The 'Cincinnati Reds' are a
Major League Baseball team based in
Cincinnati, Ohio. They are in the
Central Division of the
National League, and are currently in fourth place, though ticket sales are steady due to the pursuit of
Ken Griffey, Jr.'s 600th career home run.
Franchise history
Main articles: History of the Cincinnati Reds
The original "Red Stockings"
The original
Cincinnati Red Stockings, baseball's first openly all-professional team, were founded as an amateur club in
1863, and became fully professional in
1869. The Red Stockings won 130 straight games throughout 1869 and
1870, before being defeated by the
Brooklyn Atlantics. Star players included brothers
Harry and
George Wright,
Fred Waterman, and pitcher
Asa Brainard. The 1869 Red Stockings made an eastern swing of 21 games and went undefeated. According to Walter Camp, the team received a banquet and a "champion bat...this rather remarkable testimonial was twenty-seven feet long and nine inches in diameter." The following year, the team lost only one game. They were defeated at the Brooklyn Atlantics'
Capitoline Grounds. According to Camp, the Red Stockings lost 8-7 in 11 innings. The game apparently served as a precursor to today's unruly crowds because he wrote: "A crowd of ten thousand people assembled to witness this match, and so lost their heads in the excitement as to give the Western men a very unfair reception." [See: "Base-Ball For The Spectator", Walter Camp, Century Magazine October, 1889.]
Cap sold by the club in 2006 showing their claim to the founding date of the original Cincinnati team.
The best players of the Cincinnati Red Stockings relocated to Boston after the
1870 season, taking the nickname along with them and becoming the
Boston Red Stockings, a team later dubbed the "Beaneaters" and eventually the "Braves", who are now based in Atlanta. A new Cincinnati Red Stockings team became a charter member of the
National League in
1876, five years after the first Red Stockings team. The second Red Stockings team was expelled from the league after the
1880 season, in part for violating league rules by serving beer to fans at games, and for their refusal to stop renting out their ballpark, the
Bank Street Grounds, on Sundays.
The American Association
Following the expulsion, a third Cincinnati team of the same name became a founding member of the
American Association, a rival league that began play in
1882. That team (which is the same franchise of today) played for eight seasons in the American Association and won the Association's inaugural pennant in 1882. The pennant winning club still holds the record for the highest winning percentage of any Reds club to date (.688). In November of 1889, the Cincinnati Red Stockings and the
Brooklyn Dodgers both left the Association for the National League. In the move, the Red Stockings dropped "Stockings" from their name.
The National League, to stay
Although some dispute whether the two teams are the same, according to ''The Baseball Encyclopedia''
[1] the Cincinnati Red Stockings left the American Association in
1890 to play in the National League. One of the main reasons had absolutely nothing to do with the team directly--the upstart Player's League, an early, failed attempt to break the
reserve clause in baseball. The league's impending presence severely weakened both previously existing leagues, and, because the National League decided to expand and the American Association was weakening, the team decided to accept the invitation to become members of the stronger National League. It was also at this time that the team first shortened their nickname from "Red Stockings" to "Reds." The Reds wandered through the
1890s signing local stars & aging veterans. During this time, the team never finished above third place (1897) and never closer than 10 1/2 games (1890).
At the turn of the century, the Reds had hitting stars such as
Sam Crawford and
Cy Seymour. Seymour's .377 average in 1905 was the first individual batting crown won by a Red. In
1911,
Bob Bescher stole 81 bases which is still a team record. Like the previous decade, the 1900s were not kind to the Reds, as much of the decade was spent in the league's
second division.
Redland Field to the Great Depression
In
1912, the club opened a new steel-and-concrete ballpark,
Redland Field (later to be known as
Crosley Field). The Reds had actually been playing baseball on that same site, the corner of Findlay and Western Avenues on the city's west side, for 28 years, in wooden structures that had been occasionally damaged by fires. By the late
1910s the Reds began to come out of the second division. The
1918 team finished 4th, and then new manager
Pat Moran led the Reds to a NL
pennant in
1919, in what the club advertised as its "Golden Anniversary", although that was not historically accurate. The 1919 team had hitting stars led by
Edd Roush and
Heinie Groh while the pitching staff was led by
Hod Eller and
Harry "Slim" Sallee, a lefthander. The Reds finished ahead of
John McGraw's New York Giants, and then won the
world championship in 8 games over the
Chicago White Sox.
By
1920, the
"Black Sox" scandal had brought a taint to the Reds' first championship. In the remainder of the
1920s and early
1930s the Reds were second division dwellers for most of those years.
Eppa Rixey,
Dolf Luque and
Pete Donohue were pitching stars; the offense never quite lived up to the pitching. By
1931 the team was bankrupt, thanks to the
Great Depression, and Crosley Field was in a state of disrepair.
Revival of 1930s
Powel Crosley Jr., an
electronics magnate who, with his brother
Lewis M. Crosley, produced
radios,
refrigerators, and other
household items, bought the Reds out of bankruptcy in
1933, and hired
Larry MacPhail to be the General Manager. Powell Crosley Jr. had also started
WLW radio and the
Crosley Broadcasting Corporation in Cincinnati and was doing quite well as a civic leader. (WLW has been the Reds' radio flagship for decades.) MacPhail began to develop the Reds'
minor league system and expanded the Reds' base. The Reds, throughout the
1930s, became a team of "firsts".
Crosley Field, (formerly Redland Field), became the host of the first night game in
1935.
Johnny Vander Meer became the only pitcher in major league history to throw back-to-back no-hitters in
1938. Thanks to Vander Meer,
Paul Derringer, and second-baseman/third baseman-turned-
pitcher Bucky Walters, the Reds had a solid pitching staff. The offense came around in the late 1930s.
