Winners of the League Base-Ball Championship

From Houghtaling's Handbook ©1887

Winners of the League Base-Ball Championship
The following were the winners of the championship of the National Base-Ball League for the years named below:
1886 - Chicago Club. . . Won 90 games, and lost 34 games
1885 - Chicago Club . . . Won 87 games and lost 25 games
1884 - Providence Club . . . Won 84 games and lost 28 games
1883 - Boston Club . . . Won 63 games and lost 35 games
1882 - Chicago Club . . . Won 55 games and lost 29 games
1881 - Chicago Club . . . Won 56 games and lost 28 games
1880 - Chicago Club . . . Won 67 games and lost 17 games
1879 - Providence Club . . . Won 59 games and lost 25 games
1878 - Boston Club . . . Won 41 games and lost 19 games
1877 - Boston Club . . . Won 31 games and lost 17 games
1876 - Chicago Club . . . Won 52 games and lost 14 games
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1876 was the first year of the National League of Professional Baseball. It organized with 8 teams. The Boston Red Stockings (also called the Boston Red Caps), Chicago White Stockings, Cincinnati Red Legs (also called the Cincinnati Red Stockings), Hartford Dark Blues, Louisville Grays, Philadelphia Athletics, Brooklyn Mutuals (also called the New York Mutuals) & St. Louis Browns (also called the St. Louis Brown Stockings). There were 70 games for the season starting April 22nd and ending Oct. 21st.

For more information about this first year of professional baseball check out The Baseball Almanac