in the newly formed National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, now known more often as simply the National Association. The Red Stockings finished third in the NA's inaugural season. Wright, now 36 years old was the second-oldest player in the league, behind Nate Berkenstock, aged 38. As the team's regular center fielder, Wright played 30 of the team's 31 games at that position. He also pitched in nine games in relief of Albert Spalding, notching one win. In 1872, the Red Stockings won its first championship, beating Maryland's Lord Baltimore Club by 7½ games. They won again the next season, finishing four games ahead of the Philadelphia Athletics. 1874 turned out to be Wright's last year as the team's regular center fielder. He had been the oldest player in the NA for three years running. It was also his third straight championship as a manager. That year, he organized what turned out to be a fairly disastrous attempt to take baseball back home to the British Isles. In 1875, the final year of the NA, the Red Stockings were an amazing 71-8, finishing a full 15 games ahead of the Athletics. Wright, now the oldest player in the league, continued to play regularly in center field for Boston until 1874. After that, he played in just three more games, one in each of the next three seasons. The National League years In 1876, the Boston club joined the new National League. Sportswriters tended to refer to them as the "Red Caps" now, in deference to the resurrected Red Stockings name for the new Cincinnati Club. Although they once again stumbled in their first year in a new league, finishing fourth in 1876, they went on to win two more pennants in the following two seasons with Wright at the helm. The team finished second in 1879, but then slipped badly, finishing sixth in the next two seasons, which wound up being Wright's last two seasons in Boston. After Boston Providence After leaving the Red Caps, Wright quickly picked up with the Providence Grays, one of the stronger NL teams of the era. In 1882, his first season as Grays manager, the team finished in second place, just three games behind the powerful Chicago White Stockings led by Cap Anson. The team dropped to third the following year, and Wright moved on again. While in Providence, Wright instituted the concept