1876 in baseball
After a tumultuous five-year existence, the National Association of Professional [Base Ball Players|National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NA)] folded following the 1875 season. The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs (NL) was formed in Chicago, Illinois, by businessman and owner of the Chicago Base Ball Club, William Hulbert, for the purpose of replacing the NA, which he believed to have been corrupt, mismanaged, full of rowdy, drunken ballplayers, and under the influence of the gambling community. One of the new rules put into place by the new league was that all teams had to be located in cities that had a population of 75,000 or more. The initial NL season began with eight teams, and they were asked to play seventy games between April 22 and October 21. The NL is often considered to be the first "major league", although it has been argued that the NA can make that claim.
Champions
- National League: Chicago Base Ball Club
- Champions of the West: St. Louis Base Ball Association
Statistical leaders
National League final standings
Events
Transactions
Free agents
- Chicago White Stockings signed Cap Anson as a free agent.
- Hartford Dark Blues signed Candy Cummings as a free agent.
- Boston Red Caps signed George Wright as a free agent.
Loans
- August 10, 1876 – The New York Mutuals loaned Nealy Phelps to the Philadelphia Athletics. Phelps returned to the Mutuals on the same day.
Births
| Date | Individual's birth date |
| Name | Individual's name |
| † | Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame] |
| Date | Name | Ref |
| January 1 | Joe Kostal | |
| January 1 | Joe Martin | |
| January 11 | Elmer Flick† | |
| January 12 | George Browne | |
| January 14 | Bill Wolff | |
| January 22 | Warren McLaughlin | |
| January 25 | Fred Glade | |
| January 27 | Otis Clymer | |
| February | Ike Van Zandt | |
| February 4 | Germany Schaefer | |
| February 6 | Andy Sommerville | |
| February 7 | Pat Moran | |
| February 10 | Doc Sechrist | |
| February 13 | Fred Buckingham | |
| February 13 | Fritz Buelow | |
| February 15 | Carlton Molesworth | |
| February 19 | Joe Marshall | |
| February 21 | John Titus | |
| February 27 | Art Goodwin | |
| March 15 | Bill Hallman | |
| March 17 | J. A. Gammons | |
| March 29 | Harry Lochhead | |
| March 29 | Frank Oberlin | |
| April | Art Ball | |
| April 1 | Bill Friel | |
| April 5 | Bill Dinneen | |
| April 6 | Charlie Luskey | |
| April 6 | Frank Murphy |
| Date | Name | Ref |
| July 26 | Sam Breadon | |
| July 27 | Moose Baxter | |
| July 29 | Emmet Heidrick | |
| August 2 | Kid Nance | |
| August 7 | Pat Carney | |
| August 7 | Lou Nordyke | |
| August 11 | Danny Murphy | |
| August 18 | Gus Dorner | |
| August 24 | John Brown | |
| August 24 | Frank Quinn | |
| August 28 | Doc Hazleton | |
| August 29 | Elmer Stricklett | |
| September 1 | Jimmy Wiggs | |
| September 3 | Jerry Donovan | |
| September 3 | Dusty Miller | |
| September 3 | George Stone | |
| September 5 | Pete LePine | |
| September 9 | Frank Chance† | |
| September 15 | Nick Altrock | |
| September 17 | Otto Krueger | |
| September 27 | Steve Cusack | |
| September 28 | Frank Bates | |
| September 28 | Red Long | |
| October 13 | Wild [Bill Donovan (baseball)|Wild Bill Donovan] | |
| October 13 | Rube Waddell† | |
| October 15 | Percy Coleman | |
| October 19 | Mordecai Brown† | |
| October 27 | Patsy Dougherty |
Deaths
| Date | Name | Age | Cause | Cemetery | City/State | Seasons | Teams | Ref |
| May 29 | Tom Miller | 26? | Malaria | Evergreen Memorial Park | Bensalem, Pennsylvania | 1874–1875 | Philadelphia Athletics, St. Louis Brown Stockings | |
| October 18 | Bub McAtee | 31 | Consumption | St. John Cemetery | Troy, New York | 1871–1872 | Chicago White Stockings, Troy Haymakers |