Hartford Dark Blues all-time roster

In this photograph of a baseball team, eleven men are situated in three rows facing the camera, with four sitting on the floor, five sitting in chairs, and two standing.
Members of the 1876 Hartford Dark Blues

The Hartford Dark Blues were a Major League Baseball club in the 1870s, based in Hartford, Connecticut for three seasons and in Brooklyn, New York for one.[1] Hartford was a member of the National Association (NA), 1874–1875 and a founding member of the National League (NL) in 1876, when it played home games at the Hartford Ball Club Grounds.[1][2] During 1877 the team played home games at the Union Grounds in Brooklyn and was sometimes called the Brooklyn Hartfords.[3][4]

The team's owner, Morgan Bulkeley, who later became the first president of the NL in 1876, established the franchise in 1874; he gave the on-field captain duties to Lip Pike, who was also the starting center fielder.[3][5][6] Among the other players signed by Hartford were pitcher Cherokee Fisher, who had led the NA in earned run average the two previous seasons, second baseman Bob Addy, and Scott Hastings.[6][7]

After placing seventh among the league's eight teams, the team's roster was purged and captain duties were handed over to third baseman Bob Ferguson, who stayed in the role for the remaining three seasons of the franchise's existence.[8][9] The change in personnel, which included the pitching additions of future Hall of Famer Candy Cummings and Tommy Bond, improved the team's results.[10] With the team's pitching rotation stable, and the hitting of Tom Carey, Tom York, Dick Higham, and Jack Burdock, the franchise enjoyed second-place finishes in 1875 and 1876.[1][10][11]

Following the departure of their pitching stars, Cummings and Bond, the team had to rely on Terry Larkin in 1877, who shouldered most of the pitching duties. The Dark Blues finished in third place, despite the hitting of John Cassidy, who batted .378.[12] When Bulkeley moved his team to Brooklyn in 1877, he expected that he would make a better profit than he had in Hartford.[3] The larger population of Brooklyn did not, however, respond in kind, and the Hartfords' fan base did not increase.[3] He became disenchanted with his involvement in baseball, and with his interest in running the day-to-day operations of the team. Because of this and the lack of fan support, the team disbanded after the 1877 season.[3]

  1. ^ a b c "Hartford Dark Blues (1874–1877)". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
  2. ^ "Hartford Ball Club Grounds in Hartford, CT". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d e Melville, p. 100
  4. ^ "Union Grounds in Brooklyn, NY". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2009.
  5. ^ "The 1874 Hartford Dark Blues". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on August 6, 2021. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  6. ^ a b "The 1874 Hartford Dark Blues Regular Season Roster". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  7. ^ "Cherokee Fisher". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on January 25, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  8. ^ "The 1874 Season". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  9. ^ "Bob Ferguson". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  10. ^ a b "The 1875 Hartford Dark Blues Regular Season Roster". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  11. ^ "The 1876 Hartford Dark Blues Regular Season Roster". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved December 2, 2009.
  12. ^ "The 1877 Hartford Dark Blues Regular Season Roster". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Retrieved December 2, 2009.