The only reason the Field of Dreams game was the first MLB game in Iowa is because MLB has - in my view, wrongly - neglected to recognize the National Association as the first major leaguehttps://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/ROK/1871.shtml …
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The NA was certainly not "major league" compared to 20th century levels of competition, but in 1871 it was the first professional baseball league; the first American pro sports league. Many of its stars went straight to the NL in 1876, some of them Hall of Famers.
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Rockford's star was Cap Anson. He hit .325. He hit .331 in 22 seasons in the National League. Before 1871, British soccer & British & US horse racing were the only arguably professional organized sports on earth. And US thoroughbred racing was two years old.
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I'm inclined to treat the NA as a major league because it was, uncontested, THE place for professional baseball players to be for five years. It had the cream of the crop.
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Anyway, if we are recognizing the Negro Leagues as major leagues - and we should - the NA should go with themhttps://www.nationalreview.com/2020/09/negro-leagues-major-league-designation-right-move/ …
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Final thought: it was not Iowa's fault that Rockford City dropped out of what was then the premier professional baseball league. It had to close up shop when its nearest franchise, Chicago, was shuttered for the year by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.
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