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Charles Augustus "Kid" Nichols was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Boston Beaneaters, St. Louis Cardinals, and Philadelphia Phillies from 1890 to 1906. A switch hitter who threw right-handed, he was listed at 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) and 175 pounds (79 kg). He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Nichols played minor league baseball for three teams until 1889, when he signed with the Boston Beaneaters. After making his debut the following season and spending 12 seasons with the Beaneaters, Nichols spent a two-year sojourn in the minor leagues. He was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1904
Charles Augustus "Kid" Nichols was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Boston Beaneaters, St. Louis Cardinals, and Philadelphia Phillies from 1890 to 1906. A switch hitter who threw right-handed, he was listed at 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) and 175 pounds (79 kg). He is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Nichols played minor league baseball for three teams until 1889, when he signed with the Boston Beaneaters. After making his debut the following season and spending 12 seasons with the Beaneaters, Nichols spent a two-year sojourn in the minor leagues. He was dealt to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1904 and subsequently played for the Philadelphia Phillies, with whom he finished his career in 1906. He is famous for being the youngest pitcher to join the 300 win club.
Nichols signed with the Boston Beaneaters in September 1889 and entered the major leagues with them in 1890. Due to Nichols's youthful appearance and relative lack of physical heft, Beaneaters' players and fans began calling him "Kid," a nickname which stuck for the rest of his career. Nichols recorded a 27–19 win–loss record, a 2.23 earned run average (ERA) and 222 strikeouts, beginning a string of 10 consecutive seasons with 20 wins or more. Nichols also had a major league record seven 30-win seasons in this time (1891–1894, 1896–1898) with a career high of 35 in 1892. The Beaneaters won several pennant races during Nichols' tenure, finishing in first place five times between 1891 and 1898. The team had 102 wins per season in 1892 and 1898, which stood as franchise highs until 1998.
After the 1901 season, Nichols purchased an interest in a minor league franchise in Kansas City, the Kansas City Blue Stockings. He left the Beaneaters to manage and pitch for the Kansas City Blue Stockings, where he won a total of 48 games in 1902 and 1903. After a two-year hiatus from the major leagues, Nichols returned to the 20-win plateau for the 11th and final time in his career in 1904 for a new team, the St. Louis Cardinals. The Philadelphia Phillies picked him up off waivers in 1905, and he finished his career with them in 1906, playing his final game on May 18, 1906.
Nichols retired with 362 wins, 208 losses, 1,881 strikeouts and a 2.96 ERA. Nichols's win total was exceeded at the time only by Cy Young and Pud Galvin and is still the seventh highest total in major league history. His 5,067.1 (a third) innings pitched ranks 11th all-time. He was the youngest pitcher to win 300 games, reaching that milestone at the age of 30.
Nichols was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1949. He passed away on April 11, 1953.
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