Brooklyn played a big role in the early days of baseball. The Brooklyn Atlantics were one of the top teams during the amateur era.

Among the stars were Candy Cummings who invented the curve ball, while Harry Chadwick covering the game for invented the box score. After a playing as a minor league team in 1883, the Brooklyn Grays owned by Charles Byrne to enter the American Association.

Byrne's team had one of the best ballparks in baseball named Washington Park in honor of George Washington. As they became a Major League team, Byrne renamed his team the Brooklyn Atlantics in honor of the great amateur team from the early days of baseball.

The Atlantics managed by George Taylor struggled in their first season in the AA, posting a record of 40-64 as they finished in ninth place. Brooklyn's top hitter was Oscar Walker who batted .

270 with eight home runs, while Adonis Terry led the way on the mound with 19 wins. Late in the season Sam Kimber made history, throwing a ten inning No Hitter against the Toledo Blue Stockings, in a game that ended tied 0-0 due to darkness.