CINCINNATI REDS

The Official History of the Cincinnati Reds | Baseball Almanac

The onset of professionalism was no small step for baseball: players received a small but growing degree of financial stability, and fans were treated to an ever higher standard of play. The cradle for this groundbreaking practice was Cincinnati, where the first openly professional baseball team was founded. The current Reds franchise dates back to 1881, but its ancestry begins four years after the Civil War.

The Cincinnati Red Stockings became baseball's first professional team in 1869. They began with a 45-9 thumping of a team called the Great Western of Cincinnati, then proceeded to win nearly every one of its more than 70 games against overmatched amateur teams in the Midwest. They finally lost a game in 1870, when the Brooklyn Atlantics bested them 8-7 in extra innings.

It was a 19th century no-brainer the Red Stockings would be a charter member of the National League in 1876. However, Cincinnati's start in the League was rocky to say the least. The Red Stockings didn't fare as well as their 1869 predecessors, finishing 9-54. After four seasons Cincinnati was kicked out of the National League for playing games on Sunday and for selling beer during games. Both were National League no-no's at the time.

In 1881, the Reds were re-initiated with an exhibition series in St. Louis. This new franchise, which still exists today, became a charter member of the American Association the following year. The AA, nicknamed 'The Beer and Whiskey League' for its liberal approach to ballpark libations, was reviled by the more puritanical National League owners from the start. As the only AA charter member pre-existing the young league, the Reds became the oldest baseball club — and possibly the oldest currently-existing professional sports club — to actively accommodate the blue-collar tendencies regarding spectator sport. Cincinnati finally accepted reinstatement to the National League in 1890, with their Sunday baseball and beer sales intact. The only thing to change was their name, from Red Stockings to Reds.

While with the American Association, the Red Stockings opened League Park in 1884. The Cincinnati team would play at this same location for the next 86 years. League Park had a tragic beginning, as part of its grandstand collapsed during its first-ever opening day, killing one and injuring many. A fire devastated the park and a new stadium was built, opening in 1902. Christened the Palace of the Fans, it suffered its own devastating fire in 1911, which led to the construction of a park originally known as Redland Field. It opened in 1912 and was renamed Crosley Field after team owner Powell Crosley in 1934. The Reds played there until moving to Riverfront Stadium (a.k.a. Cinergy Field) in 1970.

For the 30 years following their readmission to the National League, the Reds fared poorly, never finishing higher than third. Then came the 1919 pennant winners led by Hall of Famer Edd Roush, a .321 hitter that year and probably Cincinnati's best player up to that time. They had a 20 game winner (Slim Sallee) and two 19 game winners (Hod Eller and Dutch Ruether) on the pitching staff.

The baseball world was shocked when the Reds upset the heavily favored White Sox in the World Series, but that shock turned to horror for some, dismay for others when it was revealed the White Sox (or Black Sox) lost the Series on purpose. Players on the 1919 Reds always professed a frustration that the scandal prevented them from getting their due as World Champions.

The Reds would not be heard from again until they built a quality pitching staff in the 1930s. Paul Derringer, Bucky Walters and Johnny Vander Meer (of back-to-back no-hitter fame in 1938) teamed with catching great Ernie Lombardi to win pennants in 1939-40, and the latter World Series against Detroit. Walters won 49 games and Derringer 45 in those two seasons.

During the next two decades the only interest the Reds created was their politically-tinged decision to change names from the Reds to Redlegs to avoid association with Communists. However, players, sportswriters and fans continued to refer to the team as the Reds, and the Redlegs moniker fell by the wayside.

The Reds climbed the National League pinnacle again in 1961, led by the bats of Frank Robinson (37 home runs and 124 RBI's) and Vada Pinson (208 hits and a .343 average), although they were beaten by the Yankee juggernaut in the World Series.

Two years later the first cog in the Big Red Machine joined the team when a hardnosed, crew-cut infielder named Pete Rose was called up from the minors. A decade later, he would be the leadoff batter and igniter for one of the National League's most dominant dynasties.

Managed by Sparky Anderson, the Reds of the 1970s were a virtual Hall of Fame gallery with Rose, Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench and Tony Perez. This team won back-to-back world championships (1975-76), four pennants and six division titles. Four Reds won Most Valuable Player awards. The highlight of their domination was in 1976, when the Reds led the National League in all 12 major offensive categories.

