Rockford Forest Citys (officially the Forest City Club), from

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...

was one of the first professional baseball clubs. Rockford played for one season during the National Association inaugural year of . They are not to be confused with the

Cleveland Forest Citys The Forest Citys were a short lived professional baseball team based in Cleveland in the early 1870s. The actual name of the team, as shown in standings, was Forest City, not "Cleveland". The name "Forest Citys" was used in the same generic styl ...

, who played in the same league.

Origins

From 1868 to 1870, future Hall of Famer

Albert Spalding Albert Goodwill Spalding (September 2, 1849 – September 9, 1915) was an American pitcher, manager, and executive in the early years of professional baseball, and the co-founder of A.G. Spalding sporting goods company. He was born and raised ...

and infielder

Ross Barnes Charles Roscoe Barnes (May 8, 1850 – February 5, 1915) was one of the stars of baseball's National Association (1871–1875) and the early National League (1876–1881), playing second base and shortstop. He played for the dominant Boston R ...

starred for Rockford while the club was still considered an 'amateur' team. In reality, the Forest Citys were one of the first ball clubs to pay players. Rockford played their home games at the

Agricultural Society Fair Grounds Agricultural Society Fair Grounds was a fairground on the west side of Rockford, Illinois. It served as the grounds for the Winnebago County Agricultural Society. It was used as a baseball grounds by the Rockford Forest Citys baseball club of the ...

1871 season

Rockford finished in last place with 4 wins and 21 losses, 15½ games behind the champion

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 ...

. Their poor record was partially because player-manager Scott Hastings was found to have violated the "60 day rule" implemented by the league—if a player switched teams during the season, the team had to bench him for 60 days before he could play. Hastings had jumped from an independent team (the Lone Star club of New Orleans) to the Forest Citys in the spring and immediately begun playing for Rockford. This complaint was brought before the league, and the Forest Citys were forced to forfeit four games they had won, including a game played on June 15, just a day before Hastings would have been eligible to appear. Since two of the forfeits came against the first-place Athletics, who finished two games in front of both the Boston Red Stockings and the Chicago White Stockings, Rockford's decision to play Hastings had an outsize impact on the 1871 pennant race. The star of the Forest Citys was

Cap Anson Adrian Constantine Anson (April 17, 1852 – April 14, 1922), nicknamed "Cap" (for "Captain") and "Pop", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman. Including his time in the National Association (NA), he played a record 27 c ...

, who hit .325 in 1871 and would go on to become the player-manager of the Chicago White Stockings for over 20 seasons. Anson was inducted into the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

Folding

Rockford had faced significant financial hardship during 1871, including travel costs, and did not make a profit. Additionally, star Anson decided to accept a $1,250 contract offer from

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 ...

for the season. So, the club folded after its first and only season.

References

*Wright, Marshall (2000). ''The National Association of Base Ball Players, 1857–1870''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co.

External links

*Rockford Forest Citys 1871 season a
Baseball-Reference.com
Professional baseball teams in Illinois National Association of Base Ball Players teams Defunct National Association baseball teams Sports clubs disestablished in 1871 Forest Citys Defunct baseball teams in Illinois 1871 disestablishments in Illinois Baseball teams disestablished in 1871 Baseball teams established in 1871 {{Illinois-baseball-team-stub