CINCINNATI— The Reds are not just baseball's first professional club, but also the oldest team and brand in all of professional sports. Formed in 1869 as the Cincinnati Red Stockings, they were one of eight original National League teams who survived through its first season. Renamed the Cincinnati Reds a year later, they have been champions only once, in 1890.
This is not to say that the Reds haven't made any play for their first title since 1990; they have, in fact, featured some of the best hitters in baseball this decade. But with an average age of 33.5 years old, they are clearly on the wrong side of the sport's evolution toward younger players. It would be nice for them to find a way to hang on to their franchise player too, as he is the only real holdover from their last championship team.
In addition to being the oldest team, the Reds are also the most-televised. With their games on WKRC-TV, the team has had the longest-running radio home run call in history (Grape Jamboree...um, Grape). They're also the only team to have played all their home games at one location: Great American Ball Park in Cincinati.
The Cincinnati Reds are the major league's oldest professional baseball team. They were founded in 1881 as the Cincinnati Red Stockings because, you got it, they wore red stockings with their outfits. They eventually changed their name to the Redlegs, which was quickly abbreviated to the Reds.
They have only missed the World Series once when they failed to make the play-offs in 1932. That year they featured a great lineup including Joe DiMaggio, Paul Waner, Bill Dickey, and Johnny Vander Meer. But they lost to the Chicago Cubs 4 games to 1. In 1983 the St Louis Cardinals beat them in seven games to win the World Series.
A few years later the Reds won the National League West title but lost the NL Championship Series to the Atlanta Braves. In 1990 they made it to the World Series for the first time since 1920 but lost to the Oakland A's 4 games to 1. In 1995 they again made it to the World Series but this time they lost to the older brother/younger sister duo of Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians - respectively. The Reds have never gone further than the World Series during their existence.
Since 1996 the Reds have not made the playoffs but they did win the division three times (2002, 2005, and 2006).
The present Reds franchise was founded in 1881, although its roots can be traced back four years after the Civil War. In 1869, the Cincinnati Red Stockings became baseball's first professional club. The name was chosen by local fans to honor the red uniforms worn by the original Boston Red Sox team.
After several name changes (including a return to the "Red Stockings" moniker for two seasons), the Red Stockings were sold and moved to Philadelphia in 1876. The new owners changed the team's name to the "Phillies" that same year when they relocated again, this time to New York City. The Phillies remained in New York until 1980 when they moved to Philadelphia. This line of succession continues to this day with the New York Mets as the modern-day counterpart to the Phillies.
In 1881, the National League adopted a new color scheme of red, black, and white. The new Reds team was owned by William Hulbert who had also bought the Chicago White Stockings the previous year. The Red Stockings played their home games at South Park Ball Park and were immediately successful with a record of 71-26 before closing up shop after one season. This is the first season where we can definitively say that the Reds are a baseball team!
The Cincinnati Reds are a major league baseball club headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1890, the squad entered the National League. The club's roots may be traced back to the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, widely regarded as baseball's first all-professional team before disbanding in 1870.
They play in the Central Division of the NL West.
The Reds have won more than 400 games each season since 1992 and have never been defeated by the Chicago Cubs in battle for the North Side Trophy. As of 2017, the two teams have met every year since 1945 with one exception - 1998 when both clubs were members of the same league. That means that they have been playing against each other year in and year out for nearly 70 years now!
In addition to their division title, the Reds have also won nine National League Pennants (1890, 1891, 1892, 1895, 1896, 1897, 1900, 1908, and 1909). They have also made eleven trips to the World Series (3rd most), winning seven times (1st most).
Their home stadium is Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The ballpark opened in 2003 and has been named after its sponsor, the car company that owns the Reds - Ford. Before this development site was chosen, another location near Cincinati University was considered but eventually rejected.
The Cincinnati Reds are an American baseball team headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Reds were created in 1882 and compete in the National League (NL). They are the oldest franchise in both the NL and the Midwest Division of the National League.
The team plays its home games at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The Reds have won more than 400 games each season since 1995 and have only been defeated by the San Diego Padres twice in that time. Their all-time record is 1089-1067-1. The last ten seasons have seen the Reds finish first in their division eight times and second three other times - most recently in 2016 when they tied Chicago Cubs for first place in the NL Central.
Reds' owner Carl Lindner III is one of the few people who have been elected to both the Baseball Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He succeeded his father, Carl Jr., as owner in 1992 at the age of 26. Before becoming owner of the Reds, he played quarterback for the University of Cincinnati from 1987 to 1989 and was a member of the Miami Dolphins' roster during the 1990 NFL season. His father had also owned the Reds from 1979 to 1992 without any success before he bought them back.
They have five World Series championships (1919, 1940, 1975, 1976, and 1990) and nine National League pennants. If the 2017 season is completed, the Reds would be celebrating their 100th year of existence.
They play at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. The ballpark opened in 2003 and has a current capacity of 36,000. It is the largest ball park in the Midwest after Rogers Centre and MLB's other Central Time Zone teams play all their home games during the summer months.
The Reds have the most NL Pennants of any non-Yankee team and the only World Series titles not won by the Yankees.
Cincinnati has a long history of baseball dating back to 1882 when the Red Stockings became the first professional team in the nation. In 1890, the Reds joined the newly formed National League and have been members ever since. During this time, the Reds have played in two leagues with four different franchises. In 1931, ownership troubles caused the team to move to Chicago where they remain today. After three seasons there, the Reds returned to Cincinnati where they have remained ever since. Through all these changes, the Reds have never missed the playoffs.
Copyright © 2020 - 2023 Sportsmanist Inc.
