May 4, 1969 – The Cincinnati Red Stockings played their first official baseball game. In the contest, they produced a victory against the Great Western Base Ball Club, by the very interesting score of 45-9. According to a story on Cincinnati.com, the Cincinnati Reds baseball franchise officially started its existence on March 15, 1869.
The original moniker of the club was the Red Stockings identifying the bright red colored knee-high socks worn by the players. The club was formed by a man named Harry Wright per the MLB.com story on the Reds origins. The Red Stockings played their home games at a place called the Union Grounds, which was located just west of downtown.
The 1896 Red Stockings, were dressed to the hilt for ballplayers of that era and they were an exceptionally good team. Yeah good enough that they recorded an unbelievable record of 57-0 in that inaugural season! They played not only home games but they traveled from the East Coast all the way to the West Coast taking on all challenges of opponents. To do this Wright paid his men on the roster making them the very first paid players in professional baseball.
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