1870 Cincinnati Red Stockings

1870 Cincinnati Red Stockings/Franchise: Cincinnati Red Stockings/1870 Team

• Name: Cincinnati Red Stockings
• Record: 67-6-1 (27-6-1 against professional teams)
• Owner: Cincinnati Base Ball Club
• President: Aaron B. Champion (to Aug. 3); A.P.C. Bonte (from Aug. 16)
• Vice President: Thomas G. Smith (to Aug. 3); Albert G. Corre (from Aug. 16)
• Secretary: John P. Joyce (to Aug. 3); William P. Noble (from Aug. 16)
• Treasurer: Edward E. Townley (to Aug. 3); William P. Noble (from Aug. 16)
• Managed by: Harry Wright
• Ballpark: Lincoln Park

History, Comments, Contributions

The 1870 season found, Dick Hurley and his fellow subs replaced by Harry Deane, and Edward Atwater. Other than that, there really was not much of a change to the roster. The Red Stockings started the season on April 21st in Louisville, where they thrashed the Eagle Base Ball Club 94-7. The rest of April saw the team in New Orleans playing against several of the local teams. After a throttling over the Oriental Base Ball Club in Memphis by a score 100-2, the team was back in Cincinnati by May 7th. The team played their first home game against the Cleveland Forest Citys. Aside for a brief trip to Lexington, Kentucky on May 23rd, the Red Stocking pretty much remained in Ohio for the entire month of May. They would leave Cincinnati for a game against Cleveland on 31st and were in Rochester, New York on June 1st. By the second week in June, the Red Stockings had a 97-game winning streak (8-0 in exhibition matches).

On Tuesday June 14th, the Red Stockings arrived at the Capitoline Grounds in Brooklyn to take on the 16-4 Brooklyn Atlantics. This was the two’s teams’ first meeting since last year on June 16th, when the Red Stockings prevailed 32-10. It should be noted that the Atlantics were the last team to have defeated the Red Stockings, back on October 1, 1868. The teams were tied at 5 a piece after 9 innings. Initially the game was supposed to have ended in a tie, and the Red Stockings’ streak could’ve continued. At least this is what the umpire, Charles Mills, and the Atlantics’ captain, Bob Ferguson thought.

Most likely remembering what happened last year against the Haymakers, Wright probably felt that the game should not end in a tie, controversial or not. It has been reported that Wright saw that baseball expert, Harry Chadwick, was in attendance. Wright, having the backing of his bosses, who were back in Cincinnati, about wanting the game to reach its full conclusion, consulted with Chadwick, about the possibility of the game going into extra innings. Upon getting the good ahead, Wright proceeds to find Mills, about continuing the game. At first Mills is reluctant to continue the game, but eventually gives in. He informs the Atlantics that the game will continue. Like Mills, the Atlantics are opposed to this decision, but in the end the game continues.

Neither team manages to score in 10th, though the Atlantics do threaten to score in the bottom of the inning. At the top of the 11th, the Red Stockings manage to score two runs to take a 7-5 lead. However, the Atlantics counter with 3 in the bottom of the inning to win the game 8-7, and ending the Red Stockings winning streak. President Champion sends the following telegram: “The finest game ever played. Our boys did nobly, but fortune was against us. Eleven innings played. Though beaten, not disgraced.” Interestingly this was the only game that the Red Stockings would play that year that went into extra innings.

While the loss meant that the team was no longer undefeated, nothing else changed. The Red Stockings put together another winning streak. This new streak lasted 15 games until a 16-16 tie with the Rockford Forest Citys on July 11th. The Red Stockings first home loss came on July 27th in an 11-7 loss to the Philadelphia Athletics ending a 33 game home streak that dated back to Aug. 24, 1868, in a 12-8 loss to the Morrisania Unions.

While things were going good for the team on the field, behind the scenes things were not looking so good. During the previous season, the team travelled almost 12,000 miles. Add to it a bankroll of $9,300, and this gave the team a debt of $1,000. By August of 1870, the team had over $2,000 in the bank for the first time, so in that aspect things were looking up. Because things were looking good, the club officers decided to show the rest of the investors the good news. Unfortunately, the other investors were not too thrilled. It has been said the club officers could have retained the Wright Bros., Charlie Gould and Cal McVey had too much money been demanded, and that the other players, such as Asa Brainard, were not wanted back on their off-field behavior. At a meeting on August 16th, it was announced that the club officers had resigned, the other club members then elected new officers: APC Bonte- President; Albert G. Corre- Vice President; William Noble- Secretary.

The team would continue to win most games, with the occasional loss until mid-October, when the Red Stockings would lose back to back games (10/13-15) to the Chicago White Stockings and Rockford Forest Citys. This was the first time since September of 1868 (Sept. 28-29), when the team lost back to back games to two Philadelphia teams, the Athletics, and Keystones. The Red Stockings, season ended on November 5th with a 27-16 win over the Cleveland Forest Citys to give the club a 67-6-1 record.

Over the next several days it was assumed that the Red Stockings would be back for the 1871 season. In fact Gould and McVey had rejected offers from other teams to remain in Cincinnati. According to Harry Wright, all players with the exception of his brother, George, would have resigned with the team for the next season had they been given reasonable terms. However President Bonte had informed Wright that they could not afford to field a team for 1871. As much as they would have liked to have the team continue playing it would not do them much good if the fans weren’t there. The team folded up shop on November 11th. 10 days later, Wright would find in the morning newspaper, a letter from Bonte and Noble stating that there would be no team for the 1871 season. At first it was thought to have been a ploy by the management to get players to play at lower salaries. It soon turned out to be a reality the Cincinnati Red Stockings were no more.

