History of Washington, D.C., professional baseball facts for kids

Washington, D.C. has a long history with baseball! Since 1872, many different baseball teams have called the city home. Today, the city's team in Major League Baseball (MLB) is the Washington Nationals, who started playing there in 2005.

Baseball's Beginnings: 1872-1899

In the late 1800s, professional baseball was just starting. Several early teams were based in Washington, D.C. Many of these teams used names like "Nationals" or "Senators," but they were not connected to each other.

• The National Association Washington Olympics (1871–1872)
• The National Association Washington Nationals (1872)
• The National Association Washington Blue Legs (1873)
• The National Association Washington Nationals (1875)
• The Union Association Washington Nationals (1884)
• The American Association Washington Nationals (1884)
• The National League Washington Nationals (1886–1889)
• The American Association Washington Statesmen (1891)
• The National League Washington Senators (1892–1899)

The "Senators" Era: 1901-1971

1902 Logo

Washington had a major league baseball team for many years, from 1901 until 1971. During this time, two different teams played in the city. They often switched between the nicknames "Senators" and "Nationals."

The Original Washington Senators (1901-1960)

This team was part of the American League.

• It was officially called the "Senators" from 1901 to 1904.
• Then, it was known as the "Nationals" from 1905 to 1955.
• It went back to being the "Senators" from 1956 to 1960.

Even with the name changes, most people called them the "Senators." In 1961, this team moved to Minneapolis-St. Paul and became the Minnesota Twins.

The Expansion Washington Senators (1961-1971)

This was a brand new team, also in the American League. They started playing in Washington right after the first team left. In 1972, this team moved to Dallas–Fort Worth and became the Texas Rangers.

Because both teams used the "Senators" name and played one after the other, people sometimes get them mixed up. The original team used dark blue colors with a red or white "W" on their caps. The new team mainly used caps with a fancy cursive "W." First, it was blue with a red letter (1963–1967). Then, it was red with a white letter (1968–1971). These colors are similar to what the current Washington Nationals use.

Other Teams in Washington (1901-1971)

Two other baseball teams also played in Washington during this period.

• The United States Baseball League Washington Senators (1912): This team was not connected to the American League team. Its league only lasted for one month.
• The Negro National League Homestead Grays (1930–1948): This team was officially based in Homestead, Pennsylvania. However, they played many of their games in Washington. People often called them the "Washington Homestead Grays." When baseball came back to Washington in 2005, "Grays" was one of the possible names for the new team.

Baseball Returns: Since 2005

President George W. Bush throws the ceremonial first pitch upon baseball's return to Washington, D.C. in 2005.

Major League Baseball came back to Washington in 2005. This was after a 33-year break!

The Washington Nationals (2005-Present)

The Montreal Expos team, which was owned by Major League Baseball, moved to Washington. A new group then bought the team. The Nationals chose colors similar to the 1968–1971 Senators. They added gold accents to a tilted version of the old cursive "W" logo.

In 2012, the Nationals won their division, the NL East. This brought postseason baseball back to Washington, D.C., for the first time in 79 years!

The Nationals won their second NL East division championship in 2014. They beat the Atlanta Braves 3–0 on September 16, 2014. In the NLDS that year, they lost to the San Francisco Giants. The Giants then went on to win the World Series.

In 2019, the Washington Nationals had an amazing season! They won the Wild Card game. Then, they defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. Next, they beat the St. Louis Cardinals in the NL Championship Series. Finally, on October 30, they won their first ever World Series! They defeated the Houston Astros in a historic series where no team won a home game.

See also

• Sports in Washington, D.C.