1872 National, Washington DC (Nationals)

This rendering is based on incomplete written documentation for uniform color. An educated guess is made on uniform style based on documentation from a related year. Important details that may be missing or difficult to determine.

Rendering accuracy:Year: documented    Team: documented

Visual documentation on this uniform:
None

Written documentation on this uniform:
March 1872: “The Nationals of this city will […] be in the field with a good cooperative nine, but as yet the list of players has not been published.” From the Washington Daily Patriot, March 21, 1872, page 4.

April 20, 1872, National, Washington DC, v. Baltimore, at Washington, home opener: “A match game of base ball was played at Saturday [April 20] between the National nine of Washington and the Baltimore nine.” From the Washington Daily Patriot, April 22, 1872, page 4. Use of the National team name.

April 30, 1872, National, Washington DC, v. Boston, at Washington: “Yesterday afternoon [April 30], the famous Red Stocking nine, of Boston, played a match of base ball with the Nationals, of this city.” From the Washington Chronicle, May 1, 1872, page 4. Use of the National team name.

June 26, 1872, National, Washington DC, v. Baltimore, at Baltimore: “The Baltimore Base Ball Club defeated the Nationals, of Washington, today, by a score of 9 to 1.” From the Washington Chronicle, June 27, 1872, page 1. Use of the National team name. This was the last league game played by the team.

Team genealogy:National, Washington DC, 1859-1870s
National was formed in Washington, DC, in 1859. The club was noted for its tour of the “west” in 1867, visiting Columbus, Cincinnati, Louisville, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Chicago. National no longer played competitively after 1871. A team using the National name joined the National Association (NA) in 1872. The NA was the first baseball league, operating 1871-1875. The National name has been used by subsequent teams in Washington, including the Washington Nationals, which entered the National League in 2005. Information from Peter Morris, Base Ball Pioneers 1850-1870 (2012).