Rockford Forest Citys

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cabinet card of the 1871 Rockford Forest Citys

Rockford Forest Citys, from Rockford, Illinois was one of the first professional baseball clubs, playing for one season during the National Association inaugural year of 1871. Rockford finished with 4 wins and 21 losses, good for last place and 15 1/2 games behind the champion Philadelphia Athletics ball club. The star of that team was Cap Anson who would go on to play 22 seasons with the Chicago Cubs (known then as the Chicago White Stockings and subsequently as the Chicago Colts) and who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1939.

Rockford, which was the westernmost club in the National Association, had faced significant financial hardship during the 1871 season including travel cost and did not make a profit. Additionally, star Cap Anson decided to take a $1,250 a year offer from Philadelphia for the 1872 season. So the club folded after its one and only season.

From 1868 to 1870, future Hall of Famer Albert Spalding and Ross Barnes starred for Rockford while the club was still an 'amateur' team. Actually, the Forest Citys were the first ball club to pay its players. Rockford played their home games at the Agricultural Society Fair Grounds.