When the first professional sports league, the National Association of Professional Baseball Clubs was formed in 1871 it came with a host of growing pains. The franchise fee was only $10 for season. Many gamblers flocked to the games and a steady schedule was not a part of the league. Teams left and entered the league on a regular basis. There were two steady things in this league, one being that there was a lot of problems, the other the Boston Club would win the pennant. For many of the better and more powerful club owners, this league was not right fit for them.
They believed that if professional baseball were to become a regular business things had to be different. On February 2, 1876 they founded a new league, the National League. The eight founding clubs were the Boston Red Stockings, Chicago White Stockings, Cincinnati Reds, Hartford Dark Blues, Louisville Grays, New York Mutuals, The Philadelphia Athletics and the Saint Louis Brown Stockings. The franchise fee was $100, a far cry from what it is today.
On April 22 the new league played its first game. The first game was played at the Jefferson Street Grounds in Philadelphia. The Red Stockings won the historical first game by a score of 6-5. Many highlights were apart of the league season. The year however ended on a sour note for the league. The Athletic and Mutual clubs had refused to make their last road trip West. The other clubs in the league took exception to this breech of league rules. At the league meeting in December the two clubs were expelled by the league. The clubs felt that if their league were to be taken seriously drastic measures had to be taken no matter who the rule bender was. The league elected to go without two of the stronger cities in their lineup. Obvisously, the gamble paid off. The league elected to go on with only six clubs.
Today two of those clubs are thriving members of the league. The Boston Red Stocking went on to become the Braves, move to Milwaukee and later to Atlanta. The Chicago White Stockings went on to become the beloved Cubs. The Hartford Club despite the name transferred their 1877 home games to Brooklyn, after the 1877 season the team withdrew from the league. The team was one of three clubs to depart after the second season of play. The other two clubs that withdrew were the Louisville and Saint Louis Clubs. The Louisville Club was expelled after a gambling scandal. The annual game of musical clubs was underway. The Indianapolis, Indiana; Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Providence, Rhode Island clubs were next to enter keeping the league at six clubs. Both the Indianapolis and the Milwaukee Clubs lasted but a single season in the league. Even the Cincinnati Reds withdrew from the league after the 1880 season.
The league did not return to eight clubs until the 1883 season when the New York (Now San Francisco Giants) and the Philadelphia Clubs were allowed back in the league, this time for good. By the end of the Players League War of 1890 the league had begun to take its more permeant look. After the 1899 season, the league dropped back to eight clubs, after dropping four of its clubs. The league would not make another franchise move until March of 1953. It all began with a meeting in the dark of winter, today it is an American tradition. Happy Birthday to the National League.
Tomorrow we will look at a one year wonder football league. Thanks for reading, have a great week.
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