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History of the Cincinnati Reds

By: Albert Mcconnell

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The Cincinnati Reds began play in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association (AA). At the time, they were known as the Cincinnati Red Stockings. Since their formation, they have been up and down, winning six major league titles (one AA, five World Series) with an average of about 22 years between each title.

The Reds can trace the origin of their name back to baseball’s first professional franchise, the original Cincinnati Red Stockings. The Red Stockings were formed in 1866 as the first team fully encompassed of pros. When the best players moved to Boston, they took the name with them.

In fact, the Cincinnati Reds as we know them now were the third team to play in Cincinnati as the Red Stockings. A second Red Stockings team was a charter member of the NL but was expelled in 1880. The third Cincinnati Red Stockings team played its first eight years in the American Association. They joined the NL in 1890 (where they have been ever since) and changed their name simply to the Reds.

The Reds won their first NL pennant in 1919. They were led by hitting stars Edd Roush and Heinie Groh and they had a pitching staff that included Hod Eller and left-hander Harry “Slim” Sallee. They defeated the Chicago White Sox in the now infamous 1919 World Series.

The excitement over the 1919 World Series was dulled to an extent when it was revealed that the White Sox had purposely thrown the World Series in a gambling scheme.

It would be 20 years before the Reds would capture another NL pennant and 21 years before they captured another World Series. In 1939, after winning the NL Championship, they faced the New York Yankees in the World Series and were subsequently swept by them. It wouldn’t be long before they were back, however, as the next year saw Cincinnati repeat as NL Champions and this time prevail in the World Series against the Detroit Tigers in seven games. First basemen Frank McCormick was the 1940 MVP.

In 1953, Cincinnati adopted the nickname “Redlegs” to avoid any association with communism during the McCarthy era. They remained the Redlegs until 1958 when they went back to being the Reds.

After winning the 1940 World Series, the Reds would go on their longest World Series drought in franchise history (35 years). They enjoyed regular season success in that time frame and won a few NL pennants, but bowed out to AL teams in the World Series each time.

The Cincinnati Reds best stretch came during the 70s when they were known as “The Big Red Machine.” They started the 70s of on the right track by winning the NL pennant, but lost in five games to the Baltimore Orioles. They suffered the next year, enduring a losing record (the only time in the 70s that happened).

The Big Red Machine reloaded the next year (1972) by dealing several players. They won the NL Pennant again, but lost to the Oakland Athletics in an exciting seven-game series.

The years 1975 and 1976 were the best for the Big Red Machine. Led by players such as catcher Johnny Bench and third baseman Pete Rose, they won back-to-back World Series.

The 1975 World Series was a memorable one in that it featured the Boston Red Sox’s Carlton Fisk’s famous 12th inning shot that hit the foul pole that forced a game 7. In game 7, Cincinnati won on an RBI single by second baseman Joe Morgan In 1976, they were much more dominant, sweeping both the Pittsburgh Pirates for the NL Championship and the New York Yankees for the World Series.

In 1990, under new manager Lou Piniella, the unheralded Reds surprised the major leagues by leading the NL from wire-to-wire. They ended up sweeping the favored Oakland Athletics in the World Series to give the franchise their fifth World Series. They have not been back to the World Series since.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Albert Mcconnell writes reviews on various sporting events including the online sportsbook websites. In this piece of write up he highlights on various MLB teams and baseball betting.He takes the readers opinion on how to bet on baseball online.

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