1.
National League
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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.
1876 in baseball
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After a tumultuous five-year existence, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players folded following the 1875 season. One of the new rules put into place by the new league was that all teams had to be located in cities that had a population of 75,000 or more. The initial NL season began with eight teams, and they were asked to play seventy games between April 22 and October 21, the NL is considered to be the first major league, although it has been argued that the NA can make that claim. National League, Chicago White Stockings Champions of the West, St. Louis Brown Stockings Four premier semi-professional teams were in play in 1876 and they were the Binghamton Crickets, the Columbus Buckeyes, the Pittsburgh Alleghenys and the Syracuse Stars. In competition against NL clubs these 4 semi-pro teams played 32 games – winning 16, losing 14, of the 60 players on these 4 semi-pro teams no fewer than 50 of them wound up playing in the National League over the next 5 seasons. Chicago White Stockings signed Cap Anson as a free agent, hartford Dark Blues signed Candy Cummings as a free agent. Boston Red Caps signed George Wright as a free agent, august 10,1876 – The New York Mutuals loaned Nealy Phelps to the Philadelphia Athletics. Phelps returned to the Mutuals on the same day, bryces Base Ball Guide General Ginsburg, Daniel E. The Fix Is in, A History of Baseball Gambling and Game Fixing Scandals, reiss, Steven A. Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball Clubs, Volume 1. Specific 1876 season at baseball-reference. com Charltons Baseball Chronology at BaseballLibrary. com Year by Year History at Baseball-Almanac. com Retrosheet. org
3.
South End Grounds
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South End Grounds refers to any one of three baseball parks on one site in Boston, Massachusetts. They were home to the franchise that became known as the Boston Braves, first in the National Association and later in the National League. At least in its edition, the formal name of the park. It was located on the northeast corner of Columbus Avenue and Walpole Street, accordingly, it was also known over the years as Walpole Street Grounds, two other names were Union Baseball Grounds and simply Boston Baseball Grounds. Over time the team acquired other informal nicknames, such as Beaneaters, Red Caps, Rustlers and this team eventually adopted the official nickname Braves, just a few years before abandoning South End Grounds. With its tight foul lines and expansive center field, like a version of the Polo Grounds, it was sometimes said that the South End had no right or left field. South End Grounds was rebuilt twice during its lifetime, the first time by choice, the first South End Grounds was opened on May 16,1871. The last game was played on September 10,1887, the ballparks stands were demolished later that month to make way for a new structure. The second South End Grounds was opened on May 25,1888, the medieval-style witchs cap turrets were a very popular decoration on public seating structures of the 1880s and 1890s. The ballpark seated 6,800 by one estimate and it was the only double-decked baseball stadium ever built in Boston, apart from the rooftop seating which has turned the single-decked Fenway Park into a de facto double-deck ballpark. During the rebuilding process, the Bostons played their games at Congress Street Grounds. The third South End Grounds was built in ten weeks on the site of the old stand, because the previous structure had not been sufficiently insured, there wasnt enough money to rebuild the stands according to its old plans, and a smaller structure was built. Few photographs of this ballpark seem to be in circulation and that image can be seen above this text. The Braves moved out of the South End Grounds after their game on August 11,1914 to accommodate larger crowds during the drive of the 1914 pennant race. The team continued to play at Fenway Park until Braves Field was completed during the 1915 season, the stadium was demolished after the Braves left. The parking lot between Northeastern Universitys Columbus Parking Garage and Ruggles Station of the Orange Line of the MBTA now stands on the site of the grandstand. The outfield was located where the garage stands
4.
