Reds dedicate 1869 Pavilion - Cincinnati Business Courier bizjournals.com/cincinnati/news/2019/05/05/reds-dedicate-1869-red-stockings-pavilion-on-150th.html
The Cincinnati Reds kicked off the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the nation’s first allprofessional baseball team by dedicating a new pavilion just outside the ballpark to honor the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings. Saturday’s dedication of the 1869 Red Stockings Pavilion took place on the exact date of the first Red Stockings game as a pro team in 1869. They trounced the amateur Great Westerns of Cincinnati 45-9 in that inaugural game. The current version of the Reds are celebrating the 150th anniversary all season. But Saturday’s dedication on the anniversary date was the first major event. The Reds also handed out a Mr. Redlegs 150th anniversary commemorative bobblehead to the first 20,000 fans at the 7:10 p.m. Saturday game vs. the San Francisco Giants. The pavilion is located in the former rose garden next to the Hall of Fame and Museum, along Joe Nuxhall Way on the first base/right field side of Great American Ball Park. The area is open to the public at all times. Well-known Cincinnati sculptor Tom Tsuchiya created relief figures of the members of the 1869 Red Stockings that adorn a gazebo highlighting the site. It includes 12 bronze busts of 10 players, the club president and secretary. The pavilion is the first permanent recognition of the original Red Stockings. “This is going to be a really cool gathering spot,” Rick Walls, executive director of the Reds Hall of Fame and Museum, said shortly before the start of the season. “People can eat their lunch here, it’ll be a great photo opportunity and people will have weddings and other events here.”