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RetroSeasons

RetroSeasons recaps past sports seasons through stories, photos, videos, and stats from every team, league, and stadium in history. Coverage includes the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL, as well as vintage media from defunct teams and leagues.

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Washington National
Seasons 1861-1870 (10 seasons)

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Teams Washington DC Washington National History Seasons

Recap

The first team in Washington, the Potomac Club, was formed in the summer of 1859, and the Nationals were formed in November of the same year; both teams consisted mostly of government clerks. The two teams practiced in the backyard of the White House and played each other in the spring of 1860; the Nationals consistently lost to the superior Potomacs, but the latter disbanded on the outbreak of the Civil War while the Nationals kept playing, and by the end of the war were "solidly in the esteem of Washington fans, with the club's shortstop, slight, 23-year-old Arthur Pue Gorman, the darling of the spectators. Young Gorman quickly rose to stardom on the not-too-brilliant Nationals." (Gorman later became a U.S. Senator from Maryland and a power in the Democratic Party in the late 19th century).

In the summer of 1865 the Nationals invited the Philadelphia Athletics and Brooklyn Atlantics, two of the major teams of the era, to Washington, losing to the former 87–12 and to the latter 34–19, before 6,000 spectators, including President Johnson. They "jealously guarded their amateur status by refusing all payments, including travel expenses."

By 1867, the Nationals were much improved, and the new national network of railroads prompted them "to do the previously unthinkable by becoming the first Eastern team to venture west of the Alleghenies." They defeated the best the locals had to offer, crushing Columbus 90–10, the Cincinnati Red Stockings 53–10, and the Cincinnati Buckeyes 88–12, beating Louisville, Indianapolis, and St. Louis as well before falling to the Rockford Forest Citys (with future Hall of Famer Albert Spalding) 29–23. The Nats ended the road trip the next day by beating the Chicago Excelsiors 49–4. The "considerable expenses" of the tour were made possible by generous sponsors and "by the indulgence of the Treasury Department."

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Year	Season	League	Team	W	L	Pct	GB	Standings	Playoffs	Manager	Attendance	Stadium	Berth	Champ
1870	1870	NABBP	Washington National	2	9	.182		11th	Missed Postseason
1869	1869	NABBP	Washington National	4	12	.250		9th	Missed Postseason
1868	1868	NABBP	Washington National	7	3	.700		19th	Missed Postseason
1867	1867	NABBP	Washington National	29	7	.806		2nd	Missed Postseason
1866	1866	NABBP	Washington National	10	5	.667		6th	Missed Postseason
1865	1865	NABBP	Washington National	3	2	.600		13th	Missed Postseason
1864	1864	NABBP	Washington National	2	1	.667		13th	Missed Postseason
1861	1861	NABBP	Washington National	1	1	.500		12th	Missed Postseason

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