Boston's First Nine: The 1871-75 Boston Red Stockings (SABR Digital Library)

Before the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Braves, there were the Boston Red Stockings. They were “Boston’s First Nine” and 1871 through 1875, they won four consecutive pennants in the old National Association, considered by many to be baseball’s first major league. In this five-year period, the team only fielded 22 players — but, then again, these were the days of the “one-man rotation.” Who needed two pitchers, when one would do? And if that pitcher was Al Spalding, who won more than 50 games in back-to-back seasons of 1874 and 1875, that one pitcher was pretty good. Of the 22 players on the team, five of them are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. These were different days. The game was played a little differently from today— but not that differently. Take some time and enjoy the work of 38 members of SABR (the Society for American Baseball Research). Several are among our leading nineteenth century baseball experts; others became enthralled digging into the early days of professional baseball in Boston. There are fascinating stories of the men who played the game, the games, the seasons, the tours of Canada and even England and Ireland, where they took on some of the better cricket players of the British Isles, and beat them, too. Take a trip back to those glorious days of yesteryear, and see if you don’t become captivated as we were in learning about stories of baseball and life from more than 140 years ago. The book includes recaps of each season, 1871-75, informative articles about the team and front office, and the following player biographies: THE PLAYERS Bob Addy by Peter Morris Ross Barnes by Gregory H. Wolf Frank Barrows by Mike Richard Tommy Beals by Mark S. Sternman David Birdsall by Richard “Dixie” Tourangeau Fred Con by Mike Richard Charlie Gould by Charles F. Faber George Hall by Matt Albertson Franklin “Heck” Heifer by Brian C. Engelhardt Samuel Jackson by Bill Nowlin Jumbo Latham by Scott Fiesthumel Andy Leonard by Charles F. Faber John E. Manning by David Nemec Cal McVey by Charles F. Faber Jim O’Rourke by William Lamb Fraley W. Rogers by Richard “Dixie” Tourangeau Henry C. Schafer by David Nemec Al Spalding by Bill McMahon Charlie Sweasy by Charles F. Faber Deacon White by Joe Williams George Wright by John Thorn Harry Wright by Christopher Devine THE BALLPARK: South End Grounds by Bob Ruzzo TEAM ORGANIZATION Boston Finances in the Early Professional Era by Richard Hershberger Red Stockings Finances—A Minor Observation by Bill Nowlin THE FIRST PRESIDENTL Ivers W. Adams by Charlie Bevis INTERESTING GAMES Fast Day—Boston’s Original Opening Day Joanne Hulbert April 6, 1871 Bob LeMoine May 5, 1871 204 Bob LeMoine May 16, 1871 Bob LeMoine Homestand From Hell: The Boston Red Stockings, May-June 1871 Richard “Dixie” Tourangeau June 21, 1871 Jay Hurd July 4, 1871 Michael R. McAvoy August 3, 1871 Bob LeMoine September 2, 1871 Bill Nowlin September 5, 1871 Gregory H. Wolf September 9, 1871 Mark Pestana September 13, 1871 Jay Hurd September 29, 1871 Gregory H. Wolf May 11, 1872 Gregory H. Wolf June 10, 1872 Richard “Dixie” Tourangeau June 12, 1872 Paul E. Doutrich July 20, 1872 Gerard R. Goulet July 29, 1872 Gregory H. Wolf September 20, 1872 Gerard R. Goulet September 21, 1872 Mark Pestana April 23, 1873 Matt Albertson June 2, 1873 Terry Gottschall June 3, 1873 Mark Pestana June 14, 1873 Richard “Dixie” Tourangeau July 4, 1873 (morning) John Zinn July 4, 1873 (afternoon) John Zinn July 26, 1873 Terry Gottschall September 6, 1873 Bill Nowlin October 2, 1873 Mark Pestana and many other games of interest.