Long before 500 Home Run Club® members thrilled crowds with titanic blasts into the upper decks or towering fly balls that splashed outside the stadium… batting star Ross Barnes is credited with hitting the first home run in the organized Major League while he played for the Chicago White Stockings, the ancestors of today's Chicago Cubs.

He drilled history’s first round-tripper on May 2, 1876 off of Cincinnati's right-hander Bill "Cherokee" Fischer.  This was Barnes only homer of the year, although he led the National League with a torrid .429 batting average and helped the Chicago team win the pennant.

Barnes was the first player to lead two different leagues in hitting with batting titles in the National Association (1873 and 1875), and in the debut season of the National League (1876).
 

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