1994 New Era 125th Anniversary Pin

         I remember buying New Era caps at my local store in 1994 like it was yesterday.  At the end of my purchase, the salesman would ask, "Son, would you like to purchase the pin to go with it for 1.75?   

      "Absolutely," I replied. 

      In case you are wondering, a 5950 cap was $ 19.95 in 1994. 

     
During this season of Major League Baseball, all players wore the above pin on the back of their caps over the MLB batterman logo.

         More than twenty years later, while  I still have  those caps and pins,  I did not know what New Era was commemorating.....  125th Anniversary of what?

     Well, it turns out that the key is to pay attention to the phrase, "Professional Baseball 125th Anniversary."  New Era would be paying tribute to the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, America's first team of baseball players who were paid to play.


    I had to do a little research about the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings. 
 
   The Red Stockings began play in 1866 as a member of the National Association of Baseball Players (1866-1870).

    In 1869, with ten salaried players, player/manager Harry Wright would lead  the team to a record of 65-0 and turn a very small profit for its investors.

    Shortstop George Wright would earn the highest salary of $1,400.  Adjusted for inflation, that salary would be approximately $ 25, 000 today.

     Players were in their early twenties and came mainly from New York.

     Divisions and Leagues did not yet exist, but games were played between town and club teams. 

     Players did not even wear gloves for fielding! (Vintage Baseball Association)

    As the Cardinals, Pirates, Cubs, and Brewers did not yet exist,  who did they play?  Here is a short summary (Miklich):

4/23/69	defeated Cincinnati Picked Nine	24-15
5/4/69	defeated  Great Western of Cincinnati BBC	45-9
6/8/69	defeated  National of Albany  BBC	49-8
6/10/69	defeated  Boston Commons- Lowell  BBC	29-9
7/30/69	defeated  Cream City of Milwaukee, WI	85-7
8/2/69	defeated  Rockford City of Illinois	28-7
9/25/69	defeated Eagle of San Francisco BBC	35-4
10/12/69	defeated Otoes BBC of Lincoln, Nebraska	56-3
11/4/69	defeated  Cedar Hill-Louisville Picked Nine	34-5

1870 is the end for the Red Stockings

      "The following year, they won another 24 straight games before finally losing 8-7 in 11 innings against the Brooklyn Atlantics on June 14th. Attendance for this game was about 20,000.

      After their first loss, attendance declined substantially and they were disbanded the following year despite only losing 6 games all season." (Hisckey)  The Red Stockings would finish their second season (1870) with a record of 67-6-1.

      Harry Wright would take his best players to the Boston Red Stockings of the newly formed all professional National Association of Professional Baseball Players (NAPBB) also known as the National Association (NA). 

     Boston would win four  championships during the five year history of the league.  (1871-1875).  In 1876, the National League was founded with the American league coming later in 1901.

Legacy

     When reading articles about the 1869 Red Stockings, themes such as club baseball, amateur game, profit, pillbox caps and cricket kept repeating.

     To me, the fact that ten players were paid to play baseball legitimizes the sport and the athletes  -they are professionals- they are the elite and they deserve to be paid. 

      Looking back upon it now, it seems more likely that New Era was "commemorating" their victory over other cap companies (Sports Specialties) as they received a twenty year contract to be the official on-field cap supplier for MLB. 

     This was the first such contract of exclusivity that previous cap suppliers such as McAuliffe, KM Pro, Wilson, and others could not obtain and it is very similar to those players in 1869 who secured a salary to play baseball...something no one else had obtained.

     I believe New Era wanted to legitimize their own position not only with MLB, but as an elite cap maker, deserving of their twenty year contract and deserving a true professional standing above the previous cap makers.