Hartford Dark Blues

Hartford Dark Blues
Hartford Dark Blues
Years 1874–1877
Based in Hartford, Connecticut (1874–1876); Brooklyn, New York (1877)
Major league affiliations
National League (1876–1877); National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (1874–1875);
Team history
	Brooklyn Hartfords (1877); Hartford Dark Blues (1874–1876);
Ballpark
	Union Grounds (1877); Hartford Ball Club Grounds (1874–1876);
Colors
	Dark blue, silver;
Owners
	Morgan Bulkeley;
Managers
	Bob Ferguson (1875–1877); Lip Pike (1874);
Major league titles
	National League pennants 0; NAPBBP pennants 0;

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, CT was being played in a fever pitch. As talk of forming a national professional league was going on, Morgan Bulkeley, Gershon Hubbell and Middletown native Ben Douglas Jr. leased land from Elizabeth Colt to build a base ball field and stadium with a covered grandstand, and set about forming a team, The Hartfords. Located on the corner of Wyllys and Hendrixsen Streets next to the Church of the Good Shepherd, the Hartford Ball Club Grounds was the finest in the country and saw the team come in second to Chicago in the National League's first professional year, 1876. That team that was led by Captain Bob Ferguson and was rounded out by pitchers Candy Cummings (purported inventor of the curve ball), Tommy Bond (the only pitcher in baseball history to have three 40-game winning years in a row), Tom Carey, Everett Mills, Bill Harbridge, Tom York, Dick Higham, Jack Burdock, Jack Remsen and Doug Allison.

The Hartford Dark Blues were a member of the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players in 1874 and 1875 and the National League in 1876 and 1877. In 1877 the team played in Brooklyn, New York as the Brooklyn Hartfords.^[1]

Playing at the Hartford Ball Club Grounds, in 1876 they joined the National League as a charter member. The team's owner, Morgan G. Bulkeley, was also the first president of the National League.^[1] Managed by their third baseman, Bob Ferguson, the Dark Blues went on to finish third in 1876 with a record of 47–21.^[1]

The team's strong suit was pitching, with both Tommy Bond and future Hall of Famer Candy Cummings finishing with an earned run average under 2.00. The pitching staff recorded the most complete games (69) and allowed the lowest number of home runs throughout the 70-game 1876 campaign (the Philadelphia Athletics also accomplished this feat that season).^[1] The team's best hitter was right fielder Dick Higham, who led the team in most offensive categories.^[2]

The team left Hartford and moved to Brooklyn, New York for the 1877 season to become the Brooklyn Hartfords.^[1] Managed again by Ferguson, the team finished in third again, with a record of 31–27. With Bond, Cummings and Higham all having left the team, the team's best player this year was undoubtedly right fielder John Cassidy, who batted .378 and also led the team in many other categories.^[1]^[2]

The team disbanded after the 1877 season and was replaced in the league with the Providence Grays.^[3]

Author Mark Twain was a fan of the team.^[4] ^[5]

Notable alumni

Lipman Pike, major league baseball; first Jewish baseball player; home run champion
Tom Barlow, pioneer of the bunt, suffered from morphine addiction, mentioned in Ken Burns's Baseball
Joe Start, a 27-year veteran who spanned the pre-professional to the professional era, and is credited with developing off-bag positioning of the first baseman

Baseball Hall of Famers

Hartford Dark Blues Hall of Famers
Inductee	Position	Tenure	Inducted	Notes
Candy Cummings	P	1875–1876	1939	Reputed inventor of the curveball

Citations

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f King, Chris (April 13, 2003). "The Forgotten Home Team in Hartford (Published 2003)" – via NYTimes.com.
^ ^a ^b "19th Century Baseball Teams: Hartford Dark Blues 1876–1877". October 24, 2013.
^ Soos, Troy (11 December 2006). Before the Curse: The Glory Days of New England Baseball, 1858-1918, rev. Ed. McFarland. ISBN 9780786426256.
^ Burton, Rick. "Australia, Baseball's Diamond in Rough", The New York Times, 09 March 2014. Retrieved on 14 March 2014.
^ Ulbrich, Weston (April 15, 2021). "Mark Twain, the Hartford Baseball Crank". The Bat and Ball.

General and cited references

Arcidiacono, David (2003). Grace, Grit and Growling: The Hartford Dark Blues Base Ball Club, 1874–1877. East Hampton, CT: [Not identified]. OCLC 53280132.

External links

Team index page at Baseball Reference
"The Hartford Dark Blues" by David Arcidiacono (Hog River Journal 2003)
Hartford Dark Blues Vintage Base Ball Club

[auto-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f King, Chris (April 13, 2003). "The Forgotten Home Team in Hartford (Published 2003)" – via NYTimes.com.

[auto1-2] "19th Century Baseball Teams: Hartford Dark Blues 1876–1877". October 24, 2013.

[before_the_curse-3] Soos, Troy (11 December 2006). Before the Curse: The Glory Days of New England Baseball, 1858-1918, rev. Ed. McFarland. ISBN 9780786426256.

[4] Burton, Rick. "Australia, Baseball's Diamond in Rough", The New York Times, 09 March 2014. Retrieved on 14 March 2014.

[5] Ulbrich, Weston (April 15, 2021). "Mark Twain, the Hartford Baseball Crank". The Bat and Ball.

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