On April 22, 1876, the first official National League baseball game was played between the Boston Red Caps and the Philadelphia Athletics at the Jefferson Street Grounds in Philadelphia. Approximately 3,000 fans were in attendance to witness this historic moment in sports history.
The game was a pitchers' duel between Boston's Joe Borden and Philadelphia's Lon Knight. Both teams struggled to score runs, but in the top of the first inning, Boston's Tim McGinley hit a single, stole second base, and later scored on a fielding error by Philadelphia's third baseman, Ezra Sutton. This run would prove to be the only one scored in the entire game.
Boston's Joe Borden pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only four hits and striking out three batters. He was supported by strong defensive play from his teammates, including a spectacular catch by right fielder George Wright, who made a leaping grab to rob Philadelphia's Wes Fisler of an extra-base hit in the bottom of the seventh inning.
The game was completed in just one hour and 50 minutes, with Boston emerging victorious by a score of 1-0. This marked the beginning of the National League, which would go on to become one of the two major leagues in American professional baseball.
The success of this first game helped establish baseball as America's national pastime and paved the way for the sport's growth and popularity in the decades that followed. Today, April 22, 1876, is remembered as a significant date in the history of baseball and sports in general.
