The very first professional baseball team was the Cincinnati Red Stockings. The very first year they played together, 1869, they won 65, tied 1, and lost 0.
How is that for winning baseball? Of course, they were the only pro team around. Every other baseball club was supposed to be amateur, although some of the players were paid “under the table.”
The Cincinnati Red Stockings showed the fans how well the game of baseball could be played. From that time on, the fans would accept nothing less.
Professional baseball teams were organized throughout the country, and in 1876 the National League was formed. By 1903, the American League was in business to stay, and the very first World Series took place that year.
Harry Wright was the man who started it all. He organized the Red Stockings and was their player manager. Wright was so important to the game that he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953.
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