“Phirst Phillies” is a series of stories about the earliest days of professional baseball in Philadelphia, by Lawrence Knorr.
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Way back in 1883, our nation was in the midst of a recession. Eighteen years removed from the end of the Civil War, it was the Gilded Era of railroads, coal and steel. The Reading Railroad was the largest company in the world. In New York City, the Brooklyn Bridge was completed. Out west, Black Bart was robbing stage coaches.
In Philadelphia, at a long forgotten place called Recreation Park, the first National League baseball game played by the Philadelphia club was held on Tuesday, May 1, against the Providence Grays.