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36-607: Professional baseball began in Cleveland in 1869, following the lead of the first openly professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings , on the other side of Ohio. The Forest City club was the first fully salaried Cleveland team, beginning in 1870 as an independent. The club played against amateur, semipro, and professional teams, including the racially integrated Resolutes Club from Oberlin College . In 1871

72-664: A U.S. Senator from Maryland and a power in the Democratic Party in the late 19th century). In the summer of 1865 the Nationals invited the Philadelphia Athletics and Brooklyn Atlantics , two of the major teams of the era, to Washington, losing to the former 87–12 and to the latter 34–19, before 6,000 spectators, including President Johnson . They "jealously guarded their amateur status by refusing all payments, including travel expenses." By 1867,

108-523: A full season regularly. Andy Leonard rejoined Gould, the Wrights, and McVey in Boston for 1872, the first of four consecutive championship seasons there. After one miss Harry won his last two championships as a non-playing manager in 1877–1878 with Leonard and brother George still among his regulars. Gould and McVey left in 1873, although McVey returned for 1874–75 only. Before Cincinnati hired its team for

144-401: A fully professional team: ten men on salary for eight months, March 15 to November 15. Wright played center field and coordinated the team defense, a novelty from any position. Younger brother and shortstop George Wright , new to the team in 1869, was its best player, maybe the best of his time. The professional Cincinnati Red Stockings played their first game May 4, 1869, with a 45–9 win over

180-469: A job as "club pro" at the Union Cricket Club. Next year he picked up similar baseball duties, but the lingo is commonly stretched to call him a baseball "manager" from that time. His first team may have been local to a man, but he both developed and imported players to represent the club in competitive play for the 1868 season. The first team won 16 matches with regional opponents, losing only to

216-595: A substitute. Among them only Gould was a Cincinnati native; the others were from the East, presumably compensated somehow by club members if not by the clubs. (The Association first permitted professional clubs for 1869.) Meanwhile, George Wright and McVey played in New York and Indianapolis, primarily at shortstop and pitcher. For 1871 the Nine split between two teams in the new all-professional National Association : Gould,

252-628: The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) 1867–1870, a time of a transition that ambitious Cincinnati businessmen and ballplayer Harry Wright shaped as much as anyone. Major League Baseball recognized those events officially by sponsoring a centennial of professional baseball in 1969. Thanks partly to their on-field success and the continental scope of their tours, the Red Stockings established styles in team uniforms and team nicknames that have some currency even in

288-651: The New York Mutuals , one of the strongest teams anywhere and another team pushing the bounds of the amateur code. Asa Brainard had been the Brooklyn Excelsiors ' regular pitcher for four seasons, succeeded in 1867 by Candy Cummings . Catcher Doug Allison was from the Geary club of Philadelphia, one of the stronger clubs in that city. There was one local recruit, too, from the rival Buckeye club: Charlie Gould at first base. Harry Wright remained

324-628: The Rockford Forest Citys (with future Hall of Famer Albert Spalding ) 29–23. The Nats ended the road trip the next day by beating the Chicago Excelsiors 49–4. The "considerable expenses" of the tour were made possible by generous sponsors and "by the indulgence of the Treasury Department." Washington was one of the early homes of commercialism: One writer, Thomas Henry, said the U. S. Treasury Department

360-562: The (U.S.) Centennial Exposition held 1876 in Philadelphia. Founding member George B. Ellard also led the Union Cricket Club, and the relationship between them proved decisive for the baseball club's success. The ball club's first home field was at a location stated as "the foot of Ninth Street, in the Mill Creek bottoms."[Cincinnati Enquirer , October 4, 1939, p.32] After playing four matches that first summer, Cincinnati joined

396-414: The 1869 season, the strongest clubs were located from Washington to Troy, New York . In 1867 and 1868, Cincinnati was beaten only by clubs from that eastern corridor, winning 16 and 29 games without defeat against western opponents. Championship matches with professional teams 1869–1870 Washington Nationals (NA) The Washington Nationals of the 1870s were the first important baseball club in

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432-657: The 1869–1870 Red Stockings. On June 14, 1870, after 81 consecutive wins since assembling as the first openly professional team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings lost 8–7 to the Brooklyn Atlantics before a crowd of 20,000 at the Capitoline Grounds . Bob Ferguson scored the winning run in the 11th inning on a hit by pitcher George Zettlein . The Executive Board now led by President A.P.C. Bonte recommended on November 21, 1870, that