Boston
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Boston is the capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Boston is also the seat of Suffolk County, although the county government was disbanded on July 1,1999. The city proper covers 48 square miles with a population of 667,137 in 2015, making it the largest city in New England. Alternately, as a Combined Statistical Area, this wider commuting region is home to some 8.1 million people, One of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston was founded on the Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by Puritan settlers from England. It was the scene of several key events of the American Revolution, such as the Boston Massacre, the Boston Tea Party, the Battle of Bunker Hill, and the Siege of Boston. Upon U. S. independence from Great Britain, it continued to be an important port and manufacturing hub as well as a center for education, through land reclamation and municipal annexation, Boston has expanded beyond the original peninsula. Its rich history attracts many tourists, with Faneuil Hall alone drawing over 20 million visitors per year, Bostons many firsts include the United States first public school, Boston Latin School, first subway system, the Tremont Street Subway, and first public park, Boston Common. Bostons economic base also includes finance, professional and business services, biotechnology, information technology, the city has one of the highest costs of living in the United States as it has undergone gentrification, though it remains high on world livability rankings. Bostons early European settlers had first called the area Trimountaine but later renamed it Boston after Boston, Lincolnshire, England, the renaming on September 7,1630 was by Puritan colonists from England who had moved over from Charlestown earlier that year in quest of fresh water. Their settlement was limited to the Shawmut Peninsula, at that time surrounded by the Massachusetts Bay and Charles River. The peninsula is thought to have been inhabited as early as 5000 BC, in 1629, the Massachusetts Bay Colonys first governor John Winthrop led the signing of the Cambridge Agreement, a key founding document of the city. Puritan ethics and their focus on education influenced its early history, over the next 130 years, the city participated in four French and Indian Wars, until the British defeated the French and their Indian allies in North America. Boston was the largest town in British America until Philadelphia grew larger in the mid-18th century, Bostons harbor activity was significantly curtailed by the Embargo Act of 1807 and the War of 1812. Foreign trade returned after these hostilities, but Bostons merchants had found alternatives for their investments in the interim. Manufacturing became an important component of the economy, and the citys industrial manufacturing overtook international trade in economic importance by the mid-19th century. Boston remained one of the nations largest manufacturing centers until the early 20th century, a network of small rivers bordering the city and connecting it to the surrounding region facilitated shipment of goods and led to a proliferation of mills and factories. Later, a network of railroads furthered the regions industry. Boston was a port of the Atlantic triangular slave trade in the New England colonies
5.
Arthur Soden
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Arthur H. Soden was an American executive in Major League Baseball who was the president/owner of the Boston Base Ball Club of the National League and a Civil War veteran. Soden was born on April 23,1843 in Framingham, Massachusetts, Soden served as a Hospital Steward with the 22nd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. After the war, Soden was a ball player of note. In 1874 he was part of the Boston club during their tour of England and he played center field in a game at the Kennington Oval. In 1876 Soden bought into the Boston Base Ball Club, billings later purchased controlling interest in the club and Soden became the teams president in 1877. In 1883, the number was increased to 11, which was a roster size in that era. In 1882, Soden served briefly as president of the National League following the death of William Hulbert, although Troy and Worcester objected to their removal, their attendance problems – drawing only 6 and 18 spectators in their final two games against one another – sealed their fate. Boston won 5 pennants between 1891 and 1898, Soden was known for being stingy, and catcher Boileryard Clarke observed after coming to the Beaneaters from Baltimore in 1899 that the team owner was also amazingly distant. Clarke later insisted that although he played for Boston for two years, Soden never knew he was on the team. After the American League emerged as a rival in the 20th century, many began deserting the NL for the new league. Outside of baseball, Soden ran a successful roofing business with his son and he resided in West Newton, Massachusetts. Soden died in Sunapee, New Hampshire at age 80, nemec, David, The Great Encyclopedia of 19th-Century Major League Baseball, Penguin. John L. Parker, Henry Wilsons Regiment, History of the Twenty-Second Massachusetts Infantry
6.
Frank Selee
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Frank Gibson Selee was an American Major League Baseball manager in the National League. In his sixteen-year Major League career, he managed the Boston Beaneaters for twelve seasons, and he was noted for his ability to assess and utilize talent, which gave his teams a great opportunity to be successful. His success is measurable in that he won five NL titles with the Beaneaters, including three years in a row from 1891 to 1893. After he left Boston, he went on to manage in Chicago where he built the basis for the Cubs later success by signing and utilizing the talents of Frank Chance, Joe Tinker and he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999 for his managerial achievements. Selee was born in Amherst, New Hampshire and he has been described as a balding little man with a modest demeanor and a formidable mustache that gave his face a melancholy cast, and shy and reticent in public. He left a job in Waltham, Massachusetts, in 1884 to form a minor league team. His was success in the minors, which led his eventual move to the Major Leagues in 1890, noted for having a keen ability to assess talent, Selee managed the Boston Beaneaters and the Chicago Cubs. His Beaneaters captured five NL pennants during his tenure and his 1892 team, aided by the first 150-game schedule in history, became the first team to win 100 games in a season. In all, twelve of his players went on be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. In June,1905, he became too ill to manage and surrendered his team to Chance, the last Cubs title under Chance in 1910, eight of top thirteen players from the 1905 team were still major contributors. In total, he had 1,284 victories in 2,180 games as manager during his 16-year career, Selee died of consumption at the age of 49 in Denver, Colorado, and was interred at Wyoming Cemetery in Melrose, Massachusetts. In 1999, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee for his achievements as a manager and he is one of only two people from New Hampshire to inducted into the Hall of Fame. The other was Carlton Fisk, who was enshrined in 2000 and he was portrayed without his well-known mustache. Frank Selee at the Baseball Hall of Fame Baseball-Reference. com – managerial statistics and analysis Frank Selee at Find a Grave
