Understanding where it all began is essential — after all, baseball is known as America’s pastime. For some, it’s a way of life; for others, just a game. But here in the Queen City, where professional baseball was born, the sport runs deep. In this series, called The Queen City and Her Diamonds, we’ll take you on a tour of Cincinnati’s most iconic diamonds and the teams that bring them to life. Because, let’s be honest, every queen needs her diamonds.
Did you know that Cincinnati is home to the first professional baseball team?
Founded in 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became the first professional baseball team.
The sport of baseball began in the 1800s and continued growing throughout the Civil War. In the 1860s, after the war concluded, the game took its next step, growing from amateur to professional teams. This was the pivotal moment where the game we consider America’s national pastime was born.
Founded in 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings were the first team to take the step into professional baseball. The Stockings played against amateur, semi-pro and other fledgling professional teams across the country during their first season. The Stockings finished their first season 57-0 and then continued into 1870 on an 81-win streak. Even with things looking up, the team was disbanded in 1870 due to financial struggles caused by a decline in fan interest and the team leaders’ unwillingness to pay their players competitive salaries. The team returned to amateur status by the end of the 1870 season. This led some Stockings players to move to Boston to form the Boston Red Stockings, which we now know as the Atlanta Braves.
Baseball continued growing, and, in 1876 the National League (NL) was founded. Cincinnati was one of the eight charter, or founding, teams that were a part of the NL.
Again, things were looking up for our Red Stockings — until they were expelled from the NL in 1880 for allowing alcohol sales at their games, as well as for renting out the ball park on Sundays to other baseball teams. It was hard to catch a break in the baseball world, so the Stockings formed a new professional team and joined the American Association (AA) in 1881. The AA allowed beer and Sunday games, making it the perfect match for our rowdy Red Stockings. The Red Stockings dominated during their time in the AA. In their first year, they won the AA pennant, becoming league champions, then continued to finish within the top five during each of their AA seasons.
The American Association had financial struggles beginning in the 1890s, so the Stockings were forced to rejoin the National League, now to officially be known as the team we know, love and consistently get let down by: the Cincinnati Reds.
The Reds won their first World Series in 1919 against the Chicago White Sox. In 1939 and 1940, Bucky Walters and Ernie Lombardi led the team to back-to-back NL pennants and the 1940 World Series. In the 1970s, the Big Red Machine was born. Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Tony Perez and Joe Morgan led the team to back-to-back World Series titles. That was followed by another World Series win in 1990, the opening of the iconic Great American Ball Park in 2003 and, shortly after, Joey Votto helping the Reds to playoff runs in 2010, 2012 and 2013.
All of that history leads us here, where the Reds are led by Elly De La Cruz, Matt McLain and Hunter Greene to continue the Cincinnati Reds’ legacy and hard work that the iconic Red Stockings began in 1869. All of the hard work has added up to five World Series titles in 1919, 1940, 1975, 1976 and 1990, and nine National League Pennants.
To celebrate Opening Day on March 27, we’ve rounded up some fun and fascinating Cincinnati Reds facts — perfect for showing off your die-hard fan status.