Rose's departure for Philadelphia as a free agent after 1978 signaled the end of the Big Red Machine, although the team won the 1979 division title (but lost the National League Championship Series to Pittsburgh). Rose returned as player-manager in 1984 and closed out his career with a record 4,256 hits. However, he was later banned for life from the game for betting on baseball.

Lou Piniella then guided the Reds to a pennant in 1990 behind the bats of Eric Davis, Chris Sabo, Paul O'Neill and Barry Larkin, and a shutdown bullpen featuring Norm Charlton, Rob Dibble and Randy Myers. They capped the season with a four game sweep of Oakland in the World Series.

The Reds have mostly floundered since 1990, although they finished first in the strike shortened 1994 season, won the Central Division title in '95 and missed the 1999 postseason by one game. One highlight for the franchise was the opening of another of baseball's retro parks, The Great American Ballpark in 2003.

The club won the Central Division crown in 2010 before being eliminated in the first round. In 2012, another division title, another loss in the Division Series. In 2013, a Wildcard loss. Those struggles have worsened as the team now fights its way up from the cellars.

Following six seasons of missing the postseason, the Reds reached the playoffs in 2020. Carried by Trevor Bauer, the 2020 Cy Young winner, the Reds faced the Braves in the Wildcard series. After two games, the Reds ended its season in the Wildcard round.

However, regardless of when the Reds add to their five world championships, nine pennants and 10 division titles, they will always have a strong franchise lineage. One that traces back to the dawn of the professional game and their role as keeper of the historic flame they lit by birthing the Red Stockings in 1869.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Cincinnati is nuts with baseball! They ought to call this town Cincinnutty!" - Sportswriter Bugs Baer (1919)

Cincinnati Reds History

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Cincinnati Reds Franchise Facts

