The Union of Morrisania (founded 17 July 1855, South Bronx, New York,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

) was a

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 t ...

team which played in the

National Association of Base Ball Players The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) was the first organization governing American baseball. (The sport was spelled with two words in the 19th century.) The first convention of sixteen New York City area clubs in 1857 effecti ...

league.

History

In their first season, the Union played only one game, against Young America, which Union won 25-8. In the second season, Union played five games. They finished second in the league with a record of 3 wins and 2 losses to the

Brooklyn Atlantics The Atlantic Base Ball Club of Brooklyn ("Atlantic" or the "Brooklyn Atlantics") was baseball's first champion and its first dynasty. The team was also the first baseball club to visit the White House in 1865 at the invitation of President An ...

who had four wins and no losses. From 1857 (with a record of three wins and two losses) to 1861, Union placed no higher than fifth. In the 1862 season, Union placed fourth with five wins and five losses. This encouraged the team and in the 1865 season, they placed third in the league with thirteen wins and ten losses. At the time, this was a franchise record. In 1866, for the first time, Union placed first in the league with twenty-five wins and three losses. However, they did not win the premiership title. The following year, Union finished third with twenty-one wins and eight losses, succeeded in the

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

s, and beat the

to win their first and only premiership title. In 1868, Union finished third with thirty-seven wins and six losses. This was their best number of wins to losses. In 1869, new professional baseball teams such as the

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� ...

entered the league. Union played only fifteen games, placing fifth with ten losses. In 1870, Union won seven games and lost eighteen games against the professional teams, and won twenty games and lost nineteen games against the rest of the league. After the 1870 season, Union refused to enter the new National Association of Professional Base Ball Players. The

was dissolved, and two years later, in 1873, the Union team disbanded.

1867 champion team

On 10 October 1867, Union beat the

by fourteen runs to thirteen. Although Union had twenty one wins and eight losses in the season, they won the premiership title.Shiffert J
''Base Ball in Philadelphia: A History of the Early Game, 1831-1900.''
McFarland, 2006 p.52 .

References

External links

{{Commons category
MLB Historian John Thorn on The Unions of MorrisaniaUnion Club of Morrisania at Protoball
National Association of Base Ball Players teams Defunct baseball teams in New York City Baseball teams established in 1855 1873 disestablishments in New York (state) 1855 establishments in New York (state) Morrisania, Bronx Sports in the Bronx Defunct baseball teams in New York (state) Baseball teams disestablished in 1873