The Cincinnati Baseball Historical Review No. 7: The Father Of Professional Baseball Comes To Ludlow For His Final Appearance
Boston Red Stockings And Harry Wright Return To Greater Cincinnati in 1875
It had been five years since Harry Wright appeared on a baseball field in greater Cincinnati.
It had been five years since his Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional sports team, disbanded, with several of the famous nine following him to Boston, to form the first baseball dynasty.
In the spring of 1875, George W. Smith, a long time friend of Wright, and secretary of the newly formed Ludlow, Ky Base Ball Club, wrote a letter to the Boston player/manager asking if he’d be interested in coming west for a game. Wright accepted.
And so just after 2:00 p.m. in Cincinnati on June 1, 1875, Wright and his champion Boston club boarded a four-horse omnibus, and crossed over the Ohio River on the Fifth Street Ferry landing just outside the Ludlow Base Ball Grounds.
The crowd, most of them congregating on the natural amphitheater hillside overlooking the Ohio River, whooped and hollered as the champions strode through the outfield gate. Harry Wright waved to all sides of the field. His brother George followed, and along with 1869 Red Stocking favorites Andy Leonard and Cal McVey, tipped their caps as the Ludlows came out of their clubhouse to shake hands.
As the Bostons took to the field wearing their customary attire of white flannels with red stockings, and BOSTONS across the chest, the crowd noticed Harry Wright looked different.
As the 40 year old Wright approached the visiting team bench, he showed of his shirt. Harry had worn his original Old English “C”, Cincinnati Red Stockings uniform.
The crowd roared with approval.
At 3:00 p.m., former Cincinnati Red Stocking Fred Waterman, chosen to be umpire, nodded to his former manger and gave the “play ball” signal.
In the second inning, Harry came to bat, stepping out of the box and donning his cap to the appreciative fans, before lining a ball to right field. His brother George followed with a shot clear over the centerfield fence, a ball that rolled right into the river, (ground rules dictated balls hit over fences as two-base hits, this would change to just RF later that summer). The Bostons would score six times in the second on their way to walloping the independent Ludlows 17-5.
It was the last time Harry Wright would be in the line-up in a game in the tri-state.
The Boston club would return to the Ludlow grounds later that summer to face the newly reorganized Cincinnati Reds, and the Ludlows, as well as traveling to Covington to face the Covington Stars. The Red Stockings won all three exhibition games handily. They would finish the season 71-8 and repeat as National Association champions.