Friday, April 19, 2024

Colorado Leagues

Colorado State League
    1898 BR

    Coverage is in Colorado newspaper site

    Boxes
    1898-5-15 (Aspen Daily Times)  Glenwood 23, Aspen 9. First ball game of season was attended by a large crowd, but it was not a good one. No box.
    1898-5-31 (Aspen Daily Times) Aspen 7, Greenwood 6. "Owing to the counterattractions the attendance was not large, but some very pretty playing was witnessed."
    1898-6-04 (Aspen Daily Times) Denver Gulfs 6, Aspen 4. Play by play of first five innings.
    1898-7-10 (Aspen Daily Times) Aspen 2, Denver Gulfs 1
    1898-7-23 (Denver Rocky Mountain News) Gulfs 5, Leadville 3. 
    1898-7-27 (Glenwood Springs Avalanche-Echo)  No box, but account and illustration.
    1898-7-30 (Aspen Daily Times) Glenwood 16, Aspen 13
    1898-8-07 (Glenwood Springs Avalanche-Echo) Glenwood Springs 4, Leadville 3

    1898-3-18 George Tebeau (w/illustration) is looking with interest at formation of Colorado State League - perhaps Denver will get the franchise in it that it has been denied by the Western League.
        Western League owners are lowering salaries across the league, and many players are rejecting their contracts. 
    1898-6-23 (Aspen Daily Times) Ft Collins walked off field in protest of umpire's call. "It were far better for the Colorado state league to disband and never again mention baseball in any form than to display such universal symptoms of babyism."
    1898-7-06 (Denver Rocky Mountain News) (Wednesday) "The Aspen base ball team came in with the Gulfs last night from the mountains and registered at the American house. [lists roster] They will play the Louisville team in Boulder today and to-morrow. Friday, Saturday and Sunday they will play the Gulfs at D.W.C. park in this city. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week they will play in Fort Collins."

1898 search for Sievers (Ed Siever of Aspen/Glenwood Springs)

 1931-9-11 Labor day baseball - with star of Denver Post tournament

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Incredible Feats of Extraordinary Men

 1908-8-23 (HI report) Connecticut State League pitcher throws perfect game - has play by play.
1908-8-24 (HI report) Box for 21 inning 1-0 PA semi-pro game in which one player hit three triples and homer, and one pitcher struck out 38

Hugh Bedient

Saturday, March 30, 2024

Survey of minor league literature - 1988

 https://sabr.org/journal/article/a-survey-of-minor-league-literature/


 "There is a hard core of West Coast fans who are resentful to this day that the Dodgers and Giants displaced the PCL Angels, Stars, and Seals. An annual reunion of Newark Bear alumni and fans draws a sizable turnout. The Rochester Red Wings have had a solid following. Clearly, the interest in the minor leagues runs strong and deep."


History of Baseball in California and Pacific Coast Leagues 1847-1938  – Memories and Musings of an Old Time Player. - Fred Lange

The Story of Minor League Baseball - 1952 history of National Association. Robert Finch, L.H. Addington and Edward Morgan - 

Bush League by Robert Obojski -1974 


Generally speaking, books on minor league baseball fall into one of two categories. They are either a history or nostalgic look at specific leagues and clubs, or they are descriptions by players of life as a minor league player. Of the latter, the message is always the same. We were young, it was tough riding the buses, we drank a lot and played practical jokes on each other, and we worked hard to get out of there. Sometimes we made the majors, sometimes we didn’t. And we almost always started in Class D.

The classic of this type is A False Spring by Pat Jordan. It is the story of a high school phenom who played three years in the Braves’ farm system beginning in 1959. Jordan was a bonus baby and as such, rated a little higher on the totem pole than some of his teammates. But he still had to suffer the same experiences as the rest.

Jordan is an exceptional writer, and his skill in painting word pictures of the teams, the players and the surroundings make this book the model of its type. It is not so much about minors as it is about a boy growing up. McCook, Davenport, Waycross — they’re all well described, and you understand what it must have been like in the lower minors almost thirty years ago.

At the other end of the spectrum is Low and Outside: The True Confessions of a Minor League Player by Jerry Kettle. This is everything that A False Spring is not. It is badly written and careless with detail; Kettle can’t seem to get anyone’s name right. Manager Benny Zientara becomes Vinny Zintera; Bill Posedel is Bill Fosdel. The least his editor could do is look up the names. Kettle comes across as a cocky unpleasant jock, and inspires no sympathy when his career is shortened by an arm injury. Kettle played in the Phillies system, and life in Mattoon, Tifton, and High Point-Thomasville is not much different from McCook."

Like two peas in a pod are Wait Till I Make the Show, by Bob Ryan and Beating the Bushes by Frank Dolson. The books were written by two excellent sportswriters eight years apart, using the same format. They traveled with minor league teams to get a real flavor of life in the minor leagues. Curiously, Jim Bunning’s career as a manager in the Phillies system is featured in both books. Dolson’s was written in 1982, a bit longer and confined to the Phillies farms as one would expect from his Philadelphia Inquirer background. Ryan’s book features a wonderful description of the Termite Palace in Honolulu, where the Islanders played. If ever a park resembled Sulphur Dell in Nashville, this was it. I think that Dolson is the better of the two. Wonder if we’ll complete this trilogy in 1990?