Ernie Lombardi was named the National League's Most Valuable Player in 1938,
First baseman Frank McCormick was the 1940 NL MVP. Other position players included
Harry Craft,
Lonny Frey,
Ival Goodman and
Lew Riggs. By 1938 the Reds, now led by manager
Bill McKechnie, were out of the second division finishing fourth. By
1939 they were National League champions. The Reds were swept by the
New York Yankees in four straight. In 1940, they repeated as NL Champions, and for the first time in 21 years, the Reds captured a World championship, beating the
Detroit Tigers 4 games to 3.
From WWII through the 1960s
World War II and age finally caught up with the Reds. Throughout the remainder of the
1940s and the early
1950s, Cincinnati finished mostly in the second division. In 1944,
Joe Nuxhall (who was later to become part of the radio broadcasting team), at age 15, pitching for the Reds on loan from a Hamilton, Ohio Junior High School, became the youngest person ever to play in a major league game -- a record that still stands today. Ewell "The Whip" Blackwell was the main pitching stalwart before arm problems cut short his career.
Ted Kluszewski was the NL home run leader in 1954. The rest of the offense was a collection of over-the-hill players and not-ready-for-prime time youngsters.
In
1956, led by National League
Rookie of the Year Frank Robinson, the Reds hit 221 HR to tie the NL record. By 1961, Robinson was joined by
Vada Pinson,
Wally Post,
Gordy Coleman and
Gene Freese. Pitchers
Joey Jay,
Jim O'Toole, and
Bob Purkey led the staff. The Reds captured the
1961 National League pennant, holding off the
Los Angeles Dodgers and the
San Francisco Giants, only to be defeated by the perennially powerful
New York Yankees in the
World Series. The Reds had many successful teams during the rest of the
1960s, but did not produce any championships. They won 98 games in 1962 (paced by Purkey's 23), but finished third. In 1964, they lost the pennant by one game, having taken 1st place when the Phillies collapsed in September but then losing out to the Cardinals. In that 1964 season, the beloved leader of the Reds, manager
Fred Hutchinson, died of cancer, succumbing just weeks after the end of the 1964 season, one of baseball's most exciting pennant races ever. The failure of the Reds to win the 1964 pennant led to owner
Bill DeWitt's selling off key components of the team, in anticipation of relocating the franchise. After the 1965 season he executed what may be the most lopsided trade in baseball history, sending former Most-Valuable Player Frank Robinson to the Baltimore Orioles for pitchers
Milt Pappas and
Jack Baldschun, and outfielder
Dick Simpson. Robinson went on to win the MVP in the American league for 1966, win the "triple crown", and lead Baltimore to its first ever World Series title in a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Reds did not recover from this trade until the rise of the "Big Red Machine" of the 1970s.
Starting in the early 1960s, the Reds' farm system began producing a series of future stars, such as
Jim Maloney (the Reds pitching ace of the 1960s),
Pete Rose,
Tony Pérez,
Johnny Bench (a great catcher and the backbone of the Reds for years to come),
Lee May,
Tommy Helms,
Bernie Carbo,
Hal McRae,
Dave Concepcion, and
Gary Nolan. The tipping point came in 1967 with the appointment of
Bob Howsam as general manager. That same year the Reds avoided an all but certain move to San Diego when the city of Cincinnati and Hamilton County agreed to build a new, state of the art, downtown stadium on the edge of the Ohio River. The Reds entered into a 30-year lease in exchange for the stadium commitment keeping the franchise in its original home city. In a series of strategic moves, Howsam nurtured the homegrown talent and brought in key personnel, allowing the team to finally reach its potential during the
1970s. The Reds' final game at Crosley Field, home to more than 4,500 baseball games, were played on
June 24,
1970, a 5-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants. In its place, a new stadium, and a new Reds dynasty.
Striving for an image: The "Redlegs" and Clean Shaves
Twice in the 1950s (the
McCarthy era), the Reds, fearing that their traditional club nickname would associate them with
Communism threat, officially changed the name of the team to the 'Cincinnati Redlegs'. From 1956 to 1960, the club's logo was altered to remove the term "REDS" from the inside of the "wishbone ''C''" symbol. The "REDS" reappeared on the 1961 uniforms, but the point of the ''C'' was removed, leaving a smooth, non-wishbone curve. The traditional home-uniform logo was restored in 1967.
Under Howsam's administration starting in the late 1960s, the Reds instituted a strict rule barring the team's players from wearing mustaches, beards, and long hair. (This rule, with a mustache exemption, is also enforced to this day by the
New York Yankees, under the ownership of
George Steinbrenner.) The clean cut look was meant to present the team as wholesome and traditional in an era of turmoil. Over the years, the rule was controversial, but persisted under the ownership of
Marge Schott. All players coming to the Reds were required to shave and cut their hair for the next three decades or more. On at least one occasion, in the early 1980s, when the Reds were hurting for pitching, strict enforcement of this rule lost them the services of star reliever
Rollie Fingers, who would not shave his trademark handlebar moustache in order to join the team. The Reds thus took a pass on Fingers.
[1] When Pete Rose became player-manager in the mid-1980s, he grew a "rat's tail," fashionable among the youth of the time, but the rule was not officially rescinded until 1999 when the Reds traded for slugger
Greg Vaughn who had a goatee.
The Reds' grooming rules also included guidelines for wearing the uniform. In major league baseball, a club generally provides most of the equipment and clothing needed for play. However, players are required to supply their gloves and shoes themselves. Many players take advantage of this rule by entering into sponsorship arrangements with shoe manufacturers. Through the mid-1980s, the Reds had a strict rule that players were to wear only plain black shoes with no prominent logo. Reds players decried the boring color choice as well as the denial of the opportunity to earn more money through shoe contracts. A compromise was struck in which players were given the opportunity to wear red shoes.
