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66-593: From 1868 to 1870, future Hall of Famer Albert Spalding and infielder Ross Barnes starred for Rockford while the club was still considered an 'amateur' team. In reality, the Forest Citys were one of the first ball clubs to pay players. Rockford played their home games at the Agricultural Society Fair Grounds , most of which still exists as Fairgrounds Park . Rockford finished in last place with 4 wins and 21 losses, 15½ games behind

132-484: A $ 1,250 contract offer from Philadelphia for the 1872 season. So, the club folded after its first and only season. This article about a baseball team in Illinois is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Albert Spalding Albert Goodwill Spalding (September 2, 1849 – September 9, 1915) was an American pitcher , manager , and executive in the early years of professional baseball , and

198-550: A launching point for baseball to reach the global stage. At a celebratory dinner in Manhattan, he celebrated the tour – perhaps prematurely – for establishing “our national game throughout the world.” Following Spalding's statements, Mark Twain proclaimed that the tour “carried the American name to the outermost parts of the earth, and covered it with glory every time.” While Spalding and company gushed about their schlep around

264-401: A manufacturer and distributor of all kinds of sporting equipment. The company became "synonymous with sporting goods" and is still a going concern. Spalding , from 1892 to 1941, sold books under the name Spalding Athletic Library on many different sports. In 1888–1889, Spalding took a group of major league players around the world to promote baseball and Spalding sporting goods . This

330-695: A monogram-style device to their front. They only managed one winning season from 1900 to 1913, and lost 100 or more games six times. In 1907 , the renamed Doves (temporarily) eliminated the red from their stockings because their manager thought the red dye could cause wounds to become infected (as noted in The Sporting News Baseball Guide during the 1940s when each team's entry had a history of its nickname(s). See details in History of baseball team nicknames ). The American League club's owner, Charles Taylor, changed his team's name to

396-477: A result of their two dominant pitchers, Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain , who inspired the Boston Post slogan "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain." The Braves posted a losing record in all but 12 of the 38 seasons after their World Series win. The franchise relocated to Milwaukee in 1953. The Boston franchise played at South End Grounds from 1871 to 1914 and at Braves Field from 1915 to 1952. Braves Field

462-1009: A stroke on September 9, 1915, in San Diego, one week after his 66th birthday. His ashes were scattered at his request. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 1939 , as one of the first inductees from the 19th century at that summer's opening ceremonies. His plaque in the Hall of Fame reads "Albert Goodwill Spalding. Organizational genius of baseball's pioneer days. Star pitcher of Forest City Club in late 1860s, 4-year champion Bostons 1871–75 and manager-pitcher of champion Chicagos in National League's first year. Chicago president for 10 years. Organizer of baseball's first round-the-world tour in 1888." His nephew, also named Albert Spalding ,

528-567: A winner, but the damage from the years prior to his arrival took some time to overcome. The Braves finally managed to compete in 1933 and 1934 under manager Bill McKechnie , but Fuchs' revenue was severely depleted due to the Great Depression . Looking for a way to get more supporters and more money, Fuchs worked out a deal with the New York Yankees to acquire Babe Ruth , who had, coincidentally, started his career with

594-474: A year earlier, his conditioning rapidly declined in the first month of 1935. While he was still able to hit at first, he could do little else. He could no longer run, and his fielding was so terrible that three of the Braves' pitchers threatened to go on strike if Ruth were in the lineup. Ruth soon discovered that he was vice president and assistant manager in name only, and Fuchs' promise of a share of team profits

660-571: Is now Nickerson Field of Boston University . The franchise, from Boston to Milwaukee to Atlanta, is the oldest continuously operating professional baseball franchise. The Boston Braves had an overall win–loss record of 5,118–5,598–138 (.478) during their 77-year major-league tenure in Boston. Six former Boston Braves players were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame . The Cincinnati Red Stockings , established in 1869 as

