1.
National League
–
Both leagues currently have 15 teams. The two league champions of 1903 arranged to compete against each other in the inaugural World Series, after the 1904 champions failed to reach a similar agreement, the two leagues formalized the World Series as an arrangement between the leagues. National League teams have won 48 of the 112 World Series contested from 1903 to 2016, the 2016 National League champions are the Chicago Cubs. By 1875, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players was dangerously weak, additionally, Hulbert had a problem—five of his star players were threatened with expulsion from the NAPBBP because Hulbert had signed them to his club using what were considered questionable means. Hulbert had a vested interest in creating his own league. After recruiting St. Louis privately, four western clubs met in Louisville, Kentucky, Boston Red Stockings, the dominant team in the N. A. Hartford Dark Blues from the N. A. Mutual of New York from the N. A. St. Louis Brown Stockings from the N. A, the only strong club from 1875 excluded in 1876 was a second one in Philadelphia, often called the White Stockings or Phillies. The first game in National League history was played on April 22,1876, at Philadelphias Jefferson Street Grounds, 25th & Jefferson, the new leagues authority was tested after the first season. The National League operated with six clubs during 1877 and 1878, over the next several years, various teams joined and left the struggling league. By 1880, six of the eight members had folded. The two remaining original NL franchises, Boston and Chicago, remain in operation today as the Atlanta Braves, in 1883 the New York Gothams and Philadelphia Phillies began National League play. Both teams remain in the NL today, the Phillies in their original city, the NL encountered its first strong rival organization when the American Association began play in 1882. The A. A. played in cities where the NL did not have teams, offered Sunday games and alcoholic beverages in locales where permitted, the National League and the American Association participated in a version of the World Series seven times during their ten-year coexistence. These contests were less organized than the modern Series, lasting as few as three games and as many as fifteen, with two Series ending in disputed ties, the NL won four times and the A. A. only once, in 1886. Starting with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1887, the National League began to raid the American Association for franchises to replace NL teams that folded and this undercut the stability of the A. A. Other new leagues that rose to compete with the National League were the Union Association, the Union Association was established in 1884 and folded after playing only one season, its league champion St. Louis Maroons joining the NL. The NL suffered many defections of star players to the Players League, the Brooklyn, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and New York franchises of the NL absorbed their Players League counterparts. The labor strife of 1890 hastened the downfall of the American Association, after the 1891 season, the A. A. disbanded and merged with the NL, which became known legally for the next decade as the National League and American Association
2.
Messer Street Grounds
–
Messer Street Grounds is a former baseball park located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was home to the Providence Grays baseball club of the National League from 1878 to 1885, in 1878, the Providence Base Ball Association formed and began scouting around the city for a good location for the best baseball plant in the country. Team directors visited the old Josiah Chapin farm on citys west side and it was close to level, it was raised up a few feet from the surrounding roads, and it was easily accessible by street car. Construction on Messer Park began on April 1 and took one month to complete. The new ballpark opened to the public on May 1,1878, the long semi-circular tiers of seats were black with men and boys, and hundreds were standing, unable to get seats. The commodious space for carriages was filled, and one or two May Day riding parties also graced that part of the grounds. Near the gate are two offices, and a large entrance through which the crowd can pass at the end of the game. At the southeast corner there is a gate to admit carriages to the park. The ground, which contains nearly six acres of land, is enclosed by a twelve feet high. The diamond is as level as constant rolling by heavy stone, inside of the base lines is turfed, except a space nine feet in width, reaching from the pitchers position to the home plate. Twenty-two feet are sodded outside of the diamond, paths leading to and from the bases have been rolled hard, and the out-field is sown with grass seed. The grand stand which will seat nearly 1200 people, is 151 x 40 feet, the stand is reached by steps at both ends. It will be covered by canvass, requiring nearly 7,000 feet, seats are arranged in a circle at the eastern and western sides of the field. A platform 60 x 8 feet has been erected for the reporters, scorers and invited guests, seating nearly 60 persons. Under the grand stand for the visiting and local clubs are rooms 20 feet square and fitted up with wardrobes, dressing rooms 20 feet square, the Western Union Telegraph Company have a room 8 x 10 feet. There is a stockholders room 20 feet square, and a refreshment saloon 40 x 20 to be managed by caterer Ardoene, a fence with gateways has been erected in front of the club rooms, thereby preventing the crowd from having any talk with the players. The grounds are without doubt as fine as any in the country, the left field fence was apparently quite close to home plate. One reporter complained that a hit made in Providence near that foul line post is not a long hit, despite the allegedly short fence, the Messer Street Grounds was not a friendly home run park
3.