Actually, the team would wind up in Boston, as the Boston Red Stockings. Cincinnati would remain without a professional team until mid-1875, when a new Red Stockings' team was formed. Like their predecessors, this team was formed too late to take part in the current season, but would ultimately join as one of the founding teams in the National League.

Date	Score	Opponent	Record
4/21	94-7	at Eagle BBC of New Orleans, LA	1-0
4/25	51-1	at Pelican BBC of New Orleans, LA	2-0
4/26	80-6	at Southern BBC of New Orleans, LA	3-0
4/27	0-0	at R. E. Lee BBC of New Orleans, LA	3-0
4/28	39-6	at Atlantic BBC of New Orleans, LA	4-0
4/29	26-7	at Lone Star of New Orleans, LA	5-0
4/30	24-4	at R. E. Lee BBC of New Orleans, LA	6-0
5/4	100-2	at Oriental of Memphis BBC	7-0
5/7	34-19	Mixed Cincinnati Club (ex.)	7-0
5/12	12-2	Forest City (Cleveland)	8-0
5/13	24-10	Forest City (Cleveland)	9-0
5/20	72-10	at College Hill BBC (OH)	10-0
5/23	75-0	at Orion of Lexington (KY) BBC	11-0
5/25	108-3	Union Club of Urbana	12-0
5/26	104-9	at Dayton BBC	13-0
5/29	32-3	Riverside of Portsmouth BBC	14-0
5/31	27-13	at Forest City of Cleveland	15-0
6/1	56-13	at Flour City BBC of Rochester, NY	16-0
6/2	46-4	at Ontario BBC of Oswego, NY	17-0
6/3	66-9	at Old Elm BBC of Pittsfield, MA	18-0
6/4	46-15	at Harvard College BBC	19-0
6/6	17-4	at Lowell BBC of Boston, MA	20-0
6/7	??-0	at Fairmont BBC of Worcester, MA	20-0
6/8	32-5	at Clipper BBC of Lowell, MA	21-0
6/9	30-6	at Tri-Mountain BBC of Boston	22-0
6/10	77-19	at Fairmount BBC of Worcester, MA	23-0
6/13	16-3	at Mutual of New York BBC	24-0
6/14	7-8	at Atlantic of Brooklyn	24-1
6/15	14-0	at Union of Morrisania (NY)	25-1
6/16	22-7	at Resolute BBC of Elizabeth, NJ	26-1
6/17	24-7	at Eckford of Brooklyn	27-1
6/18	16-11	at Star Club of Brooklyn	28-1
6/20	53-2	at Amateur of Newark, NJ	29-1
6/21	52-14	at Amateur Intrepid BBC of Philadelphia, PA	30-1
6/22	27-25	at Athletic of Philadelphia	31-1
6/23	37-26	at Keystone of Philadelphia	32-1
6/24	30-8	at Pastime BBC of Baltimore	33-1
6/25	30-13	at Maryland of Baltimore	34-1
6/27	35-24	at Olympic of Washington	35-1
6/28	30-10	at National of Washington BBC	36-1
7/2	14-13	Forest City of Rockford, Ill.	37-1
7/4	24-7	Forest City of Rockford, Ill.	38-1
7/9	56-19	at Chicago Amateur of Chicago BBC	39-1
7/11	16-16	at Forest City of Rockford, Ill.	39-1-1
7/13	70-1	at Kekionga of Fort Wayne, IN	40-1-1
7/15	39-8	Eagle BBC of Louisville, KY	41-1-1
7/18	20-17	Harvard College BBC	42-1-1
7/20	0-0	Mutual of New York	42-1-1
7/27	7-11	Athletic of Philadelphia	42-2-1
7/30	15-12	Mutual of New York BBC	43-2-1
8/2	25-9	Maryland of Baltimore	44-2-1
8/4	66-6	Lightfoot of Lebanon (OH)	45-2-1
8/5	61-8	Indianapolis Club	46-2-1
8/6	38-3	Olympic of Washington	47-2-1
8/9	34-8	Union of Lansingburgh (Haymakers)	48-2-1
8/11	49-11	Lone Star (New Orleans)	49-2-1
8/22	46-2	Live Oak of Cincinnati	50-2-1
8/2	72-6	at Amateur Club of Chicago	51-2-1
8/26	29-27	at Riverside of Portsmouth (OH) BBC	52-2-1
8/31	35-12	at Live Oak of Cincinnati	53-2-1
9/2	14-3	Atlantic of Brooklyn	54-2-1
9/7	6-10	White Stocking of Chicago BBC	54-3-1
9/15	12-6	Riverside of Portsmouth (OH) BBC	55-3-1
9/20	36-4	at Resolute of Hamilton (OH)	56-3-1
9/21	80-12	at Dayton BBC (OH)	57-3-1
9/24	32-7	Holt Jr. BBC	58-3-1
9/27	43-2	at Indianapolis BBC	59-3-1
9/28	28-1	at Union of St. Louis BBC	60-3-1
9/29	15-7	at Empire of St. Louis BBC	61-3-1
10/1	29-2	A. Brainard (W) vs. H. Wright	61-3-1
10/6	18-15	Forest City of Cleveland	62-3-1
10/13	13-16	at White Stocking of Chicago BBC	62-4-1
10/15	5-12	at Forest City of Rockford	62-5-1
10/22	15-8	at Athletic of Philadelphia BBC	63-5-1
10/24	12-7	at Union of Lansingburgh (Haymakers) (NY)	64-5-1
10/25	7-1	at Mutual of New York BBC	65-5-1
10/26	7-11	at Atlantic of Brooklyn	65-6-1
11/2	23-7	Mutual of New York BBC	66-6-1
11/5	27-16	at Forest City of Cleveland	67-6-1

Source:

• Devine, Christopher, "Harry Wright: The Father of Professional Base Ball" McFarland, Jul 8, 2003
• 1870