The Cincinnati Reds

First Nine of the Cincinnati (Red Stockings)
Base Ball Club.
New York: Tuchfarber, Walkley & Moelmann
Color lithograph, 1869
Prints & Photographs Division
Copyright deposit, 1869 (207.1)

The 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings was the first all-professional baseball team in America. Led by such legendary future Hall of Famers as Harry Wright and his brother George and the often unhittable pitching of Asa Brainard, the Red Stockings dominated their competition, compiling an unprecidented, unbeaten record of fifty-six wins and one tie. Players' salaries ranged from a low of $600 for substitute Richard Hurley to the highest sum paid to date of $1,400 -- awarded to George Wright, the team's brilliant young shortstop.