinnati Knights player manager.

All the players were receptive to the introduction of Jayson Gannon as the new team leader, and knowing how lead the Diamonds and the Gold Stockings to numerous conference league titles, they were all looking forward to the prospects of the upcoming baseball season, especially after how poorly that it went for the Knights in Cleveland, the franchise moving to Cincinnati and getting acquainted and settling in a new town, and how slowly the team was improving. Having Jayson Gannon as the team player / manager was viewed by many as the start of better times to come for the Cincinnati Knights.

Anyone who knew anything about baseball was well acquainted with the career that Jayson Gannon had put together in his 20 years playing for The Philadelphia Diamonds and the Pittsburgh Gold Stockings.

Having never played on a team with a losing record and only finishing in 3rd place twice, playing for 15 pennant winning teams, 13 championship title teams, 6 player Of The Year Awards, 6 championship Game / Series Player Awards and winning 8 batting titles, rarely missed any games played. Jayson owned many records especially in the 1873 baseball season when failed to get a hit in the first and the last games of the season, but in between putting together a 58 game hitting streak in between compiling a .410 batting average plus leading the American Conference League in almost every offensive category plus the many other records too numerous to mention.

Jayson Gannon was looked upon as “The Player” to have around, someone who was the “ultimate winner”, wherever he went, whatever he did, lead to success, winning titles and championship. Roderick Hampton received acclaim for recognizing this and bringing Jayson to Cincinnati to bring a floundering franchise to life.

(C) 2020