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Offseason News
The National League held winter meetings in Cleveland on December 10th. William Hulbert of the Chicago White Stockings is elected as the league’s president, but the big news involved the rest of the league’s frustration with Philadelphia and New York. After both teams refused to complete their obligations to play road trips in September and October, the rest of the league voted to have them removed from the league. The National League decides merely to contract the two teams and continue in 1877 with 6 teams. The vote is seen as a major departure from the days of the National Association, when the lack of a strong central league governing body resulted in a chaotic league structure dominated by financially strong teams.
Star players from both the Athletics and Mutuals are soon contacted by other teams in the league in an effort to get an edge up on the competition for 1877.
In Other News
Oct 23: The Chicago Tribune introduces a new statistic: batting average. I’ve been using it for years because OOTP gives it to us, but this is when it was first created in real life.
Nov 7: Rutherford B. Hayes is elected President of the United States over Samuel Jones Tilden, even though Tilden won the popular vote.
Nov 23: William Marcy Tweed (aka Boss Tweed), is delivered to authorities in New York City after being captured in Spain.
Dec 6: The first cremation in the United States takes place. Dr. Francis Julius LeMoyne builds the crematory after fearing that decomposing bodies in local cemetaries were making citizens sick by contaminating the water supply in Washington, PA.
Undated 1876: Adolphus Busch first markets Budweiser through his Anheuser Busch brewery.
Mar 5: The Hartford Dark Blues agree to play their home games in Brooklyn, although the team will retain the Hartford name.
Mar 22: The National League publishes the 1877 league schedule. It is the first time the league has taken scheduling out of the hands of the individual ballclubs.
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