726-464: The Boston Red Sox . Fuchs named Ruth vice president and assistant manager of the Braves, and promised him a share of team profits. He was also to be consulted on all player transactions. Fuchs even suggested that Ruth, who had long had his heart set on managing, could take over as manager once McKechnie stepped down—perhaps as early as 1936. At first, it looked like Ruth was the final piece

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792-658: The Brooklyn Dodgers , on April 18, 1950, Sam "Jet" Jethroe was added to the Boston Braves roster. The Dodgers had another young CF in Duke Snider rising in their system, resulting in the trade to the Braves. Going on to be named National League Rookie of the Year at age 32, Jethroe broke the color barrier with Boston. In 1950, Jethroe hit .273 with 100 runs, 18 home runs and 58 RBI. His 35 stolen bases led

858-487: The Chicago Cubs ) in 1876. Spalding then coaxed teammates Deacon White , Ross Barnes and Cal McVey , as well as Philadelphia Athletics players Cap Anson and Bob Addy , to sign with Chicago. This was all done under complete secrecy during the playing season because players were all free agents in those days and they did not want their current club and especially the fans to know they were leaving to play elsewhere

924-683: The Rockford Pioneers, a youth team, which he joined in 1865. After pitching his team to a 26–2 victory over a local men's amateur team (the Mercantiles), he was approached at the age of 15 by the Rockford Forest Citys , for whom he played for five years. Following the formation of baseball's first professional organization, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (which became known as

990-544: The Theosophical community Lomaland , which was being developed on Point Loma by Katherine Tingley . He built an estate in the Sunset Cliffs area of Point Loma where he lived with Elizabeth for the rest of his life. The Spaldings raised race horses and collected Chinese fine furniture and art. The Spaldings had an extensive library which included many volumes on Theosophy, art, and literature. In 1907–1909 he

1056-528: The 1871 pennant race. The star of the Forest Citys was Cap Anson , who hit .325 in 1871 and would go on to become the player-manager of the Chicago White Stockings for over 20 seasons. Anson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1939 . Rockford had faced significant financial hardship during 1871, including travel costs, and did not make a profit. Additionally, star Anson decided to accept

1122-401: The 1877 and 1878 pennants. The Red Caps/Beaneaters won eight pennants during the 19th century. Their manager was Frank Selee , the first manager not to double as a player as well. The 1898 team finished 102–47, a club record for wins that would stand for almost a century. In 1894 the Braves became the first major league baseball team to wear letterforms on their uniform caps when they added

1188-482: The 1880s, he took players on the first world tour of baseball. With William Hulbert , Spalding organized the National League . He later called for the commission that investigated the origins of baseball and falsely credited Abner Doubleday with creating the game. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. Having played baseball throughout his youth, Spalding first played competitively with

1254-557: The Braves actually had a better record in games that Spahn and Sain did not start than in games they did. (Other sources include pitcher Vern Bickford in the verse.) The Braves lost the 1948 World Series in six games to the Cleveland Indians (who had beaten the Red Sox in a tie-breaker game to spoil an all-Boston World Series). This turned out to be the Braves' last hurrah in Boston. Acquired earlier by trade from

1320-468: The Braves put together one of the most memorable seasons in baseball history. After a dismal 4–18 start, the Braves seemed to be on pace for a last place finish. On July 4, 1914, the Braves lost both games of a doubleheader to the Brooklyn Dodgers . The consecutive losses put their record at 26–40 and the Braves were in last place, 15 games behind the league-leading New York Giants , who had won

1386-441: The Braves were 9–27, their season all but over. They ultimately finished 38–115, easily the worst season in franchise history. Their .248 winning percentage is tied for the seventh-worst in baseball history , and the sixth-worst in National League history. It is the second-worst in modern baseball history (behind only the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics ), and the worst in modern National League history. Insolvent like his team, Fuchs

