1969 100th Anniversary of Professional Baseball

On September 24, 1969, the U.S. Post Office Department issued a 6-cent commemorative stamp in Cincinnati, Ohio, marking the centennial of professional baseball. The anniversary honored the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, widely recognized as baseball’s first openly all-professional team.

The Cincinnati team disbanded after the 1870 season. Harry Wright and several of its players helped establish the Boston Red Stockings in 1871, beginning the franchise that later became the Boston Braves and eventually the Atlanta Braves.

Professional baseball returned to Cincinnati in 1876, when a new Cincinnati club became a founding member of the National League. The franchise known today as the Cincinnati Reds began play in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association, carrying forward the city’s red-stocking tradition. That club joined the National League in 1890.

The stamp depicts a batter wearing a red cap, an intriguing detail given the anniversary’s Cincinnati connection. The color could be interpreted as a nod to the Red Stockings and the Cincinnati Reds.

The stamp was issued in panes of fifty, with a total of 130,925,000 stamps issued at 6 cents each, representing a total face value of $7,855,500. The stamp is cataloged as Scott 1381.