Oldest Baseball Teams

Baseball, America's pastime, is one of the nation's oldest organized sports still being played. The birth of modern baseball began with the founding of the National League in 1876 by William Hubert. Of the eight founding teams in the National League, only two of these organizations persisted and still remain a part of Major League Baseball today. The oldest baseball teams still playing today are the Atlanta Braves and the Chicago Cubs.

The exact answer to which team is the oldest baseball team is fairly controversial. Both teams existed prior to the formation of the National League. In fact, both teams were founded in 1871 and were members of the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP). The Chicago Cubs were then known as the Chicago White Stockings, while the Atlanta Braves were known as the Boston Red Stockings. While the White Stockings have remained in Chicago, changing their name to the Cubs in 1902 after several name changes, the Red Stockings played in Boston and Milwaukee before settling in Atlanta in 1966. On the other hand, the White Stockings/Cubs were unable to play for several seasons after 1971 due to the Great Chicago Fire. This leads many baseball experts to say that the Atlanta Braves are rightfully the oldest team to continuously play baseball among the oldest baseball teams.

Of the six other teams that were a part of the National League, all were either expelled from the league for breaking rules, or disbanded due to poor financing or lack of fan interest. However, several of these teams had names that future MLB teams would pay tribute to. The two of note were the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Athletics. A new Cincinnati Reds team was founded in the American Association in 1882, two years after the National League Cincinnati Reds team was expelled. Though they have the same name, these two teams are not directly related. The current Oakland Athletics were originally named the Philadelphia Athletics in 1901 as a tribute to the original National League team.

Since baseball is such an old sport in America, teams have often moved several locations, gone through a number of name changes, or even been completely dissolved. Modern baseball is much more stable, of course, as very few new teams are admitted, the latest two being the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Tampa Bay Rays. Changes of location still occur, but are much less frequent. Regardless, it seems the oldest baseball teams are there to stay.