The Mutual Base Ball Club of New York was an American

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 ...

club established in 1857, the year of the first baseball convention. The Mutuals just missed out on being a founding member of the

National Association of Base Ball Players The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) was the first organization governing American baseball (spelled as two words in the 19th century). The first convention of 16 New York City area clubs was held at Smith's Hotel, 462 Broome ...

that year, but later became a charter member of both the

National Association of Professional Base Ball Players The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP), often known simply as the National Association (NA), was the first fully- professional sports league in baseball. The NA was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 se ...

, or "NA", the first professional league, in 1871, and then the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

in 1876.

The team was initially formed from

firefighters A firefighter (or fire fighter or fireman) is a first responder trained in specific emergency response such as firefighting, primarily to control and extinguish fires and respond to emergencies such as hazardous material incidents, medical in ...

of New York's Mutual Hook and Ladder Company Number One.

Boss Tweed William Magear "Boss" Tweed (April 3, 1823 – April 12, 1878) was an American politician most notable for being the political boss of Tammany Hall, the Democratic Party's political machine that played a major role in the politics of 19t ...

took control of the Mutuals in 1864 and operated the team until his arrest following the deadly riots of 1871 and the public exposing of his corruption that followed. During Tweed's tenure as owner, he and the Mutuals have been given credit for initiating the concept of

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

when Tweed sent the team to New Orleans to train for the 1869 season. The Mutual club initially played its home games at Elysian Fields in

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; ) is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's popula ...

, with the

New York Knickerbockers The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associati ...

and many other

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

clubs, but moved to the enclosed

Union Grounds Union Grounds was a baseball park located in the Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. The grounds opened in 1862 in sports, 1862, its inaugural match being played on May 15. It was the first baseball park ...

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 1868. Though historically identified as "New York", they never staged any home games in Manhattan, which before 1898 was considered to be "New York City." The Mutuals chose open professionalism in 1869–70 after

NABBP The National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) was the first organization governing American baseball (spelled as two words in the 19th century). The first convention of 16 New York City area clubs was held at Smith's Hotel, 462 Broome ...

liberalization. They joined the NA for its

1871 Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Bapaume – Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...

1875 Events January * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the year (Third C ...

duration. In

1876 Events January * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. *January 27 – The Northampton Bank robbery occurs in Massachusetts. February * Febr ...

, the Chicago White Stockings initiated the

and recruited its members from West to East, partly to wrest control of professional baseball from Eastern interests. The Mutuals were one of eight charter members, six of whom were from the National Association. Weak (sixth place at 21–35) and cash-poor, the club refused to complete its playing obligations in the West; and was expelled.Baseball history
Retrieved 2012-01-08 On May 13, 1876, the Mutuals executed the first

triple play In baseball or softball, a triple play (denoted as TP in baseball statistics) is the act of making three out (baseball), outs during the same play. There have only been 739 triple plays in Major League Baseball (MLB) since 1876, an average of ju ...

in major-league history in a game against the Hartford Dark Blues. Union Grounds proprietor

William Cammeyer William Henry Cammeyer (March 20, 1821 – September 4, 1898) was a businessman who was a pioneer in the early days of Major League Baseball. He was the owner of the New York Mutuals franchise and even managed the team during the 1876 season. He al ...

, often listed today as the Mutual club owner, signed the

Hartford Dark Blues The Hartfords (more commonly called the Hartford Dark Blues because of their uniform color) were a 19th-century baseball team. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut. History In 1874, baseball in Hartford was being played in a fever pitch. ...

to play at his Union Grounds in 1877. The team was effectively a one-year replacement for the defunct Mutuals, and was sometimes called "Hartford of Brooklyn".

Record

Source for season records: Rio (2008).

Franchise leaders

Batting *

Hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

–

Joe Start Joseph Start (October 14, 1842 – March 27, 1927), nicknamed "Old Reliable", was one of the most durable regulars of baseball's earliest era, and one of the top first baseman, first basemen of his time. He began his playing career in 1859, ...

(387) * Runs – Joe Start (264) *

At bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s – Joe Start (1314) *

Games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

– Joe Start (273) * Doubles – Joe Start and

Dave Eggler David Daniel Eggler (April 30, 1849 – April 5, 1902) was a Major League Baseball center fielder. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. Eggler's career began in the National Association of Base Ball Players with the New York Mutuals in , and was a ...

(40) *

Home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s – Joe Start (8) *

RBIs A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

– Joe Start (187) *

Stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s – Dave Eggler (36) Pitching * Wins –

Bobby Mathews Robert T. Mathews (November 21, 1851 – April 17, 1898) was an American right-handed professional baseball pitcher who played in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, the National League of Major League Baseball and th ...

(100) *

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

– Bobby Mathews (2.41) *

Strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s – Bobby Mathews (95) *

Innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

– Bobby Mathews (1,647)

Notable alumni

Lip Pike Lipman Emanuel "Lip" Pike (May 25, 1845 – October 10, 1893) the "Iron Batter", was an American star of 19th-century baseball in the United States. His brother, Israel Pike, played briefly for the Hartford Dark Blues during the season. Pike ...

, major league baseball 4× home run champion *

Rynie Wolters Reinder Albertus Wolters (March 17, 1844 – January 3, 1917) was a professional baseball player from Nieuweschans, Netherlands. He played five seasons in the amateur National Association of Base Ball Players from 1866 to 1870, and three season ...

, first

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

professional baseball player

Baseball Hall of Famers

References

*Baseball-Reference
"New York Mutuals Team Index" (1871–1875)
Retrieved 2006-09-17. *Baseball-Reference
"New York Mutuals Team Index" (1876)
Retrieved 2006-09-12. *Retrosheet

Retrieved 2006-09-17. *Wright, Marshall (2000). ''The National Association of Base Ball Players, 1857–1870''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co.

External links