By: HISTORY.com Editors

First National League baseball game played

Published: October 19, 2021Last Updated: May 27, 2025

On April 22, 1876, the Boston Red Caps beat the Philadelphia Athletics, 6-5, in the first official National League baseball game. The game, which lasts a little more than two hours, is played in "favorable" weather before 3,000 fans at the Athletics' grounds at 25th and Jefferson streets. "Great interest was manifested in the result," the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "as it really was the first game of importance played this season."

"The Athletics should have won the game," the newspaper added, "but their fielding was poor." Betting on the game was "about even," according to the Inquirer.

While this was the first official National League game, the teams were not the first in professional baseball—the first pro team was the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings. Nor was the NL the first major professional baseball league—the first league was the National Association of Professional BaseBall Players, formed in 1871.

However, the National Association was loosely configured and had no central leadership or authority to govern its teams. Therefore, corruption, gambling, drunkenness and other malpractices became commonplace by 1875 and the league folded. That allowed William Hulbert, an Illinois businessman and owner of the Chicago White Stockings, to emerge as the founder of the much more stable National League.

Hulbert took the six strongest clubs from the National Association—the Boston Red Stockings (which became the Red Caps), Philadelphia Athletics, Hartford Dark Blues, St. Louis Brown Stockings, Chicago White Stockings and New York Mutuals—and the Louisville Grays and Cincinnati Reds to form the National League.

Hulbert put new rules in place that gave the new league a better chance for success than its predecessor. It was an invite-only league and teams had to pay substantial league dues and were subject to league discipline for misbehavior.

In 1876, the pitching mound was 45 feet from home plate instead of today's 60 feet, six inches. Pitches were supposed to be delivered underhanded, but pitchers "violated that rule with impunity," says John Thorn, Major League Baseball's official historian. Nine errant balls walked a batter instead of four in the modern game. Before an at-bat, a batter could specify a high strike zone (waist to shoulders) or low one (waist to shin).

Who Invented Baseball?

A Civil War hero named Abner Doubleday is often credited with developing the game in 1839, but the real history is older.

By: History Staff

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on April 22nd

1886

Ohio criminalizes seduction by male teachers

Ohio passes a statute that criminalizes seduction by all men over the age of 18 who worked as teachers or instructors of women. The law even prohibited men from having consensual sex with women (of any age) whom they were instructing. The penalty for disobeying this law ranged from two to 10 years in prison. […]

1:34m read

1889

The Oklahoma land rush begins

At precisely high noon, thousands of would-be settlers make a mad dash into the newly opened Oklahoma Territory to claim cheap land. The nearly two million acres of land opened up to white settlement was located in Indian Territory, a large area that once encompassed much of modern-day Oklahoma. Initially considered unsuitable for white colonization, […]

2:56m read

1915

Germans introduce poison gas

On April 22, 1915, German forces shock Allied soldiers along the western front by firing more than 150 tons of lethal chlorine gas against two French colonial divisions at Ypres, Belgium. This was the first major gas attack by the Germans, and it devastated the Allied line. Toxic smoke has been used occasionally in warfare […]

4:08m read

1915

Second Battle of Ypres begins

On April 22, 1915, German forces shock Allied soldiers along the Western Front by firing more than 150 tons of lethal chlorine gas against two French colonial divisions at Ypres in Belgium. Toxic smoke had been used occasionally in warfare since ancient times, and in 1912, the French used small amounts of tear gas in […]

2:50m read

1945

Hitler admits defeat

On April 22, 1945, Adolf Hitler, learning from one of his generals that no German defense was offered to the Russian assault at Eberswalde, admits to all in his underground bunker that the war is lost and that suicide is his only recourse. Almost as confirmation of Hitler’s assessment, a Soviet mechanized corps reaches Treuenbrietzen, […]

1954

McCarthy-Army hearings begin

Senator Joseph McCarthy begins hearings investigating the United States Army, which he charges with being “soft” on communism. These televised hearings gave the American public their first view of McCarthy in action, and his recklessness, indignant bluster and bullying tactics quickly resulted in his fall from prominence. In February 1950, Senator McCarthy charged that there […]

2:26m read

1957

John Irvin Kennedy plays for Phillies, fully integrating National League

On April 22, 1957, John Irvin Kennedy becomes the first African American player on the Philadelphia Phillies, fully integrating the National League 10 years after Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier. In the eighth inning of a 5-1 loss to the Brooklyn Dodgers at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, N.J., Kennedy enters the […]

1:28m read

1967

Big Mac debuts

It first sold for 45 cents.

