National Association

Hartford Dark Blues History

By Patrick Mondout

The Hartford Base-Ball Club of Hartford, Connecticut (or "Hartford Dark Blues") were a member for two seasons of the National Association (NA) and two in the brand new National League (NL). The team played its final season in Brooklyn.

At a glance... HARTFORD DARK BLUES Franchise Facts Established 1874 Disbanded  1875 Located Hartford, Connecticut Executives G.B. Hubbell (1874-1875) Morgan Bulkeley (1875-77) Year by Year Results W L % 1874  16 37 .302 1875 54 28 .659 1876  47 21 .691 1877 31 27 .534 Affiliations National Association (1874-1875) National League (1876-1877) Postseason/Titles NA Titles (0) NL Titles (0) Nicknames Dark Blues of Hartford (1874-1876) Ballparks Hartford Ball Club Grounds (1874-1876) Union Grounds (Brooklyn, 1877) Top Performances Single-Season Career

The inaugural 1874 team was your typical small market entry in the NA: they played less  games than the rest of the league (save Baltimore) and played miserably when they did finishing 16-37.

They had a dramatic turnaround in their second season, however, finishing third to Boston. Since no player on offense really stands out, a large part of the turnaround can be attributed to adding future Hall of Famer Candy Cummings to the pitching staff (he went 35-12 with a 1.60 ERA and led the league with 7 shutouts) along with Tommy Bond, who would win the pitcher's triple crown in the NL in 1877. 

After the breakup of the NA following the 1875 season, the team joined the National League as a charter member. The 1876 team added Dick Higham, who finished 9th in the league in batting and led in doubles, and finished second to the Chicago White Stockings. (In the modern day, we go by winning percentage rather than wins as the 1876 NL did, so our standings have them in third.) 

Despite all the on-the-field success, the Hartford market was too small to support a team in the growing National League, and so it moved to Brooklyn for the 1877 season to be known as the Hartfords of Brooklyn. 

The team signed legendary first baseman Joe 'Old Reliable' Start (who really ought to be in the Hall of Fame) and he didn't disappoint, hitting .322, which was 6th in the league. Despite a respectable third place finish, the team disbanded after the season and Hartford has never again had a major league team.

Brooklyn would not have a team again until 1884, when the American Association Atlantics, who are now called the Los Angeles Dodgers, moved in. 

National Association sources/bibliography:
Baseball: The Early Years by Harold Seymour.
Baseball Before We Knew It: A Search For The Roots Of The Game by David Block.
Baseball in Blue and Gray: The National Pastime during the Civil War by George B. Kirsch.
Blackguards and Red Stockings by William J. Ryczek
The National Association of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870 by Marshall D. Wright.
Playing for Keeps: A History of Early Baseball by Warren Goldstein.
When Johnny Came Sliding Home: The Post-Civil War Baseball Boom, 1865-1870 by William J. Ryczek

David Nemec, the tireless 19th Century Baseball researcher, has also written a novel called Early Dreams, which takes place during this era and features real-life characters such as Cap Anson, George Wright, and Henry Lucas.

General Baseball History sources/bibliography:
Baseball: A History of America's Game by Benjamin G. Rader.
Baseball: A Film By Ken Burns (PBS DVD)
The Formation, Sometimes Absorption and Mostly Inevitable Demise of 18 Professional Baseball Organizations, 1871 to Present by David Pietrusza.
The Great 19th Century Encyclopedia of Major League Baseball, 2nd Edition by David Nemec.
Early Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball, 1825-1908 by Dean A. Sullivan.
Middle Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball, 1900-1948 by Dean A. Sullivan.
Late Innings: A Documentary History of Baseball 1945-1972 by Dean A. Sullivan
Past Time: Baseball as History by Jules Tygiel
America's National Game: Historic Facts Concerning the Beginning, Evolution, Development and Popularity of Baseball by Albert Spalding
Total Baseball: The Ultimate Baseball Encyclopedia by John Thorn, et al.