The city of Cincinnati lays claim to hosting the first truly professional baseball team, called the Red Stockings, which began play in 1869 and was undefeated in its first 81 games against amateur clubs. Another Cincinnati-based team by the same name was one of the founding members of the NL in 1876, but this team was expelled from the league in 1880 for playing games on Sunday and allowing liquor on the grounds of its ballpark. While 1882—the year a Red Stockings club that featured a few members of the banned NL squad joined the nascent American Association (AA)—is officially recognized by Major League Baseball as the current franchise’s first year, most Cincinnatians nevertheless consider the Reds the oldest franchise in baseball, and the Reds organization itself includes these earlier clubs in the team history. The team moved back to the NL in 1890, which was the same year it shortened its nickname to “Reds.” Fearing association with communism at the height of the Red Scare in the United States, the team officially changed its nickname to “Redlegs” from 1954 to 1959. Baseball in the 1970s was dominated by Cincinnati teams known as the “Big Red Machine,” which had left behind Crosley Field, with its distinctive left-field terrace, for a new home, Riverfront Stadium.
The Reds played in the NL West division from 1969 to 1993, before joining the Central division in 1994. They have won five World Series championships, nine NL pennants, one AA pennant, and 10 division titles. The team plays its home games at Great American Ball Park, which opened in 2003 replacing Riverfront Stadium.