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Ohio inventions and firsts · First · 1869

First professional baseball team

In 1869 the Cincinnati Red Stockings, managed by Harry Wright, became the first openly all-professional team and finished 57-0; their winning streak, counted at 81 games by Wikipedia, ended with a loss to the Brooklyn Atlantics on June 14, 1870.

At a glance

Year
1869
By
Harry Wright, Aaron Burt Champion
Company
Cincinnati Red Stockings
Place
Cincinnati, Hamilton County ZIP 45202 · Cincinnati · Hamilton County

The story

Before 1869, teams that were paid usually hid it, and the sport still called itself amateur. Cincinnati's club decided to be open about paying every player and to hire the best men it could find.

Harry Wright, who had come from New York in 1866, managed the team. His brother George Wright played shortstop, Asa Brainard pitched, and Doug Allison caught. The roster was baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players.

In 1869 they went 57 and 0 on a tour that took them across the continent, the only perfect season in professional baseball history according to Wikipedia. They kept winning into 1870, until a 8 to 7 loss to the Brooklyn Atlantics on June 14, 1870, which ended a winning streak that Wikipedia puts at 81 games, at the Capitoline Grounds in Brooklyn before a crowd of about 20,000. Some accounts count 83 games.

Money troubles ended the club in 1871. Several players moved to Boston, where the Red Stockings name continued in a franchise that is today the Atlanta Braves. The modern Cincinnati Reds still count the 1869 team as their ancestor.

Timeline

  • 1866: Harry Wright moves from New York to Cincinnati. (Cincinnati, OH) source
  • 1869: The Red Stockings, baseball's first all-professional team, finish 57-0. (Cincinnati, OH) source
  • 1870-06-14: Brooklyn beats Cincinnati 8-7, ending a long winning streak. (Brooklyn, NY) source
  • 1871: The club disbands. (Cincinnati, OH) source

What it changed

  • The only perfect season in professional baseball: 57-0.
  • Several players carried the Red Stockings name to Boston, a line that leads to the Atlanta Braves.

Why it matters

Birth of professional baseball.

Who gets the credit is disputed

The Ohio claim. In 1869 the Cincinnati Red Stockings, managed by Harry Wright, became the first openly all-professional team and finished 57-0.

The other claims. Earlier clubs paid players covertly, so the claim rests on the word openly.

Places in Ohio to see

Further reading

Sources

Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.