St. Louis (NA)
Encyclopedia
In the standard short format for identifying professional
baseball clubs in the U.S., St. Louis (NA) means the "St. Louis" club in the "NA" league. That format is common only in a context where it is unambiguous, either because the combination is unique in baseball history or because context implies a time, even a specific season, when the combination was unique.
For the 1875 season, two baseball club based in St. Louis, Missouri
joined the "NA" league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players
. The two clubs are commonly called "Brown Stockings" and "Red Stockings" but neither of those is so well-established to make "St. Louis (NA)" unambiguous. The latter should only be used to designate one club in prose by a writer who explicitly introduces another term for the other club.
St. Louis Red Stockings
St. Louis Brown Stockings
of the National League
or the former St. Louis Browns
of the American League
other than the choice of team colors.
As with many teams of that era, the teams' nicknames and colors were inspired by the Cincinnati Red Stockings
, the first openly professional baseball team, which garnered much public interest due to an undefeated streak during a barnstorming
tour in 1869-1870.
continued as a charter member of the National League
and completed two seasons there (1876-1877), theirs is the more important place in baseball history. Probably for that reason, the Brown Stockings usually get "STL", nearly standard as a three-letter abbreviation for "St. Louis" in baseball encyclopedias, where space is severely at a premium. For example, Pete Palmer
uses "STL" for the Brown Stockings and "RS" for the Red Stockings in print (see Total Baseball or the new Baseball Encyclopedia); Baseball-Reference uses "STL" and "SLR" online.
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
baseball clubs in the U.S., St. Louis (NA) means the "St. Louis" club in the "NA" league. That format is common only in a context where it is unambiguous, either because the combination is unique in baseball history or because context implies a time, even a specific season, when the combination was unique.
For the 1875 season, two baseball club based in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
joined the "NA" league, the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players
National Association of Professional Base Ball Players
The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players , or simply the National Association , was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 season...
. The two clubs are commonly called "Brown Stockings" and "Red Stockings" but neither of those is so well-established to make "St. Louis (NA)" unambiguous. The latter should only be used to designate one club in prose by a writer who explicitly introduces another term for the other club.
St. Louis Red Stockings
- A local amateur team that decided to turn professional
- Survived only a partial season in 1875 (18 games) as the club played its final game on July 4
- Played home games at Compton ParkRed Stocking Baseball ParkRed Stocking Base-Ball Park was a baseball grounds in St. Louis, Missouri. It was home to the St. Louis Red Stockings of the National Association during the 1875 season, so it is considered a major league ballpark by those who count the NA as a major league....
St. Louis Brown Stockings
St. Louis Brown Stockings
The St. Louis Brown Stockings were a professional baseball club based in St. Louis, Missouri from 1875 to 1877.-History:Joining the National Association in the final season of that league, the Brown Stockings were the first team to represent St. Louis in a professional baseball association . The...
- A true professional team with players recruited nationally
- Played the full 1875 season (68 games)
- Joined the newly formed National LeagueNational LeagueThe National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
in 1876 - Played home games at Grand Avenue Grounds, later called Sportsman's ParkSportsman's ParkSportsman's Park was the name of several former Major League Baseball ballpark structures in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, all but one of which were located on the same piece of land, the northwest corner of Grand Boulevard and Dodier Street on the north side of the city.- History :From...
- Dropped out of National League following 1877 season, due to a gambling scandal
- Played as an amateur team during 1878-1881
- Folded when a new St. Louis Brown StockingsSt. Louis CardinalsThe St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
professional club was organized in 1882
St. Louis baseball colors and nicknames
Neither one of the two 1875 clubs is directly related with the St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
of the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
or the former St. Louis Browns
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
of the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
other than the choice of team colors.
As with many teams of that era, the teams' nicknames and colors were inspired by the Cincinnati Red Stockings
Cincinnati Red Stockings
The Cincinnati Red Stockings of were baseball's first fully professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players 1867–1870, a time of a transition that ambitious Cincinnati,...
, the first openly professional baseball team, which garnered much public interest due to an undefeated streak during a barnstorming
Barnstorming
Barnstorming was a popular form of entertainment in the 1920s in which stunt pilots would perform tricks with airplanes, either individually or in groups called a flying circus. Barnstorming was the first major form of civil aviation in the history of flight...
tour in 1869-1870.
Contemporary newspapers
On Independence Day 1875, the Chicago Tribune called the two teams "St. Louis" and "Red Stockings" in the standings; the former being "St. Louis" or "Browns" or "Brown Stockings" in prose and the latter being "Reds" in a game score (St Louis Reds 8, Washingtons 0). In a box score and game story, the Chicago White Stockings and St. Louis Brown Stockings are mainly Whites and Browns (noun) or White and Brown (adjective).Baseball databases
Because the St. Louis Brown StockingsSt. Louis Brown Stockings
The St. Louis Brown Stockings were a professional baseball club based in St. Louis, Missouri from 1875 to 1877.-History:Joining the National Association in the final season of that league, the Brown Stockings were the first team to represent St. Louis in a professional baseball association . The...
continued as a charter member of the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
and completed two seasons there (1876-1877), theirs is the more important place in baseball history. Probably for that reason, the Brown Stockings usually get "STL", nearly standard as a three-letter abbreviation for "St. Louis" in baseball encyclopedias, where space is severely at a premium. For example, Pete Palmer
Pete Palmer
Pete Palmer is a major contributor to the applied mathematical field referred to as sabermetrics. Along with the Bill James Baseball Abstracts, Palmer's book The Hidden Game of Baseball is often referred to as providing the foundation upon which the field of sabermetrics was built.Palmer began his...
uses "STL" for the Brown Stockings and "RS" for the Red Stockings in print (see Total Baseball or the new Baseball Encyclopedia); Baseball-Reference uses "STL" and "SLR" online.
Sources
- The Baseball Encyclopedia, MacMillan, various editions beginning in 1969
- Green Cathedrals, by Philip J. Lowry
- Ballparks of North America, by Michael Benson
- St. Louis' Big League Ballparks, by Joan M. Thomas