At the end of the 1888 season, the Detroit Wolverines left the National League, and most of the players were sold to other clubs. A new Detroit Wolverines team was formed for the 1889 as part of the International League. Campau joined the new Detroit club, appeared in 111 games in left field and stole 69 bases. The 1889 Detroit club was, according to Campau, "one of the greatest minor league teams gathered" and "won the flag so easy that fans stopped going out to see the games."