For years, club management and players throughout Major League Baseball have been involved in a struggle over how uniform pants and stockings are to be worn. Generally, baseball players wear a double layer of socks -- underneath, the regular socks or "sanitaries" (traditionally plain white) and over that, a stirrup-type stocking (traditionally bearing team colors). Some clubs, such as the Reds, require that the pants and socks be worn so that the team colors on the stirrup are visible. However, since the 1990s, players have generally preferred to pull down the cuffs of their trousers all the way to the ankle, thus covering up the colored stockings.
The Big Red Machine
In
1970, little known
George "Sparky" Anderson was hired as manager, and the Reds embarked upon a decade of excellence, with a team that came to be known as "
The Big Red Machine". Playing at Crosley Field until
June 30,
1970, when the Reds moved into brand-new
Riverfront Stadium, a 52,000 seat multi-purpose venue on the shores of the
Ohio River, the Reds began the
1970s with a bang by winning 70 of their first 100 games.
Johnny Bench,
Tony Pérez,
Pete Rose,
Lee May and
Bobby Tolan were the early Red Machine offensive leaders;
Gary Nolan,
Jim Merritt Jim Maloney and
Jim McGlothlin led a pitching staff which also contained veterans
Tony Cloninger and
Clay Carroll and youngsters
Wayne Simpson and
Don Gullett. The Reds breezed through the 1970 season, winning the NL West and captured the NL pennant by sweeping the Pittsburgh Pirates in three games. By time the club got to the
World Series, however, the Reds pitching staff had run out of gas and the veteran
Baltimore Orioles beat the Reds in five games.
After the disastrous
1971 season (the only season of the '70s during which the Reds finished with a losing record) the Reds reloaded by trading veterans Jimmy Stewert, May, and
Tommy Helms for
Joe Morgan,
César Gerónimo,
Jack Billingham,
Ed Armbrister, and
Denis Menke. Meanwhile,
Dave Concepción blossomed at
shortstop. 1971 was also the year a key component of the future world championships was acquired in
George Foster from the San Francisco Giants in a trade for shortstop
Frank Duffy.
The
1972 Reds won the NL West in a baseball first ever strike-shortened season and defeated the
Pittsburgh Pirates in an exciting five-game playoff series--that fifth game in Cincinnati was the last major league game Pittsburgh's great
Roberto Clemente ever played--then faced the
Oakland Athletics in the
World Series. Six of the seven games were won by one run. With powerful slugger
Reggie Jackson sidelined due to an injury incurred during Oakland's playoff series against Detroit, Ohio native
Gene Tenace got a chance to play in the series for manager
Dick Williams, delivering four home runs that tied the World Series record for homers, propelling Oakland to a dramatic seventh game series win. This was the first World Series in which no starting pitcher for either side pitched a complete game. The Reds won a third NL West crown in
1973 after a dramatic second half comeback, that saw them make up 10½ games on the Los Angeles Dodgers after the
All-Star break. However they lost the NL pennant to the
New York Mets in five games. In game one,
Tom Seaver faced Jack Billingham in a classic pitching duo, with all three runs of the 2-1 margin being scored on home runs.
John Milner provided New York's run off Billingham, while Pete Rose tied the game in the seventh inning off Seaver, setting the stage for a dramatic game ending home run by Johnny Bench in the bottom of the ninth inning. The New York series provided plenty of controversy with the riotious behavior of Shea Stadium fans towards Pete Rose when he and
Bud Harrelson scuffled after a hard slide by Rose into Harrelson at second base during the fifth inning of Game 3. A full bench-clearing fight resulted after New York's
Wayne Garrett came over from third base to take cheap shots at Rose. The resulting on-field tension led to two separate incidents in which play was stopped. The Reds trailed 9-3 and New York's manager,
Yogi Berra, and legendary outfielder
Willie Mays at the request of National League president
Warren Giles appealed to fans in left field to restrain themselves. The next day the series was extended to a fifth game when Rose homered in the 12th inning to tie the series at two games each. The Reds won 98 games in
1974 but they finished second to the 102-win
Los Angeles Dodgers and MVP
Steve Garvey.
The 1974 season started off with much excitement, as the Atlanta Braves were in town to open the season with the Reds.
Hank Aaron entered opening day with 713 home runs, one shy of tying Babe Ruth's record of 714. On a three ball one strike count, the first pitch Aaron swung at in the 74 season was the record tying home run off Jack Billingham. The next day the Braves benched Aaron, hoping to save him for his record breaking home run on their season opening homestand. The commissioner of baseball,
Bowie Kuhn, ordered Braves management to play Aaron the next day, where he narrowly missed the historic home run in the fifth inning. Aaron went on to set the record in Atlanta two nights later off
Al Downing and the Los Angeles Dodgers. 1974 also was the debut of Hall of Fame radio announcer
Marty Brennaman, who replaced Al Michaels, after Michaels left the Reds to broadcast for the San Francisco Giants.
With 1975, the Big Red Machine lineup solidified with the starting team of
Johnny Bench (c),
Tony Perez (1b),
Joe Morgan (2b),
Dave Concepcion (ss),
Pete Rose (3b),
Ken Griffey (rf),
César Gerónimo (cf), and
George Foster (lf). The starting pitchers included
Don Gullett,
Fred Norman,
Gary Nolan,
Jack Billingham,
Pat Darcy, and
Clay Kirby. However, it was the bullpen that was the key to the Reds' pitching (and Anderson's reputation as "'Captain Hook'") with
Rawly Eastwick and
Will McEnaney as the key closers with a combined 37 saves.