"The best of these histories is Overfield’s The 100 Seasons of Buffalo Baseball. lt covers the entire history of the Bisons, including their years in the National League, concluding with the 1984 season. Each year is given its own summary chapter and statistics. There are numerous photographs (including several action shots in Offermann Stadium), the great Bisons are profiled, and the importance of the club to the community is given much attention.

The advantage that the author has over most minor league historians is his long association with the team. He saw his first Bison game in 1925, and with time out for World War II service, has been a faithful supporter ever since. He personally saw most of the greats and was an official of the community-owned Bisons of the ’50s; this gives his history an authenticity that is lacking in others. It’s an outstanding history of a ball club and could hardly be improved upon

Two excellent histories of the Newark Bears have been produced by SABR members. Randy Linthurst produced a three volume set: Newark BearsNewark Bears: The Middle Years; and Newark Bears: The Final Years. They cover the Bears from 1931, when the club was purchased by Colonel Ruppert and the Yankees through the final season of 1949. It’s a year-by-year account of the club and naturally concentrates on the great 1937 team. The author provides an abundance of pictures and includes correspondence from former players and fans. The books are small, about one hundred pages each, and could have easily been consolidated into one. Linthurst presents a very thoughtful analysis of the decline and fall of the Newark franchise, giving as reasons (beyond the obvious impact of television) decline of the park neighborhood, the Yankees’ need to stock the Kansas City franchise, the recall of Bob Porterfield in 1948"

"The Canadian members of the International League receive attention in Bill Humber’s Cheering for the Home Team. Although this book is not exclusively about the minors, it is an historical overview of baseball in Canada and naturally devotes much attention to the Canadian minor league teams. A more complete report on the Toronto Maple Leafs is found in Baseball’s Back in Town, by Louis Cauz. This book was issued in 1977 to commemorate the creation of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Cauz has produced a very fine book. Its emphasis is on the Maple Leafs, and the history of that club is presented in a summary form, decade by decade. The photographs in this book are remarkable. There are pictures of all of the Toronto ballparks, team pictures, good action shots and prominent Maple Leafs, some of which are in color. No statistics to speak of but there is a brief bibliography. The photography by itself makes this one a great buy."





Thursday, March 28, 2024

Mark E. Eberle


    "In nearly all the states and territories of the western United States, baseball played by formally organized clubs began during the 1860s and 1870s, primarily after the US Civil War. These clubs were organized by civilians and members of military units."
    magnum opus
    Discusses some of the earliest black leagues
"What's in a name?" Baseball Goes to Town in 1886 Missouri Pacific station towns named after members of ST. Louis Browns

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

1890s

 https://www.newspapers.com/article/spokane-chronicle/42740570/ Game will be played under electric lights tonight - Spokane v. Portland

Pennsylvania- West Virginia League

 1908 Pennsylvania-West Virginia League

Nicknames I see conflict with those listed on BR.
News v. BR:
Uniontown Gardeners-Peasants v. Coal Barons
Clarksburg Moguls-Musicians v. Drummers
Charleroi Cherubs-Angels v. Cherios

1908-6-05 Boxes. 700 ATT.

African dodgers


1897-8-14 Knocked out by expert throw; quits.
1899-7-05 Ad in Boston Globe - expert seeks hire
1908-8-09 Dangerous for dodger - lost teeth. Hit by Joseph Dest, pitcher for Norwalk.
1911-10-28 Practice criticized
1915-3-15 Albany does not allow practice. No mortalities, and not an easy thing to do. 
1916-7-21 Angered at being hit too many times; hits bystander.

1860s

 1863-9-26 Athletics of Philadelphia lose to Princeton

1880s

 1883-3-18 National agreement rules

MLB

1882-2-28 (Brooklyn Daily Eagle) Review of NL/AA

Financial

1885-9-20 Summary of season

Cincinnati

1881-5-22 Columbia base ball club organized for season - roster listed. Perfecto Lacoste in outfield. He later became governor of Havana.
    1905-5-15 Died last week in Havana. Summary of life.

League Alliance

1882-1-08 (Cincinnati Enquirer)
    "Judging from the reports from all the cities it would seem that the League's attempt to destroy the American by making its foster-child, the League Alliance, more attractive to outside clubs, had signally failed. The Metropolitans and the Philadelphias are the only teams that have been received as members. The Philadelphias have as yet no grounds, and do not appear to have very good standing in the Quaker City." They then quote article from Philadelphia Item supporting statement
    Letter quoted from NYC fan ripping Chadwick apart.
1882-2-28 (Brooklyn Daily Eagle)
    "In limiting the regular membership to clubs fully strong enough financially to carry out all its scheduled engagements, [the National League] has provided a branch organization under the title of League Alliance clubs, with a view of embracing within its ranks every professional club in existence worthy of recognition and protection. This latter class of league club members enjoys every privilege of regular membership except voting at the league meetings and taking part in the regular championship series of matches. Moreover, these league alliance members enjoy a freedom of club action from which the regular members are debarred. That is, they can play with any club they please; charge what price of admission they like, and engage in any championship matches; in fact, the actions of the Metropolitan club this past season is a fair sample of what a League Alliance club is permitted to do;" 