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1452-604: The National Association, the Association, or NA) in 1871, Spalding joined the Boston Red Stockings (precursor club to the modern Atlanta Braves ) and was highly successful; winning 206 games (and losing only 53) as a pitcher and batting .323 as a hitter. William Hulbert , principal owner of the Chicago White Stockings , did not like the loose organization of the National Association and

1518-553: The National League by enlisting the two major teams in the East and the four other top teams in what was then considered to be the West, also known as the jungle. Joining Chicago initially were the leading teams from Cincinnati , Louisville , and St. Louis . The owners of these western clubs accompanied Hulbert and Spalding to New York where they secretly met with owners from New York City, Philadelphia , Hartford , and Boston . Each signed

1584-535: The National League gave permission for the move. After a 3 1 ⁄ 2 -hour meeting at the Vinoy Park Hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida, league approval was granted after Perini promised not to sell the team. During a game against the New York Yankees on March 18, the sale was announced final and that the team would move to Milwaukee, immediately. The All-Star Game had been scheduled for Braves Field. It

1650-406: The National League to move the Braves to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After the franchise's long history in Boston, the day became known as "Black Friday" in the city as fans mourned the team's exit after eight decades. Perini, however, pointed to dwindling attendance as the main reason for the relocation. He also announced that he had recently bought out his original partners. He announced Milwaukee as that

1716-498: The National League, a feat he would duplicate in 1951. While in Boston, Jethroe was a roommate of Chuck Cooper , of the Boston Celtics who was the first African-American player drafted by an NBA team. A former Negro leagues star and military veteran, Jethroe remains the oldest player to have won Rookie of the Year honors. Amid four mediocre seasons after 1948, attendance steadily dwindled, even though Braves Field had

1782-592: The Player's League is depicted in the 2015 movie Deadball . In 1900 Spalding was appointed by President McKinley as the USA's Commissioner at that year's Summer Olympic Games . Spalding had been a prominent member of the Theosophical Society under William Quan Judge . In 1900, Spalding moved to San Diego having recently married his second wife, Elizabeth and became a prominent member and supporter of

1848-539: The Red Sox in place of the "Americans". When George and John Dovey acquired the club in 1907, the team was named the Doves ; when purchased by William Hepburn Russell in 1911 reporters tried out Rustlers. The team adopted an official name, the Braves , for the first time in 1912 . Their owner, James Gaffney , was a member of New York City's Tammany Hall , which used an Indian chief as their symbol. Two years later,

1914-591: The Wright brothers, Barnes, and Spalding , the Red Stockings won four of the National Association's five championships. The team became one of the National League's charter franchises in 1876, sometimes called the " Red Caps " (as a new Cincinnati Red Stockings club was another charter member). Boston came to be called the Beaneaters by sportswriters in 1883, while retaining red as the team color. Boston won

1980-523: The age of 27, although he continued as president and part owner of the White Stockings and a major influence on the National League. Spalding's .796 career winning percentage (from an era when teams played about once or twice a week) is the highest ever by a baseball pitcher, .058 ahead of Negro league star Dave Brown 's .738. Spalding was the first pitcher to reach 200 wins. In the months after signing for Chicago, Hulbert and Spalding organized

2046-518: The champion Philadelphia Athletics . Their poor record was partially because player-manager Scott Hastings was found to have violated the "60 day rule" implemented by the league—if a player switched teams during the season, the team had to bench him for 60 days before he could play. Hastings had jumped from an independent team (the Lone Star club of New Orleans) to the Forest Citys in the spring and immediately begun playing for Rockford. This complaint

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2112-609: The city and the natural springs created positives for their players. They first played in an area called the Hot Springs Baseball Grounds . Many other teams followed the concept and began training in Hot Springs and other locations. In 1905, after Henry Chadwick wrote an article saying that baseball grew from the British sports of cricket and rounders , Spalding called for a commission to find out

2178-585: The co-founder of the Spalding sporting goods company. He was born and raised in Byron, Illinois , yet graduated from Rockford Central High School in Rockford, Illinois . He played major league baseball between 1871 and 1878. Spalding set a trend when he started wearing a baseball glove . After his retirement as a player, Spalding remained active with the Chicago White Stockings as president and part-owner. In

