# New York Mutuals

The Mutual Base Ball Club of New York was an American baseball club established in 1857, the year of the first baseball convention. The Mutuals just missed out on being a founding member of the National Association of Base Ball Players that year, but later became a charter member of both the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, or "NA", the first professional league, in 1871, and then the National League in 1876.
The team was initially formed from firefighters of New York's Mutual Hook and Ladder Company Number One. Boss Tweed took control of the Mutuals in 1864 and operated the team until his arrest following the deadly riots of 1871 and the public exposing of his corruption that followed. During Tweed's tenure as owner, he and the Mutuals have been given credit for initiating the concept of spring training when Tweed sent the team to New Orleans to train for the 1869 season.
The Mutual club initially played its home games at Elysian Fields in Hoboken, with the New York Knickerbockers and many other Manhattan clubs, but moved to the enclosed Union Grounds in Brooklyn in 1868. Though historically identified as "New York", they never staged any home games in Manhattan, which before 1898 was considered to be "New York City."
The Mutuals chose open professionalism in 1869–70 after NABBP liberalization. They joined the NA for its 1871 to 1875 duration. In 1876, the Chicago White Stockings initiated the National League and recruited its members from West to East, partly to wrest control of professional baseball from Eastern interests. The Mutuals were one of eight charter members, six of whom were from the National Association. Weak (sixth place at 21–35) and cash-poor, the club refused to complete its playing obligations in the West; and was expelled.
On May 13, 1876, the Mutuals executed the first triple play in major-league history in a game against the Hartford Dark Blues.
Union Grounds proprietor William Cammeyer, often listed today as the Mutual club owner, signed the Hartford Dark Blues to play at his Union Grounds in 1877. The team was effectively a one-year replacement for the defunct Mutuals, and was sometimes called "Hartford of Brooklyn".

## Record

| Year | Won | Lost | Tied | Games | Rank in games (or in wins) |
| 1858 | 11 | 1 | — | 12 | 2 (1st in wins) |
| 1859 | 3 | 5 | — | 8 | 6 |
| 1860 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 5 |
| 1861 | 8 | 2 | — | 10 | 2 (tie 1st in wins) |
| 1862 | 8 | 5 | — | 13 | 2 (2nd in wins) |
| 1863 | 10 | 4 | — | 14 | 1 (tie 1st in wins) |
| 1864 | 21 | 3 | — | 24 | 1 (1st in wins) |
| 1865 | 12 | 4 | — | 16 | 5 (tie 4th in wins) |
| 1866 | 10 | 2 | — | 12 | 15 (tie 5th in wins) |
| 1867 | 23 | 6 | 1 | 30 | 4 (4th in wins) |
| 1868 | 31 | 10 | — | 41 | 5 (5th in wins) |
| 1869 | 37 | 16 | — | 53 | 3 (5th in wins) |
| 1870 | 68 | 17 | 3 | 88 | 1 (1st in wins) |
| Championship matches with professional teams, 1869–1870 ||||||
| 1869 | 11 | 15 | — | 26 | 1 (5th in wins) |
| 1870 | 29 | 15 | 3 | 47 | 1 (1st in wins) |
| League record ||||||
| 1871 | 16 | 17 | — | 33 | 1 (4th place) |
| 1872 | 34 | 20 | 2 | 56 | 2 (3rd place) |
| 1873 | 29 | 24 | — | 53 | 4 (4th place) |
| 1874 | 42 | 23 | — | 65 | 2 (2nd place) |
| 1875 | 30 | 38 | 3 | 71 | 4 (7th place) |
| 1876 | 21 | 35 | 1 | 57 | 8 (6th place) |
Source for season records: Rio (2008).

## Franchise leaders

Batting
* Hits – Joe Start (387)
* Runs – Joe Start (264)
* At bats – Joe Start (1314)
* Games – Joe Start (273)
* Doubles – Joe Start and Dave Eggler (40)
* Home runs – Joe Start (8)
* RBIs – Joe Start (187)
* Stolen bases – Dave Eggler (36)
Pitching
* Wins – Bobby Mathews (100)
* ERA – Bobby Mathews (2.41)
* Strikeouts – Bobby Mathews (95)
* Innings – Bobby Mathews (1,6472⁄3)

## Notable alumni

* Lip Pike, major league baseball 4× home run champion
* Rynie Wolters, first Dutch professional baseball player

## Baseball Hall of Famers

New York Mutuals Hall of Famers :
| Inductee | Position | Tenure | Inducted |
| Candy Cummings | P | 1872 | 1939 |