New York Metropolitans



1882-11-09 Account of Metropolitans so far.
    From 3-31 to 10-28, 1882, they played 162 games - beat their own record of 151 games, set in 1881. 
    In 1881, they had 18-42 record against league teams in 60 games; in 1882, they had 29-42 record against league teams in 74 games. 
    Rosters and records of 1881 and 1882 seasons presented.
    Club now has "cash deposit of over $56,000, making them the wealthiest base ball organization of the country."
1882-11-20 "During the first season in which the Metropolitan nine played on the polo grounds they were compelled to allow the Westchester Polo Association 20 per cent of the gross receipts for the use of the grounds."
    Overview of roster for next season. Tells where they've been. Captain John Clapp started out in Ithaca in 1866.

1898-9-07 Person who built the park Metropolitans played at has died.

Eastern Championship Series

1881-8-08 Metropolitan 9, Quickstep 3. Box. 

Southern League

1888-4-08 New Orleans 14, Birmingham 2. Box. New Orleans made one error and stole 20 bases. Birmingham made 16 errors.
    "Judging by the crowd of yesterday the success of the Southern League is assured. There were nigh on to 5000 people at the game. The big grandstand was full and people sat in open stands for two hours and a half, with everything wet around them, watching every particular of the contest."
    Mutrie, manager of NY Giants, delivers long talk on Southern baseball. He and his team spent time in Charleston; left only last night. 
    WELL WORTH READING.

Cuban Giants

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Giants
1888-7-10 Cuban Giants 13, Asbury Park 0. 500 ATT.
1888-7-19 Cuban Giants 6, Carbondale 3. Cuban Giants played a great game, working uphill against the umpire, and were complimented highly by Carbondale manager. Box.
1888-8-16 Cuban Giants 10, Carbondale 0. 800 ATT. Box. William Whyte - mustached man - threw shutout. Has also shutout Philadelphia Athletics.

Sunday, March 24, 2024

California State League

 1903-4-19 Reliance 7, Vallejo 6. Play by play. 1K+ ATT. 10 innings.
1903-6-21 Petaluma 6, Reliance 4. Box. Petaluma newspapers.
1905-11-12 San Jose 5, Stockton 4. No box. W/big leaguers.

Friday, March 22, 2024

Milb/ misc. pics

Chicago Tribune

 1876-3-05
1876-10-01 St. Louis bookkeeper who stole $2000 from employer for purpose of following St. Louis Brown Stockings around the country and betting on them jailed. 
1877-2-11 League Alliance
1877-3-18 League Alliance, Indianapolis Southern tour
1878-3-10
1878-3-24 Will be no pro ball in St Paul this season

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

1870s





Cincinnati

1876-6-30 Vigilants of Cincinnati 19, Actives 9. Both colored teams - played at Stars' baseball grounds.     100 ATT - would have been big crowd but for threatening weather. 
1876-6-30 Cincinnati Red Stocking Juniors 15, Walnut Hills Club 4. 
    Columbus Buckeyes 5, Hartfords 2. Box scores for both.
1876-7-22 Covington Stars 7, Columbus Buckeyes 5. (line score)

https://www.newspapers.com/clippings/?user=1346794%3Aaberra some decent St. Louis - some 1880s, and 1890s, and some St. Louis Stars (1930s Negro League pics)

Indianapolis

1876-8-09 (St. Louis) "One of the Smiths is playing centre field for the Indianapolis club, and carried off the honors in Friday's game. All the other Smiths up there went out to see him play, and there were 3,000 people on the ground." [quoted from Enquirer]

