Both the NPA and the AAA added two teams in 1875: in the National, it was the
Hartford Dark Blues and the
St. Louis Brown Stockings. Both towns had been clamoring for a seat at the table, especially St. Louis, whose "Browns" had been dominating the Western amateur circuit for years, and had just built a new ballpark called Sportsman's Park. Back east, Connecticut got its first NA team when the Dark Blues club of Hartford was admitted.
The Nutmeg State also received a new American club, as the AA added the
Elm City club of
New Haven, joining Middletown as Amateur loop members from the great state of Connecticut. The other new AA team, however, was a bit of a mystery: the
Philadelphia Centennials, which would play in brand-new Centennial Park when the Athletics were out of town. Investigative reporters have tried, and failed, to discover who exactly is behind the club: a representative states that they are merely a group of "base ball-mad" businessmen who prefer to remain anonymous...
The NA has also extended their schedule to 88 games, or eight against each opponent, and set up a new Centennial Cup tournament: starting this year, there will be five clubs (regardless of record) vying for the Cup, with the second through fifth-best teams in two knockout rounds in Centennial Park, followed by a best-of-three against the National Champion. (Not to be outdone, the AA expanding its schedule to 72 games and will use a similar playoff structure.)