Founding Eras
One of the oldest active professional sports clubs in North America, with roots dating back to 1870.
The Chicago Cubs are a charter member of the National League who started play in the National Association of Base Ball Players in 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings, before joining the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in 1871. They are the only franchise to play continuously in the same city since the formation of the National League in 1876. While the Cubs are among the oldest active professional sports clubs in North America, the franchise now known as the Atlanta Braves traces its origin to the Boston Red Stockings, which began fully professional play in 1871, making the Braves one year older than the Cubs' 1870 start as an amateur/semi-professional club.
- Franchise Origin
- Chicago White Stockings (1870, as a member of the National Association of Base Ball Players; 1871, as a professional club in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players)
Lore & Background
In their early history, they were called the White Stockings, Orphans, Infants, Remnants and Colts by the press before officially becoming the 'Cubs' in 1903. The club was financed by businessman William Hulbert, who spearheaded the formation of the National League after the 1875 season. The White Stockings won the National League's first championship in 1876. Adrian 'Cap' Anson became the club's captain and led the team to pennants in 1880 and 1881.
In Their Own Story
The air at West Side Park smelled of cut grass and coal smoke from nearby trains. It was October 1908. A leather glove creaked as the pitcher wound up. The crowd held its breath, a sea of wool caps and serious faces. There were no scoreboards to flash numbers, only men in the stands shouting updates. The sun dipped low over the bleachers, casting long shadows across the infield dirt. In that quiet moment before the pitch, history felt tangible, woven into the fabric of the game itself.
Reader's Guide
The team's early home grounds included Ogden Park, Dexter Park, the Union Base-Ball Grounds (destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871), the 23rd Street Grounds, and a new Lake Park ballpark built in 1878. Notable early players included pitcher Albert Spalding, first baseman Adrian Anson, James 'Deacon' White, Ross Barnes, Larry Corcoran, and Fred Goldsmith.
Did You Know?
- The Chicago White Stockings won the NABBP championship in 1870, though the title was disputed by the New York Mutuals.
- After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the White Stockings played the remainder of the season on the road in borrowed uniforms.
- Larry Corcoran threw three no-hitters in the early 1880s, a record that stood until Sandy Koufax broke it in 1965.
- Fred Goldsmith is one of two pitchers credited with the invention of the curveball.
- Despite common belief, the Cubs are not the earliest formed active professional sports club in North America; the Atlanta Braves franchise began fully professional play in 1871, one year before the Cubs' first profession
More in Stadium & Fan Culture
Elsewhere in the Chicago Cubs universe
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