The Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds is a United States professional baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) and belong to the National League (NL) Central division.

This is a team with a long history. Established in 1881, they were a charter member of the American Association, before joining the National League in 1890.

The Cincinnati Reds have won five World Series championships, nine NL pennants, one AA pennant, and ten division titles. For the 1882-2021 period, their overall win-loss record is 10,713–10,501 (a .505 winning percentage).

The Great American Ball Park on Joe Hall Way has been the home ballpark of the Cincinnati Reds since 2003.

Names

This team started out as the Cincinnati Red Stockings, but shortened their name to Cincinnati Reds in 1890. In 1954-1958 they were briefly known as the Cincinnati Redlegs, before returning to Cincinnati Reds in 1959.

Short facts about the Cincinnati Reds

Colours: red-black-white

Retired numbers: 1, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 24, 42

Nickname: Big Red Machine

Major league affiliations

  • National League (1890–present)
    • Central Division (1994–present)
    • West Division (1969–1993)
  • American Association (1881–1889)

Ballpark

  • Great American Ball Park (2003–present)
  • Riverfront Stadium (1970–2002)
  • Crosley Field (1912–1970)
  • Palace of the Fans (1902–1911)
  • League Park (II) (1894–1901)
  • League Park (I) (1884–1893)
  • Bank Street Grounds (1882–1883)

World Series titles

  • 1919
  • 1940
  • 1975
  • 1976
  • 1990

NL Pennants

  • 1919
  • 1939
  • 1940
  • 1961
  • 1970
  • 1972
  • 1975
  • 1976
  • 1990

AA Pennants

  • 1882

NL Central Division titles

  • 1995
  • 2010
  • 2012

NL West Division titles

  • 1970
  • 1972
  • 1973
  • 1975
  • 1976
  • 1979
  • 1990

Wild card berths

  • 2013
  • 2020

MLB All-Star Games

At the time of writing, the Cincinnati Reds have hosted the MLB All-Star Game five times.

1938 at Crosley Field

1953 at Crosley Field

1970 at Riverfront Stadium

1988 at Riverfront Stadium

2015 at Great American Ball Park

Origins of the Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Red Stockings were formed by Cincinnati Enquirer sports editor O.P. Caylor in the spring of 1881.

The year before, a team called the Cincinnati Reds, owned by W.H. Kennett, had been expelled from the National League (NL). This team was one of the 1876 charter members of the NL, but Kennett clashed with league organizer William Hulbert over the Cincinnati practise of selling beer during games and renting out the ballpark on Sundays. Especially the beer was important to appeal to Cincinnati´s big German-ancestry population. Hulbert rallied against both beer and Sunday baseball, and in 1880 seven of the eight NL team owners pledged to ban both. The only owner who refused to sign the pledge was Kennet, so the other owners pre-emptively expelled Cincinnati from the NL, even though the rules were not yet in effect and therefore not possible to violate.

This is why O.P. Caylor formed the independent club Red Stockings in 1881, and took the team to St. Louis for a weekend exhibition. Red Stockings first game was a 12-3 victory of the St. Louis club.

Eventually, the American Association (AA) was formed at the Hotel Gibson in Cincinnati to complete with the NL, and the Cincinnati Red Stockings was one of the charter members. In 1882, the Reds won the inaugural AA pennant.

Mascots

Mr. Red

Mr. Red, also known as The Running Man, is one of the Cincinnati Red mascots. He is humanoid, wears a Reds uniform, and his head is an oversized baseball. He started out as a Reds uniform sleeve patch in 1955, but it would take until the early 1980s before he started appearing as a full-sized live mascot at Cincinnati Red games. Mr. Red retired in 2007, but a new version of him was introduced again at Redfest 2012.

Mr. Redlegs

Mr. Redlegs first appeared as a uniform patch in the 1950s, and was introduced as a full-sized live mascot in 2007.

Rosie Red

Rosie Red was introduced in 2008. She is named after the fan Rosie Janis, who was well-known in 1940. In 1963, the female fan group Rosie Red was founded to prevent the team from moving away from Cincinnati. It is still a philanthropic group associated with the team. In a rather awkward backronym, Rosie Red is also said to stand for “Rooters Organized to Stimulate Interest and Enthusiasm in the Cincinnati Reds.”

Gapper

Gapper was introduced in 2002 as a furry companion to Mr. Red. Gapper was created by Raymond Entertainment Group, and named by a young fan in a naming contest.