National League
After the 1875 season the National Association folded, leaving room for a new league to begin. In 1876, the National League came into existence, the first official "Major League". George's team, the Athletics, followed that movement with very little success, finishing seventh out of eight teams. One of the bright spots that year for the Athletics was the hitting prowess of their star hitter, George Hall. He led the team in almost all major hitting categories including a .366 batting average, 51 runs scored, and a league leading five home runs. On June 17, 1876, he became the first Major League baseball player to hit 2 home runs in one game. Those 5 home runs stood as the single season home run record until Charley Jones hit 9 in 1879.
For the 1877 baseball season, Philadelphia had been expelled from the league for refusing to go on a western road trip, late in the 1876 season, for financial reasons, so George moved on to play for the Louisville Grays. Again, he had an excellent season, hitting .323, scoring 51 runs, and hitting 8 triples. Surprisingly, after appearing in the league leaders for home runs the last 2 season, he did not hit one in 1877.
Read more about this topic: George Hall (baseball)
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