The Philadelphia Athletics, who were originally organized as an amateur club in 1860, were one of only three clubs to play all five seasons of baseball's first pro league, the National Association. When the N.A. was replaced by the National League in 1876, the A's were carried over by the new league. On April 22, 1876 Philadelphia hosted the first National League game ever played, which they lost to Boston by the score of 6-5.That season the club did poorly at the box office, and ended up in seventh place, some 34.5 games behind first place Chicago. When the year was over the Athletics were thrown out of the league for failing to make the final western road trip of the season.
The city of Philadelphia then went without a major league baseball team until 1882 when the next version of the Athletics became charter members of the American Association. After a second place finish in their first season, the A's took home the A.A. pennant in 1883, behind the pitching of Bobby Mathews (30-13) and the bat of Harry Stovey who led the league in homers (14), doubles (31) and runs (110).
After plummeting to seventh place the following season, the Athletics never managed to finish higher than third during the rest of the decade. The club, which suffered heavy financial losses in the Players League war of 1890, folded in 1891 when the N.L. took over the American Association.
The third version of the Philadelphia Athletics were created in 1901 when the fledgling American League moved into town. A.L. president Ban Johnson chose Connie Mack to manage the A's and made him quarter owner of the club. Mack, who spent the next fifty years as manager of the Athletics, put together a club that won six pennants and had two close second place finishes in the next fourteen years. The club, at various times, featured such future Hall of Famers as pitchers Rube Waddel, Eddie Plank and Chief Bender and sluggers Napoleon Lajoie (the first year only), Eddie Collins and Frank Baker. The Athletics also managed to win three World Series during this period
In 1915, unable to compete with Federal League salaries, Mack dismantled his championship club. The Athletics sank into last place and remained there for seven years. They did not win another pennant until 1929.