Alfred James Reach (May 25, 1840 – January 14, 1928) was an Anglo-American sportsman who was one of the early stars of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

in the National Association. After his playing career, he went on to become an influential executive, publisher, sporting goods manufacturer, and spokesman for the sport. He was influential in the founding of the Philadelphia Phillies in 1875.

Early life

Reach was born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, on May 25, 1840.History for Alfred James Reach
at webcemetaries.com

Career

Reach was a regular for the champion Eckford club in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

in the early 1860s before moving to the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

in 1865. When the National Association began, he helped them win the first professional baseball pennant in 1871.Al Reach Statistics
at baseball-reference.com Upon his retirement from playing in 1875, he helped found the Philadelphia Phillies franchise. Reach served as team president from 1883 to 1899. Later, similarly to Albert Spalding, Reach formed a sporting goods company and earned millions. In fact, he sold his company to Spalding in 1889. Reach was the trade name used on the game balls for the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

until 1976. Reach kept his interest in the Phillies franchise, selling to a syndicate led by James Potter in 1903.

Death

Reach died at age 87 in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, and is interred at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in

Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania Bala Cynwyd ( ) is a community and census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located on the Philadelphia Main Line in Southeastern Pennsylvania and borders the western edge of Philadelphia at U.S. Route ...

Legacy

A Pennsylvania historical marker was dedicated on April 4, 2003 at 1820 Chestnut Street in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

for Reach's contribution to baseball.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reach, Al 1840 births 1928 deaths Baseball executives Brooklyn Eckfords (NABBP) players Burials at West Laurel Hill Cemetery English baseball players Major League Baseball players from England Major League Baseball right fielders Philadelphia Athletic players Philadelphia Athletics (NA) players Philadelphia Athletics (NABBP) players Philadelphia Phillies managers Philadelphia Phillies owners Baseball players from London