New England Association

{{Infobox sports league | title =New England Association | current_season =  | current_season2 =  | last_season =  | upcoming_season =  | logo = | pixels =  | caption = | formerly = | sport =Minor League Baseball | replaced = | owner = | ceo = | chief operating officer = | director = | president =J.C. Morse (1895) | commissioner = | fame =  | motto = | inaugural =1877 | teams =10 | singles = | country =United States of America | venue = | confed =  | folded = July 6, 1895 | champion = | most_champs ='''1''' <br>Lowell Ladies Men (1877)<br>Lawrence Indians (1895) | classification =Independent (1877, 1895) | qualification = | tv = | sponsor = | related_comps =New England League | founder = | levels = | promotion = | relegation = | domestic_cup = | website = }} The '''New England Association''' was an Independent level minor league baseball league that played in the 1877 season and briefly in the 1895 season. The league franchises were based in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The New England Association was an eight–team league in 1877 and a six–team league in 1895 and permanently folded after the partial 1895 season. The 1877 league was one of the earliest minor leagues.

Baseball Hall of Fame members Candy Cummings managed Lynn in the 1877 New England Association and Ned Hanlon played for the 1877 Fall River Casscades.

==History== Formed for the 1877 season, the New England Association began play on May 3, 1877, as an eight–team league, but ended the season reduced to four teams. The league was one of the earliest minor leagues. On August 27, 1877, Providence turned a triple play in a game against Lowell. The Lowell Ladies Men, with a 33–7 record, won the championship, finishing 4.0 games ahead of the second place Manchester Reds who finished with a 29–11 record. Lowell and Manchester were followed in the final standings by the Fall River Cascades (19–21) and Providence Rhode Islanders (11–29). Both Lowell and Fall River had also been members of the 1877 League Alliance agreement, and in one game on June 12, 1877, future Hall of Famer Pud Galvin pitched the International Association member Pittsburgh Alleghenies to a 3–2 win over Lowell. The Lynn Live Oaks (8–22), Fitchburg, Haverhill and Lawrence franchises all folded before the 1877 New England Association season ended on October 15, 1877. The New England Association folded after the 1877 season.<ref name="encyc">{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball |editor1-first=Lloyd |editor1-last=Johnson |editor2-first=Miles |editor2-last=Wolff |edition=Third |publisher=Baseball America |date=2007 |isbn=978-1932391176}}</ref><ref name="auto3">{{Cite web |url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/t-fc11493 |title=Fall River Cascades Statistics and Roster on StatsCrew.com |website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-mr12772/y-1877 |title=1877 Manchester Reds Roster on StatsCrew.com |website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/stats/t-pi13931/y-1877 |title=1877 Providence Rhode Islanders Statistics on StatsCrew.com |website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref name="auto4">{{Cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/league.cgi?id=1ca4ebaa |title=1877 New England League |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/20935806/1877-09-28-new-england-association/ |title=1877-09-28 New England Association triple play |newspaper=The Boston Globe |date=September 29, 1877 |pages=5 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/l-NEA/y-1877 |title=1877 New England Association (NEA) on StatsCrew.com |website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref name="auto5">{{Cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/topic/the-league-alliance/|title=The League Alliance – Society for American Baseball Research}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.lowellsun.com/ci_9561624/ |title=Lowell Baseball |date=June 12, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://minorbaseballleague.com/history.html |title=Minor League Baseball History - Minor League Baseball History Information |website=minorbaseballleague.com}}</ref>

In November 1877, the Lowell Ladies Men defeated the major leagues' National League champion Boston Red Caps 9–4 in an exhibition contest.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://patch.com/virginia/oakton/hot-stove-117|title=Hot Stove: 11/7|date=November 8, 2013|website=Oakton, VA Patch}}</ref>

The New England Association had two Baseball Hall of Fame members in the 1877 league. Hall of Fame inductee Candy Cummings managed the 1877 Lynn Live Oaks, while fellow Baseball Hall of Fame member Ned Hanlon played for the 1877 Fall River Casscades at age 19.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi |title=1877 Lynn Live Oaks Statistics |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=cummin001can |title=Candy Cummings Career Stats Leagues Statistics & History |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref name="auto3"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=hanlon001ned |title=Ned Hanlon Career Stats Leagues Statistics & History |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref name="auto4"/><ref name="auto6">{{Cite web |url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-lo12722/y-1877 |title=1877 Lynn Live Oaks Roster on StatsCrew.com |website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-fc11493/y-1877 |title=1877 Fall River Cascades Roster on StatsCrew.com |website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref>