1876-7-31 Mon. Chicago White Stockings 8, Indianapolis 7. 12 innings. Play by play + box.
    "The receipts at the gate yesterday were over $800, the Chicagos taking $461, which was 60 per cent. of the entrance money. In their game Friday with the Indianapolis boys they play for 50 per cent. of the gate receipts. With a view of accommodating the immense which will certainly be on [h]and Friday, the management determined upon building an addition to the amphitheater of 150 feet directly West of and adjoining the present structure. Monday the Brown Stockings of St. Louis will be here. 
1876-8-04 Fri. Chicagos 5, Indianapolis 4. Box. Immense crowd at the South Street grounds. 
    Will have to start charging the ladies 25 cents - no more free tickets. They swarm the stands, and the men are left out in the cold. 
    "Julian, McSorley, Flint, Golden, Riley, Miller, Houtz and Golden have been formally engaged for next year."
1876-8-07 Mon. St. Louis Brown Stockings 5, Indianapolis 2. Box. 
    "But few ladies attended the match yesterday afternoon, They retired disgusted. Several hundred male spectators paid for privileged seats, and several thousand, including the Wart, dead headed from the outside by clambering upon roofs, telegraph poles, freight cars and wagon beds. They too were disgusted. And so too were the scorers, and reporters, and ball ground policemen, e'en down to the boy carrying water." Both teams played bad ball. 
1876-8-09 Wed. Indianapolis 6, Cincinnati Red Stockings 1. Box. Several hundred spectators. 
    "If the Indianapolis directory feel they can not afford to admit ladies free, at least reduce the admission to fifteen cents, or two for a quarter. Better admit them free." 
1876-8-11 Muddy grounds. Postponed to Monday.
1876-8-14 Mon. Louisville 6, Indianapolis 0. Devlin throws shutout. 
    " 'To the Public - By a unanimous vote of the executive committee of the Indianapolis base ball association, Dale Williams has been this day dishonorably dismissed from its service for gross violation of his contract, which obligated him to give his exclusive services to said association, and to not play for, or accept money from, any other base-ball club during the season of 1876. On Saturday last he obtained leave of absence [to] visit his parents at Cincinnati, and while there played with the Cincinnati Red Stockings, accepting money therefor. His contract with the Indianapolis club is therefore declared forfeited, together with all unpaid balance of salary.
    It is further ordered that the manager debar said Williams from participating in any games to be played on Indianapolis grounds. 
    By order of the Association,
        C.B. JACOBS, Manager.' 
    "Both the Sentinel and the Journal severely comment upon the dishonorable course taken by Williams and approve the action of the directory thereto. For two years prior to coming here he played with the Ludlows, a corporated nine in Cincinnati, and realized therefrom about $5 cash, and when Manager Jacobs picked him up he was unknown in professional circles, and 'down at the heel' financially. He came here, and improved rapidly, and the kind treatment from the management gave him an inflated idea of his own importance, consequently he took the first opportunity to break faith with his benefactor, violate his pledged word and written agreement, and now is publicly disgraced."
    Dale Williams BR. Was 1-8 for Red Stockings in 1876. 
1876-8-21 Mon. Indianapolis 6, Louisville 4. Box. A well-played game. 
1876-8-25 Fri. Indianapolis 6, Alleghanys 4. 11 innings. Box. 
1876-8-26 Sat. Indianapolis 5, Alleghanys 3. Box. Good crowd again.
1876-8-29 Tues. Indianapolis 26, Columbus Blue Stockings 1. Box. 
1876-8-31 Thur. Indianapolis 10, Columbus Buckeyes 0. Box.  1K ATT. Buckeyes' "$2,200 pitcher" smacked.
1876-10-02 Mon. Hartfords 5, Indianapolis 3. No box. Inexcusable error made by Jacobs in line-up composition. 
    "It seems that several members of the home club can't realize they are paid to run upon striking a ball, and that they have no business to stop unless the umpire calls 'foul' or 'striker out.' "
1876-10-03 Tues. Hartfords 8, Indianapolis 1. Wretched game. 

1876-10-23 Season is ended.
1876-10-24 Flint, catcher, gets a letter from a person offering him a job as judge of chickens, for the papers said "your judgement on fowls is unsurpassed." Groan...
1876-10-25 "West, of the base ball club, leaves for Brooklyn, N.Y., Friday." 
1876-10-27 Letter from members of Indianapolis nine. The ball given to Manager Jacobs last night was not given by us - it was given without our knowledge or consent. "We had nothing to do with the disgraceful conduct of C.B. Jacobs on the evening mentioned... The present whereabouts of manager Jacobs is unknown to us, or even what has happened of the funds held by him during said eveneing."
    Eight players signed, either with full names or initials. 
    "This afternoon Messrs. Brown and Watson, of the Indianapolis base ball club directory, signed an order dispending with the services of C.B. Jacobs as manager. This order met the approval of Messrs. Fletcher and Pettit and will be signed by them at once, thus making a majority of the board favoring the dismissal." 
1876-10-30 "The base ball directory have rescinded the order discharging Manager Jacobs, and will give that gentleman an opportunity for explanation at a meeting to be held to-night. He claims to have been mis-judged, and that the card signed by club members, and published in The News, was gotten up and forced through by two of the nine who have been opposed to him from the start. If he has a defense let it come." 

    Harry Smith

Louisiana

1877-3-14 (Indianapolis news) Indianapolis beat Lees of New Orleans 13-0; not a single Lee batter reached first. Good attendance. 

Maine

1876-7-29 (Portland Daily Press) "Base ball matters are looking up in this city. The Resolutes have already or are about to reorganize, and yesterday arrangements were made for the lease of the grounds on the Western Promenade. They will be put in excellent condition and fenced at a cost of about $1000. Such grounds will have a tendency to draw large crowds, and it is thought that the outlay will be readily taken at the gate. Negotiations are now being made with the Bostons to play at the opening of the grounds. Just who will catch for the Resolutes is not yet known."
    Correction made to previous account of game between Dirigos of Biddeford and Live Oaks of Sanford. 

1875-9-03 Portland Resolutes 7, Lynn Live Oaks 6. 600-700 ATT. 

