The 25th anniversary of Hank Aaron's 715th home run? Fine. The

50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's lone MVP award? Sure. But

don't bet on a particular centennial baseball celebration this

year. They don't build monuments to misery.

As good as the New York Yankees were last season, the 1899

Cleveland Spiders were that bad. Even worse. Think of the fire

sale that led to the Florida Marlins' collapse, and then imagine

an uglier version. Picture the 1962 New York Mets, and then

imagine a team half as successful. That's the kind of sorry

squad that closed out the 19th century.

Essentially the Spiders were undone by the greed of their owner,

Frank Robison. Under the rules of the 12-team National League at

the time, one man could own stock in more than one National

League team, which Robison did when he bought the St. Louis

Browns. Cleveland had produced an 81-68 record in 1898. But

Robison believed that a good team in St. Louis, where the Browns

had finished in last place, would draw bigger crowds, so he

stripped Cleveland of talent so brazenly that Marlins owner

Wayne Huizenga would have gasped.

Cy Young himself, who had won 241 games for Cleveland over the

previous nine seasons and still had 270 wins left in him, was

shipped to the Browns, whom Robison renamed the Perfectos. Two

more Cooperstown-bound players--two-time .400 hitter Jesse

Burkett and infielder Bobby Wallace--went with Young. Wallace

would hit 12 home runs for the Perfectos in 1899, matching the

total number hit by the Spiders that season.

Joining that trio in St. Louis were second baseman Cupid Childs,

who had averaged 118 runs scored in eight seasons in Cleveland;

pitcher Jack Powell, who had recorded 23 wins for the 1898

Spiders; four-time 20-game winner George Cuppy; shortstop Ed

McKean; catcher Lou Criger; and even player-manager Patsy

Tebeau. As baseball historian Bill James has observed, "The 1919

White Sox sold only one series; the Cleveland owners sold out

the whole season." The result: St. Louis rose from 12th to fifth

place, while Cleveland sank to the farthest depths in the annals

of the game.

After the Spiders lost 30 of their first 38 games, their best

remaining player, third baseman-manager Lave Cross, was sent to

St. Louis. An Australian-born second baseman named Joe Quinn

replaced Cross. Quinn, who would play for eight teams in four

leagues during his 17-year career, batted a team-high .286 on the

season. He also topped the Spiders with 72 RBIs and actually led

the league in fielding percentage. But manager Quinn knew he was

in trouble if Quinn was his best player.

How much trouble? Cleveland lost 24 games in a row at one point,

still a big league record. The Spiders had six streaks of 11 or

more consecutive defeats. Only once did the team win two games

in a row. Cleveland was so bad that when Baltimore Orioles

pitcher Jerry Nops lost to the Spiders in June, his manager,

John McGraw, fined and suspended him. The following day

Baltimore beat Cleveland 21-6.

Amid the losing, Cleveland sportswriter Elmer Bates devised a

precursor to David Letterman's Top Ten List, describing the

benefits of following the dismal Spiders: "1) There is

everything to hope for and nothing to fear. 2) Defeats do not

disturb one's sleep. 3) An occasional victory is a surprise and

a delight. 4) There is no danger of any club passing you. 5) You

are not asked 50 times a day, 'What was the score?' People take

it for granted that you lost."

The numbers tell the sordid story best. The Spiders scored 205

fewer runs and allowed 269 more runs than any team in the

league. Their No. 1 pitcher, Jim Hughey, won a team-high four

games and lost a league-high 30. No. 2 pitcher Charlie Knepper,

in his only major league season, went 4-22. A third pitcher,

Crazy Schmit, won two of 19 decisions. Teammate Frank Bates

produced a 1-18 record and a 7.24 ERA, which might qualify as

the most dismal performance ever, except that fifth starter

Harry Colliflower had an 8.17 ERA to go with his 1-11 mark.

In the Spiders' season finale, which proved to be the last game

ever for a National League franchise in Cleveland, the team

called on a cigar-store clerk and amateur player named Eddie

Kolb to pitch against the Cincinnati Reds. He lost 19-3. It was

the Spiders' 134th loss of the year, the most in league history.

Their 20 wins are the fewest. Their .130 winning percentage is

far and away the worst. Cleveland finished in 12th place, 35

games out of 11th and 65 1/2 games out of first.

One person actually may have benefited from Cleveland's

incompetence. After the final game the players are said to have

presented George Muir, the team's traveling secretary, with a

diamond locket because, according to the dedication, he "had the

misfortune to watch us in all our games."

Freelancer Brad Herzog, who lives in Pacific Grove, Calif., is a

frequent contributor to SI.

B/W PHOTO Cy Young himself, who had won 241 games for Cleveland over the previous nine seasons, was shipped to St. Louis.