He played for the Buffalo Bisons, Detroit Wolverines, Kansas City Cowboys, Baltimore Orioles, and Cincinnati Red Stockings (AA).

At the start of the 1882 season, clubs playing in the American Association had their players wear non-matching silk uniforms, with a different color and/or pattern corresponding to each position in the field.

[2] Stearns made the game's final out by bouncing into a fielder's choice that forced runner Pop Snyder at second base.

[3] Unsatisfied with their first-base play in 1882, the Red Stockings signed Long John Reilly of the New York Metropolitans to replace Stearns prior to the 1883 season.

That team finished with a dominant record of 90–25, and is sometimes described as the strongest minor league baseball club of the 19th century.