1879 Major League Baseball season
| 1879 MLB season | |
|---|---|
| League | National League (NL) |
| Sport | Baseball |
| Duration | May 1 – September 30, 1879 |
| Games | 84 |
| Teams | 8 |
| Pennant winner | |
| NL champions | Providence Grays |
| NL runners-up | Boston Red Caps |
The 1879 major league baseball season was contested from May 1 through September 30, 1879, and saw the Providence Grays as the pennant winner of the fourth season of the National League. There was no postseason.
Over the off-season, the National League was set on expanding from a six-team league to an eight-team league. The Indianapolis Blues and Milwaukee Grays folded, and in its place, the league admitted the Cleveland Blues, the International Association's Buffalo Bisons and Syracuse Stars, and finally (with confirmation Milwaukee was not returning) the Troy Trojans.
It is suggested by Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) that this season featured the first African-American to play major league baseball, William Edward White, who played one game with the Providence Grays on June 21. He predates brothers Moses Fleetwood Walker and Weldy Walker by five years, and Jackie Robinson by 68 years.