National Association

St. Louis Red Stockings History

By Patrick Mondout

The Red Stocking Club of St. Louis (or "St. Louis Red Stockings") were a team that played during the last season of the old National Association (NA). 

At a glance... ST. LOUIS RED STOCKINGS Franchise Facts Established 1875 Disbanded  1875 Located St. Louis Executives A. Blong  Year by Year Results W L % 1875  4 15 .211 Affiliations National Association (1875) Postseason/Titles NA Titles (0) Nicknames St. Louis Red Stockings (1875) Ballparks Red Stocking Base Ball Park (1875) Top Performances Single-Season Career

With a pair of successful amateur teams to root for and the success of the National Association, baseball fans in St. Louis were clamoring for a professional team by 1874. They got their wish in 1875, with the formation of a pair of franchises. One was the Brown Stockings, who had only one player from St. Louis but was stocked with well known pros from back east. The other was the Red Stockings, who were stocked with the best players from their amateur team of 1874 plus their rivals, the St. Louis Empires.

The team was realistic with its expectations regarding on the field success, but perhaps miscalculated how much revenue they could generate as the weaker of the two St. Louis franchises. A 12-5 loss to the Washington Nationals on July 4, 1875 was the team's swan song. In fact, it was the last game for the Nationals as well! (Games played on the 4th of July drew larger crowds, which might explain why both struggling teams decided to stick around as long as they did.)

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.