Truly Vintage Base Ball

Today's post was going to be further thoughts on "Lincoln's Virtues," but today's 19th century base ball research got in the way. I am working on the history of three New Jersey teams from base ball's amateur era (1855-1870) that are to be submitted to the pioneer project for publication in a book. Today I was trying to finish gathering newspaper articles on the Olympic Base Ball Club of Paterson. Much like the Eureka, the Olympic were an active and successful team in 1866-67 and then in 1868 and 1869 basically drop off the face of the earth.

Since that didn't take much time I did some more work on the Knickerbocker Antiquarian Base Ball Club that played a somewhat different game. I had found an article about an 1869 game that noted base ball historians John Thorn and David Block felt was an important find. I thought the next step was to see what happened in 1870 and later. Since there don't seem to have been many games of this style played (or perhaps reported) this late, I was somewhat surprised to find a game every year from 1870 through 1875. I didn't find anything for 1876, but I will keep looking.

I have been doing various types of research on early base ball in New Jersey since March with, of course, the idea that there might be a book here. After a while I thought such a book would be both unwritable and unreadable because it would be mind numbing detail of multiple teams and players. Paterson, for example, a city of 33,000 in 1866 reportedly had 13 base ball clubs. As I got going on the Eureka, arguably the best New Jersey team of the era, I starting thinking of a history of that team. That may still be an option, but I am now wondering if a book that captures the major stories of the era might work - something more narrative based than linear and chronological. These stories could be supplemented by some exhaustive research that really tries to get as complete a picture of base ball in New Jersey during the era. It would mean reading every local newspaper available, but it might well be worth it.

As I have been finding obituaries of the Eureka players for the pioneer project, I have been disappointed that so few of them even mention the deceased person's role in the Eurekas. Preserving and telling this story would definitely have merit, the challenge is finding a format to do so.