1870 Team Photo. L-R: Doyle – 1B, Addy – 2B, Spalding – P, Stires – RF, Simmons – CF, Waldo – Secretary, Cone – LF, Hastings – C, Barnes – SS, Foley – 3B.
Welcome to the home of the Rockford Forest Citys Base Ball Club. This site is dedicated to preserving the memory of one of the first professional baseball teams in America, the famous Forest Citys of Rockford, Illinois. The Forest Citys were widely known throughout the United States as one of the most dominant early baseball teams. Widely regarded as the best “western” team during their existence between 1865-1871, the team was also one of the original clubs in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, the first version of today’s National League. The Hall of Fame baseball writer Henry Chadwick, also known as “the father of baseball,” even included three of the Forest Citys players in his 1908 list of the nine greatest players of the first 37 years of professional baseball. Browse our website and read more to learn about this historic team and the pioneers of baseball!
