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The Olympic Club of Washington, D.C., or Washington Olympics in modern nomenclature, was an early professional
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
The Olympic Club of Washington, D.C., 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 t ...
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 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 c ...
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.
See also
* 1871 Washington Olympics season * 1872 Washington Olympics seasonExternal 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