The Metropolitan Club (New York Metropolitans or the Mets) was a 19th-century

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team that played in New York City from 1880 to 1887. (The ''New York Metropolitan Baseball Club'' was the name chosen in 1961 for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, who began play in 1962.)

History

Founding

A Manhattan-based yachting team known as Metropolitan Club was in existence and covered by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' in the 1850s, yet it remains very murky whether or not such a commonplace name as “Metropolitan” can really draw a 40-year link between two radically different sports & contexts. The Metropolitan Club was founded in 1880 as an independent

team by business entrepreneur John B. Day and

manager

Jim Mutrie James J. Mutrie (June 13, 1851 – January 24, 1938) was an American baseball pioneer who was the co-founder and first manager of both the original New York Metropolitans and the New York Giants. He had a winning percentage of .611, the highest fo ...

. Unusually for professional teams of the period, the Mets had an actual name and were listed in standings and box scores as "Metropol'n" as opposed to "New York." Initially the team played its games in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and in

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

as the other New York area clubs did at the time. However, by September, Day had arranged the use of a

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

field just north of

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, bounded by 5th & 6th Avenues and 110th & 112th Streets. The site became known as the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

because polo was initially played there. The Polo Grounds was the first professional baseball park in Manhattan. The club name, "Metropolitan", had previously been used by an amateur club that played its home games in the Hamilton Square neighborhood of New York as early as 1858.

Joining the American Association

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 ...

had expelled the Mutual Club of New York following the 1876 season for failing to make their final road trip of the year and by 1881 had still not replaced them with another New York City franchise. The upstart

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 ...

therefore saw a significant opportunity when it invited the Metropolitan to join the new league for its 1882 inaugural season. Metropolitan declined, however, since joining would have meant forgoing lucrative home exhibition games against National League opponents. Because of Metropolitan's financial success at the

, and because each league knew that it needed a successful New York City franchise to compete against the other, at the end of 1882 both leagues tendered franchise offers to the Mets. Unbeknownst to the leagues, though, the Mets accepted both invitations. To satisfy these commitments, owners Day and Mutrie acquired the

Troy Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite language, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in prese ...

franchise that had been eliminated from the National League (along with

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

) to make room for new franchises in New York City and

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 ...

. Day and Mutrie entered the Mets into the American Association and a newly created New York team into the National League. The teams shared use of the Polo Grounds, which was reconfigured with two diamonds and two grandstands. The club's name "Metropolitan" was used in published standings of the Association, while the name "New York" was used for the National League entry. In the style of the day, the clubs were often called the "Metropolitans" and the "New Yorks". The "New Yorks" would eventually acquire the separate nicknames of the "Gothams" and then the "Giants". The Metropolitan club was referred to alternately as the "Metropolitan," "Metropolitans" or the "Mets". They were also referred to, on occasion, as the "Indians".

American Association successes

Initially, managed by Mutrie, the Metropolitans enjoyed greater success on the field than the Gothams. The Mets finished fourth in

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Ja ...

, and won the 1884 American Association pennant. The Mets then faced

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 ...

of the National League in the 1884 World Series, but lost 3 games to none. Prominent Metropolitan players included

Tim Keefe Timothy John Keefe (January 1, 1857 – April 23, 1933), nicknamed "Smiling Tim" and "Sir Timothy", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He stood tall and weighed . He was one of the most dominating pitchers of the 19th century and po ...

Dave Orr David L. Orr (September 29, 1859 – June 2, 1915) was a first baseman in Major League Baseball from 1883 through 1890. Orr played most of his career in the American Association for the New York Metropolitans (1883–1887), Brooklyn Bridegroom ...

Chief Roseman James John "Chief" Roseman (July 4, 1856 – July 4, 1938) was an American Major League Baseball player from Brooklyn, New York. He played in the outfield for six teams, mainly in American Association, during his seven-season career. In he was t ...