Pedro Borbon and
Clay Carroll filled in as stretchers between the starters and the finishers. However, this was not the lineup on Opening Day. At that time, Rose still played in left field, Foster was not a starter, while
John Vuckovich, an off-season acquisition from the
Milwaukee Brewers was the starting third baseman, replacing
Dan Driessen, who was a decent hitter, but whose defensive skills were considered a weakness. While Vuckovich was a superb defensive shortstop, he was a weak hitter. In May, with the team off to a slow start and trailing the Dodgers, Sparky Anderson made a bold move by moving Rose to third base (a position where he had very little experience) and inserting Foster in left field to bat cleanup. This was the jolt that the Reds needed to propel them into first place, with Rose proving to be reliable on defense, while adding Foster to the outfield gave the offense some added punch. During the season, the Reds compiled two notable streaks: (1) by winning 41 out of 50 games in one stretch, and (2) by going a month without committing any errors on defense.
In the
1975 season, Cincinnati clinched the NL West with 108 victories, then swept the
Pittsburgh Pirates in three games to win the NL pennant. In the
World Series, the
Boston Red Sox were the opponents. After splitting the first four games, the Reds took Game 5. After a three-day rain delay, the two teams met in Game 6, one of the most memorable baseball games ever played and considered by many to be the best World Series game ever. The Reds were ahead 6-3 with 5 outs left, when the Red Sox tied the game on former Red
Bernie Carbo's three-run
home run. It was Carbo's second pinch-hit three-run homer in the series. After a few close-calls either way,
Carlton Fisk hit a dramatic 12th inning
home run off the
foul pole in left field (which is considered to be one of the greatest TV sports moments of all time) to give the Red Sox a 7-6 win and force a deciding Game 7. Cincinnati prevailed the next day when Morgan's
RBI single won Game 7 and gave the Reds their first championship in 35 years.
1976 saw a return of the same starting eight in the field. The starting rotation was led by Gary Nolan. The remaining starters, Don Gullet, Jack Billingham, Pat Zachary, Santo Alcola, and Fred Norman comprised an underrated staff in which four of the six had ERAs below 3.10. Rawley Eastwick, Pedro Borbon, and Will McEnany shared closer duties, recording 26, 8, and 7 saves respectively.
In
1976, the Reds won the NL West by ten games. They went undefeated in the postseason, sweeping the
Philadelphia Phillies (winning Game 3 in their final at-bat) to return to the
World Series. They continued to dominate by sweeping the
Yankees in the newly renovated Yankee Stadium, the first World Series games played in Yankee Stadium since 1964. This was only the second ever sweep of the proud Yankees in the World Series. In winning the Series, the Reds became the first NL team since the 1921-22 New York Giants to win back-to-back World Series championships.
The Machine Dismantled and "We Wuz Robbed!"
Personnel changes were in the offing. Popular Tony Perez was sent to Montreal after the 1976 season, breaking up the Big Red Machine's starting lineup. Starting pitcher Don Gullet left via free agency and signed with the New York Yankees. In an effort to fill that gap, a trade with the Oakland A's for starting ace Vida Blue was arranged during the '76 - '77 off-season. However, Bowie Kuhn, the Commissioner of Baseball at the time, vetoed this trade in an effort to maintain the competitive balance in baseball. On
June 15 1977, the Reds entered the trading market with a vengeance. New York was heartbroken by the news that the Mets' franchise pitcher
Tom Seaver was being traded to the Reds for Pat Zachry,
Doug Flynn, Steve Henderson, and Dan Norman. In less successful deals, the Reds also traded Gary Nolan to the Angels for
Craig Hendrickson, Rawly Eastwick to St. Louis for
Doug Capilla and
Mike Caldwell to Milwaukee for
Dick O'Keeffe and
Garry Pyka, and got
Rick Auerbach from Texas. The end of the Big Red Machine era was heralded by the replacement of General Manager Bob Howsam with
Dick Wagner. After the 1978 season, Cincinnati hero Pete Rose, who since 1963 had played almost every position for the team except pitcher and catcher, signed with Philadelphia as a free agent. In Rose's last season as a Red, he gave baseball a thrill as he challenged
Joe Dimaggio's 56 game hitting streak, tying for the second longest streak ever at 44 games. The streak came to an end in Atlanta after striking out in his 5th at bat in the game against Gene Garber. Rose also earned his 3000th hit that season, on his way to becoming baseball's all time hits leader when he rejoined the Reds in the mid 80's. The year also witnessed the only no-hitter of Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver's career, coming against the St. Louis Cardinals on June 16, 1978.
The later years of the 1970s brought turmoil and change. After two consecutive runner-up seasons, Wagner fired manager Anderson. By
1979, players Gullett, Nolan, Pérez, and Rose, among others, had left the club. By 1979, the starters were Bench (c),
Dan Driessen (1b), Morgan (2b), Concepcion (ss),
Ray Knight (3b), with Griffey, Foster, and Geronimo again in the outfield. The pitching staff had experienced an almost complete turnover. The ace starter was now
Tom Seaver, acquired from the
New York Mets in 1977 in a multiple-player deal. Only Norman was left from 1975-76; the remaining starters were
Mike La Coss,
Bill Bonham, and
Paul Moskau. In the bullpen, only Borbon had remained.
Dave Tomlin and
Mario Soto worked mid-innings with
Tom Hume and
Doug Bair closing.
The Reds did manage to win the 1979 NL West behind the pitching of
Tom Seaver but were dispatched in the NL playoffs by Pittsburgh, after a controversial play in Game 2 in which a ball hit by Pittsburgh's
Phil Garner was caught by Cincinnati outfielder
Dave Collins but was ruled a trap, setting the Pirates up to take a 2-1 lead. The Pirates swept the series 3 games to 0.
The
1981 team fielded a strong lineup, with only Concepcion, Foster, and Griffey retaining their spots from the 1975-76 heyday. Johnny Bench broke his ankle and so
Joe Nolan played the majority of games behind the plate. Driessen and Knight still played the corners, but Morgan and Geronimo had been replaced at second base and center field by
Ron Oester and Dave Collins. Mario Soto posted a banner year starting on the mound, even surpassing the performance of future hall-of-famer Seaver. La Coss,
Bruce Berenyi, and
Frank Pastore rounded out the starting rotation. Hume again led the bullpen as closer, joined by Bair, Moskau,
Joe Price, and
Geoff Combe.
