The Mutual Base Ball Club of New York was an American baseball club established in 1857, the year of the first baseball convention. The Mutuals just missed out on being a founding member of the National Association of Base Ball Players that year, but later became a charter member of both the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, or "NA", the first professional league, in 1871, and then the National League in 1876.
| Mutual Base Ball Club of New York (New York Mutuals) | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| League |
|
| Location | Hoboken, New Jersey (1857–1867) Brooklyn, New York (1868–1876) |
| Ballpark |
|
| Founded | 1857 |
| Folded | 1876 |
| League championships |
|
| Colors | Navy, white |
| Ownership | Mutual Hook and Ladder Co Number 1 (1857-1864)
William M. Tweed (1864-1871) Bill Cammeyer (1871–1876) |
| Manager |
|
The team was initially formed from firefighters of New York's Mutual Hook and Ladder Company Number One. Boss Tweed took control of the Mutuals in 1864 and operated the team until his arrest following the deadly riots of 1871 and the public exposing of his corruption that followed.[1] During Tweed's tenure as owner, he and the Mutuals have been given credit for initiating the concept of spring training when Tweed sent the team to New Orleans to train for the 1869 season.[2][3]
The Mutual club initially played its home games at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, with the New York Knickerbockers and many other Manhattan clubs, but moved to the enclosed Union Grounds in Brooklyn in 1868. Though historically identified as "New York", they never staged any home games in Manhattan, which before 1898 was considered to be "New York City."
The Mutuals chose open professionalism in 1869–70 after NABBP liberalization. They joined the NA for its 1871 to 1875 duration. In 1876, the Chicago White Stockings initiated the National League and recruited its members from West to East, partly to wrest control of professional baseball from Eastern interests. The Mutuals were one of eight charter members, six of whom were from the National Association. Weak (sixth place at 21–35) and cash-poor, the club refused to complete its playing obligations in the West; and was expelled.[4]
On May 13, 1876, the Mutuals executed the first triple play in major-league history in a game against the Hartford Dark Blues.
Union Grounds proprietor William Cammeyer, often listed today as the Mutual club owner, signed the Hartford Dark Blues to play at his Union Grounds in 1877. The team was effectively a one-year replacement for the defunct Mutuals, and was sometimes called "Hartford of Brooklyn".
Record
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| Year | Won | Lost | Tied | Games | Rank in games (or in wins) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1858 | 11 | 1 | — | 12 | 2 (1st in wins) |
| 1859 | 3 | 5 | — | 8 | 6 |
| 1860 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 5 |
| 1861 | 8 | 2 | — | 10 | 2 (tie 1st in wins) |
| 1862 | 8 | 5 | — | 13 | 2 (2nd in wins) |
| 1863 | 10 | 4 | — | 14 | 1 (tie 1st in wins) |
| 1864 | 21 | 3 | — | 24 | 1 (1st in wins) |
| 1865 | 12 | 4 | — | 16 | 5 (tie 4th in wins) |
| 1866 | 10 | 2 | — | 12 | 15 (tie 5th in wins) |
| 1867 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 30 | 4 (4th in wins) |
| 1868 | 31 | 10 | — | 41 | 5 (5th in wins) |
| 1869 | 37 | 16 | — | 53 | 3 (5th in wins) |
| 1870 | 68 | 17 | 3 | 88 | 1 (1st in wins) |
| Championship matches with professional teams, 1869–1870 | |||||
| 1869 | 11 | 15 | — | 26 | 1 (5th in wins) |
| 1870 | 29 | 15 | 3 | 47 | 1 (1st in wins) |
| League record | |||||
| 1871 | 16 | 17 | — | 33 | 1 (4th place) |
| 1872 | 34 | 20 | 2 | 56 | 2 (3rd place) |
| 1873 | 29 | 24 | — | 53 | 4 (4th place) |
| 1874 | 42 | 23 | — | 65 | 2 (2nd place) |
| 1875 | 30 | 38 | 3 | 71 | 4 (7th place) |
| 1876 | 21 | 35 | 1 | 57 | 8 (6th place) |
Source for season records: Rio (2008).
Franchise leaders
editBatting
- Hits – Joe Start (387)
- Runs – Joe Start (264)
- At bats – Joe Start (1314)
- Games – Joe Start (273)
- Doubles- Joe Start and Dave Eggler (40)
- Home runs – Joe Start (8)
- RBIs – Joe Start (187)
- Stolen bases – Dave Eggler (36)
Pitching
- Wins – Bobby Mathews (100)
- ERA – Bobby Mathews (2.41)
- Strikeouts – Bobby Mathews (95)
- Innings – Bobby Mathews (1,6472⁄3)
Notable alumni
edit
- Lip Pike, major league baseball 4× home run champion
- Rynie Wolters, first Dutch professional baseball player
Baseball Hall of Famers
edit| New York Mutuals Hall of Famers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Inductee | Position | Tenure | Inducted |
| Candy Cummings | P | 1872 | 1939 |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Purdy, Dennis (23 February 2010). Kiss 'Em Goodbye: An ESPN Treasury of Failed, Forgotten, and Departed Teams. Random House Publishing Group. p. 215. ISBN 978-0-345-52047-0. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ Seymour, Harold; Mills, Dorothy Seymour (1989). Baseball: The Early Years. Oxford University Press. p. 183. ISBN 978-0-19-983917-9. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ Fountain, Charles (2009). Under the March Sun: The Story of Spring Training. Oxford University Press. p. 11. ISBN 978-0-19-974370-4. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ Baseball history- Retrieved 2012-01-08
- Baseball-Reference. "New York Mutuals Team Index" (1871–1875). Retrieved 2006-09-17.
- Baseball-Reference. "New York Mutuals Team Index" (1876). Retrieved 2006-09-12.
- Retrosheet. "New York Mutuals (1871–1876)". Retrieved 2006-09-17.
- Wright, Marshall (2000). The National Association of Base Ball Players, 1857–1870. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. ISBN 0-7864-0779-4
External links
edit- New York Mutuals reenactors
- 1876 Mutuals at Baseball Reference