Massachusetts


1876-6-26 Scores listed. Tauntons' fixtures for the following week listed; will play Mon-Wed-Fri-Sat. 
    "Samuel N. Crane, of the Fall River Club, has been appointed Secretary of the New England Base Ball Association, vice G.H. Marqueze, resigned." 
1876-7-23 (St. Louis) Article about Will White. "The [Live Oaks of Lynn] played seventy-three games [last season], winning fifty-eight and losing eighteen." Someone needed better math...
    https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Will-White/ HOF - first player to wear glasses while playing - and last for a long time. 
    By 1875 Will White had developed a sharp-breaking curveball and was pitching for the Lynn (Massachusetts) Live Oaks, one of the strongest amateur clubs in the country. In a tournament in Watertown, New York, White met Harry McCormick of the Syracuse Stars and taught his future teammate how to throw the curveball.
1876-8-09 (St. Louis) Live Oaks beat Athletics 8-0 - Lynn pitcher Bradley gave up one hit.
1878-3-24  Chicago Tribune quotes Springfield Republican:
    "The most remarkable local departure is this new interest in base-ball. We of Springfield used to have a mild pity for Hartford's infatuation over the national game, which filled the ball field with her bank and insurance Presidents and the pink of local fashion. Since that time our big neighbor has been sobered by the crash of sundry banking and insurance institutions, and her ball club is dead. Now, in this time of pinching economies, our live business men are embarking in a base-ball company. We hope to fate there is nothing significant about it."
1878-4-28 (Boston Globe)
    "The stock of the New Bedford Base Ball Association has been increased from $2000 to $3500.
    "Some people in Springfield are displeased because they say they have to pay fifteen cents for any kind of a seat, there being no free ones, after having paid twenty-five cents admission.
    "The New Bedfords have made a mistake in charging their ill success to unfair umpiring. Of course this may be the case, but when the thing is repeated two or three times in succession it looks bad."
    A lot of stuff about Providence club

1875-6-03 Live Oaks 16, Metacomets of Taunton 0. 1st game of amateur championship series.
    Records listed for teams entered into amateur championship for month of May. 
1875-7-09 Fri. Live Oaks 9, Beacons of Boston 8. Beacons brought picked nine to try to beat Live Oaks; ineffectual. 
1875-7-12 Chicagos 6, Live Oaks 1. Line-score. 1200 ATT. "professionals" v. "amateurs."
1875-8-11 Wed. Live Oaks 12, Mutuals of Boston 4. 100 ATT. "poorest game of the season for the amateur championship." line-score.
1875-8-14 Lowells 7, Live Oaks 4. Opening game of Lynn base ball tournament. Nearly 2K on grounds. 
    First prize: $450. Second: $400. Third: $200
    Teams in tournament: Live Oaks of Lynn, Graftons, Lowells, Beacons of Boston, T.B.F.U.S. of Bridgeport CT, and Chelseas of Brooklyn NY. 
        Frank T. Whitney signed by Bostons. 19 years old. Played with Howard Juniors of Brockton from 1871 to 1874. Played with Live Oaks this year, and has been captain since Nevins quit. 
1875-8-20 Live Oaks 9, T.B.F.U.S. 0. (forfeit) 
        Graftons 11, Beacons 3.
    Boxes for both. Umpire, Tilden, is the best that has been in Lynn all season.
    Amateur tournament games. Comparatively small attendance of 800. 
    Will be two more games today. 
1875-8-21 Sat. Graftons 4, Live Oaks 2. 
    "This victory gives the Graftons the first prize, as they have won three games, and the Beacons forfeited one to them, making four games they have won. The Lowells won in the games with the Live Oaks and the T.B.s, but will forfeit the latter because of playing Crane illegally. The Beacons forfeit one to them, and the Graftons have beaten them once, so they stand two won and two lost. The Live Oaks have beaten the T.B.s and Beacons and have been beaten by the Lowells and Graftons, and therefore stand tie with the Lowells, two won and two lost. The T.B.s have been defeated by the Lowells, Graftons, and Live Oaks, and gain[ed] one from the Beacons by the failure of the latter to appear Saturday. The T.B.s, as has been stated will be given the game with the Lowells on forfeiture. Thus they, too, will have won two and lost two. [uh, that works out to 2-3.] 
    It has been decided that these three crowds must pay again, all round, to decide the second and third money. The Lowells express much dissatisfaction with the tournament, and on Saturday declared their intention not to play any more games, claiming that the second money belonged to them. The Beacons have withdrawn from the tournament. The engagement of their catcher, Crane, by the Lowells, weakened them considerably, but the loss of six more of their players during the past week, through sickness, death and absence from the city - misfortunes which would probably have deterred any other club from contesting any games - has made them feel it is useless to play longer. They played their game with the Graftons on Friday at the urgent request of the managers of the tournament, as the game had been advertised."
    (emphasis added)
    Graftons 4-0
    Lowells 2-2
    Live Oaks 2-2
    "The Beacons will play their first championship game with the Live Oaks on the Boston ground on Friday next. This will be the first appearance of the celebrated Lynn club in Boston.
    "Next week there is to be an amateur tournament at South Weymouth for prizes of $75, $50 and $25. The Actives, Tauntons and Howard Jrs. have signified their intention of entering, and the Noddles of East Boston are expected to enter." 
1875-8-26 Live Oaks 3, Tauntons 0. (9-0 forfeit) Box. Ninth game of championship series. Blah game. "several hundred spectators."
    Bostons 9, Jackson Mutuals 0. (line score)
    Lowells 15, T.B.F.U.S.'s 6. 2K ATT. 
1875-10-19 Live Oaks 7 Lowells 6. Box
    "A game between the Live Oaks and Lowells yesterday was one of the best contests of the kind ever seen on the Lynn grounds. During the past season the greatest rivalry has existed between these clubs, more particularly in the series of games for the amateur championship, in which the Lowells have had rather the best of it. Yesterday's game attracted one of the largest crowds that ever gathered on the Lynn grounds, a fact which was in part due to the exciting game played at Lowell on the previous day, the result of which was a score of 1 to 0 in favor of the boys of the 'City of Spindles.' "
    Game was interrupted four times by player indignation against the umpire. He, Mr. Otis Tilden of Brockton, was unintimidated, and manned his position impartially to the end. 
1875-10-25 Live Oaks 1, King Philips of Rockland MA 0. 500 ATT. line-score.
1876-6-10 Sat.  Live Oaks 7, Tauntons 3. Line score.
    Live Oaks' games in upcoming week listed; will play Mon-Tues-Fri-Sat. Programme for games at Boston Grounds during week listed; combination of pro, semi-pro, and college.
    "Stratton has left the Lynn Live Oaks, and will attend to his professional duties as a lawyer. Shattuck will captain the nine." 
1876-7-03 Lynn Live Oaks 10, Tauntons 4. Box. 500 ATT. Second game of Amateur Base Ball Tournament at Lynn. 
1876-7-15 Live Oaks 7, Fall Rivers 3. Line-score. 
    Final standings of Lynn amateur tournament. Lowells took first prize of $500, Live Oaks took second and $300, Fall Rivers took third and $200, Tauntons took fourth and $150, and Rhode Islands took fifth and $100. 
1876-7-22 Bostons 9, Live Oaks 5. Box. 600 ATT. Live Oaks were up 5-3 after seven. It was the Bostons' first game since their western tour. 
1876-7-24 Mon. Rhode Islands 6, Live Oaks 5. 800 ATT. Their sixth championship game of season. Live Oaks fielded very well.
    Our Boys of Boson 18, Pioneers 10. 1K ATT. 
1876-8-03 Lynn Live Oaks 4, Boston Androscoggins 4. Line score.
    Line score for Exeter NH 56, Portsmouth Granite States 0. 

    "Both Frank and Art were part of the Lowell amateur baseball club in 1877, along with Sam Wright, the younger brother of Harry and George Wright.10 This team was remembered as “one of the most famous teams that ever represented a New England city,” in the Daily Citizen and News 25 years later. Lowell played 126 games and won 26 of them in a row.11"

Minnesota

1876-10-09 St. Paul Reds and Minneapolis Blues have arranged a series between themselves. Blues play in Blue Stocking park, Minneapolis. 
1876-11-11 "The Red Caps of St. Paul meet this evening for further consideration of ways and means to raise that $1,700 deficit.
    "The following from the Chicago Times will be interesting news in this quarter: Mr. Hall, President of the Minneapolis Blues, is determined to have the championship team of the northwest there next season.
    "The directors of the Louisville club are in trouble. The stock subscribed has been all consumed, and now about $3,000 are due the players for September and October. The players are still hanging around waiting." 
    "The suggestion is made in the eastern papers that rather than have the balltossers remain idle this winter the main exposition building at Philadelphia should be heated and used for exhibition games." 

Nebraska


1883-5-18 Union Pacifics 16, Des Moines 1. Box in St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
1883-7-18 Wed. Port Huron 7, Union Pacific 6. Play by play + box. 1.5K inside enclosure, and 1.5K outside, "perched upon the house-tops and the adjoining hills" - all anxiously watching. "Recently bounced Union Pacific conductors" booed greatly the Union Pacific club, and "cheered every point made by the bottle-green artists."
1883-7-19 Thur. Port Huron 6, Union Pacific 1. Play by play; no box.

1883-5-24 McKelvy has refused some very flattering offers from the St. Louis club; he will remain in Omaha. 
1883-9-01 Union Pacific club warmly welcomed by admiring friends and ladies at train depot, on the occasion of their return to Omaha. Won 19 out of 23 games in tour. Scores listed. Treated well everywhere except Terre Haute, IN, "where they played to a hoodlum crowd, a fraudulent umpire and a management of the same class." 

New Jersey

https://sabr.org/journal/article/a-stepping-stone-to-the-majors-the-olympic-base-ball-club-of-paterson-1874-76/#calibre_link-742

New York

1875-7-05 (Boston Globe) Report about Watertown, NY tournament. Some scores. 
    Participants:    
    Stars of Syracuse; Live Oaks of Lynn; New York Flyaways; St. Lawrence of Kingston Ont.; Maple Leaf of Guelph, Ont.
    First prize: $450. Second: $350. Third: $250.
1876-10-22 Letter from Chicago Tribune's NY correspondent, who is not despondent over the loss of the New York Mutuals. They were very corrupt. Long article.
1876-10-29 New York Alaskas 8, Princeton College 7. 1.5K ATT. line score
1877-8-13  Nameless 7, Putnam 5. Bunce, Josh

Minnesota

1883-9-28 St. Paul Red Caps 10, Stillwater Minnesota Chiefs 9. Box. 


