National Association

Philadelphia White Stockings History

By Patrick Mondout

The Philadelphia Base-Ball Club of Philadelphia (or "Philadelphia White Stockings", also known as the "Philadelphia Quakers", "Philadelphia Pearls", and "Philadelphia Phillies") were a team that played three seasons in the old National Association (NA). The team was one of three franchises from Philly in the 1875 NA.

At a glance... PHILADELPHIA WHITE STOCKINGS Franchise Facts Established 1873 Disbanded  1875 Located Philadelphia Executives Frank McBride (1873) D.L. Reid (1874) George Concannon (1875) Year by Year Results W L % 1873  36 17 .679 1874  29 29 .500 1875  37 31 .544 Affiliations National Association (1873-1875) Postseason/Titles NA Titles (0) Nicknames Philadelphia of Philadelphia (1873-1875)   aka Quakers   aka Pearls   aka Phillies Ballparks Jefferson Street Grounds (1873-1875) Top Performances Single-Season Career

The team performed very well in its initial season, finishing a strong second to the champion Boston Red Stockings. The White Stockings slumped to a disappointing 29-29 record in 1874. The Chicago Tribune suggested that the team would improve its prospects for 1875, having rid itself of the "bad element" of Nat Hicks and 25 year old pitcher Candy Cummings. The team did improve, but future Hall of Famer Cummings, credited with "inventing" the curveball, won 35 games for Hartford.¹

Notes:
1. Cummings is in the Hall because he claimed to be the inventor of it and because many agreed. The February 10, 1889 Boston Globe carries his story, It is unlikely, however, that Cummings was really the first to throw a curve in a baseball game. The stories that suggest that he was state that he tried out the curve - a pitch he had worked on secretly for years - as an 18 year old pitcher for the Brooklyn Excelsiors in 1877. The Chicago Tribune on September 30, 1877 mentions the controversy as to whether or not there is such a thing as a curve ball. It agrees there is and states, "Let the doubters go behind the catcher for any such pitcher as Bradley, Ward, Cummings, or Mitchell and they will be convinced or lose their faith in their eyes." Since Bradley, Ward, and Mitchell never played major league ball (not even if in the NA), it is convenient to consider his Cummings the inventor, but did the others all pick up the pitch that year after seeing him throw it or had it been around for a while?

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.