October 26, 1870: The Atlantics Beat the Red Stockings Again

October 26, 1870: In a rematch of the game that finally ended their unbeaten streak at the Capitoline Grounds in Brooklyn the previous June, the Cincinnati Red Stockings take on the Atlantics of Brooklyn‚ on neutral ground, at the Jefferson Street Grounds in Philadelphia. Led by 1st baseman Joe Start (pictured), the Atlantics score 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th to beat the mighty Reds‚ 11-7.

This was, effectively, the end of the 1st era of organized baseball, the all-amateur era. The next season, the National Association, the 1st professional league, began play. The Boston Red Stockings were formed, taking about half of the Cincinnati players, and they continued to dominate baseball in the 1870s. The National League came along in 1876.

The Boston club won NA Pennants in 1872, '73, '74 and '75, and NL Pennants in 1877 and '78, before poachings from other teams finally forced them off their perch. They won just 1 Pennant between 1878 and 1891, before starting a new dynasty.

The Atlantics weren't so lucky, as they refused to join the NA, and lost most of their good players to that league. They continued to play an independent schedule until folding in 1882, baseball's first great team (founded in 1855) going out not with a bang, but with a whimper.

October 26, 1870 was a Wednesday. There were no other scores on this historic day, as baseball was America's only organized team sport at the time. 

May 25, 1871: New York's 1st Major League Baseball Game

"Death to Flying Things"

May 25, 1871: New York's 1st major league baseball game is played – sort of. It is played in the National Association, which some baseball observers count as "major league," while others don't.

Opening their season, The Mutual Base Ball Club, which had been playing since 1857, played their 1st NA game on May 18, beating the Troy Haymakers, 14-3 at the Haymakers' Grounds, in Troy, across the Hudson River from Albany, the capital of the State of New York.

One week later, on May 25, they played their 1st game in what would now be considered the City of New York, and lost to the Haymakers, 25-10 before a crowd of 3,000 at the Union Grounds in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

One week later, on June 1, the Mutuals got their 1st win, beating the Forest City club of Rockford, Illinois 7-3 before 2,000 at the Union Grounds.

The Union Grounds

The Mutuals were owned by William Cammeyer, who in 1862 built the Union Grounds as the 1st enclosed ballpark – and, thus, the 1st one where admission could be charged. Their manager was Brooklyn native Bob Ferguson, an infielder so good, his nickname was "Death to Flying Things." The team also included Joe Start, the sport's 1st great 1st baseman; and Dickey Pearce, who succeeded the Cincinnati Red Stockings' George Wright as the game's best shortstop.

In spite of all this talent, the Mutuals finished just 16-17, 7½ games behind the Pennant-winning Philadelphia Athletics. That team went out of business in 1876, and had no connection to the team of the same name founded in the American League in 1901, playing in Oakland since 1968. The Mutuals also folded in 1876.

The Union Grounds last hosted baseball in 1883. The site is now mostly taken up by New York State's 47th Regiment Armory.

May 25, 1871 was a Thursday. This was the only game played. So there were no other scores on this historic day.