1870s – Society for American Baseball Research

June 14, 1870: The Atlantic Storm: Red Stockings suffer first defeat

July 23, 1870: The first ‘Chicago’ game

Joe Start, first baseman of the Brooklyn Atlantics

August 29, 1870: Atlantics beat Forest City in ‘The Most Remarkable Base Ball Game on Record’

November 1, 1870: The birth of the National Association

April 6, 1871: Boston Red Stockings take the field for the first time

May-June 1871: The Boston Red Stockings’ homestand from hell

May 4, 1871: Association Ball: Kekionga vs. Forest City

May 5, 1871: Red Stockings win first regular-season game in Boston baseball history

May 16, 1871: Troy Haymakers spoil Boston Red Stockings’ first home opener

June 21, 1871: Boston’s Albert Spalding tosses first shutout of the season

July 4, 1871: Boston defeats Washington on Fourth of July

August 3, 1871: Cuban baseball pioneer Steve Bellán has the game of his life

September 2, 1871: Red Stockings beat up Forest Citys pitchers for 31 runs

September 5, 1871: ‘Bushel Basket’ Gould hits first grand slam in professional baseball history

September 9, 1871: Red Stockings rally in 9th to defeat rival Athletics

September 13, 1871: In rare relief appearance, Harry Wright saves the day for Boston

September 29, 1871: Chicago beats Boston in last baseball game before the Great Fire

October 30, 1871: The first pennant race: Chicago White Stockings vs. Philadelphia Athletics

October 30, 1871: Berkenstock returns after 4-year absence to help Philadelphia win first league championship

George Zettlein, Baseball-Reference.com

April 26, 1872: Mansfields of Middletown are ‘Chicagoed’ in National Association debut

May 11, 1872: Ninth-inning comeback gives Red Stockings victory in home opener

June 10, 1872: Boston Red Stockings win extra-inning game in controversial fashion

June 12, 1872: Boston Red Stockings bury the Philadelphia Athletics

Of the 13 members of the Yeddo Royal Japanese Troupe, eight of them — including a 10-year-old boy — were among the first Japanese to play baseball in the U.S. Yamamoto Kinjiro, third from right, played third base for the Japanese team, and was called the “Belle of Japan” because he walked on a tightrope wearing a woman’s costume, a common performance in 19th-century Japan. Courtesy of the Thanatos Archive.

June 14, 1872: Early Baseball Encounters in the West: The Yeddo Royal Japanese Troupe Play Ball in America