468-657: The 1873 season. Another Nationals team was fielded with some of the same players for the 1875 season, but folded before the end of the season. The first team in Washington, the Potomac Club, was formed in the summer of 1859, and the Nationals were formed in November of the same year; both teams consisted mostly of government clerks. The two teams practiced in the backyard of the White House and played each other in

504-550: The 21st century. They also established the color red as the color of Cincinnati (continuing with the modern Cincinnati Reds ), and they were the origin of the "Red Sox" in Boston Red Sox . The Cincinnati Base Ball Club, or simply Cincinnati Club, was established July 23, 1866, at a downtown law office, drawing up a constitution and by-laws and electing officers including Alfred T. Goshorn as president. A few years later Goshorn earned international fame as Director-General of

540-705: The Cincinnati Red Stockings, despite reorganization and defections in the early years. The distinct Boston Red Stockings, beginning business with half of the Cincinnati team, both followed the young tradition and spread it to Boston. Eventually, the Boston Red Stockings evolved into the Boston Braves ; the club is now based in Atlanta, and retain red as one of their uniform colors. The Boston Red Sox , established in 1901, adopted their version of

576-600: The Forest Citys joined the first professional league, the National Association . The Forest Citys' home games were played at the National Association Grounds in Cleveland. Forest City played in the first National Association game, as the visiting team against the Kekionga club of Fort Wayne, Indiana . They were shut out by a score of 0-2. The Forest City club's record over its two seasons

612-596: The Great Westerns of Cincinnati. The team won 57 games and lost zero, counting only matches with Association clubs. They played over 60 games counting outside teams. Their commercial tour of continental scope, visiting both Boston and San Francisco, was unprecedented and may be essentially unrepeated. The first season ended November 6 at home with the Cincinnatis beating the Mutuals of New York 17–8. With

648-607: The NABBP for 1867 and concluded an agreement to play at the Union Cricket Club grounds (just west of Lincoln Park, a site now occupied by Cincinnati Union Terminal ). George Ellard's son says that "a great number of the cricket club members" joined and so "the team was greatly strengthened and interest in baseball gained a new impetus." Plans for a new clubhouse and "more substantical" enclosing fence were approved in April and

684-548: The Nationals were much improved, and the new national network of railroads prompted them "to do the previously unthinkable by becoming the first Eastern team to venture west of the Alleghenies." They defeated the best the locals had to offer, crushing Columbus 90–10, the Cincinnati Red Stockings 53–10, and the Cincinnati Buckeyes 88–12, beating Louisville, Indianapolis, and St. Louis as well before falling to

720-760: The Wright brothers, and McVey with the Boston Red Stockings ; Brainard, Allison, Sweasy, Waterman, and Leonard with the Washington Olympics . Substitute Hurley is also a "major leaguer" for his brief play with the Olympics in 1872, although that club went out of business midseason and he did not return to the league. The leading substitute in the second season, Harry Deane joined the Fort Wayne Kekiongas in 1871 and later played

756-613: The capital city of the United States. They competed briefly in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (commonly referred to as the National Association), the first fully-professional sports league in baseball. The Nationals are considered a major-league team by those who count the National Association as a major league . Several other baseball clubs based in Washington, D.C. , have also used

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792-399: The club not employ a nine for 1871, for that had become too expensive. The spokesmen anticipated "a development of the amateur talent of our club, such as has not been displayed since we employed professionals." The officers subsequently decided to disband the company (the players having disbanded via the market) and a public meeting of the members put that decision into effect. Harry Wright

828-447: The club's managers , along with Bill Parks . The Washingtons went out of business in St. Louis, Missouri , after playing the local Red Stockings on July 3 and July 4. Next day the players announced by telegraph that a club official had absconded with the funds but (Ryczek 1992: 194) concludes that "the tale had been planted by the players in an effort to find enough good samaritans to foot

864-482: The commercial basis was approved in June: members of both clubs admitted free to all matches; otherwise "ten cents for home matches and twenty-five cents for foreign matches. Ladies free." (Ellard 23–27). The team was soon nicknamed "Red Stockings" in reference to the main feature of the uniforms designed by Ellard; long stockings were then a novelty in team uniforms. Harry Wright had migrated from New York in 1866 for