In
1981, Cincinnati had the best overall record in baseball, but they finished second in the division in both of the half-seasons that were created after a mid-season players'
strike. To commemorate this, a team photo was taken, accompanied by a banner that read "Baseball's Best Record 1981." By
1982, the Reds were a shell of the original Red Machine; they lost 100 games that year. Johnny Bench retired a year later. Outraged Reds fans proclaimed, "We Wuz Robbed!"
The 1980s
After the heartbreak of 1981, General Manager Dick Wagner pursued the strategy of ridding the team of veterans including catcher Nolan, third-baseman Knight (who had replaced Pete Rose) and the entire starting outfield of Griffey, Foster, and Collins. Johnny Bench decided to give up catching entirely and was made the starting third baseman;
Alex Trevino became the regular starting catcher. The outfield was staffed with
Paul Householder,
Cesar Cedeno, and the untried
Eddie Milner. The starting rotation still featured the strong Seaver and Soto, joined by Pastore and
Bruce Berenyi, but their efforts were wasted without a strong offensive lineup backing them. Tom Hume still led the bullpen, but he had no support from the dismal relieving of
Ben Hayes,
Brad "The Animal" Lesley,
Joe Price, and
Jim Kern.
The Reds fell to the absolute bottom of the Western Division for the next few years, losing Seaver after the 1982 season. A series of changes followed —
Dann Bilardello behind the plate,
Nick Esasky taking over after Bench's failed experiment in the hot corner, and
Gary Redus taking over from Cedeno. Tom Hume had pitched himself out and there was not a body in the bullpen worth naming. Dave Concepcion was the sole remaining starter from the Big Red Machine era.
Wagner's control of the Reds ended in 1983, when Howsam, the architect of the Big Red Machine was brought back and he began his return by acquiring Cincinnati native
Dave Parker from Pittsburgh. In
1984 the Reds began to move up, depending on trades and some minor leaguers. In that season
Dave Parker,
Dave Concepción and
Tony Pérez were in Cincinnati uniforms. By the end of 1984,
Pete Rose was hired to be the Reds player-manager. After raising the franchise from the grave, Howsam gave way to the administration of
Bill Bergesch, who was principally known for holding on tightly to perennial future stars like
Kurt Stillwell,
Tracy Jones,
Kal Daniels, and others, refusing to risk these "crown jewels" for pitching help.
Under Bergesch, from
1985-
89 the Reds finished second four times. Among the highlights, Rose became the all-time hits leader,
Tom Browning threw a
perfect game, and
Chris Sabo was the
1988 National League Rookie of the Year. The Reds also had a bullpen star in
John Franco, who was with the team from 1984 to 1989. In
1989, Rose was banned from baseball by
Commissioner Bart Giamatti, who declared Rose guilty of "conduct detrimental to baseball." Controversy also swirled around Reds owner
Marge Schott, who was accused several times of
ethnic and racial slurs.
After Pete Rose
In
1987, General Manager Bergesch was replaced by
Murray Cook, who initiated a series of deals that would finally bring the Reds back to the championship, starting with acquisitions of
Danny Jackson and
Jose Rijo, finally letting go of Bergesch favorites Stillwell and Parker. In
1989, Cook was succeeded by
Bob Quinn, who put the final pieces of the championship puzzle together, with acquisitions such as
Hal Morris,
Billy Hatcher, and
Randy Myers.
In
1990, the Reds under new manager
Lou Piniella shocked baseball by leading the NL West from wire-to-wire. They started off 33-12, winning their first 9 games, and maintained their lead throughout the year. Led by Chris Sabo,
Barry Larkin,
Eric Davis,
Paul O'Neill and Billy Hatcher in the field, and by
José Rijo, Tom Browning and the "Nasty Boys" of
Rob Dibble,
Norm Charlton and
Randy Myers on the mound, the Reds took out the
Pirates in the
NLCS and swept the heavily favored
Oakland Athletics in four straight. The sweep of the Oakland Athletics extended the Reds winning streak in the World Series to 9 consecutive games. The World Series, however, cost the team Eric Davis, who severely bruised a kidney diving for a fly ball in the first inning of Game 4.
In
1992, Quinn was replaced in the front office by
Jim Bowden. On the field, manager Lou Piniella wanted outfielder
Paul O'Neill to be a power-hitter to fill the void Eric Davis left when he was traded to the
Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for
Tim Belcher. However, O'Neill only hit .246 and 14 homers. In the midst of all that trouble, the Reds won 90 games in 1992. But that was enough for 2nd place behind the division-winning
Atlanta Braves. Before the season ended, Piniella got into an altercation with "Nasty Boy"
Rob Dibble. O'Neill would be traded to the
New York Yankees for outfielder
Roberto Kelly. Kelly would only be in a Reds uniform for a few years. As for O'Neill, he would lead an up-and-coming Yankees team to several postseason appearances. Also, the Reds would replace the famous "Big Red Machine" uniforms in favor of a pinstriped uniform with no sleeves.