1970

The first Earth Day

Earth Day, an event to increase public awareness of the world’s environmental problems, is celebrated in the U.S. for the first time. Millions of Americans, including students from thousands of colleges and universities, participated in rallies, marches and educational programs across the country.

1:44m read

1978

Bob Marley headlines One Love Peace Concert

On April 22nd, 1978, international reggae superstar Bob Marley headlines the One Love Peace Concert at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. The lineup included 16 reggae acts (including Marley) with a common goal: to restore peace to the Caribbean island nation, a former British colony then roiling with political strife. Throughout the 1970s, long-simmering […]

1:58m read

1978

The Blues Brothers make their world premiere on “Saturday Night Live”

On April 22, 1978, “Saturday Night Live” showcases the worldwide television debut of the Blues Brothers—the not-quite-real, not-quite-fake musical creation of SNL cast members Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. The duo came complete with a made-up origin story. According to SNL’s Paul Shaffer, who introduced the new act, it was Marshall Checker, of the legendary […]

1:30m read

1989

100,000 Chinese students gather at Tiananmen Square, demand to meet Li Peng

Seven days after the death of Hu Yaobang, the deposed reform-minded leader of the Chinese Communist Party, some 100,000 students gather at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square to commemorate Hu and voice their discontent with China’s authoritative communist government. An official memorial service for Hu Yaobang was being held in Tiananmen’s Great Hall of the People, and […]

2:02m read

1992

Sewers explode in Guadalajara, Mexico, killing hundreds

Dozens of sewer explosions in Guadalajara, Mexico, kill more than 200 people and damage 1,000 buildings on April 22, 1992. The series of explosions was caused by a gas leak, the warning signs of which were ignored by the Mexican government and the national oil company. Three days prior to the explosions, the residents of […]

1:30m read

1994

Former President Richard Nixon dies

On April 22, 1994, former President Richard M. Nixon dies after suffering a stroke four days earlier. In a 1978 speech at Oxford University, Nixon admitted he had screwed up during his presidency but predicted that his achievements would be viewed more favorably with time. He told the young audience, “You’ll be here in the […]

2:04m read

1997

Peruvian President Fujimori orders assault on Japanese ambassador’s home

In Lima, Peru, Peruvian president Alberto Fujimori orders a commando assault on the Japanese ambassador’s home, hoping to free 72 hostages held for more than four months by armed members of the Tupac Amaru leftist rebel movement. On December 16, 1996, 14 Tupac Amaru terrorists, disguised as waiters and caterers, slipped into the home of […]

1:42m read

2004

Pat Tillman killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan

Pat Tillman, who gave up his pro football career to enlist in the U.S. Army after the terrorist attacks of September 11, is killed by friendly fire while serving in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004. The news that Tillman, age 27, was mistakenly gunned down by his fellow Rangers, rather than enemy forces, was initially […]

2:04m read

Sports

31 videos

Sports

8 College Football Coaches Who Changed the Game

From Yale's Walter Camp and Oklahoma's Bud Wilkinson to Miami's Jimmy Johnson and Alabama's Nick Saban, these trailblazers left their marks.

Sports

Why Is ‘The Catch’ Called Baseball’s Most Perfect Play?

In 1954, the Giants' Willie Mays made a catch that wowed the nation—and became a legendary moment in baseball history.

Sports

How Jim Thorpe Became America’s First Multi-Sport Star

The Native American was an Olympic medalist, NFL standout and a MLB player — he even won a ballroom dancing championship.

About the author

HISTORY.com Editors

HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Articles with the “HISTORY.com Editors” byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Christian Zapata, Cristiana Lombardo and Adrienne Donica.

Fact Check

We strive for accuracy and fairness. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate.