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Ross Barnes was one of the stars of the early professional leagues in the 1870s. But who was he and what did he accomplish? In this article, I will summarize his life and career, based on the Wikipedia article on him.

Ross Barnes was born on May 8, 1850, in Mount Morris, New York. He started playing baseball as a teenager, and joined the Rockford Forest Citys, a professional team in Illinois, in 1868. There he teamed up with Albert Spalding, who would later become a famous pitcher and sporting goods tycoon.

In 1871, Barnes and Spalding were recruited by Harry Wright, the manager of the Boston Red Stockings, a new team in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NA), the first professional league in baseball history. Barnes played second base and shortstop for the Red Stockings, and quickly became one of the best hitters in the league. He led the NA in batting average, slugging percentage, hits, runs, doubles, and triples in various seasons, and helped the Red Stockings win four consecutive championships from 1872 to 1875.

Barnes was also known for his mastery of the fair-foul hit, a technique that allowed him to hit balls that landed fair but then rolled foul, making them hard to field. This tactic was legal at the time but was later outlawed in 1877.

Before the 1875 season ended, Barnes and four other Boston players signed contracts with the Chicago White Stockings, another NA team that was planning to join the newly formed National League (NL) in 1876. This move angered the Boston fans, who called them “seceders”.

Barnes continued his dominance in the NL, leading the league in batting average (.429), slugging percentage (.562), hits (138), runs (126), doubles (21), triples (14), and stolen bases (30) in 1876. He also helped the White Stockings win the first NL pennant. However, his career went downhill after that season, as he contracted a serious illness that weakened him. He played only 22 games in 1877, and missed the entire 1878 season.

He attempted a comeback in 1879 with the Cincinnati Reds, but he was not the same player as before. He hit only .272 with no extra-base hits in 39 games. He returned to Boston in 1881, playing for a different team than his former one, but he only appeared in nine games. He retired from baseball after that season, at the age of 31.

Barnes had a lifetime batting average of .360, which ranks fourth all-time among players with at least 1000 at-bats. He also scored 698 runs and drove in 346 runs in 499 games. He was one of the most dominant players of his era, but his career was cut short by illness and rule changes. He died on February 5, 1915, in Chicago, Illinois.

Ross Barnes was a pioneer of professional baseball and a forgotten star of the game. He deserves more recognition for his achievements and contributions to the sport.