For the
1993 season Piniella was replaced by fan favorite Tony Perez, but he lasted only 44 games at the helm, replaced by
Davey Johnson. With Johnson steering the team, the Reds made steady progress upward. In 1994, the Reds were in the newly-created
National League Central Division with the
Chicago Cubs,
St. Louis Cardinals, as well as fellow rivals
Pittsburgh Pirates and
Houston Astros. By the time the strike hit, the Reds finished a half-game ahead of the Astros for first-place in the NL Central. By
1995, the Reds won the division thanks to
Most Valuable Player Barry Larkin. After defeating Western Division Champs the
Los Angeles Dodgers in the first NLDS since 1981, they lost to the
Atlanta Braves. In a bizarre move, eccentric team owner
Marge Schott announced mid-season that Johnson would be gone by the end of the year, regardless of outcome, to be replaced by former Reds third baseman Ray Knight. Johnson and Schott had never gotten along; by most accounts, the main reason for the firing was that Schott didn't approve of Johnson living with his fiancée before they were married
[2], In contrast, Knight, along with his wife, professional golfer
Nancy Lopez, were personal friends of Schott's. The team took a dive under Knight and he was unable to complete two full seasons as manager, subject to complaints in the press about his strict managerial style. In
1999 the Reds won 96 games, led by manager Jack Mckeon, but lost to the
New York Mets in a one game playoff. Earlier that year, Schott sold controlling interest in the Reds to Cincinnati businessman
Carl Lindner.
Riverfront Stadium was demolished in
2002 and ended an era marked by three world championships.
Great American Ball Park opened in
2003 with high expectations for a team led by local favorites, including franchise
outfielder Ken Griffey, Jr.,
shortstop Barry Larkin,
reliever Danny Graves and
first baseman Sean Casey. Although attendance improved considerably with the new ballpark, the team continued to lose. This was largely because Schott hadn't invested much in the farm system since the early 1990s, leaving the team relatively thin on talent. After years of promises that the club was rebuilding toward the opening of the new ballpark, General Manager
Jim Bowden and manager
Bob Boone were fired on
July 28. This broke up the father-son combo of manager Bob Boone and
third baseman Aaron Boone, and Aaron was soon traded to the
New York Yankees. Following the season
Dan O'Brien was hired as the Reds' 16th General Manager.
The
2004 and
2005 seasons continued the trend of big hitting and poor pitching and ultimately poor records. Griffey, Jr. joined the 500-home run club in 2004, but was again hampered by injuries.
Adam Dunn emerged as formidable home run hitter, hitting a 535-foot home run against
Jose Lima. He also broke the major league record for
strikeouts in 2004. Although a number of
free agents were signed before 2005, the Reds were quickly in last place and manager
Dave Miley was forced out in the 2005 midseason and replaced by
Jerry Narron. Like many other small market clubs, the Reds dispatched some of their veteran players and began entrusting their future to a young nucleus that includes
Adam Dunn,
Ryan Freel, and
Aaron Harang.
In 2006, a new era in Reds baseball began as fruit and vegetable wholesaler
Robert Castellini took over as owner, assuming control of the team from Lindner. Castellini promptly fired general manager Dan O'Brien.
Wayne Krivsky, previously an assistant General Manager with the
Minnesota Twins, and a candidate for the job when O'Brien was hired, was appointed as the General Manager of the Reds after a protracted search. The first move Krivsky made was to trade young outfielder
Wily Mo Peña to the
Boston Red Sox for pitcher
Bronson Arroyo. Arroyo made his first start in a Reds uniform on
April 5 2006. He not only earned the win, but also led off the third inning with his first career home run. Krivsky also gave fans hope with mid season trades that bolstered the "non-existent" bullpen, trading for "Everyday Eddie" Guardado and then trading outfielder Austin Kearns, shortstop Felipe Lopez, and 2004 first round draft pick Ryan Wagner to the Washington Nationals for relievers Gary Majewski, Bill Bray, shortstop Royce Clayton, and two prospects. This move was controversial, as not only did it seem as if the Reds did not receive much in return for two starting position players and a former first-round draft pick, but also it was later discovered that the Nationals may have hidden Majewski's health problems.
For Opening Day
2006, President
George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch, becoming the first sitting
president to throw out the first pitch at a Reds game.
Logos and Uniforms
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Reds logo 1915-1919
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Reds logo 1961-1966
Reds logo 1967-1971
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Reds cap logo 1967-1998
Reds logo 1972-1992
Reds logo 1993-1998
Not surprisingly, over the years, red has been the key trim color in the Reds' on-field ensembles. However, there have been some significant deviations from this standard, as reflected by the club's recent (but now past) uniforms, which featured black as a major trim style.
The "Redlegs," 1956-1960
The growth of
McCarthyism and the advent of a new
Red Scare in the 1950s gave the Reds' owners concerns that the club's traditional nickname would be seen as an association with the dreaded Red Menace. The name of the team was officially changed to the 'Cincinnati Redlegs' and the new 1956 uniforms wiped out the ''REDS'' lettering from inside the ''C-REDS'' logo, leaving a plain wishbone ''C'' in red. The color red however, was restored to its place of pride as the sole trim color, completely eliminating the navy blue that had been used as a secondary trim color since 1935.
The other groundbreaking feature of the 1956 uniforms was the use of sleeveless jerseys, seen only once before in the Major Leagues (the 1940-1942 uniforms of the
Chicago Cubs. At home and away, the cap was all-red with a white wishbone ''C'' insignia. The long-sleeved undershirts were red. The uniform was plain white with a red wishbone ''C'' logo on the left and the uniform number on the right. On the road the wishbone ''C'' was replaced by the moustachioed "Mr. Red" logo, the pillbox-hat-wearing man with a baseball for a head. The home stockings were red with six white stripes. The away stockings had only three white stripes.
In 1957, the red caps were changed for ones whose crowns matched the white or gray of the home and road uniforms; the ''C'' insignia was changed to red. The road uniform was slightly altered so that it was just like the home togs, but grey instead of white: Mr. Red was eliminated in favor of a plain red wishbone ''C'' logo.
In 1958, the home uniforms, including the caps, got red pinstripes.
The "Reds" Again, 1961-1966
In 1961, the ''C-REDS'' logo was restored to the uniforms. However, the ''C'' was smoothed over, and without its point, it could no longer be described as a wishbone ''C'' -- it was merely a ''C'' elongated into an oval shape. Navy blue returned as an accent color for the first time since 1955.
