curtoid
09-29-2004, 12:11 PM
Washington, Baltimore, Montreal, Minnesota and Texas are all intertwined in the saga that is baseball in the Nation's capital. It's not just their individual and collective histories but the history of the game.
Here's a bitchin' timeline of baseball in the DC area, as well as the effect it had beyond their once and future teams...
Prelude -- When the first professional baseball games were played in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., the enduring symbol of freedom in America - the Statue of Liberty - was still two years away from being dedicated. There were 38 states in the Union and what would become the State of Oklahoma had yet to be settled. More than seven decades had passed since Washington, D.C. became the capital of the United States and baseball was quickly evolving into the National Pastime.
1885 - Eighty-one years before I am born, a Washington team was admitted to the National League and played during the League's 10th professional season in 1886. Washington played 12 years in the National League - 1886-89 and 1892-99
1890 - The Brooklyn Dodgers are created - five years after the Senators.
1897 - Owners of the Washington Senators ballclub sponsored the first official Ladies Day in the summer of 1897, inviting women to spend an enjoyable afternoon at the ballpark with no admission charge. The front office expected a few dozen curious or adventurous females to turn out. They were in no way prepared for the one thousand enthusiastic women who stormed the ballpark gates.
1899 - - After 8 years in which the franchise never finished .500 or better the Washington Senators of the National League are one of 4 teams eliminated when the League reduces from 12 teams to 8.
January 1901 - Former Western League President Ban Johnson formally organized the American League with eight franchises, including the Washington Senators.
April 26, 1901 - When the American League began play in 1901 Washington, not wanting to confuse fans with the previous franchise, called themselves the Nationals. However, the fans never took to the name and called them the Senators.
1903 - The Yankees (aka "Highlanders") are formed - 18 years after the Senators.
July 16, 1909 - The Nationals and The Detroit Tigers played to a 0-0 tie over 18 innings. That game still stands as the longest scoreless game in American League history.
April 10, 1910 - President William H. Taft became the first President of the United States to throw out the first ball of the major league season - Nationals and the Philadelphia Athletics.
1912 - When Clark Griffith was named manager, newspaper writers referred to the Nationals as the 'Grifs'. He would become club owner and president.
1913 - The Big Train known as Walter Johnson continues to dominate the American League as he puts together one of the most dominant seasons in baseball history. Johnson finishes with a 36-7 record, and produces a microscopic 1.09 ERA. Johnson also leads the way in strikeouts, while pitching 11 shut outs. The Washington Nationals do manage to stay in the race for a while too but their 90-64 record is only good for 2nd place
October 1, 1924 A huge throng, some 100,000 delirious Washingtonians packed Pennsylvania Avenue on to cheer the American League champion Senators, as they paraded down the historic route from the Capitol to the White House. Thousands more waited on the Ellipse to hear President Coolidge's uncharacteristically enthusiastic speech saluting these "armored knights of the bat and ball."
October 10, 1924 - The Washington Nationals would win their only World Championship, after a 92-61 record. They beat the New York (baseball) Giants.
1925 & 1933 - The Washington Nationals would go to the World Series two more times, but not win.
1937 - 1945 - The Homestead Grays, of the Negro League won nine straight league pennants; during World War II, the Grays played their home games at both Forbes Field (Pittsburgh) a
Here's a bitchin' timeline of baseball in the DC area, as well as the effect it had beyond their once and future teams...
Prelude -- When the first professional baseball games were played in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., the enduring symbol of freedom in America - the Statue of Liberty - was still two years away from being dedicated. There were 38 states in the Union and what would become the State of Oklahoma had yet to be settled. More than seven decades had passed since Washington, D.C. became the capital of the United States and baseball was quickly evolving into the National Pastime.
1885 - Eighty-one years before I am born, a Washington team was admitted to the National League and played during the League's 10th professional season in 1886. Washington played 12 years in the National League - 1886-89 and 1892-99
1890 - The Brooklyn Dodgers are created - five years after the Senators.
1897 - Owners of the Washington Senators ballclub sponsored the first official Ladies Day in the summer of 1897, inviting women to spend an enjoyable afternoon at the ballpark with no admission charge. The front office expected a few dozen curious or adventurous females to turn out. They were in no way prepared for the one thousand enthusiastic women who stormed the ballpark gates.
1899 - - After 8 years in which the franchise never finished .500 or better the Washington Senators of the National League are one of 4 teams eliminated when the League reduces from 12 teams to 8.
January 1901 - Former Western League President Ban Johnson formally organized the American League with eight franchises, including the Washington Senators.
April 26, 1901 - When the American League began play in 1901 Washington, not wanting to confuse fans with the previous franchise, called themselves the Nationals. However, the fans never took to the name and called them the Senators.
1903 - The Yankees (aka "Highlanders") are formed - 18 years after the Senators.
July 16, 1909 - The Nationals and The Detroit Tigers played to a 0-0 tie over 18 innings. That game still stands as the longest scoreless game in American League history.
April 10, 1910 - President William H. Taft became the first President of the United States to throw out the first ball of the major league season - Nationals and the Philadelphia Athletics.
1912 - When Clark Griffith was named manager, newspaper writers referred to the Nationals as the 'Grifs'. He would become club owner and president.
1913 - The Big Train known as Walter Johnson continues to dominate the American League as he puts together one of the most dominant seasons in baseball history. Johnson finishes with a 36-7 record, and produces a microscopic 1.09 ERA. Johnson also leads the way in strikeouts, while pitching 11 shut outs. The Washington Nationals do manage to stay in the race for a while too but their 90-64 record is only good for 2nd place
October 1, 1924 A huge throng, some 100,000 delirious Washingtonians packed Pennsylvania Avenue on to cheer the American League champion Senators, as they paraded down the historic route from the Capitol to the White House. Thousands more waited on the Ellipse to hear President Coolidge's uncharacteristically enthusiastic speech saluting these "armored knights of the bat and ball."
October 10, 1924 - The Washington Nationals would win their only World Championship, after a 92-61 record. They beat the New York (baseball) Giants.
1925 & 1933 - The Washington Nationals would go to the World Series two more times, but not win.
1937 - 1945 - The Homestead Grays, of the Negro League won nine straight league pennants; during World War II, the Grays played their home games at both Forbes Field (Pittsburgh) a