Cincinnati Red Stockings Founding

Lore & Background

The Cincinnati Base Ball 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. The ball club's first home field was at 'the foot of Ninth Street, in the Mill Creek bottoms.' After joining the NABBP for 1867, the team played at the Union Cricket Club grounds. The team was soon nicknamed 'Red Stockings' in reference to the main feature of the uniforms designed by George Ellard. Harry Wright migrated from New York in 1866 for a job as 'club pro' at the Union Cricket Club and later took on baseball duties. The 1869 team posted a 57–0 record against NABBP and other opponents, though the season included amateur and semi-pro teams, so the claim of a 'perfect season' is disputed. The team played 57 commonly cited games, not over 60. Their commercial tour visited both Boston and San Francisco. After the 1870 season, the club disbanded due to expense. Harry Wright was hired by Boston to organize a new pro club, and four Cincinnati teammates joined the 1871 Boston Red Stockings, which was a new franchise, not a direct continuation.

In Their Own Story

The air inside the wooden grandstand at Jefferson Street Grounds was thick with cigar smoke and anticipation. Harry Wright stood before his team, men who wore red stockings as their badge of honor and professionalism. As Deacon White stepped up to the plate, the silence fell over the field; this wasn't a casual afternoon pastime. This was business. When the ball cracked against the bat and soared into the outfield, the roar that followed signaled the birth of a new era where athletes were paid to play.

Reader's Guide

The 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings played their first game May 4, 1869, with a 45–9 win over the Great Westerns of Cincinnati. The team won 57 games and lost zero counting only matches with Association clubs. The first season ended November 6 at home with the Cincinnatis beating the Mutuals of New York 17–8. In 1870, the team continued to win regularly, losing 8–7 in eleven innings to the Brooklyn Atlantics on June 14. The team's commercial tour of continental scope, visiting both Boston and San Francisco, was unprecedented. The current Cincinnati Reds club identifies itself with the Cincinnati Red Stockings, despite reorganization and defections in the early years.

Did You Know?

• The 1869 Red Stockings posted a 57–0 record against NABBP and other opponents, though the season included amateur and semi-pro teams, so the 'perfect season' claim is disputed.
• The team played in San Francisco in 1869, but the claim of being 'first to play on the East and West coasts in the same season' is not a widely recognized milestone.
• The Red Stockings established the color red as the color of Cincinnati, continuing with the modern Cincinnati Reds.
• The Boston Red Stockings, a franchise now known as the Atlanta Braves, were a new franchise formed after the Cincinnati club disbanded, not a direct continuation.