In 1895, the New England Association reformed as a six–team independent league under the direction of president J.C. Morse. The six franchises were Fitchburg, Haverhill, Lawrence Indians, Lowell, Nashua Rainmakers and Salem. On May 3, 1895, in a game at Nashua, Lawrence defeated Nashua 36–17. The Fitchburg and Haverhill franchises both disbanded on June 20, 1895. Salem moved to Haverhill on June 20, 1895. On May 21, 1895, William Regan of Salem threw the New England Association's only no-hitter against Fitchburg in a 6–0 victory. The New England Association permanently disbanded mid–season on July 8, 1895. At season's end, the Lawrence Indians won the New England Association championship with a 33–19 record, followed by the Nashua Rainmakers (27–21), Lowell (24–24) and Salem/Haverhill (20–28).<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/league.cgi?id=4a9dc788 |title=1895 New England Association |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi |title=1895 Nashua Rainmakers Statistics |website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://sites.google.com/site/professionalsportshistory/Home/this-date-home/may |title=May - Professional Sports History |website=sites.google.com}}</ref>

==New England Association franchises== {| class="wikitable" |- !Team name !City represented !Ballpark !Year(s) active |- |'''Fall River Cascades''' |Fall River, MA |Unknown<ref name="auto3"/> |{{baseball year|1877}} |- |'''Fitchburg''' |Fitchburg, MA |Fitchburg Driving Park<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/venues/v-872|title=Fitchburg Driving Park in Fitchburg, MA history and teams on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref> |{{baseball year|1877}}, {{baseball year|1895}} |- |'''Haverhill''' |Haverhill, MA |Athletic Park<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/venues/v-1115|title=Athletic Park in Haverhill, MA history and teams on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref> |{{baseball year|1877}}, {{baseball year|1895}} |- |'''Lawrence Indians''' |Lawrence, MA |Glen Forest Park<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/venues/v-1423|title=Glen Forest Park in Lawrence, MA history and teams on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref> |{{baseball year|1877}}, {{baseball year|1895}} |- |'''Lowell Ladies Men''' |Lowell, MA |Fair Grounds Field<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/venues/v-1526|title=Fair Grounds Field in Lowell, MA history and teams on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref> |{{baseball year|1877}}, {{baseball year|1895}} |- |'''Lynn Live Oaks''' |Lynn, MA |Unknown<ref name="auto6"/> |{{baseball year|1877}} |- |'''Manchester Reds''' |Manchester, NH |Unknown<ref name="auto1"/> |{{baseball year|1877}} |- |'''Nashua Rainmakers''' |Nashua, NH |Kinsley Street Grounds<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/venues/v-1813|title=Kinsley Street Grounds in Nashua, NH history and teams on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref> |{{baseball year|1895}} |- |'''Providence Rhode Islanders''' |Providence, RI |Unknown<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-pi13931/y-1877|title=1877 Providence Rhode Islanders Roster on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref> |{{baseball year|1877}} |- |'''Salem''' |Salem, MA |Donovan Park<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/venues/v-2379|title=Donovan Park in Salem, MA history and teams on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref> |{{baseball year|1895}} |} <ref name="encyc"/><ref name="auto"/><ref name="auto3"/><ref name="auto4"/>

== League standings== ===1877 New England Association=== {| class="wikitable" !Team standings!!W!!L!!PCT!!GB!! Managers |- align=center |Lowell Ladies Men||33||7||.825||–||Josiah Butler |- align=center |Manchester Reds||29||11||.725||4 ||H. S. Clark |- align=center |Fall River Cascades ||19||21||.475||14 || Jim Mutrie |- align=center |Providence Rhode Islanders||11||29||.275||22 ||C. R. Dennis |- align=center |Lynn Live Oaks||8||22||.267||NA|| '''Candy Cummings''' |- align=center |Fitchburg ||NA||NA||NA||NA||NA |- align=center |Haverhill ||NA||NA||NA||NA||NA |- align=center |Lawrence Indians||NA||NA||NA||NA||NA |}

===1895 New England Association=== {| class="wikitable" !Team Standings!!W!!L!!PCT!!GB!! Managers |- align=center |Lawrence Indians||31||19||.620||–||John Irwin |- align=center |Nashua Rainmakers||27||21||.563||3 ||Edward Norton |- align=center |Lowell||24||24||.500||6 ||Mike Mahoney / William Meade |- align=center |Salem / Haverhill||20||28||.417||10 ||Frank Leonard |- align=center |Fitchburg||12||25||.324||NA||Lawrence Thyne |- align=center |Haverhill||12||26||.316||NA||William Dwyer / William Laverty |}

==Notable alumni== *Candy Cummings (1877) Baseball Hall of Fame, Inducted 1939 *Ned Hanlon (1877) Baseball Hall of Fame, Inducted, 1980

==References== {{Reflist|2}} {{Professional Baseball}}

Category:Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States Category:Baseball leagues in Rhode Island Category:Baseball leagues in Massachusetts Category:Baseball leagues in New Hampshire Category:Defunct professional sports leagues in the United States Category:Sports leagues established in 1877 Category:Sports leagues disestablished in 1895 Category:1877 establishments in the United States