19th Century National League Teams
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The following is a list of United States
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
teams that played in the
National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
during the 19th century. None of these teams, other than Athletic and Mutual, had actual names during this period; sportswriters however often applied creative monickers which are still, mistakenly, used today as "team names" following a convention established in 1951.


Surviving teams


Major league

* Boston: "Red Stockings, "Red Caps," "Beaneaters" 1876–1900 – now Atlanta Braves * Brooklyn: "Grays," "Bridegrooms," "Grooms," "Superbas," "Robins," "Trolley Dodgers" 1890–1900 – transferred from the
American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...
; now Los Angeles Dodgers * Chicago "White Stockings": 1876–1900 – now known as the Cubs * Cincinnati: "Red Stockings" or "Reds" 1890–1900 – transferred from the American Association * New York: occasionally "Gothams," more often "Giants" 1883–1900 – later the New York Giants and now San Francisco Giants *
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
1883–1900 – very occasionally tagged "Quakers" 1883–1890, most often "Philadelphias" in the style of the day, shortened to "Phillies." * Pittsburgh: 1887–1900 founded as Allegheny (a Pittsburgh suburb) and referred to in typical manner as "Alleghenys" 1883-1890, dubbed "Pirates" from 1891 – transferred from the American Association *
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
"Brown Stockings or "Browns," later "Red Stockings" or "Reds" 1892–1900 – transferred from the American Association; now known as the Cardinals.


Minor league

*
Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...
1879–1885 – moved to the minors in 1886 and played in Buffalo until 1970 before several moves. Suspended operations in 1973. A current minor league team bearing the "
Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...
" name, dating to 1979, claims this team as part of their official history.


Defunct teams

*
Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
1892-1899 - transferred from the American Association *
Cincinnati Red Stockings The Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) 1867– ...
1876–1879 * Cleveland Blues 1879–1884 *
Cincinnati Stars The Cincinnati Stars were a Major League Baseball team that played in the National League for the 1880 season and were managed by John Clapp. The club finished their only season in 8th place with a record of 21–59. Following the 1880 campai ...
1880 *
Cleveland Spiders The Cleveland Spiders were an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The team competed at the major league level from 1887 to 1899, first for two seasons as a member of the now-defunct American Association (AA), followed ...
1889–1899 – transferred from the American Association; the 1899 Cleveland Spiders hold the record for the worst winning percentage in the
history of Major League Baseball History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
*
Detroit Wolverines The Detroit Wolverines were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team that played in the National League from 1881 to 1888 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In total, they won 426 games and lost 437, taking their lone pennant (and winning the pre ...
1881–1888 *
Hartford Dark Blues The Hartfords (more commonly called the Hartford Dark Blues because of their uniform color) were a 19th-century baseball team. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut. History In 1874, baseball in Hartford, CT was being played in a fever pit ...
1876–1877 – transferred from National Association; based in Brooklyn in 1877 *
Indianapolis Blues The Indianapolis Blues were a baseball team in the National League for one season (1878), in which they finished fifth in the six-team league with a 24–36 record. They were managed by outfielder/first baseman/catcher John Clapp, and played the ...
1878 * St. Louis Maroons/Black Diamonds/Indianapolis Hoosiers 1885–1889 – transferred from the
Union Association The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelve teams who were in the Association at some poi ...
in 1885; moved to Indianapolis where often called Hoosiers in 1887 *
Kansas City Cowboys Several sports team in Kansas City, Missouri have used the name Cowboys: *Kansas City Cowboys (Union Association), a baseball team in the Union Association in 1884 *Kansas City Cowboys (National League), a baseball team in the National League in 18 ...
1886 *
Louisville Grays The Louisville Grays were a 19th-century United States baseball team and charter member of the National League, based in Louisville, Kentucky. They played two seasons, 1876 and 1877, and compiled a record of 65–61. Their home games were a ...
1876–1877 *
Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that also played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as ...
1892–1899 – transferred from the American Association *
Milwaukee Grays The Milwaukee Grays were a short-lived baseball team that spent one year, 1878, in the National League. The team was part of the League Alliance, loosely affiliated with the National League, in 1877. It won 19 games and lost 13 (including a 10†...
(or Cream Citys) 1878 *
Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...
1888 *
Mutual of New York The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (also known as Mutual of New York or MONY) was the oldest continuous writer of insurance policies in the United States. Incorporated in 1842, it was headquartered at 1740 Broadway, before becoming a wh ...
1876 – transferred from National Association *
Athletic of Philadelphia Athletic may refer to: * An athlete, a sportsperson * Athletic director, a position at many American universities and schools * Athletic type, a physical/psychological type in the classification of Ernst Kretschmer * Athletic of Philadelphia, a ba ...
1876 – transferred from National Association *
Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National Leagu ...
1878–1885 *
St. Louis Brown Stockings The St. Louis Brown Stockings were a professional baseball club based in St. Louis, Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most ...
1876–1877 – transferred from National Association * Syracuse Stars 1879 *
Troy Trojans The Troy Trojans are the sports teams of Troy University. They began playing in the NCAA's Division I-A in 2001, became a football only member of the Sun Belt Conference in 2004, and joined that conference for all other sports in 2005. Troy Univer ...
1879–1882 * Washington Nationals 1886–1889 *
Washington Senators (1891–99) Washington Senators may refer to: Politicians * Members of the United States Senate, which convenes in Washington, D.C. ** United States senators from Washington, senators representing the state of Washington in the United States Senate * Members ...
*
Worcester Ruby Legs The Worcester Worcesters were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team from 1880 to 1882 in the National League. The team is referred to, at times, as the Brown Stockings or the Ruby Legs; however, no contemporary sources from the time exist tha ...
1880–1882


Timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:25 PlotArea = left:20 right:50 bottom:20 top:20 Colors = id:majorGridColor value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:lineColor value:gray(0.6) id:nl1 value:gray(0.9) id:inactive value:gray(0.5) id:gold value:rgb(0.99,0.72,0.15) id:brown value:rgb(0.36,0.20,0.10) id:vegasgold value:rgb(0.80,0.72,0.49) id:green value:rgb(0, 0.51,0.28) id:darkgreen value:rgb(0, 0.20,0 ) id:orange value:rgb(1 ,0.39,0 ) id:red value:rgb(0.80,0.01,0.07) id:red2 value:rgb(0.90,0.01,0.07) id:darkred value:rgb(0.50,0 ,0 ) id:iceblue value:rgb(0.20,0.60,0.80) id:gray value:gray(0.3) id:gray2 value:gray(0.5) id:sand value:rgb(0.94,0.89,0.77) id:navy value:rgb(0 ,0 ,0.30) id:teal value:rgb(0 ,0.65,0.65) id:teal2 value:rgb(0 ,0.45,0.45) Period = from:1855 till:1910 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy ScaleMajor = start:1860 increment:10 gridcolor:majorGridColor LineData = at:1876 color:lineColor #Formation of NL BarData = bar:MNY # Mutual of New York bar:AOP # Athletic of Philadelphia bar:CHC # Chicago White Stockings / Colts / Orphans / Cubs bar:ATL # Boston Red Stockings / Beaneaters / Doves / Rustlers / Braves / Bees / Milwaukee Braves / Atlanta Braves bar:HAR # Hartford Dark Blues / Brooklyn Hartfords bar:SLBS # St. Louis Brown Stockings / Browns bar:CINR # Cincinnati Red Stockings /Reds bar:LOU # Louisville Grays bar:IND # Indianapolis Blues bar:MILG # Milwaukee Grays bar:PRO # Providence Grays bar:BUF # Buffalo Bisons bar:CLEB # Cleveland Blues bar:SYR # Syracuse Stars bar:TRY # Troy Trojans bar:WRC # Worcester Worcesters bar:DETW # Detroit Wolverines bar:SF # New York Giants / San Francisco Giants bar:PHI # Philadelphia Phillies bar:SLM # St. Louis Maroons / Black Diamonds / Indianapolis Hoosiers bar:KCC # Kansas City Cowboys bar:WSHN # Washington Nationals bar:PIT # Pittsburgh Pirates bar:MIN # Minneapolis Millers bar:CLES # Cleveland Spiders bar:CIN # Cincinnati Reds bar:LAD # Brooklyn Dodgers / Los Angeles Dodgers bar:BALO # Baltimore Orioles (AA) bar:LOUC # Louisville Cardinals bar:STL # St. Louis Browns / Cardinals bar:WSHS # Washington Senators Define $Up = shift:(,1) Define $Left = anchor:from align:right shift:(-1,) Define $Right = anchor:till align:left shift:(2,) Define $Down = shift:(,-10) Define $UpLeft = anchor:from align:right shift:(-1,1) Define $UpRight = anchor:till align:left shift:(2,1) Define $DownRight = anchor:till align:left shift:(2,-10) PlotData = color:inactive textcolor:black width:20 fontsize:S mark:(line,black) anchor:middle # other options are anchor:from anchor:till align:center # other options are align:left align:right shift:(0,-5) # --- Charter NL Franchises in 1876 bar:MNY from:1857 till:1871 color:nl1 text:"(NABBP)" bar:MNY from:1871 till:1876 color:nl1 text:"(NA)" bar:MNY from:1876 till:1877 color:green text:"Mutual of New York" $Right bar:AOP from:1860 till:1871 color:nl1 text:"(NABBP)" bar:AOP from:1871 till:1876 color:nl1 text:"(NA)" bar:AOP from:1876 till:1877 color:blue text:"Athletic of Philadelphia" $Right bar:ATL from:1871 till:1876 color:nl1 text:"(NA)" bar:ATL from:1876 till:end