Boston's First Nine

Before the Boston Red Sox and the Boston Braves, there were the Boston Red Stockings. They were "Boston's First Nine" and 1871 through 1875, they won four consecutive pennants in the old National Association, considered by many to be baseball's first major league. In this five-year period, the team only fielded 22 players -- but, then again, these were the days of the "one-man rotation." Who needed two pitchers, when one would do? And if that pitcher was Al Spalding, who won more than 50 games in back-to-back seasons of 1874 and 1875, that one pitcher was pretty good. Of the 22 players on the team, five of them are in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

These were different days. The game was played a little differently from today-- but not that differently. Take some time and enjoy the work of 38 members of SABR (the Society for American Baseball Research). Several are among our leading nineteenth century baseball experts; others became enthralled digging into the early days of professional baseball in Boston. There are fascinating stories of the men who played the game, the games, the seasons, the tours of Canada and even England and Ireland, where they took on some of the better cricket players of the British Isles, and beat them, too.

Take a trip back to those glorious days of yesteryear, and see if you don't become captivated as we were in learning about stories of baseball and life from more than 140 years ago.

The book includes recaps of each season, 1871-75, informative articles about the team and front office, and the following player biographies:

THE PLAYERS

Bob Addy by Peter Morris

Ross Barnes by Gregory H. Wolf

Frank Barrows by Mike Richard

Tommy Beals by Mark S. Sternman

David Birdsall by Richard "Dixie" Tourangeau

Fred Con by Mike Richard

Charlie Gould by Charles F. Faber

George Hall by Matt Albertson

Franklin "Heck" Heifer by Brian C. Engelhardt

Samuel Jackson by Bill Nowlin

Jumbo Latham by Scott Fiesthumel

Andy Leonard by Charles F. Faber

John E. Manning by David Nemec

Cal McVey by Charles F. Faber

Jim O'Rourke by William Lamb

Fraley W. Rogers by Richard "Dixie" Tourangeau

Henry C. Schafer by David Nemec

Al Spalding by Bill McMahon

Charlie Sweasy by Charles F. Faber

Deacon White by Joe Williams

George Wright by John Thorn

Harry Wright by Christopher Devine

THE BALLPARK: South End Grounds by Bob Ruzzo

TEAM ORGANIZATION

Boston Finances in the Early Professional Era

by Richard Hershberger

Red Stockings Finances--A Minor Observation

by Bill Nowlin

THE FIRST PRESIDENTL Ivers W. Adams by Charlie Bevis

INTERESTING GAMES

Fast Day--Boston's Original Opening Day Joanne Hulbert

April 6, 1871 Bob LeMoine

May 5, 1871 204

Bob LeMoine

May 16, 1871 Bob LeMoine

Homestand From Hell: The Boston Red Stockings, May-June 1871

Richard "Dixie" Tourangeau

June 21, 1871 Jay Hurd

July 4, 1871 Michael R. McAvoy

August 3, 1871 Bob LeMoine

September 2, 1871 Bill Nowlin

September 5, 1871 Gregory H. Wolf

September 9, 1871 Mark Pestana

September 13, 1871 Jay Hurd

September 29, 1871 Gregory H. Wolf

May 11, 1872 Gregory H. Wolf

June 10, 1872 Richard "Dixie" Tourangeau

June 12, 1872 Paul E. Doutrich

July 20, 1872 Gerard R. Goulet

July 29, 1872 Gregory H. Wolf

September 20, 1872 Gerard R. Goulet

September 21, 1872 Mark Pestana

April 23, 1873 Matt Albertson

June 2, 1873 Terry Gottschall

June 3, 1873 Mark Pestana

June 14, 1873 Richard "Dixie" Tourangeau

July 4, 1873 (morning) John Zinn

July 4, 1873 (afternoon) John Zinn

July 26, 1873