The National League Plays Its First Game

On April 22, 1876, the Boston Red Caps beat the Philadelphia Athletics 6-5 in the first game in National League history. About 3,000 fans watched at the Athletics' grounds at 25th and Jefferson streets in Philadelphia, and the game lasted just over two hours.

The National League had been organized two months earlier by William Hulbert, president of the Chicago White Stockings, to replace the failing National Association of Professional Base Ball Players. The National Association had collapsed under the weight of gambling, drunkenness, and a lack of central authority. Hulbert's new league demanded exclusive territorial rights, binding player contracts, and substantial dues from each club. Teams that misbehaved could be expelled.

Two future Hall of Famers took the field for Boston that Saturday. Shortstop George Wright stepped into the batter's box as the first man to bat in a National League game. Center fielder Jim O'Rourke collected the league's first base hit, a single in the first inning.

Joseph Borden pitched the win for Boston, though he would be out of the league by midseason. The Athletics' roster included several holdovers from the National Association era who struggled with the new league's stricter rules.

The game itself was ordinary. The organization behind it was not. The National League established the framework for professional baseball governance that persists to this day. The American League would not arrive until 1901. The World Series would not begin until 1903. It all started with this afternoon in Philadelphia.