2244-419: The end of the 1923 season, it was obvious Mathewson could not continue even in a reduced role, and he would die two years later, with the result that Fuchs was permanently given the presidency. In 1928, the Braves traded for Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby who had a very productive year in his only season with Boston. He batted .387 to win his seventh and final batting championship. Fuchs was committed to building

2310-536: The field... they may play Basket Ball, and achieve laurels; they may play Golf, and receive trophies, but Base Ball is too strenuous for womankind, except as she may take part in grandstands, with applause for the brilliant play, with waiving kerchief to the hero of the three-bagger." In 1876 while Spalding was playing and organizing the league, Spalding and his brother Walter began a sporting goods store in Chicago, which grew rapidly (14 stores by 1901) and expanded into

2376-430: The first openly all-professional baseball team, voted to dissolve after the 1870 season. Player-manager Harry Wright then went to Boston, Massachusetts —at the invitation of Boston businessman Ivers Whitney Adams —with brother George Wright and two other Cincinnati players joined the Boston Red Stockings , a charter member of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players . This team and its successors are

2442-546: The franchise was known by various nicknames, including the Red Stockings , Red Caps , Rustlers , Bees , and "Braves". While in Boston, the team won 10 National League pennants and a World Series championship in 1914 that came after a season in which the Braves were in last place as late as July 15—a turnaround that led to the nickname "Miracle Braves". In 1948 , the Braves reached the World Series largely as

2508-404: The gambling element that influenced it, so he decided to create a new organization, which he dubbed the National League of Baseball Clubs. To aid him in this venture, Hulbert enlisted the help of Spalding. Playing to the pitcher's desire to return to his Midwestern roots and challenging Spalding's integrity, Hulbert convinced Spalding to sign a contract to play for the White Stockings (now known as

2574-401: The league's constitution, and the National League was officially born. "Spalding was thus involved in the transformation of baseball from a game of gentlemen athletes into a business and a professional sport." Although the National Association held on for a few more seasons, it was no longer recognized as the premier organization for professional baseball. Gradually, it faded out of existence and

2640-483: The next 19 years in mediocrity, during which they posted only three winning seasons ( 1921 , 1933 , and 1934 ). The lone highlight of those years came when Giants' attorney Emil Fuchs bought the team in 1923 to bring his longtime friend, pitching great Christy Mathewson , back into the game. Although original plans called for Mathewson to be the principal owner, he had never recovered from tuberculosis that he had contracted after being gassed during World War I . By

2706-429: The next year. News of the signings by the Boston and Philadelphia players leaked to the press before the season ended and all of them faced verbal abuse and physical threats from the fans of those cities. He was "the premier pitcher of the 1870s", leading the league in victories for each of his six full seasons as a professional. During each of those years he was his team's only pitcher. In 1876, Spalding won 47 games as

Rockford Forest Citys - Misplaced Pages Continue

2772-588: The oldest continuously playing team in American professional sports. (The only other team that has been organized as long, the Chicago Cubs , did not play for the two years following the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.) Two players hired from the Forest City club of Rockford, Illinois , were pitcher Al Spalding (founder of Spalding sporting goods) and second baseman Ross Barnes . Led by

2838-535: The only team to win a pennant after being in last place on the Fourth of July . They were in last place as late as July 18, but were close to the pack, moving into fourth on July 21 and second place on August 12. Despite their amazing comeback, the Braves entered the World Series as a heavy underdog to Connie Mack 's Philadelphia Athletics . Nevertheless, the Braves swept the Athletics—the first unqualified sweep in

2904-553: The pair: First we'll use Spahn then we'll use Sain Then an off day followed by rain Back will come Spahn followed by Sain And followed we hope by two days of rain. The poem received such a wide audience that the sentiment, usually now paraphrased as "Spahn, Sain, then pray for rain" or "Spahn, Sain and two days of rain", entered the baseball vocabulary. Ironically, in the 1948 season,

