The Olympic Club of

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, or Washington Olympics in modern nomenclature, was an early professional

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. When 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 ...

permitted openly professional clubs for the 1869 season, the Olympics were one of twelve to go pro. Two years later they were a founding member of the first professional sports league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP or NA, for short). The Olympics played home games at

Olympics Grounds Olympics Grounds was a baseball grounds located in Washington, D.C. It was home to the Washington Olympics of the National Association in 1871–1872 and home to the short-lived Washington clubs of 1873 and 1875, including the Washington Blu ...

in Washington. They were founded by Nicholas Young, an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

who continued as non-playing business and field manager after 1870. For 1871 the Olympics hired five players from the famous

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� ...

. The new Boston Red Stockings hired the other half including manager

Harry Wright William Henry "Harry" Wright (January 10, 1835 – October 3, 1895) was an English-born American professional baseball player, manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball's first fully professional team, t ...

and his selection. With the name "Red Stockings" taken, local writers dubbed the Olympic club the "Blue Stockings". The Boston club lost a close pennant race while the Olympics were only mediocre. During their two league seasons they won 17 games and lost 22 for a winning percentage of .436.

External links

Baseball Reference team index
National Association of Base Ball Players teams Defunct National Association baseball teams Olympics Sports clubs disestablished in 1872 1872 disestablishments in Washington, D.C. Defunct baseball teams in Washington, D.C. Baseball teams disestablished in 1872 Baseball teams established in 1869 {{WashingtonDC-baseball-team-stub

See also

External links