Ross Barnes of the
Boston Red Stockings concludes in the top 5 in 11 different offensive categories. He leads the NA in runs scored, total bases and times on base. He is second in on-base percentage, doubles, triples and walks. He finishes third in batting average (.401) and hits. He places 4th in slugging percentage and 5th in runs batted in.
Rynie Wolters of the
New York Mutuals leads the league in games started, complete games, and innings pitched and ties for the league lead with 1 shutout. He also leads the NA with 44 RBI while batting .370.
Later March – Thirty-three clubs establish the National Association of Amateur Base Ball Players (or amateur Association) in New York City.
April–June
May 4 – In the first major league game ever played, the National Association begins play at
Kekionga Ball Grounds in
Fort Wayne,
Indiana, with
Forest City of Cleveland visiting the
Kekiongas of Fort Wayne. Fort Wayne wins 2–0 behind the pitching of
Bobby Mathews, the lowest scoring game of the season.
Deacon White gets the first hit, while
Joe McDermott, who will only have 11 hits and four runs batted in his career, drives in the first run in professional baseball history with a single in the second inning, scoring
Bill Lennon. In the seventh inning, Lennon also became the first catcher in major league history to throw a runner out trying to steal second. Neither McDermott, Lennon, nor even the Kekiongas would finish the season.
May 8 –
Ezra Sutton of the
Cleveland Forest Citys hits the first home run in professional baseball history in the fourth inning against the
Chicago White Stockings. For good measure, Sutton adds a second home run in the seventh inning, but Cleveland falls to the White Stockings, 14–12.
May 9 –
Esteban Enrique Bellán becomes the first Hispanic player in Major League Baseball history. The 21-year-old
Cuban infielder will play as Steve Bellan for the
Troy Haymakers of the National Association.
May 20 – In
Boston,
Mort Rogers introduces a scorecard with a picture of
Harry Wright on the front. Each
Red Stockings home game would feature a different player so that spectators could collect them and have a full set of Boston's players by season's end. This marketing strategy would be used throughout the 19th century and would ultimately evolve into
Tobacco cards and, eventually,
Baseball cards.
June 1 – Opening their National Association season, The Mutuals beat the Forest City club of Rockford,
Illinois 7–3 before 2,000 at
Union Grounds in
Brooklyn.
June 19 – The
Fort Wayne Kekiongas, leading the
Troy Haymakers 6–3 after six innings at Troy, refuse to allow another ball to be used after the game ball becomes ripped because of the reputation of the Haymakers using illegal balls in the past. The umpire (Isaac Leroy or Ed Tighe depending on the source), after five full minutes of ordering Fort Wayne back on the field, calls the game a 9–0 forfeit in favor of the Haymakers.
June 28 – In an era of high scoring games being the norm, the
Philadelphia Athletics defeat the
Troy Haymakers by the amazing score of 49–33. Both pitchers go the distance in the four-hour slugfest in which both teams score in each inning, to set the highest-scoring contest in
National Association. The 42
hits made by the Athletics, including a 7-for-7 day by
John Radcliff and 6-for-8 performances by
Al Reach and
Levi Meyerle, is also a league record.
July–September
July 3 – The
New York Mutuals lose at
Troy 37–16. Even though it is customary to allow the visiting team to choose which ball to use, Troy captain
Bill Craver refuses to play unless their ball is used. Heated words are exchanged throughout, with the Mutuals even being threatened with bats. Mutuals captain
Bob Ferguson is convinced the ball used is not legal. This game will set the stage for the rematch on July 13 at the
Union Grounds in
Brooklyn.
July 6 – The first game between a black team and a white team is played as the black Uniques defeat the white Alerts 17–16 in
Chicago.
July 13 –
Brooklyn police are forced to draw their firearms to stop the crowd from attacking the
Troy Haymakers following several altercations between the Haymakers and the
New York Mutuals players and officials after Troy's 9–7 win over the Mutuals.
August 9 – Ned Connors, first baseman for the
Troy Haymakers, records 20 putouts in a 9-inning 10–7 loss to the
Brooklyn Eckfords.
August 21 – The amateur champion Star Club of
Brooklyn beats the Northwest amateur champion Aetnas of
Chicago 4–3 in Chicago as Star pitcher
Candy Cummings drives in the winning run in the 9th inning.
August 29 – The
Brooklyn Eckfords replace the
Fort Wayne Kekiongas in the NA after the Kekiongas lose most of their players to defection and expulsion. Fort Wayne's unplayed games will be declared forfeits in the official standings. The Eckfords will officially join the
National Association for the
1872 season.
October 18 – The
New York Mutuals, with their only pitcher
Rynie Wolters sick, are forced to use a non-rostered position player,
Frank Fleet, as pitcher in a crucial game for the pennant against the
Philadelphia Athletics. The Mutuals are battered 21–7 by the Athletics which eliminates the
Boston Red Stockings from the championship.
Wright, Marshall (2000). The National Association of Base Ball Players, 1857–1870. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co.
ISBN0-7864-0779-4 (Postlude, p328-29)
Ryczek, William J. (1992). Blackguards and Red Stockings; A History of Baseball's National Association 1871–1875. Wallingford, Connecticut: Colebrook Press
ISBN0-9673718-0-5
Orem, Preston D. (1961). Baseball (1845–1881) From the Newspaper Accounts. Altadena, California: Self-published.
Charlton, James (1991). The Baseball Chronology. New York: Macmillan
ISBN0-02-523971-6