Year In Review : 1880 National League

Off the Field…

The game known as BINGO was introduced abroad and quickly became one of the most popular forms of entertainment. To play BINGO, which is a form of lottery, each player purchased one or more cards divided into numbered and blank squares. Randomly chosen numbers (usually up to seventy-five or ninety) were called out by a "banker." The first player to achieve a card (or a line) in which all of the numbers have been called shouted "bingo" and collected all the proceeds from the purchased cards. Today, online BINGO has become a very popular legal form of gambling.

In the National League…

Charley Jones of the Boston Red Caps became the first player ever to hit two home runs in a single game.

On June 12^th, John Lee Richmond of the Worcester Ruby Legs pitched the first perfect game in Major League history defeating the visiting Cleveland Blues 1-0. It was also the first no-hitter to be tossed by a left-hander.

In October, the National League outlawed Sunday baseball and also banned the sale of beer at all games. Cincinnati reused to comply and was expelled from the league by National League president William Hulbert.