Cincinnati Red Stockings Rosters (AA) | 1882 - 1889
    1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
Cincinnati Reds Rosters | 1890 - 1952
1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950 1951 1952              
Cincinnati Redlegs Rosters | 1953 - 1958
      1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958  
Cincinnati Reds Rosters | 1959 - Current
                  1959
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020 2021 2022 2023            
Bold Seasons : Uniform Numbers Worn
Cincinnati Red Stockings Schedules (AA) | 1882 - 1889
    1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889
Cincinnati Reds Schedules | 1890 - 1952
1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1950 1951 1952              
Cincinnati Redlegs Schedules | 1953 - 1958
      1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958  
Cincinnati Reds Schedules | 1959 - Current
                  1959
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
2020 2021 2022 2023
Bold Seasons : Box Scores Online
Cincinnati Reds 100-Win Seasons
Year Record Manager
1940 100-53 Bill McKechnie
1970 102-60 Sparky Anderson
1975 108-54 Sparky Anderson
1976 102-60 Sparky Anderson
Cincinnati Reds 100 Loss Seasons
Year Record Manager
1982 61-101 John McNamara
" " Russ Nixon
2022 62-100 David Bell
Cincinnati Reds No-Hitters
Name IP Date
Bumpus Jones 9.0 10-15-1892
Ted Breitenstein 9.0 04-22-1898
Noodles Hahn 9.0 07-12-1900
Fred Toney 10.0 05-02-1917
Hod Eller 9.0 05-11-1919
Johnny Vander Meer 9.0 06-11-1938
Johnny Vander Meer 9.0 06-15-1938
Clyde Shoun 9.0 05-15-1944
Ewell Blackwell 9.0 06-18-1947
Jim Maloney 10.0 08-19-1965
George Culver 9.0 07-29-1968
Jim Maloney 9.0 04-30-1969
Tom Seaver 9.0 06-16-1978
Tom Browning 9.0 09-16-1988
Homer Bailey 9.0 09-28-2012
Homer Bailey 9.0 07-02-2013
Wade Miley 9.0 05-07-2021
Bold = Perfect Game
Cincinnati Reds Cycle Hitters
Name Inn. Date
John Reilly 9.0 08-06-1890
Tom Parrott 9.0 09-28-1894
Heinie Groh 9.0 07-05-1915
Harry Craft 9.0 06-08-1940
Frank Robinson 9.0 05-02-1959
Eric Davis 9.0 06-02-1989
Elly De La Cruz 9.0 06-23-2023
Bold = Natural Cycle
Cincinnati Reds Cy Young Winners
Year Name Position
2020 Trevor Bauer RHP
Bold = Unanimous
Cincinnati Reds MVP Winners
Year Name Position
1938 Ernie Lombardi C
1939 Bucky Walters P
1940 Frank McCormick 1B
1961 Frank Robinson OF
1970 Johnny Bench C
1972 Johnny Bench C
1973 Pete Rose OF
1975 Joe Morgan 2B
1976 Joe Morgan 2B
1977 George Foster OF
1995 Barry Larkin SS
2010 Joey Votto 1B
Cincinnati Reds Rookies of the Year
Year Name Position
1956 Frank Robinson OF
1963 Pete Rose 2B
1966 Tommy Helms 3B
1968 Johnny Bench C
1976 Pat Zachry P
1988 Chris Sabo 3B
1999 Scott Williamson P
2021 Jonathan India 2B
Cincinnati Reds Retired Numbers
# Name Position
1 Fred Hutchinson M
5 Johnny Bench C
8 Joe Morgan 2B
10 Sparky Anderson M
11 Barry Larkin SS
13 Dave Concepcion SS
14 Pete Rose IF
18 Ted Kluszewski 1B
20 Frank Robinson OF
24 Tony Perez 1B
42 Jackie Robinson 2B
Cincinnati Reds Batting Champions
Year Name #
1905 Cy Seymour .377
1916 Hal Chase .339
1917 Edd Roush .341
1919 Edd Roush .321
1926 Bubbles Hargrave .353
1938 Ernie Lombardi .342
1968 Pete Rose .335
1969 Pete Rose .348
1973 Pete Rose .338
Cincinnati Reds ERA Champions
Year Name #
1923 Dolf Luque 1.93
1925 Dolf Luque 2.63
1939 Bucky Walters 2.29
1940 Bucky Walters 2.48
1941 Elmer Riddle 2.24
1944 Ed Heusser 2.38
Cincinnati Reds Home Run Champions
Year Name #
1892 Bug Holliday 13
1901 Sam Crawford 16
1905 Fred Odwell 9
1954 Ted Kluszewski 49
1970 Johnny Bench 45
1972 Johnny Bench 40
1977 George Foster 52
1978 George Foster 40
Cincinnati Reds Strikeout Champions
Year Name #
1899 Noodles Hahn 145
1900 Noodles Hahn 132
1901 Noodles Hahn 239
1939 Bucky Walters 137
1941 Johnny Vander Meer 202
1942 Johnny Vander Meer 186
1943 Johnny Vander Meer 174
1947 Ewell Blackwell 193
1993 Jose Rijo 227
2006 Aaron Harang 216
2014 Johnny Cueto 242
Cincinnati Reds Wild Cards
Year Record Manager
n/a n/a n/a
Cincinnati Reds West Division Titles
Year Record Manager
1970 102-60 Sparky Anderson
1972 95-59 Sparky Anderson
1973 99-63 Sparky Anderson
1975 108-54 Sparky Anderson
1976 102-60 Sparky Anderson
1979 90-71 John McNamara
1990 91-71 Lou Piniella
Cincinnati Reds Central Division Titles
Year Record Manager
1994 66-48 Davey Johnson
1995 85-59 Davey Johnson
2010 91-71 Dusty Baker
2012 97-65 Dusty Baker
Cincinnati Reds A.A. Pennants
Year Record Manager
1882 55-25 Pop Snyder
Cincinnati Reds N.L. Pennants
Year Record Manager
1919 96-44 Pat Moran
1939 97-57 Bill McKechnie
1940 100-53 Bill McKechnie
1961 93-61 Fred Hutchinson
1970 102-60 Sparky Anderson
1972 95-59 Sparky Anderson
1975 108-54 Sparky Anderson
1976 102-60 Sparky Anderson
1990 91-71 Lou Piniella
Cincinnati Reds World Championships
Year Opponent M.V.P.
1919 Chicago n/a
1940 Detroit n/a
1975 Boston Pete Rose
1976 New York Johnny Bench
1990 Oakland Jose Rijo
Cincinnati Red Stockings Statmaster
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Includes Hitting, Pitching & Fielding Stats
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Cincinnati Reds News
Cincinnati Red Stockings Managers
Cincinnati Reds Standings & Managers
Cincinnati Redlegs Standings & Managers
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Team-vs-Team Wins & Losses
Cincinnati Reds Franchise Facts At-A-Glance
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Cincinnati Reds World Series
1919 World Series
1939 World Series
1940 World Series
1961 World Series
1970 World Series
1972 World Series
1975 World Series
1976 World Series
1990 World Series

Did you know that the Cincinnati Reds won the first pennant in American Association history? Did you know that the franchise officially changed their name (1953-1958) to avoid any conflict with communistic entities?

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