1876 in baseball


After a tumultuous five-year existence, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players folded following the 1875 season. The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs was formed in Chicago, Illinois by businessman, and owner of the Chicago Base Ball Club, William Hulbert, for the purpose of replacing the NA, which he believed to have been corrupt, mismanaged, full of rowdy, drunken ballplayers, and under the influence of the gambling community. One of the new rules put into place by the new league was that all teams had to be located in cities that had a population of 75,000 or more. The initial NL season began with eight teams, and they were asked to play seventy games between April 22 and October 21. The NL is considered to be the first "major league", although it has been argued that the NA can make that claim.

Champions

Four premier semi-professional teams were in play in 1876. They were the Binghamton Crickets, the Columbus Buckeyes, Allegheny and the Star Club of Syracuse. In competition against NL clubs these 4 semi-pro teams played 32 gameswinning 16, losing 14 and tying 2 contests. Of the 60 players on these 4 semi-pro teams no fewer than 50 of them wound up playing in the National League over the next 5 seasons.

Major league baseball final standings

Statistical leaders

Events

Transactions

Free agents

DateIndividual's birth date
NameIndividual's name
†Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame

DateNameRef
January 1Joe Kostal
January 1Joe Martin
January 11Elmer Flick†
January 12George Browne
January 14Bill Wolff
January 22Warren McLaughlin
January 25Fred Glade
January 27Otis Clymer
FebruaryIke Van Zandt
February 4Germany Schaefer
February 6Andy Sommerville
February 7Pat Moran
February 10Doc Sechrist
February 13Fred Buckingham
February 13Fritz Buelow
February 15Carlton Molesworth
February 19Joe Marshall
February 21John Titus
February 27Art Goodwin
March 15Bill Hallman
March 17J. A. Gammons
March 29Harry Lochhead
March 29Frank Oberlin
AprilArt Ball
April 1Bill Friel
April 5Bill Dinneen
April 6Charlie Luskey
April 6Frank Murphy

DateNameRef
July 26Sam Breadon
July 27Moose Baxter
July 29Emmet Heidrick
August 2Kid Nance
August 7Pat Carney
August 7Lou Nordyke
August 11Danny Murphy
August 18Gus Dorner
August 24John Brown
August 24Frank Quinn
August 28Doc Hazleton
August 29Elmer Stricklett
September 1Jimmy Wiggs
September 3Jerry Donovan
September 3Dusty Miller
September 3George Stone
September 5Pete LePine
September 9Frank Chance†
September 15Nick Altrock
September 17Otto Krueger
September 27Steve Cusack
September 28Frank Bates
September 28Red Long
October 13Wild Bill Donovan
October 13Rube Waddell†
October 15Percy Coleman
October 19Mordecai Brown†
October 27Patsy Dougherty

Deaths

DateNameAgeCauseCemeteryCity/StateSeasonsTeamsRef
May 29Tom Miller26?MalariaEvergreen Memorial ParkBensalem, Pennsylvania1874–1875Philadelphia Athletics, St. Louis Brown Stockings
October 18Bub McAtee31ConsumptionSt. John CemeteryTroy, New York1871–1872Chicago White Stockings, Troy Haymakers