National Association

New Haven Elm Citys History

By Patrick Mondout

The Elm City Base-Ball Club of New Haven (or "New Haven Elm Citys") were a team that played during the last season of the old National Association (NA). The team represented New Haven, Connecticut.

At a glance... NEW HAVEN ELM CITYS Franchise Facts Established 1875 Disbanded  1875 Located New Haven, Connecticut Executives W.S. Arnold Year by Year Results W L % 1875  7 40 .149 Affiliations National Association (1875) Postseason/Titles NA Titles (0) Nicknames Elm Citys of New Haven (1875) Ballparks Howard Avenue Grounds (1872) Top Performances Single-Season Career

One of three short-lived teams from Connecticut in the NA, the Elm Citys were a joke. They had a pair of outfielders hit under .160 (Jim Tipper and Johnny Ryan) and their best outfielder was 15 year old Billy Geer. Tricky Nichols was the primary starting pitcher and went 4-29. Perhaps they should have tried second baseman Fred Goldsmith as a pitcher. The White Stockings later did, and he rewarded them with four 20 win seasons.

The team mercifully disbanded before the season was over.

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.