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 New Hampshire Baseball Quiz QUESTION 7: Name the New Hampshire towns that have fielded minor league teams. ANSWER: Concord, Dover, Epping, Fremont, Kingston, Manchester, Nashua, Newton, and Portsmouth have all fielded professional teams.
As the quality of baseball improved, so did the urge to win. By the late 1860s, it was typical for some players to be paid for their services. Professionalism created new divisions among baseball players. In 1871, the professional players set up their own association. Ill-equipped to function effectively, the association was replaced in 1876 by the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, with strict standards that gave stability and insured public confidence in the game. This new "major league" spawned a system of minor leagues to train new players. One of the first of these leagues was the International Association, which included Manchester among its fifteen teams in 1877. Manchester continued in the league in 1878, but in 1879 it disbanded, largely the consequence of challenging the National League for major league status. Over the next 110 years, New Hampshire would field minor league teams in Concord, Portsmouth, Dover, Nashua, and Manchester, as well as teams in smaller communities like Kingston, Fremont, Newton, and Epping. Today's Nashua Pride carries on this tradition.  |
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