When the history of Major League Baseball is written, few franchises can claim a deeper connection to the birth of professional baseball than the Cincinnati Reds. Cincinnati’s baseball story reaches back to the 1860s, and the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings are generally recognized as baseball’s first openly professional team. The modern Cincinnati Reds trace their heritage to that tradition. Over more than a century and a half, Cincinnati baseball has produced championship teams, Hall of Fame players, legendary ballparks, controversial owners, heartbreaking trades and one of the greatest dynasties baseball has ever seen—the Big Red Machine. The Reds have won five World Series championships: 1919, 1940, 1975, 1976 and 1990. They have appeared in nine World Series. But the story begins before the World Series, before the National League and even before professional baseball was fully accepted. The Beginning: Cincinnati and the Birth of Professional Baseball 1866–1868: The Cincinnati Baseball Club Baseball was already becoming popular in Cincinnati during the 1860s. Harry Wright, an English-born cricketer who had become deeply interested in baseball, became one of the most important figures in developing the Cincinnati club. Wright was more than a player. He was an organizer, manager, recruiter and baseball visionary. Together with other Cincinnati baseball leaders, including George Ellard, Wright helped transform the local club into a serious baseball organization. The club recruited talented players from around the country and gradually became much stronger than the ordinary amateur teams of the day. The team played at the Union Grounds, where admission could be charged and spectators could watch organized baseball. By 1868, Cincinnati had assembled a team capable of competing with the best clubs in the country. Then came 1869. 1869: The Year Professional Baseball Was Born. The most important year in Cincinnati baseball history was 1869. The rules of baseball were changing. For the first time, organized baseball officially permitted clubs to pay players. Most leading clubs hesitated to embrace professionalism because they feared the public would not accept paid athletes. Cincinnati did not hesitate. Harry Wright understood that paying players could allow the club to recruit the best baseball talent available. +He assembled a team that included his younger brother, George Wright, along with Charlie Gould, Fred Waterman, Doug Allison, Andy Leonard, Asa Brainard, Charlie Sweasy and Cal McVey. The team was called the Cincinnati Red Stockings. The players were paid salaries, practiced regularly and traveled to play other clubs. The experiment was an enormous success. The 1869 Red Stockings finished the season with a staggering: 57 victories — 0 defeats. They went undefeated while traveling throughout the country, defeating many of the best teams in existence. The Reds’ own historical records describe the 1869 club as baseball’s first all-professional team. The team drew more than 200,000 spectators during its games, an extraordinary number for the era. George Wright: Baseball’s First Superstar. George Wright was the greatest player on that team. In 1869, the Hall of Fame credits Wright with an extraordinary .629 batting average, 304 hits, 339 runs and 49 home runs while Cincinnati went 57-0. The statistics must be understood in the context of nineteenth-century baseball, whose rules, equipment and statistical conventions were very different from today’s game. George Wright eventually became a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. His brother Harry is also in the Hall of Fame and is frequently called the father of professional baseball. The Red Stockings Disband. The incredible 1869 season could not be sustained forever. Cincinnati continued playing professionally in 1870 and extended its remarkable winning streak before finally losing games to increasingly competitive professional clubs. Attendance declined as the team began losing. The organization eventually disbanded the professional Red Stockings after the 1870 season. But professional baseball had been permanently changed. Other clubs saw what Cincinnati had accomplished and recognized that paying players could create stronger teams and attract spectators. The professional sports model that dominates American sports today was beginning to take shape. The Reds Return: The National League Era. The Cincinnati baseball story continued through several organizations. The Cincinnati club eventually became part of the National League, which was founded in 1876. The early Cincinnati National League club was not identical in every legal sense to the 1869 Red Stockings, although today’s Reds claim the heritage of the earlier team. The Reds’ historical connection to the original Red Stockings is therefore both cultural and organizational. The National Baseball Hall of Fame notes that the modern Reds adopted the historic Red Stockings name when Cincinnati joined the major leagues in 1882. The American Association Years. In 1882, Cincinnati became a charter member of the American Association, a rival major league to the National League. Cincinnati immediately became a powerhouse. The club won the 1882 American Association championship, establishing one of the earliest championship traditions in Cincinnati professional baseball. One of the great stars of this era was: Bid McPhee, Position: Second base, Reds years: 1882–1899, Birthplace: Massillon, Ohio. McPhee played his entire major-league career in Cincinnati. He was one of baseball’s greatest defensive second basemen of the nineteenth century. For much of his career, he played without a glove. McPhee eventually became a National Baseball Hall of Famer in 2000. Cincinnati Returns to the National League. The Reds returned to the National League in 1890. The name “Reds” survived and eventually became permanently associated with Cincinnati. The club went through numerous changes during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, but Cincinnati remained one of baseball’s important cities. The Cincinnati Reds’ Historic Ballparks. One of the best ways to understand Reds history is to follow the team through its ballparks. 1. Union Grounds 1869–1870. This was the home of the original professional Cincinnati Red Stockings. It stood near the area that later became associated with Union Terminal and the Cincinnati Museum Center. The grandstand, known as the Grand Duchess, could hold approximately 4,000 spectators. This is where the professional baseball revolution began. 2. Avenue Grounds, 1876–1879. Cincinnati moved approximately two miles north to Avenue Grounds. The facility could accommodate roughly 3,000 spectators. Transportation was an important consideration because the park was several miles from the center of Cincinnati. 3. Bank Street Grounds. 1880–1883. The Reds moved closer to downtown. Bank Street Grounds could accommodate about 4,000 fans and even featured early scoreboard innovations showing player names and… Continue reading The Cincinnati Reds: From Baseball’s First Professional Team to the Big Red Machine
