Cincinnati Reds World Series wins, appearances & more

The city of Cincinnati is synonymous with baseball. The Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional baseball franchise, were founded in the Queen City, and the Cincinnati Reds have been in existence since 1882.

The Reds are one of the most storied franchises in all of baseball. Hall of Famers Barry Larkin, Johnny Bench, and Joe Morgan all played for the Reds, and all three were part of a World Series championship team during their tenure in Cincinnati.

How many World Series championships have the Reds won?

The Reds have won five World Series championships. That's a far cry from the 27 World Championships the New York Yankees have won, but Cincinnati is tied for the seventh-most all time with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Reds' five world titles is more than the Atlanta Braves (4), Chicago White Sox (3), and Chicago Cubs (3).

Reds World Series appearances

Reds playoff results

Reds win first championship: Cincy win 1919 World Series amid Black Sox scandal

It's not necessarily fair to call the Cincinnati Reds first World Series championship illegitimate, but the team's 5-3 series victory over the Chicago White Sox in 1919 will always be questioned due to the Black Sox scandal.

Eight members of the White Sox were accused of losing the World Series on purpose in exchange for money. The oddity of this World Series, opposed to so many others, was the fact that it was a nine-game series as opposed to the sevens that teams play today. The World Series returned to the seven-game format by 1922.

Reds celebrate second championship: Retribution for Bucky Walters in 1940

The Reds lost the 1939 World Series to the New York Yankees 4-0. Reds pitcher Bucky Walters lost Game 2 and Game 4, and Cincinnati was swept courtesy of Joe DiMaggio and the Bronx Bombers.

But in 1940, Walters redeemed himself. Though the series was against the Detroit Tigers, Walters helped the Reds win Game 2 and Game 6 en route to their second World Series championship. Walters and fellow hurler Paul Derringer combined to pitch five complete games.

Reds secures third championship: Big Red Machine dynasty begins 1975

It took more than three decades to bring a World Series championship back to the Queen City, but the big Red Machine would not be denied. Led by their manager Sparky Anderson, the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox gave baseball fans one of the greatest series of all time.

Though most fans will remember Carlton Fisk waving to the ball to stay fair in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, it was Joe Morgan's RBI single in the top of the ninth inning of Game 7 that won the World Series for the Reds.

Reds go back-to-back for fourth championship: The Great Eight immortalized after 1976 World Series win

Very few teams have done what the Reds did in 1976. Only 14 times in its existence has a team won back-to-back World Series championships. The Reds did it in 1976 and were led by Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench.

bench was named the World Series MVP after going 8-for-15 with two home runs and six RBI in the four-game sweep of the New York Yankees.

Reds win fifth championship going wire-to-wire: Eric Davis set the tone during 1990 sweep of A's

In what may be one of the most improbable World Series wins of all time, the Cincinnati Reds swept the heavily-favored Oakland Athletics right out of the Fall Classic. The wire-to-wire Reds, who never gave up their division lead in 1990 beat the brakes off of Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco, and the A's.

Eric Davis got the Reds off on the right foot with a tone-setting two-run homer off Dave Stewart during Game 1 of the 1990 World Series. After a walk-off win in Game 2, Chris Sabo was the hero in Game 3 with two home runs, and the Reds wrapped up the series win in Game 4 on the road in Oakland for Cincinnati's fifth World Series championship.

More Reds History from Blog Red Machine