National Association (1879–1880)

For other baseball organizations with similar names, see National Association.

The National Association (formally, the National Base Ball Association) was a professional baseball league that played during the 1879 and 1880 seasons. While not considered a major league, it operated before the formal establishment of minor league baseball. It should not be confused with the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, the first fully-professional sports league in baseball, which operated several years prior.

National Association

Classification	Minor league
Sport	Baseball
Founded	1879
Ceased	1880
No. of teams	9 (1879), 4 (1880)
Country	United States

History

The National Association originated in March 1879, taking National Base Ball Association its formal name.^[1] Newspapers of the era referred to it more succinctly as the National Contest or National Championship, not to be confused with the National League, which was known simply as the League.

The National Association was essentially a continuation of the International Association for Professional Base Ball Players,^[2] which had lost its final Canadian team.

1879

Teams from nine cities competed during the 1879 season:^[3] Teams of this era were commonly referred to simply by their city, such as "the Holyokes" or "the Worcesters".

• Albany, New York (known as the "Blue Stockings")
• Holyoke, Massachusetts
• Manchester, New Hampshire
• New Bedford, Massachusetts
• Rochester, New York (known as the "Hop Bitters")
• Springfield, Massachusetts
• Utica, New York (known as the "Pent Ups")
• Washington, D.C. (known as the "Nationals")
• Worcester, Massachusetts (known as the "Grays")

Standings published in early October 1879, with the season "regarded as virtually closed", were:^[4]

Team	Won	Lost	Win %	Played
Albany	25	13	.658	38
Washington	23	16	.590	39
Holyoke	23	16	.590	39
Worcester	19	23	.452	42
New Bedford	12	30	.286	42
Springfield	16	14	.533	30
Manchester	7	8	.467	15
Rochester	6	9	.400	15
Utica	3	5	.375	8

1880

Teams from four cities competed during the 1880 season:^[5]

• Albany, New York
• Baltimore, Maryland
• Rochester, New York (known as the "Hop Bitters")
• Washington, D.C. (known as the "Nationals")

The season began on May 1, with Albany and Washington playing to a 4–4 draw in 11 innings in Albany.^[6] Rochester did not join the association until June.^[7] By early August, Baltimore had dropped out, with records of contests played between the remaining three teams published as:^[8]

Team	Won	Lost	Win %	Played
Washington	16	8	.667	24
Albany	7	13	.350	20
Rochester	6	8	.429	14

Games were played as late as the first week in September, with Washington defeating Rochester, 4–2, in a game played in Baltimore on September 2.^[9]