Providence Grays
Providence Grays was the name of several major league - and minor league - baseball teams, in Providence , Rhode Iceland were at home. The Major League Grays were active in the National League for eight years from 1878 to 1885 . In 1884 the Grays won the first "old" World Series against the New York Metropolitans in a best-of-three series by sweep . Although Providence had already won the series after 2 wins, the 3rd game was still played, which was often the case in the "old" World Series.
The team played at the Messer Street Grounds . The two most successful and well-known players of the Grays were Monte Ward and pitcher Charley Radbourn, who won 59 games in a single season.
The team was the first major league baseball team that signed William Edward White, an African-American baseball player, even if he only played a single game in 1879 for the Grays.
The minor league team played in the Eastern League from 1891 to 1929 .
The amateur team, the Providence Grays Vintage Base Ball Club , played in Providence through 1998.