Except for the smoothed ''C'' and the restored ''C-REDS'', this uniform style was largely the same as the preceding style. The Reds continued to wear sleeveless jerseys at home and on the road, with red undershirts. The home gear was white with red pinstripes and the road gear was grey. The home ''C-REDS'' logo included a navy blue background with the ''C'' and ''REDS'' outlined in white. The logo was similar to the that worn by the 1940 World Champion Reds. The arched ''CINCINNATI'' lettering was restored to the road jerseys. The caps bore red bills, but, as before, the crowns matched the jerseys -- white with pinstripes at home and grey away -- with a red non-wishbone ''C'' insignia. The red numbers and lettering on the caps and jerseys were outlined in navy. Another minor change was the moving of the uniform number to the left side on the away uniforms but remaining on the right at home. The stockings were plain red stirrups over white.
This uniform was worn during the Reds' 1961 appearance in the World Series, which they lost to the
New York Yankees.
Big Red Machine era classic uniform
1971 Reds Uniform
The Cincinnati uniform design most familiar to baseball enthusiasts is the one whose basic form, with minor variations, held sway for the 25 years from 1967 to 1992. Most significantly, the point was restored to the ''C'' insignia, making it a wishbone again.
During this era, the Reds wore all-red caps both at home and on the road. The caps bore the simple wishbone ''C'' insignia in white. The uniforms were standard short-sleeved jerseys and standard trousers -- white at home and grey on the road. The home uniform featured the ''Wishbone C-REDS'' logo in red with white type on the left breast and the uniform number in red on the right. The away uniform bore ''CINCINNATI'' in an arched block style across the front with the uniform number below on the left. Red, long-sleeved undershirts and plain red stirrups over white sanitary stockings completed the basic design.
For the first year of this design, 1967, the home uniform bore red pinstripes, but in 1968, the pinstripes were removed and did not reappear until the classic uniform style was abandoned in 1993. This was the uniform the Reds wore at their fifth appearance in the
World Series in 1970, which they lost to Baltimore.
In
1972, the uniform was modified by a change to the double-knit synthetic fabric. The jerseys were now pullover style instead of button down and the trousers had a built in elastic belt replacing the standard leather belt and belt loops. Slightly more trim, in the form of narrow red and white bands, was added to the V-neck line, the cuff of the short sleeve, and the elastic belt. This uniform style carried the Reds through three more World Series appearances, in
1972,
1975, and
1976, the last two ending in championships for Cincinnati.
In
1976 to celebrate the National League's 100th season, along with several other N.L. clubs--including the
St. Louis Cardinals, the
Pittsburgh Pirates, the
Philadelphia Phillies, and the
New York Mets--the Reds adopted an old-fashioned pillbox-style cap for use during nostalgia events. Unlike the Pirates and the Cardinals, the Reds did not make regular use of this cap, which featured a white crown with two encircling red stripes, a red bill, and a red wishbone ''C'' insignia. For regular wear, the Reds stuck to their all-red caps.
On St. Patrick's Day during the pre-season of 1978, the Reds wore a novelty uniform in which all the red trim was replaced with green.
In 1985, the Reds adopted an optional jersey whose base color was red, bearing the arched ''CINCINNATI'' in white with white trim stripes at the collar and cuffs. Originally, this jersey was used only during batting practice, but it came to be worn occasionally during games through the 1991 season, after which it was dropped. On at least one occasion, the Reds wore an all-red version of the away uniform during a game in San Francisco against the
Giants. Also during one year in the early 1980s, the Reds sported all-white caps with a red wishbone ''C'' insignia during spring training; the white cap proved to be so unpopular, however, that it was never worn in regular games.
In
1988, an additional red stripe was added to the end of the short sleeves. In addition, the same trim now went down the pants. This version was the style worn during Cincinnati's fifth championship season in 1990.
In
1992, club owner Marge Schott announced that she was bored of the classic uniform style and wanted to bring back uniform features worn during her youth in the 1960s. During a few 1992 games, the club demonstrated the style that would become official in 1993. With the introduction of the next uniforms, the Reds were the last team (to date) to wear the pullover jerseys and beltless trousers.
Pinstripes and sleeveless jerseys return
The 1993 uniforms--which did away with the pullovers and brought back button-down jerseys--kept white and gray as the base colors for the home and away uniforms, but added red pinstripes. The home jerseys were sleeveless, showing more of the red undershirts. The color scheme of the ''C-REDS'' logo on the home uniform was reversed, now red lettering on a white background. A new home cap was created that had a red bill and a white crown with red pinstripes and a red wishbone ''C'' insignia. The away uniform kept the all-red cap, but moved the uniform number to the left, to more closely match the home uniform. This style was kept unchanged through the 1998 season.
In 1998, Reds' management announced a new uniform change for the next season. The Reds marketing division decided that since black was such a popular color in the marketplace for licensed sports merchandise, that the color should be added as a significant trim color in Cincinnati.
The most obvious change in the new 1999 uniforms was featured in the caps. The Reds had last used a single cap for all purposes in 1992. Since 1993, the Reds had been using two styles of caps for home and road games. The new wardrobe included ''four'' different cap styles. The official home cap had a red crown and a black bill with a white wishbone ''C'' insignia highlighted with a black drop shadow. The official road cap was reversed, with a black crown and a red bill and a red wishbone ''C'' with white drop shadow. There was also now an "alternative" or "Sunday game" cap that was all red, and a batting practice cap that was all black.
The jerseys and trousers kept the traditional white at home and grey on the road, but all the graphics featured on the uniforms now featured fancy drop shadows. Pinstripes were kept on the home togs, but eliminated on the road version. Sleeveless vests for both, with black undershirts at home and red on the road. Home uniforms still had the ''C-REDS'' and away bore the arched ''CINCINNATI'', but the designs featured red, white, and black in the trim.
