B. Jordan

Falkenburg and Stanley

History and Language

2 March 2004

The Cincinnati Reds

What team claims to be the first professional baseball team with 130 consecutive wins? The team with much history in professional baseball is the Cincinnati Reds. The first game that they played was on June 1,1869. The Reds beat the Mansfield Independents with a score of 48-14 ("Period 1" 1). At that time they were called the Red Stockings. In the 1970’s they were known as the "Big Red Machine." The Reds also had the first and only pitcher to throw back-to-back no-hitters, Johnny Vander Meer. They have had a major impact on baseball.

The Red Stockings were formed in 1869 by Harry Wright (Goodman 6). On June 14, 1870, the Reds made history by winning 130 consecutive games without a single loss. It was considered the longest winning streak in the history of baseball ("Period 1"1). They finally lost to the Brooklyn Atlantics on June 14, 1870 in eleven innings. The final score was 8-7. George Wright, Harry’s brother, was the star of the game (Goodman 8). The Reds final official record in their first year was 57-0. The club continued its unbeaten streak in 1870 to 81 more games. George Wright went to one last baseball game. He came back saying, "Imagine, players wearing gloves. We didn’t need them in our day(Goodman 8)." So, obviously, the Red Stockings were very tough (Goodman 8).

With Cincinnati as a charter member in 1876, on February 2, the National League was formed. Other cities in the league were Chicago, Boston, St. Louis, Hartford, Louisville, New York, and Philadelphia ("Period 1"1). Cincinnati was expelled from the league when they kept selling beer at games after it had been banned. The Red Stocking and six other teams then formed the American Association. They won the first pennant. They did rejoin the National League, but struggled for twenty-eight years ("Reds"1).

The Reds started improving in 1919. They were to play their first World Series against the Chicago White Sox, but the series was fixed. Some White Sox players were bribed to lose so gamblers could make more money. This came to be known as the Black Sox Scandal. The Reds were never credited with their win even though they could have won anyway. The Reds would not return to the World Series again until 1939, twenty years later (Goodman 9).

Crosley Field flooded on January 26, 1937. The surface was under twenty-one feet of water. When the water flowed over the outfield walls, they announced that it was the worst flood in Cincinnati history. Pitchers Gene Schott and Lee Grissom rode a boat down Western Avenue and over the wall ("Period 1 1).

Ernie "Schnoz" Lambardi led the Reds in 1939. He was their best hitter and slowest runner. With him, the Reds won the Pennant and moved on to the World Series. They lost to the Yankees. In, 1940, however, they were prepared. They were again National League champs and won their first official World Series. They won in seven games against the Detroit Tigers (Goodman 12-13).

The Reds again won the pennant in 1961, twenty-one years since their last one. The Yankees beat the Reds in the World Series. The Reds obtained many new players, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, George Foster, and Johnny Bench, in the late 1960s. These players formed the Big Red Machine. Sparky Anderson managed the team at this time. As quoted by Michael E. Goodman, "They won twelve championships in the decade-six Western Division titles, four National League Pennants, and back-to-back World Championships in 1975 and 1976 (Goodman 23)." The Big Red Machine is known as one of baseball’s most powerful dynasties (Goodman 14-23).

The Reds started a rebuilding process in the 1980s. Their new leading player was Eric Davis. At one point he said, "I’m supposed to steal bases. I’m supposed to hit home runs. I’ve run into walls. I’ve jumped over walls to make catches (Goodman 23)." He was very aggressive and missed games because of injury. Pete Rose, a former player, was also hired as a new manager in 1984. Six years later, however, he was banned from the league for life because he was accused of gambling on the sport (Goodman 23).

In 1990, the Reds were back. They were number one the whole season and won their first National League west title since 1976. They moved on to the World Series. The Reds beat the Oakland A’s in four games. For the rest of the early 1990s, the Reds fell back. Finally, in 1995, they had a big season again (Goodman 25-28).

In 1995, the Reds went for the National League Championship. They played the Atlanta Braves. Unfortunately, the Braves won in four games. According to Michael E. Goodman, "The Reds management had expected more from their team- they wanted another Series win. The disappointing loss to the Braves spelled a shakeup within the Cincinnati organization (Goodman29)." The Reds didn’t do well again until 1997 (Goodman 28-29).

Today, Cincinnati is known as baseball’s Opening Day City. Almost all opening games are played there. The tickets are usually sold out by Christmas. It is such a big event; there is a parade. Every year, Reds fans hope to see another team like the Red Stockings or the Big Red Machine. Michael E. Goodman says, "The Big Red Machine could once again roll to a World Series title." In conclusion, the Cincinnati Reds are an outstanding baseball team (Goodman 5-6, 32).

Works Cited

"Cincinnati Reds." Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia Deluxe 2000. CD-ROM. Microsoft Corporation, 1999.

Goodman, Michael E. The History of the Cincinnati Reds. Mankato, Minnesota: Creative Education, 1999.

"Reds History." Cincinnati Homepage. 15 February 2004. <http:cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/cin/history/cin_history_timeline.jsp? period=1>.

"Reds History." Cincinnati Homepage. 15 February 2004. <http:cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/cin/history/cin_history_timeline.jsp? period=2>.