2970-523: The previous three league pennants. After a day off, the Braves put together a hot streak, and from July 6 through September 5, the Braves won 41 games against only 12 losses. On September 7 and 8, the Braves took 2 of 3 from the New York Giants and moved into first place. The Braves tore through September and early October, closing with 25 wins against 6 losses, while the Giants went 16–16. They are

3036-444: The prime pitcher for the White Stockings and led them to win the first-ever National League pennant by a wide margin. In 1877, Spalding began to use a glove to protect his catching hand. People had used gloves previously, but they were not popular, and Spalding himself was skeptical of wearing one at first. However, once he began donning gloves, he influenced other players to do so. Spalding retired from playing baseball in 1878 at

3102-401: The real source of baseball. The commission called for citizens who knew anything about the founding of baseball to send in letters. After three years of searching, on December 30, 1907, Spalding received a letter that (erroneously) declared baseball to be the invention of Abner Doubleday . The commission was biased, as Spalding would not appoint anyone to the commission if they believed the sport

3168-425: The reputation of being more family friendly than Fenway. For a half century, the major leagues had not had a single franchise relocation. The Braves played their last home game in Boston on September 21, 1952 , losing to the Brooklyn Dodgers 8–2 before 8,822 at Braves Field; the home attendance for the 1952 season was under 282,000. On March 13, 1953, owner Lou Perini said that he would seek permission from

3234-482: The second–place St. Louis Cardinals . They also attracted 1,455,439 fans to Braves Field , the third-largest gate in the National League and a high-water mark for the team's stay in Boston. The pitching staff was anchored by Hall of Famer Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain , who won 39 games between them. The remainder of the rotation was so thin that in September, Boston Post writer Gerald Hern wrote this poem about

3300-555: The site of the original Presidio of San Diego , which they developed as a historic park and eventually donated to the city of San Diego. He ran unsuccessfully for the United States Senate in 1911 as a Republican, but lost to eventual winner John D. Works by a vote of 92–21 in the California legislature. He helped to organize the 1915 Panama–California Exposition , serving as second vice-president. He died of

3366-486: The team needed in 1935 . On opening day , he had a hand in all of the Braves' runs in a 4–2 win over the Giants . However, this could not last. Opening Day proved to be the only time the Braves were over .500 all year. A 4–20 May ended any realistic chance of contention. At the same time, it became apparent that Ruth was finished even as a part-time player. While his high living of previous years had begun catching up with him

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3432-407: The world, waxing lyrical about baseball's future as a global sport, in reality, the tour had very little impact on the sport's hold overseas. Sports like soccer , rugby , and cricket had already been established in many other countries due to the presence of European imperialism so baseball had a difficult time gaining popularity in these regions. While baseball did reach a wider global audience, it

3498-537: The young history of the modern World Series (the 1907 World Series had one tied game)—to win the world championship. Meanwhile, former Chicago Cubs infielder Johnny Evers , in his second season with the Braves, won the Chalmers Award . The Braves played the World Series (as well as the last few weeks of the 1914 regular season) at Fenway Park , since their normal home, the South End Grounds ,

3564-740: Was a renowned violinist . History of the Boston Braves#Boston years The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Massachusetts , and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves ). Then in 1966 they were relocated to Atlanta , where they were renamed the Atlanta Braves . During its 82-year stay in Massachusetts ,

3630-428: Was brought before the league, and the Forest Citys were forced to forfeit four games they had won, including a game played on June 15, just a day before Hastings would have been eligible to appear. Since two of the forfeits came against the first-place Athletics, who finished two games in front of both the Boston Red Stockings and the Chicago White Stockings , Rockford's decision to play Hastings had an outsize impact on