Providence, Rhode Island
–
Providence is the capital of and most populous city in the U. S. state of Rhode Island, founded in 1636, and one of the oldest cities in the United States. It is located in Providence County and is the third most populous city in New England, after Boston, Providence has a city population of 179,154, it is also part of the Providence metropolitan area which extends into southern Massachusetts. The Providence metropolitan area has an population of 1,604,291. This can be considered, in turn, to be part of the Greater Boston commuting area, Providence was founded by Roger Williams, a religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He named the area in honor of Gods merciful Providence, which he believed was responsible for revealing such a haven for him, the city is situated at the mouth of the Providence River at the head of Narragansett Bay. Providence was one of the first cities in the country to industrialize and became noted for its tool, jewelry. The city was nicknamed the Beehive of Industry, it began rebranding itself as the Creative Capital in 2009 to emphasize its educational resources. The area that is now Providence was first settled in June 1636 by Roger Williams and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies of the United States, Williams and his company felt compelled to withdraw from Massachusetts Bay Colony. Providence quickly became a refuge for persecuted religious dissenters, as Williams himself had been exiled from Massachusetts, Providence residents were among the first Patriots to spill blood in the leadup to the American Revolution during the Gaspée Affair of 1772. Rhode Island was the first of the thirteen colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown on May 4,1776. It was also the last of the thirteen colonies to ratify the United States Constitution on May 29,1790, following the war, Providence was the countrys ninth-largest city with 7,614 people. The economy shifted from maritime endeavors to manufacturing, in particular machinery, tools, silverware, jewelry, by the start of the 20th century, Providence boasted some of the largest manufacturing plants in the country, including Brown & Sharpe, Nicholson File, and Gorham Silverware. Providence residents ratified a city charter in 1831 as the population passed 17,000. From its incorporation as a city in 1832 until 1878, the seat of city government was located in the Market House, located in Market Square, the city offices quickly outgrew this building, and the City Council resolved to create a permanent municipal building in 1845. The city offices moved into the City Hall in 1878, during the Civil War, local politics split over slavery as many had ties to Southern cotton. Despite ambivalence concerning the war, the number of military volunteers routinely exceeded quota, by the early 1900s, Providence was one of the wealthiest cities in the United States. Immigrant labor powered one of the nations largest industrial manufacturing centers, Providence was a major manufacturer of industrial products from steam engines to precision tools to silverware, screws, and textiles. From 1975 until 1982, $606 million of local and national Community Development funds were invested throughout the city.4 million ft² Providence Place Mall, despite new investment, poverty remains an entrenched problem as it does in most post-industrial New England cities
4.
Tom York (baseball)
–
Thomas Jefferson Tom York was a professional baseball left fielder. Over the course of Yorks 15-season career as a professional, which spanned the National Association and Major League Baseball, he racked up 1095 hits in 4002 at bats, for a.274 batting average. Twice, during his time with the Providence Grays, he was also manager including the entire first season of the teams existence in 1878. York began his career in the amateur National Association of Base Ball Players with the Powhatan club in Brooklyn in 1869. In 1871, he became a member of the Troy Haymakers and he was playing for the Hartford Dark Blues when they joined the new National League in 1876. In 1878, after the Hartfords folded, York joined the Providence Grays as player-manager and that season, he led the National League in total bases, extra-base hits, and triples. He was a member of the National League champion Grays team of 1879, in 1883, now a member of the Cleveland Blues he led the league in walks. After one season with the Blues, he was purchased by the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association and he played two seasons for Baltimore to finish out his major league career. Tom died at the age of 86 in New York City, and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders List of Major League Baseball player-managers Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Baseball-Reference
5.
Providence Grays
–
The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from 1878 until 1885. The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood, the team won the National League title twice, in 1879 and 1884. Following the 1884 season, they won the first World Series over the New York Metropolitans of the American Association, the team folded after the 1885 season. Rhode Island was a hotbed of baseball in the 1870s with several amateur clubs along with Brown Universitys powerhouse collegiate team. In 1875, the semi-pro Rhode Islands were formed, after successful seasons in 1875,1876, and 1877, the team drew the attention of the recently formed National League. When the League elected to drop the Hartford franchise after the 1877 season, the new team was officially organized on January 16,1878 by Benjamin Douglas, who became the teams general manager. Henry Root was hired as the team president‚ and Tom Carey was initially hired to be the on-field captain, on January 21,1878, Providence applied for membership in the NL, and was officially approved on February 6. On April 10, Root took over ownership of the team, fired Douglas for incompetence and insubordination, on May 30, the Providence Base Ball Association was incorporated by the Rhode Island General Assembly. While the team practiced at the Dexter Training Ground in the spring of 1878, construction on the Messer Street Grounds began on April 1 and took exactly one month to complete, the final nail was hammered a mere five minutes before the opening game got underway on May 1. In a break with tradition, the National Leagues newest addition adopted gray flannel instead of white for their home uniform, one of the leading players from the 1879 pennant winner was Hall of Famer John Montgomery Ward. Evidence is strong but not conclusive, Peter Morris of the Society for American Baseball Research has researched this issue, the 1884 team was led by ace pitcher Charles Old Hoss Radbourn, who won a record 60 games that year and led the Grays to the pennant. The Grays went on a 20-game winning streak and topped the league ahead of their ferocious New England rivals, at the close of the season Providence officials accepted New York Metropolitans” manager Jim Mutries challenge to a three-game postseason match. All of the games took place at the Polo Grounds in New York and were played under American Association rules, which forbade overhand pitching. On October 23,1884, the Providence Grays whitewash the New York Metropolitans, 6–0, behind Radbourn, Radbourn would allow two hits and strikeout nine. The very next day, Radbourn three hits the Metropolitans and wins 3–1 in a game called after seven innings due to darkness, Grays third baseman Jerry Denny hits a three-run homer in the fifth inning. It is the first home run in World Series history, Tim Keefe loses for the second time. On October 25,1884 the Providence Grays defeat the New York Metropolitans, 11–2, Radbourn wins for the third time in three days. Buck Becannon takes the loss as Tim Keefe, New York Metropolitans losing pitcher in games 1 and 2, although post-season games prior to 1903 were considered exhibitions, the 1884 World Series is recognized today as the first inter-league postseason championship
