Chicago Cubs Win the 1st National Pennant T-Shirt

A lot has changed since 1877 when baseballs National took to the diamond. There wasn't a World Series the American wouldn't exist for more than a quarter century. Chicago's entry to this new baseball association wasn't even called the Cubs they were the White Stockings and they wouldn't play in Wrigley for more than thirty years. The game of baseball was different as well. The pitcher was 45 feet away from home plate, which had four sides instead of five. The overhand pitch wasn't allowed so all balls were delivered underhanded. There was no mound with the pitcher operating from a 4'X6' box and a batter had to get nine balls to get a base. There were other differences but I digress let's move on to the season that was for these White Stockings (or any pro baseball team) one of the best ever. Many people think the Chicago Cubs are headed towards the Worlds Series next year. What better way to celebrate the 140th anniversary of Chicago's National team? Because the White Stocking won the first ever pennant amassing a record of 52-14. After clinching the pennant on September 23rd by defeating the Hartford Dark Blues 7-6 the Tribune summed up the season this way. "they won everything if they won, and lost nothing to speak of if they lost. But they won and now, despite every combination, every abuse, every unfairness, they have played themselves fairly to the front, and so cleanly that nothing can throw off the grip they have on the flag." Here is the team 11 man team pictured in this card. Position Players: White, Deacon C. .343 McVey, Cal 1b .347 Barnes, Ross 2b .429 Peters, John SS .351 Anson, Cap 3b .356 Addy, Bob OF .306 Glenn, John OF .282 Hines, Paul OF .304 Bielaski, Oscar OF .209 Andrus, Fred OF .306 Pitchers: Spalding, Al 47-12 ERA 1.75 McVey, Cal 5-2 ERA 1.52 White, Barnes and Peters also made relief appearances. Mr. Spalding was also the manager he went on to open a sporting goods store in Chicago and the famous athletic equipment and sports publication company. Cap Anson went on to collect 3,031 hits and a .333 batting average during his career. He became a player manager in 1879 and led his team to five more pennants in the 1880's. Later he entered politics when in 1905 he was elected Chicago's City Clerk. ChiTownView has a couple of videos about where the pre Wrigley era Cubs played ball. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxsE3zogudM https://youtu.be/jEzNLP0NEeo Photo is from the Library Of Congress.