The Reds were an instant success on the field and in the public's opinion.[7] The team signed several top-level players, and they played in a larger, more comfortable and modern ballpark than the Boston Beaneaters, the popular and well established cross-town rival.[7] Player signings that first year included future Hall of FamersKing Kelly, Dan Brouthers, and Charles Radbourn, along with other veterans such as Hardy Richardson, Matt Kilroy, Harry Stovey, and Tom Brown.[5] The PL ended after one season, leaving most of its teams without a league.[8]
After the dissolution of the PL, the AA voted to allow the Reds into the new combined league.[8] This was based on the condition that all players be returned to their former clubs via the reserve clause.[8] Although the team's on-field captain, Kelly, became the player-manager for a new AA club, the Cincinnati Kelly's Killers, the Reds stayed intact by keeping several of their top players.[9][10] Of the club's key players from the previous year's team, Brouthers, Richardson, and Brown were retained. To fill the void of the departing players, the team brought in future Hall of Famers Hugh Duffy and Clark Griffith, along with solid veterans Paul Radford, Charlie Buffinton, and George Haddock.[6] When the 1891 season ended, the AA folded as well, leaving the NL as the sole major league, and the Reds were bought out by the surviving NL clubs.[11]
Kelly was at the tail end of his Hall of Fame playing career when he became a player-manager of the 1890 Reds, and then later of the Cincinnati Kelly's Killers.
^"Duke Farrell". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"John Fitzgerald". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on January 13, 2013. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"Mike Flynn". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"Clark Griffith". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"Griffith, Clark". baseballhall.org. National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"Ad Gumbert". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"George Haddock". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"Arthur Irwin". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"John Irwin". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"Dick Johnston". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"Bill Joyce". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"King Kelly". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"Matt Kilroy". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"Kid Madden". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"Jack McGeachey". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"John Morrill". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"Morgan Murphy". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"Billy Nash". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"Cinders O'Brien". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"Frank Quinlan". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2011.
^"Joe Quinn". retrosheet.org. Retrosheet, Inc. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2011.