September 26, 1876: The Chicago White Stockings beat the Hartford Dark Blues, 7-6 at the 23rd Street Grounds in Chicago. This clinches the Pennant in the National League, in its 1st season of operation.
William Hulbert, the founder of the NL, was the team's owner. Al Spalding, though only 25 years old when the season began, was the manager and pitched 61 of 66 games; Cal McVey, one of the 1869-70 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the 1st openly professional team, pitched 11.
The catcher was James "Deacon" White. Adrian Constantine Anson was the 3rd baseman, and the team captain, so he was nicknamed "Cap." He would eventually move to 1st base, which McVey played when he wasn't pitching. Charles Roscoe "Ross" Barnes played 2nd base, hit the 1st National League home run, and won the 1st NL batting title with a .429 average. John Peters was the shortstop. The outfield was John Glenn in left, Paul Hines in center, and Bob Addy in right. Fred Andrus and Oscar Bielaski were backups.
The NL standings ended up as follows:
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago White Stockings | 52 | 14 | .788 | — | 25–6 | 27–8 |
| Hartford Dark Blues | 47 | 21 | .691 | 6 | 23–9 | 24–12 |
| St. Louis Brown Stockings | 45 | 19 | .703 | 6 | 24–6 | 21–13 |
| Boston Red Caps | 39 | 31 | .557 | 15 | 19–17 | 20–14 |
| Louisville Grays | 30 | 36 | .455 | 22 | 15–16 | 15–20 |
| New York Mutuals | 21 | 35 | .375 | 26 | 13–20 | 8–15 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 14 | 45 | .237 | 34½ | 10–24 | 4–21 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 9 | 56 | .138 | 42½ | 6–24 | 3–32 |
What happened to these teams? Only two still exist. In 1903, the former White Stockings became the Chicago Cubs. In 1912, the former Red Caps became the Boston Braves; in 1953, the Milwaukee Braves; in 1966, the Atlanta Braves. There would later be teams named the Philadelphia Athletics, the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Browns, but they were not holdovers from 1876.
The 23rd Street Grounds, also known as 23rd Street Park and the State Street Grounds, was built after the White Stockings' previous home, the Union Base-Ball Grounds, was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. It was bordered by 23rd, State, 24th and Dearborn Streets. They played there from 1872 to 1877.
23rd Street Grounds
Hulbert, Spalding, Anson and White have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. White was the last survivor of the 1876 White Stockings, living until 1939.
UPDATE: Hulbert and Anson were elected to the Chicago Cubs Hall of Fame.
September 26, 1876 was a Tuesday. The Chicago-Hartford game was the only one played that day.
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