color:red text:"Boston (Braves)" textcolor:white bar:CHC from:1870 till:1871 color:nl1 text:"(NABBP)" $Left bar:CHC from:1871 till:1872 color:nl1 bar:CHC from:1874 till:1876 color:nl1 text:"(NA)" bar:CHC from:1876 till:end color:darkblue text:"Chicago (Cubs)" textcolor:white bar:CINR from:1876 till:1881 color:red text:"Cincinnati" $Right bar:HAR from:1874 till:1876 color:nl1 text:"(NA)" bar:HAR from:1876 till:1877 color:darkblue text:"Hartford" $UpRight bar:HAR from:1877 till:1878 color:skyblue text:"Brooklyn" $DownRight bar:LOU from:1876 till:1878 color:gray text:"Louisville" $Right bar:SLBS from:1875 till:1876 color:nl1 text:"(NA)" $Left bar:SLBS from:1876 till:1878 color:brown text:"St. Louis" textcolor:white $Right # --- 1878 bar:IND from:1878 till:1879 color:blue text:"Indianapolis" $Right bar:MILG from:1878 till:1879 color:gray text:"Milwaukee" $Right bar:PRO from:1878 till:1885 color:skyblue text:"Providence" # --- 1879 bar:BUF from:1879 till:1886 color:gray2 text:"Buffalo" bar:CLEB from:1879 till:1885 color:navy text:"Cleveland" textcolor:white bar:SYR from:1879 till:1880 color:yellow text:"Star of Syracuse" $Right bar:TRY from:1879 till:1883 color:green text:"Troy" textcolor:yellow # --- 1880 bar:WRC from:1880 till:1883 color:brown text:"Worcester" $Right # --- 1881 bar:DETW from:1881 till:1889 color:vegasgold text:"Detroit" # --- 1883 bar:SF from:1883 till:end color:orange text:"New York (Giants)" bar:PHI from:1883 till:end color:red2 text:"Philadelphia (Phillies)" textcolor:white # --- 1884 bar:SLM from:1884 till:1885 color:nl1 text:"(UA)" $Left bar:SLM from:1885 till:1886 color:darkred text:"St. Louis" textcolor:white $UpRight bar:SLM from:1886 till:1887 color:black text: bar:SLM from:1887 till:1890 color:darkblue text:"Indianapolis" $Right # --- 1886 bar:KCC from:1886 till:1887 color:oceanblue text:"Kansas City" $Right bar:WSHN from:1886 till:1890 color:darkblue text:"Washington" textcolor:white # --- 1887 bar:PIT from:1882 till:1887 color:nl1 text:"(AA)" bar:PIT from:1887 till:end color:yelloworange text:"Pittsburgh (Pirates)" # --- 1888 bar:MIN from:1888 till:1889 color:orange text:"Minneapolis" # --- 1889 bar:CLES from:1887 till:1889 color:nl1 text:"(AA)" bar:CLES from:1889 till:1900 color:black text:"Cleveland" textcolor:white # --- 1890 bar:CIN from:1882 till:1890 color:nl1 text:"(AA)" bar:CIN from:1890 till:end color:red text:"Cincinnati (Reds)" textcolor:white bar:LAD from:1884 till:1885 color:nl1 bar:LAD from:1885 till:1888 color:nl1 text:"(AA)" bar:LAD from:1888 till:1890 color:nl1 bar:LAD from:1890 till:end color:darkblue text:"Brooklyn (Dodgers)" textcolor:white # --- AA Merger bar:BALO from:1882 till:1892 color:nl1 text:"(AA)" bar:BALO from:1892 till:1900 color:yellow text:"Baltimore" bar:LOUC from:1882 till:1892 color:nl1 text:"(AA)" bar:LOUC from:1892 till:1900 color:gray text:"Louisville" textcolor:white bar:STL from:1882 till:1892 color:nl1 text:"(AA)" bar:STL from:1892 till:end color:red2 text:"St. Louis (Cardinals)" textcolor:white bar:WSHS from:1891 till:1892 color:nl1 text:"(AA)" $Left bar:WSHS from:1892 till:1900 color:darkblue text:"Washington" textcolor:white