Missouri
 1874-6-04 Boston Red Stockings coming to town - will play Union and Empire clubs 6-4 and 6-5. Union line-up listed. Profiles of Boston Red Stockings. 
1874-6-5 Red Stockings beat Unions 24-5.
1874-6-06 Red Stockings demolished Empires - Empires could not score.
    "The most interesting feature of the game, however, was the batting of the Reds, who sent sky-scrapers and daisy-cutters, which were only stopped by the fence bounding the park."
1874-7-03 There will be game on 7-04 at Empire Base-Ball Park between Rowenas of St. Louis and Liberty's of Springfield, IL. "Franklin and Grand avenue cars take visitors to the Park." 
1874-7-09 St. Louis Nationals took trip up river - beat Louisiana, MO. 32-16 and Quincy 5-3. They were not well-treated at Quincy. 
1874-7-13 A few scores.
1874-8-01 Asa W. Smith drowned. 
1874-8-04 President of Union club, Asa W. Smith, has died. Will be club meeting.
    meeting of "Missouri State Association of Base Ball Players" will be held Saturday to cooperate with Union club. 
1874-8-08 Western, of Keokuk, have returned after tour. A number of teams listed. Some upcoming games - New York Mutuals will play Keokuk. Joe Blong of Red Stockings is hurt. 
1874-8-24 Franklin club beat Vete Blowers 24-14. 
    "Half a dozen base ball matches in the commons, east and south of Lafayette park, were broken up by the police yesterday."
    Moritz Book Binding beat Plum Street 12-9, west of Lafayette park. 

St. Louis Republican 
1874-4-22 Chicago White Stockings 24, Empires 2. Collins, new Empire pitcher, is acquisition from New Orleans.
1874-9-07 Empires 23, Carlinville Blue Stockings 12. 400 ATT. Box.
    "The Napoleon (colored) base-ball club of this city left for Chicago yesterday evening to play the Union club of that city for the championship of the colored clubs." 
1874-9-21 Empires 8, Keokuk Westerns 2. 2.5K ATT. Play by play. 
1874-9-28 Empires 19, Red Stockings 9. 10K ATT. 3rd game in best-of-five series. Play by play. 
        "Very few bets were offered or taken on the result of the game." Six inning game.
1874-10-05 Empires beat Red Stockings 8-1 for championship in fourth game of championship series.
     w/box and play by play. 10K ATT. Red Stockings had two new players.
1874-10-12 Philadelphias 16, Empires 6. 4K ATT. Box. Bad weather for ball. "It is not too much to say that had the champions played their regular game, the boot would have been on the other leg." 
1874-10-13 Philadelphias beat Empires 20-2 (w/box). One of poorest games Empires have played all year. Too cold for spectators - may be end of season. 
1874-10-18 Chicago White Stockings 13, Empires 0. 400 ATT. Was 1-0 up to fifth. Billy Gorman, Empire 2b. At Grand Avenue park. 

1876-3-21 The Republican accused Hautz & McSorley of jumping from the Stocks to Covington; this is false. Hautz & McSorley only signed conditional contracts with the Stocks, and after they received advance money from Covington, they asked for and obtained their releases from the Stocks. 
1876-3-26 Very good - talks of some of the various local clubs.
    line-up for Covington presented.   
    "The star grounds are probably the most accessible in the West, standing, as they do, at the terminus of two street railroads, and being only a short walk from the center of the city. Last year the Stars were the champions of the Ohio Valley. They played many fine-games with visiting clubs, who were always well-pleased with the gate-receipts and the courteous manner in which they were treated."
    Columbus Buckeye club proposes meeting on 3-30 of semi-pro and pro teams to form a "Western Association of Base Ball Players." 
    Memphis team has four northerners.
    Indianapolis Capital City club; Standard club of Wheeling, WV, which belongs to Amateur Association.
    "The Louisville Club have followed the example set for them by the Athletics, and organized an amateur nine for the purpose of practice with their professionals."
    "A majority of the Fair Grounds Associations of the different States will hold base ball tourneys this season in connection with their State and County Fair meetings, and the prizes offered will draw out a good deal of amateur talent."
    A few rosters given for northern amateur clubs.
1876-7-29 At the Stocks' Park yesterday: Black Stockings 18, Independents 14. Both are "strong colored clubs." "Al Pierce did not strive with the brilliancy of a Wright at short." 
    "The Cincinnati Gazette of Thursday says: The [Covington] Stars have gone to pot. The club was formally disbanded last night. No games are expected for the balance of the season, and it has hardly been a paying institution this year. We believe the club stands 'square' with its nine. The epitaph on this club might be, 'Died of the league.' The rule forbidding the playing of any League club with them starved them out. Houtz, Flint, McSorley and Golden will leave tonight for Indianapolis." 
1876-7-30 "The Atlantics tackle the Black Sox, for the State championship, at the Stocks' park this afternoon."
    "Strief has been playing second base for the Buckeyes, and Cummings third base for the Alleghenies, since the disbandment of the Covington Stars."
    Line-up of newly organized Indianapolis team listed. 
 1876-8-07 "The Buckeyes, of Columbus, have entered for the tournament at Iona, Michigan, next week, and the one at Jackson the week after. The principal prize is $500." 
    "The San Francisco representative base ball players, now on a tour, have improved considerably in their play since their visit East. They will tour through New England during August, and will probably play in Hartford and New Haven." 
    Two notes about the Jackson, MI, Mutuals; have a good team. On their roster are John Carbine and George Bechtel, who started the year with the Louisville Grays
    The West Belleville Brown Stockings, Southern Illinois champions, beat the Libertys 5-4. (Box) Various scores.
    Some notes about Covington Stars players admired by the fairer sex. Six Covington players have already been signed for 1877. 
1876-8-15 Cincinnati wants Hautz, but he does not want to play with a league nine.
    Rockford 10, Almas 4. 300 ATT. 
    A semi-pro club may be formed in Dayton, OH next year. 
    St. Louis Red Stockings 9, Detroit Cass Club 3. Louisville 6, Indianapolis 0. 
    Haymakers 10, Carondelet Irving 3. "Mr. John Corcoran, the regular catcher of the Haymakers, one of the best amateur catchers in the state, did not participate in the game, on account of a misunderstanding." w/ box
    Detroit Aetnas 4, St. Louis Red Stockings 3. w/box. 
1876-8-22 (Indianapolis) "The St. Louis Reds took the first prize at the Ionia, Michigan, tournament."
1876-10-22 Sun. "It is more than likely that Johnny Gleason will play third for the Cass Club, of Detroit, next season. 
    "The last Western trip of the Hartfords was a costly one. At Cincinnati their games yielded them but $23 and here they received but $40 for two games." 
    The Athletic and Grand Avenue nines will play at Grand Avenue Park this afternoon; the two teams are "hot rivals for the State championship." 
1876-10-23 Arthur Cummings, Hartfords pitcher, was momentarily arrested on behest of creditor for non-payment of $60 loan when he was about to play in a game; friends paid the bill, and he took the field. 
1876-11-01 "The Chicago Times of Sunday stated: The attempt to incite the organization of a new league of the present semi-professional clubs seems to have died out where it commenced with the author of the circular. Such clubs as the Columbus, Indianapolis and Milwaukee express themselves as adverse to the plan, and do not seem to consider it worthy even of consideration and reply. 
    "On the same day the GLOBE-DEMOCRAT published extracts from letters written by the managers of the Columbus and Milwaukee clubs, signifying their anxiety to join the new movement. Should the Indianapolis club fails in its efforts to enter the League, it will be only too glad to become a member of the new association." 
1876-11-03 Will be benefit game on 11-05 for Cuthbert and Pearce, popular players. Picked team will play Red Stockings. 

