The Cleveland Blues Base Ball Club

1845 - City Council Bans Base Ball

Dated 1845, this ordinance declares that "it should be unlawful for any person or person to play at any game of Ball, or at any other game or pastime whereby the grass or grounds of any Public place or square shall be defaced or injured." Ban was repealed in 1856

1859 - Oldest Photo of Ball Grounds in Cleveland

This ambrotype, a photographic image made by a wet-plate process, depicts Cleveland's Public Square. It was probably taken in the autumn of 1859 by Albert Bisbee. Within the image can be seen the Public Square fountain, Second Presbyterian Church, Trinity Episcopal Church, and St. Paul's Episcopal Church. In the foreground lies the outline of a ball diamond.

- source - ohiohistory.org

1868 - Railway Union's of Cleveland Join National Association of Base Ball Players

The rival club of the Forest City's is the first team from Cleveland to join the prestigious National Association of Base Ball Players. The club went 1-9-1 with 185 total runs scored, and 407 runs scored aginst them. They dropped out of the league after 1868, and remained an amatuer club for several years as professional base ball took hold.

1869 - Forest City Base Ball Club - First Professional Ball Club in Cleveland

1865-1880 - Other Clubs in the Western Reserve Area

Club Name	Location	Year(s) Active	League	Club Record
Penfields	Oberlin	1865-1868	none	n/a
Forest City	Cleveland	1865-1872	National Association of Base Ball Players (Professional Division) (1868-1870) National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (1871-1872)	71-68-1
Occidental	Cleveland	1866-?	N/A	N/A
Eagle	Cleveland	1866-?	N/A	N/A
Young America	Cleveland	1866-?	N/A	N/A
Alert	Cleveland	1866-?	N/A	N/A
Peconic	Cleveland	1866-?	N/A	N/A
Star	Cleveland	1866-?	N/A	N/A
Mohawk	Cleveland	1866-?	N/A	N/A
University	Cleveland	1866-?	N/A	N/A
Eureka	Cleveland	1866-?	N/A	N/A
Defiance	Cleveland	1866-?	N/A	N/A
Railway Union	Cleveland	1866-?	National Association of Base Ball Players (1868)	1-9-1
Reserve	Hundson	1866-?	N/A	N/A
Exercise	Mansfield	1866-?	N/A	N/A
Independents	Mansfield	1866-
Remnants	Ashtabula	1866-?
Athletics	Painesville	1866-?
Ironsides	Youngstown	1867-?
Rough and Ready	Youngstown	1867-?
Stars	Youngstown	1867-?
Mahoning	Warren	1867-?
Social	Girard	1867-?
Active	Lowellville	1867-?
Resolutes	Poland	1867-?
Stars	Poland	1867-?
Stars	Ravenna	1867-?
Enterprise	Hudson	1866-?
Buckeye	Streetsboro	1867-?
Island	Kent	1867-?
Ledge	Nelson	1867-?
Lightfoot	Chardon	1867-?
Independents	Chardon	1867-?
Sorter	Willoughby	1867-?
Eureka	Hambden Center	1867-?
Yankee	Willoughby	1867-?
Pioneer	Kirtland	1867-?
City Club	Akron	1867-?
Excelsiors	Akron	1867-?
Stark	Canton	1867-?
Medina Base Ball Club	Medina	1867-?
Star	Seville	1867-?
Hope	Wooster	1867-?
Washington	Ashland	1867-?
Lenape	Delaware	1867-?
Resolute	Galion	1867-?
Firelands	Norwalk	1867-?
Twilight	Cleveland	1867-?	Negro Team
Manhood	Cleveland	1867-?	Negro Team
Amatuer	Cleveland	1867-?
Athletic	Cleveland	1867-?
Benicia	Cleveland	1867-?
Comet	Cleveland	1867-?
Contest	Cleveland	1867-?
Cuyahoga	Cleveland	1867-?
Dramatic	Cleveland	1867-?
Mechanics	Cleveland	1867-?
Mystic	Cleveland	1867-?
Shakespeare	Cleveland	1867-?
Zouave	Cleveland	1867-?
Iron	Newberg	1867-?
Ironside	Newberg	1867-?
Clumsy	E. Cleveland	1867-?
Academy	Collamer	1867-1883
Mayflowers	Bedford	1867-?
Ivanhoes	Bedford	1867-?
Grand River	Austinburg	1868-?
Tuscan	Mechanicsville	1868-?
Dexter	Madison	1868-?
Muscle	New Lyme	1868-?
Athletics	Hartsgrove	1868-?
Times	Geneva	1868-?
Spencer	Geneva	1868-?
Union	Ashtabula	1868-?
Bay City	Sandusky	1868-?
Germania	Sandusky	1868-?
Royaltons	N. Royalton	1869-?
Rough & Ready's	Olmsted	1869-?
Dexters	Columbia	1869-?
Red Jackets	Tremont	1869-?
Columbia	Columbia	1868-?
Court House	Cleveland	1869-?
City Hall	Cleveland	1869-?
Orientals	Akron	1869-?	Negro Club
Excelsiors	Cleveland	1869-?	Negro Club
Bannaker	Cleveland	1869-?	Negro Club
Dashes	Cleveland	1873-?
Western Rocks	Elyria	1873-?
Olympics	Cleveland	1874-1877	Negro Club
Eastern Rocks	Cleveland	1874-?
Brown Stockings	Cleveland	1876-?
Mahonings	Youngstown	1876-?
Slow & Easy	Cleveland	1876-?

Blue Stockings	Cleveland	1878-1879		13-21-1
Blue Stockings	Geneva	1878-?
Blue Stockings	Cleveland	1879-1884	The National League	242-299-8
Southern Rocks	Cleveland	1879-?	Cleveland Amatuer Base Ball Association
White Caps	Cleveland	1879-?	Cleveland Amatuer Base Ball Association
West Side Reds	Cleveland	1879-?	Cleveland Amatuer Base Ball Association
Alerts	Cleveland	1879-?	Cleveland Amatuer Base Ball Association
Grove Boys	Cleveland	1879-?	Cleveland Amatuer Base Ball Association
Press Nine	Cleveland	1879-?	Cleveland Amatuer Base Ball Association
Crickets	Cleveland	1879-?	Cleveland Amatuer Base Ball Association
XYZ's	Cleveland	1879-?	Cleveland Amatuer Base Ball Association
Stars	Cleveland	1879-?	Cleveland Amatuer Base Ball Association
Malleables	Cleveland	1879-?
Work House Nine	Cleveland	1879-?
Fifth Ward Snakes	Cleveland	1879-?
Hungry Men	Glenville	1879-?
Forest City Troop	Cleveland	1879-?
Gatling Gun Nine	Cleveland	1879-?
Red Stockings	Cleveland	1879-?
Pinafores	Cleveland	1879-?
Reds	Parma	1879-?
Stars	Berea	1879-?
Muffin Nine	Cleveland	1880-?	The Big Bonanza Beerguzzling Association
Shamrocks	Whiskey Island	1880-?
Cardinals	Cleveland	1885-1886	Western League