Franchises by Year

*1876 **Boston **Chicago **Cincinnati **Hartford **Louisville **Mutual **Athletic **St. Louis *Between 1876 and 1877 seasons **Drop: Mutual and Athletic *1877 **Boston **Chicago **Cincinnati **Hartford (played most games in Brooklyn) **Louisville **St. Louis *Between 1877 and 1878 seasons **Drop: Hartford, Louisville and St. Louis **Add: Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Providence *1878 **Boston **Chicago **Cincinnati **Indianapolis **Milwaukee **Providence *Between 1878 and 1879 seasons **Drop: Indianapolis and Milwaukee **Add: Buffalo, Cleveland, Syracuse and Troy *1879 **Boston **Chicago **Cincinnati **Providence **Buffalo **Cleveland **Syracuse **Troy *Between 1879 and 1880 seasons **Drop: Syracuse **Add: Worcester *1880 **Boston **Chicago **Cincinnati **Providence **Buffalo **Cleveland **Troy **Worcester *Between 1880 and 1881 seasons **Drop: Cincinnati **Add: Detroit *1881 **Boston **Chicago **Providence **Buffalo **Cleveland **Troy **Worcester **Detroit *Between 1881 and 1882 seasons **Drop:none **Add: none *1882 **Boston **Chicago **Providence **Buffalo **Cleveland **Troy **Worcester **Detroit *Between 1882 and 1883 seasons **Drop: Troy and Worcester **Add: New York and Philadelphia *1883 **Boston **Chicago **Providence **Buffalo **Cleveland **Detroit **New York **Philadelphia *Between 1883 and 1884 seasons **Drop: none **Add: none *1884 **Boston **Chicago **Providence **Buffalo **Cleveland **Detroit **New York **Philadelphia *Between 1884 and 1885 seasons **Drop: Cleveland **Add: St. Louis from the Union Association *1885 **Boston **Chicago **Providence **Buffalo **Detroit **New York **Philadelphia **St. Louis *Between 1885 and 1886 seasons **Drop: Buffalo and Providence **Add: Kansas City and Washington *1886 **Boston **Chicago **Detroit **New York **Philadelphia **St. Louis **Kansas City **Washington *Between 1886 and 1887 seasons **Drop: Kansas City **Add: Pittsburgh (from the American Association) and Topeka **Move: St. Louis to Indianapolis *1887 **Boston **Chicago **Detroit **New York **Philadelphia **Washington **Indianapolis **Pittsburgh *Between 1887 and 1888 seasons **Drop: none **Add: Minneapolis *1888 **Boston **Chicago **Detroit **New York **Philadelphia **Washington **Indianapolis **Pittsburgh **Minneapolis *Between 1888 and 1889 seasons **Drop: Detroit **Add: Cleveland from the American Association *1889 **Boston **Chicago **New York **Philadelphia **Washington **Indianapolis **Pittsburgh **Cleveland *Between 1889 and 1890 seasons **Drop: Indianapolis and Washington **Add: Brooklyn and Cincinnati (both from the American Association) *1890 **Boston **Chicago **New York **Philadelphia **Pittsburgh **Cleveland **Brooklyn **Cincinnati *Between 1890 and 1891 seasons **Drop: none **Add: none *1891 **Boston **Chicago **New York **Philadelphia **Pittsburgh **Cleveland **Brooklyn **Cincinnati *Between 1891 and 1892 seasons **Drop: none **Add: Baltimore, Louisville, St. Louis and Washington (all from the American Association) *1892–1899 **Boston **Chicago **New York **Philadelphia **Pittsburgh **Cleveland **Brooklyn **Cincinnati **Baltimore **Louisville **St. Louis **Washington This lineup of teams remained the same from 1892 to the end of the 1899 season. After the 1899 season Baltimore, Cleveland, Louisville and Washington were dropped from the National League. *1900 **Boston **Chicago **New York **Philadelphia **Pittsburgh **Brooklyn **Cincinnati **St. Louis This lineup remained the same until Boston relocated to Milwaukee in 1953.


See also

*
List of National League pennant winners The National League pennant winner of a given Major League Baseball season is the team that wins the championship—the pennant—of MLB's National League (NL). This team receives the Warren C. Giles Trophy and the right to play in the World S ...
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History of baseball team nicknames This is a summary of the evolution of names of the current professional Major League Baseball teams in the National League (organized 1876) and subsequent rival American League (established 1901), and also of selected former major and minor lea ...


References

* {{National League * * Articles which contain graphical timelines