3696-448: Was devised by Abner Doubleday at Cooperstown, N.Y. , in 1839." Receiving the archives of Henry Chadwick in 1908, Spalding combined these records with his own memories (and biases) to write America's National Game (published 1911) which, despite its flaws, was probably the first scholarly account of the history of baseball . In 1912, Spalding wrote "Neither our wives, our sisters, our daughters, our sweethearts, may play Base Ball on

3762-512: Was due to a larger scale diffusion of the sport rather than the efforts of one magnate, like Spalding envisioned. While the players were on the tour, the National League instituted new rules regarding player pay that led to a revolt of players, led by Ward, who started the Players' League the following season (1890). The league lasted one year, partially due to the anti-competitive tactics of Spalding to limit its success. The tour and formation of

3828-550: Was forced to give up control of the Braves in August 1935, and new owner Bob Quinn tried to change the team's image by renaming it the Boston Bees . This did little to change the team's fortunes. After five uneven years, a new owner, construction magnate Lou Perini , changed the nickname back to the Braves. In 1948 , the team won the National League pennant by capturing 91 games to finish 6 1 ⁄ 2 places ahead of

3894-476: Was hot air. In fact, Ruth discovered that Fuchs expected him to invest some of his money in the team. Seeing a franchise in complete disarray, Ruth retired on June 1, only six days after he clouted what turned out to be the last three home runs of his career, in what remains one of the most memorable afternoons in baseball history. He had wanted to quit as early as May 12, but Fuchs wanted him to hang on so he could play in every National League park. By this time,

3960-616: Was moved to Crosley Field and hosted by the Cincinnati Reds . The Braves franchise moved their triple-A Brewers from Milwaukee to Toledo, Ohio. After the Braves moved to Milwaukee in 1953 , the Braves Field site was sold to Boston University and reconstructed as Nickerson Field , the home of many Boston University teams. The Braves Field scoreboard was sold to the Kansas City A's and used at Municipal Stadium ;

4026-579: Was replaced by myriad minor leagues and associations around the country. In 1886, with Spalding as president of the franchise, the Chicago White Stockings (today's Chicago Cubs ), began holding spring training in Hot Springs, Arkansas , which subsequently has been called the "birthplace" of spring training baseball. The location and the training concept was the brainchild of Spalding and his player/manager Cap Anson , who saw that

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4092-555: Was somewhat related to rounders or cricket. Just before the commission issued its findings, in a letter to sportswriter Tim Murnane , Spalding noted, "Our good old American game of baseball must have an American Dad." The project, later called the Mills Commission, concluded that "Base Ball had its origins in the United States" and "the first scheme for playing baseball, according to the best evidence available to date,

4158-461: Was the driving force behind the development of a paved road, known as the "Point Loma boulevard," from downtown San Diego to Point Loma and Ocean Beach ; the road also provided good access to Lomaland. It later provided the basis for California State Route 209 . He proposed the project, supervised it on behalf of the city, and paid a portion of the cost out of his own pocket. He joined with George Marston and other civic-minded businessmen to purchase

4224-514: Was the first-ever world baseball tour . Playing across the western U.S., the tour made stops in Hawaii (although no game was played), New Zealand, Australia, Ceylon , Egypt, Italy, France, and England. The tour returned to grand receptions in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The tour included future Hall of Famers Cap Anson and John Montgomery Ward . The tour was also touted by Spalding as

4290-399: Was too small. However, the Braves' success inspired owner Gaffney to build a modern park, Braves Field , which opened in August 1915. It was the largest park in the majors at the time, with 40,000 seats and also a very spacious outfield. The park was novel for its time; public transportation brought fans right into the park. After contending for most of 1915 and 1916, the Braves spent much of

4356-487: Was where the Braves had their top farm club, the Brewers. Milwaukee had long been a possible target for relocation. Bill Veeck had tried to move his St. Louis Browns there earlier the same year (Milwaukee was the original home of that franchise), but his proposal had been voted down by the other American League owners. Going into spring training in 1953, it appeared that the Braves would play another year in Boston unless

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