In the next year, 2000, the undershirts were swapped, with red now for home games and black for away games.
Changes in 2003
Gapper, the team mascot.
2003 brought much change to the Cincinnati Reds. They moved from
Cinergy Field to the brand new
Great American Ballpark. They also indroduced their new mascot, named Gapper.
Changes in 2007
The Reds revealed new uniforms in December 2006. The home caps returned to all-red with a white wishbone C, lightly outlined in black. Caps with red crowns and black bill became the new road caps. Additionally, the sleeveless jerseys were abandoned for more traditional shirts. The numbers and the lettering for the names on the backs of the jerseys were changed to an early-1900s style typeface. It had been rumored that navy blue was to make a return as a trim color, but the unveiled designs did not end up featuring any navy blue. The alternate club logo and jersey emblem was replaced by the moustachioed Mr. Red from 1956.
[2] Adding to the teams list of firsts, the Cincinnati Reds were the first MLB team to go Carbon Neutral
★
[3]. The emissions associated with Opening Day 2007 were offset with Verified Emission Reductions, VERs, with
Carbon Solutions Group. The Reds also offset all emissions associated with the home game on Earth Day, April 22nd 2007 vs
Philadelphia Phillies[4]
Season-by-season results
Main articles: Cincinnati Reds seasons
Current roster
Quick facts
★ 'Founded:'
1869 - Official Cincinnati Reds merchandise purchased at
Great American Ballpark lists
1869 as the date in which the Reds were founded
★ 'Formerly known as:' The Red Stockings in the
19th century; the Redlegs (1953-1960)
★ 'Home ballpark:'
Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati
★ 'Uniform colors:' Red and white, trim Black
★ 'Logo design:' a drop-shadow red wishbone "C" with the drop-shadowed word "REDS" inside
★ 'Team motto:' The Power of Tradition
★ 'Playoff appearances' (13):
1919,
1939,
1940,
1961,
1970,
1972,
1973,
1975,
1976,
1979,
1990,
1995,
1999
★ 'Pennants:'
1919,
1939,
1940,
1961,
1970,
1972,
1975,
1976,
1990
★ 'World Series Champions:'
1919,
1940,
1975,
1976,
1990
★ 'Other "titles" won:' (2): Had baseball's best overall record in
1981; First place in N.L. Central in
1994
★ 'American Association pennants won:' (1):
1882
★ 'Ownership:'
Robert Castellini
★ 'Local Television:'
FSN Ohio
★ 'Spring Training Facility:'
Ed Smith Stadium,
Sarasota, FL
Baseball Hall of Famers
'
★ ' Manager
'
★
★ ' Broadcaster
Retired numbers
★ '1'
Fred Hutchinson, Manager, 1959-64
★ '5'
Johnny Bench, C, 1967-83
★ '8'
Joe Morgan, 2B, 1972-79
★ '10'
Sparky Anderson, Manager, 1970-78
★ '13'
Dave Concepción, SS, 1970–1988
★ '18'
Ted Kluszewski, 1B, 1947-57; Coach 1970-78
★ '20'
Frank Robinson, OF, 1956-65
★ '24'
Tony Pérez, 1B, 1964-76, 1984-86; Coach 1987-92; Manager, 1993
★ '42'
Jackie Robinson, retired throughout Major League Baseball
Since
Pete Rose was been banned from baseball, the Reds have not retired his #14. However, they have not reissued it except for
Pete Rose, Jr. in his 11 game tenure in
1997.
Additionally, the number 11 of former captain
Barry Larkin has not been issued since his retirement.
Minor league affiliations
★ 'AAA:'
Louisville Bats,
International League
★ 'AA:'
Chattanooga Lookouts,
Southern League
★ 'Advanced A:'
Sarasota Reds,
Florida State League
★ 'A:'
Dayton Dragons,
Midwest League
★ 'Rookie:'
Billings Mustangs,
Pioneer League
★ 'Rookie:'
Gulf Coast Reds,
Gulf Coast League
★ 'Rookie:'
VSL Reds,
Venezuelan Summer League
Radio and television
The Reds'
flagship radio station has been
WLW, 700AM for over 60 years. The 50,000-watt station is "
clear channel" in more than one way, as
Clear Channel Communications owns the "blowtorch" outlet which is also known as "The Nation's Station." For 2007, it has been announced that
Thom Brennaman, a veteran announcer seen nationwide on
Fox Sports, will join his
Ford C. Frick Award-winning father
Marty in the radio booth for the games.
Jeff Brantley, formerly of ESPN, will be in the booth for the games that
Thom does not announce, save for a few games that will feature
Joe Nuxhall.
Televised games are seen exclusively on
FSN Ohio (in Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus and Kentucky) and
FSN Indiana.
George Grande, who hosted the first ''
SportsCenter'' on
ESPN in
1979, is the
play-by-play announcer.
Thom Brennaman will announce some TV games as the play-by-play announcer as well, and both
Chris Welsh and
Jeff Brantley will see time as the color commentator.
NBC affiliate
WLWT carried Reds games from 1948-1995. Among those that have called games for WLWT include
Waite Hoyt,
Ray Lane,
Steve Physioc,
Johnny Bench,
Joe Morgan, and
Ken Wilson.
WSTR-TV aired games from 1996-1998, and the Reds have not broadcast games over-the-air on a regular basis since then. The last over-the-air telecast of a Reds game was on opening day 2002 on
CBS affiliate
WKRC-TV.
See Also
★
List of Cincinnati Reds broadcasters
References
1. Palmer, Peter & Gillette, Gary, editors, ''The Baseball Encyclopedia.'' New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 2004, pp 1370 & 1387.
2. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/orioles/longterm/memories/davey/articles/poorcomm.htm
External links
★
Cincinnati Reds official web site
★
Reds Minor Leagues News
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