The Cincinnati Reds have a long and fruitful history, beginning with the accomplishment of being the first all-professional nine in 1869.
In that same year, the Cincinnati Reds also finished the season with a perfect 57-0 record. The winning streak, however, ended in June 1870, where they lost their 82nd game to the Brooklyn Atlantics.
Cincinnati joins Chicago, New York, Boston and other cities as a charter member in the National League in 1876, when it was first formed. Four years later, however, the Cincinnati Reds are expelled from the league due to the team’s refusal to cease the selling of beer during games and their renting out their ballpark on Sundays.
It took nine years for the team to be re-admitted into the National League, and 15 yeas for the team’s Cy Semour to win the league’s battling title (and to set the record with a .377 battling average).
The 1910’s come with great misfortune for the Cincinnati Reds, as they win their very first World Series Championship against the Chicago White Sox, but then have their title tarnished. Several members of the White Sox were suspended for supposedly “throwing” the Series.
In 1940 and after winning their second National League pennant consecutively, the Cincinnati Reds grab the World Championship from the tigers, in game 7 of the World Series.
Four years later, pitcher Joe Nuxhall becomes the youngest player in the 20th century to participate in a Major League game. He was only 15 years old; he yielded five runs and retired only two batters in two-thirds of the inning. He did not play again until he was nearly 24 years old.
In 1956, the Reds set a team record of eight homers in one game against the Milwaukee Braves.
In 1961, the team, managed by Fred Hutchinson, takes a shot at the World Series and loses to the Yankees in Game Five. Six years later, the team partakes in the longest game in club history against the San Francisco Giant with 21 innings, where the lost.
For the first time in 35 years, the Cincinnati Reds win their first World Series title in 1975 only to win their second one in 1976. Their winning streak ends and in 1981, they finished with the best record in the Major Leagues without making it to the playoffs. They also did not qualify for post-season play.
The Cincinnati Reds continued into the 21st century without any World Series titles, but with countless record-breaking statistics. Under the management of Dave Miley in 2004 and again in 2006, with Wane Krivsky as the general manager, the team goes through its ups and downs.
The Cincinnati Reds won heir division in 2010, but went back to disappointing their fans in 2011.
The Reds are scheduled to play the Arizona Diamondbacks in July of this year at home. Later towards the end of August, however, they will play against the D-Backs again in Phoenix.
For more information on the Cincinnati Reds and their appearance in Arizona, see the Spring Schedule.