, Jack Lynch,

Candy Nelson John W. "Candy" Nelson (March 14, 1849 – September 4, 1910) was a shortstop in Major League Baseball. He played 13 seasons between and for nine teams in three leagues. Biography A native of Maine, Nelson entered professional baseball in B ...

and

Dude Esterbrook Thomas John "Dude" Esterbrook (June 20, 1857 – April 30, 1901) was an American Major League Baseball player from Staten Island, New York who played the majority of his games at third base, but did play many games at first base. Esterbrook play ...

. A baseball oddity occurred for the Mets on April 30, 1885, when a man whose first name was not recorded played

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for them. With the Mets playing the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

Polo Grounds I The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

in Manhattan, a man listed only as "Jones" played as

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

for the Metropolitans in his first game in the AA; an article in ''

'' stated that "A new man covered third base for the local team. He is an amateur, and gave his name as "Jones."" The Metropolitans lost to the Athletics 2–1. Jones's first name, date of birth, birthplace, and handedness were not recorded, and are still unknown.

Demise

Financially, though, the Gothams had more promise due to the National League's stability, quality of play, and higher ticket prices. As early as 1884, the Mets were struggling to establish their own identity, and opened the season in a new ballpark,

Metropolitan Park Metropolitan Park is a urban waterfront park and concert venue located on the north bank of the St. Johns River in Downtown Jacksonville, Florida. It is projected to be the eastern terminus of the northbank Jacksonville Riverwalk. Facility ...

, located on the east side of Manhattan. The move proved unsatisfactory, and by mid-season they had quietly moved back to their original Polo Grounds home. Prior to the 1885 season, Mutrie shifted over to manage the Gothams and brought along star pitcher Keefe and third baseman Esterbrook. The rechristened

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

finished second in the National League in 1885, while the Mets slumped to seventh place in the AA. Prior to the 1886 season, Day and Mutrie sold the Mets to developer

Erastus Wiman Erastus Wiman (21 April 1834 – 9 February 1904) was a Canadian journalist and businessman who later moved to the United States. He is best known as a developer in the New York City borough of Staten Island. Biography Wiman was born in Churc ...

who moved the team to the St. George Cricket Grounds on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...

. Wiman, who also owned a

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

line, hoped to promote ferry trade across New York Harbor and further development of Staten Island. This business plan did not succeed, though, and the Mets ceased operation following the 1887 season. The team was bought by the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

for $15,000 to gain territorial protection and the contracts of several of the Mets' stars, including Dave Orr and

Darby O'Brien William D. "Darby" O'Brien (September 1, 1863 – June 15, 1893) was a Major League Baseball player in the late 19th century. He played outfield for the New York Metropolitans in 1887 and the Brooklyn Bridegrooms/Grooms from 1888–1892. O'Brie ...

. The former minor league

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pla ...

played from 2001-2019 in a stadium very near the

cricket ground Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

used by the Mets.

Present-day Mets

In 1962, when the

added a franchise to replace the departed Giants and Dodgers, the owners and the fans of New York selected "Mets" as the nickname for the new club, in part to suggest continuity with the Metropolitans; its original formal name was the "New York Metropolitan Baseball Club." These 20th-century

played their first two seasons at the final version of the

before it was ultimately torn down in 1964, when the Mets moved to

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.Citi Field Citi Field is a baseball stadium located in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in New York City, United States. It opened in 2009 and is the home field of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. The stadium was built as a replacement for the adjacent ...

, which was built next to the now-demolished Shea Stadium and opened in 2009.

Notable alumni

Lip Pike Lipman Emanuel "Lip" Pike (May 25, 1845 – October 10, 1893) the "Iron Batter", was an American who was one of the stars of 19th-century baseball in the United States. His brother, Israel Pike, played briefly for the Hartford Dark Blues during ...

, four-time major league home run champion

References

External links

* Metropolitans Team Index fro
Baseball-Reference.com
* The New York Metropolitan

New York Public Library
Metropolitans Page

Metropolitans Page {{New York Mets American Association (1882–1891) baseball teams Defunct baseball teams in New York City Baseball teams established in 1880 New York Mets Defunct baseball teams in New York (state) Baseball teams disestablished in 1887