2 April 23

On this date in 1876, the Philadelphia Athletics and the Boston Red Caps played the very first National League game, in Philadelphia. (My tie -- acquired a few days ago from Dr. Gary Kuhnhenn from EKU -- celebrates baseball images from 1886, according to the label. But the U. S. flag shown is wrong -- it had only 38 stars in 1886, while the one in this image has 45.) The Red Caps had been the Boston Red Stockings in the earlier National Association, but when the National League was formed, the Boston team became the Red Caps to avoid confusion with the new Cincinnati Red Stockings. Over the years this team changed names several times: Beaneaters, Doves, Rustlers, Bees, and finally Braves. In 1953 the franchise moved to Milwaukee, and then (in 1966) to Atlanta, where the Braves continue to play in the National League. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Athletics team that played in that first game was expelled from the National League at the end of the season. Other teams with the Athletics name played in Philadelphia from 1882-1891, in different leagues, but the Athletics team that started in 1901 in the American League exists today as the Oakland Athletics (moving from Philadelphia to Kansas City in 1955, and then to Oakland in 1968).