The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP), often known simply as the National Association (NA), was the first fully-professional sports league in baseball. The NA was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 season. It succeeded and incorporated several professional clubs from the previous National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) of 1857–1870, sometimes called "the amateur Association". In turn, several NA clubs created the succeeding National League of Professional Baseball Clubs (the National League, founded 1876), which joined with the American League of Professional Base Ball Clubs (the American League, founded 1901) to form Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1903.
1871May, 4
The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
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Events on 1871
- 28Jan
Siege of Paris (1870-71)
Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris ends in French defeat and an armistice. - 17Feb
Siege of Paris (1870-71)
The victorious Prussian Army parades through Paris, France, after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. - 21May
Bloody Week
French troops invade the Paris Commune and engage its residents in street fighting. By the close of "Bloody Week", some 20,000 communards have been killed and 38,000 arrested. - 28Sep
Slavery in Brazil
The Brazilian Parliament passes the Law of the Free Womb, granting freedom to all new children born to slaves, the first major step in the eradication of slavery in Brazil. - 8Oct
Great Chicago Fire
Four major fires break out on the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Peshtigo, Wisconsin, Holland, Michigan, and Manistee, Michigan including the Great Chicago Fire, and the much deadlier Peshtigo Fire.