900-452: The first pitcher, sharing that position and second base with Brainard, and three other incumbents remained in the outfield and at shortstop. The 1868 team played a heavy schedule including a late eastern tour, once again dominating the western teams but losing seven of 43 matches in all. When the NABBP permitted professional members for 1869, Harry Wright and probably George Ellard organized

936-679: The historic name Nationals . The team played their home games at the Nationals Grounds and the Olympics Grounds . They joined the National Association in 1872, playing 11 games that year, and 39 more games in 1873, although some sources recognize the 1873 team as a different franchise named the Washington Blue Legs . Following poor on-field results over that period, that team disbanded after

972-519: The old nickname in 1908. Ten men composed the 1869 team and the First Nine returned for 1870 in the same roles. From 1867 Harry Wright fulfilled the duties of modern field managers, general managers, and traveling secretaries. In 1868 he and Brainard shared the pitcher and second base positions with Allison, Gould, and Waterman already manning the other bases. For the crosstown rival Buckeye club, Sweasy and Leonard played second and third with Hurley

1008-498: The same regular nine, the 1870 team continued to win regularly, perhaps 24 games before losing 8–7 in eleven innings to the Brooklyn Atlantics in Brooklyn , June 14. The Red Stockings remained one of the few strongest teams on the field, losing only six games, but attendance declined badly, especially at home. In 1869, the Red Stockings posted a perfect 57–0 record, the only perfect season in professional baseball history . This

1044-495: The spring of 1860; the Nationals consistently lost to the superior Potomacs, but the latter disbanded on the outbreak of the Civil War while the Nationals kept playing, and by the end of the war were "solidly in the esteem of Washington fans, with the club's shortstop, slight, 23-year-old Arthur Pue Gorman , the darling of the spectators. Young Gorman quickly rose to stardom on the not-too-brilliant Nationals." (Gorman later became

1080-506: The touring Nationals from Washington. As for most hosts on that tour, it was a "bad loss" on the scorecard but an instructive one for Cincinnati: the players, the club, the fans, and perhaps the local newspapers. Everyone learned advanced points of play and, from their different perspectives, witnessed the gulf in playing strength. About half of the 1868 Red Stockings were eastern imports, presumably compensated somehow. The two leading batsmen, John Hatfield and Fred Waterman , arrived from

1116-401: Was left fielder Paul Hines , who went 60-for-181, a batting average of .331. Although there isn't a firm consensus on whether the 1875 Washington team was the same franchise as the 1872 one, the team fielded for this season fared better, as they won 5 games and lost 23. Hollingshead was again their top hitting regular, though with a much lower batting average of .247. He was also one of

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1152-406: Was "the real birthplace of professional base ball in Washington." As a source of patronage for good players, this department was widely exploited after the Civil War. In addition, Washington players benefited from the collection plates passed at games. By this kind of enterprise Washington clubs were able to keep a cadre of good players and to offer excellent accommodations. In 1867 the Nationals' park

1188-462: Was hired by Boston businessman Ivers Whitney Adams to organize a new pro club in Boston. Wright persuaded three Cincinnati teammates to join the 1871 Boston Red Stockings in the first professional league, as it turned out. Ex-Cincinnati Red Stockings moved around some (see the note on Team members) but Boston retained both Wright brothers throughout the five years of the National Association . The current Cincinnati Reds club identifies itself with

1224-641: Was located on a field four hundred feet square, surrounded by a ten foot fence, and shaded on the north side by roofed stands. To discourage gamblers, a sign which read "Betting Positively Prohibited" was posted. The 1872 Nationals home games were played at Olympics Grounds in Washington, D.C. They lost all 11 games before going out of business. The manager for this season is listed as either Warren White or Joe Miller . The team's leading players include: 1B Paul Hines , 2B Holly Hollingshead , and SS Jacob Doyle . They won 8 games and lost 31. The Blue Legs were managed by Nick Young . Their top hitter

1260-574: Was poor, winning 16 and losing 35. The small quantity of games was typical in the early years, when teams often played only once a week. The team folded after the 1872 season. This article about a baseball team in Ohio is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Cincinnati Red Stockings The Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869 were baseball 's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in

1296-492: Was the first team to play on the East and West coasts in the same season. More than 2,000 people greeted the team when it arrived in San Francisco at 10:00 p.m. "They really helped nationalize the game and put Cincinnati on the map as a baseball town," said Greg Rhodes, a Reds historian who wrote The First Boys of Summer (Road West Publishing Company, 1994), along with Cincinnati Enquirer reporter John Erardi, about

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