5 Things You Didn’t Know About the Cincinnati Reds
mlb.com
In this series I am going through all 30 MLB teams and presenting five facts you most likely didn’t know about each one. As a big baseball fan, I thought I knew a lot about the history of the game, but there’s so much I’m learning as I’m going through this, which makes it really fun to put together. Let’s get started. Next up, the Cincinnati Reds:
1. Once had a game called because of sunshine
Canceled games due to rain? That happens almost every day throughout the MLB season. Games canceled due to snow? Sure, just ask teams like the Rockies and Twins in the month of April. But a game called due to the sunshine? That actually happened in a game between the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Braves in 1892. The game took place in League Park in Cincinnati, and after 14 innings of a 0-0 game, players from both sides began to complain of not being able to see the ball due to the sun setting right behind the outfield wall. The conclusion: the umpires determined the game over, which resulted in a tie.
2. Had a player ejected for taking a nap
Out of all the players throughout the history of major league baseball, Edd Roush of the Cincinnati Reds is the only player that has ever been thrown out of a game due to taking a nap…on the field! The Reds were squaring off against the New York Giants at the old Polo Grounds and an 8th inning call made by the umpire went against Cincinnati. While the call was being disputed for about 15 minutes from players and coaches, Roush decided to make a pillow out of his hat and glove and lay down in the middle of center field. After the dispute on the field was finally over and players were ejected, play was attempted to resume. But Roush couldn’t easily be woken up and was quickly ejected from the game as well.
3. Changed their name due to communism
The Cincinnati Reds were originally the Cincinnati Red Stockings, but shortened their name to the “Reds” before the 1890 season after joining the National League. So for 63 years they were known as the Reds. However, in 1954, the team decided to change its name to the Red Legs, with the reason being they didn’t want to be associated with communism, which was ever so present in the minds of Americans during the Red Scare. No one wanted to be labeled “red” during that time because it was associated with communism. And the Cincinnati Reds certainly wanted nothing to do with communism. This only lasted throughout the 1958 season before going back to the Reds in 1959.
4. Had a team expelled from the league because of beer
Nowadays, baseball and beer make a pretty good pairing. But that wasn’t always the case. In 1880, the Cincinnati Red Stockings were expelled from the National League because they refused to stop serving beer at their games (the city was a huge German immigration settling spot, after all). A new Red Stockings team was formed in 1881 and joined the National League’s rival league, the American Association. Nine years later in 1890, the National League would take them back.
5. They were the first to travel to a game by airplane
There are a ton of firsts when it comes to Cincinnati baseball. They can claim the first professional baseball team, the first night game, and the first players to be featured on a mass-produced baseball card. To add to that list, they were the first major league baseball team to travel to a game by airplane. On June 8, 1934, 19 players and manager Bob O’Farrell flew to Chicago to take on the Chicago Cubs. Because they were in last place at the time, some said taking the airplane was simply to cause a temporary distraction from their struggling season. Either way, it was the Reds who went on to win that day, beating the Cubs 5-4.
Did you learn something new? Find anything interesting? If you did, feel free to leave a comment or add a fun fact of your own!
Garett