1882-8-07 Sunday game between Missouri Pacifics of St. Louis and Brown Stockings of Sedalia broken up by arrests. 

dates = date of game
1876-4-27 St. Louis Red Stockings 16, Covington Stars 6. 1K ATT. Covington has three St. Louis grads in line-up; roster composition given. One from New Orleans. Play by play. 
    1876-4-27 Republican lists score as 15-6.
    "These clubs are both professional but of the class denominated semi-professional. They are professional in all respects except that they are not contending for the national championship." 
    Stars-Empires will play at Grand Avenue park; admission 25 cents.
1876-4-28 Stars 10, Empires 0. Play by play. Small crowd.
    Much betting at even odds for today's Stars-Stocks game. Admission to game is 25 cents.
    Man lost $1000 betting on Cincinnati-St. Louis game.
    "The Brooklyn police have orders to arrest any one found playing base ball on Sunday, and since this order has been in effect the idlers, who play all the week and Sunday too, have visited Hoboken.
1876-4-29 Stars 5, Stocks 3. 600 ATT. 
1876-4-30 Covington Stars 10, Red Stockings 2. 2K ATT. Play by play.
    Empires 16, Stocks 14. 200 ATT. Empires are amateur - Stocks are semi-pro. 
    Proposed new Philadelphia nine, with pros. Sensenderfer, Warren White, etc. Comments on the players. [reprinted note from Philadelphia Item.]
1876-8-07 Cincinnati Brown Stockings NL 5, Indianapolis 2. Box. 1000 ATT. Few ladies; the 25 cent fee kept them away. 

Tennessee

Memphis Public Ledger's crusade against Sunday ball
1877-3-17 Ad for games - Indianapolis v. Memphis - on Sunday and Monday. 
1877-3-19 Score. 2K ATT. 
1877-4-14 Ad for series against St. Louis (including Sunday)
    Get a scorecard from Sol Coleman's
1877-7-02 Derisive account of baseball procession and lunch. Brief account of Sunday game. 
1877-7-06 "The playing of base-ball on Sunday is not permitted inside the corporation, nor is it permitted even during week days. The police authorities should prevent this ball throwing in alleys by men and half-grown boys. The law is violated every Sunday at Central Park, and the grand jury should send for witnesses and have the violators of law indicted. Those who attend base-ball at Central Park are just as liable to indictment and punishment as the players. 
1877-7-17 + article quoted from Chattanooga Dispatch
    "The base-ball nines should change front and organize themselves into chess clubs; they would become intellectually developed and improved thereby. Muscular development is all very fine, but a prize-fighter or a corn-field negro will always excel them in that particular."
1877-7-18 letter to Ledger in same vein.
1877-7-19 Problem solved by disbandment of Reds.     


1877-7-07 (Memphis Evening Herald) "It is no more an offense to assemble and witness a game of base ball at Central Park on Sunday, than it is to attend any gathering within city limits of a social nature. It is not an indictable offense, much as one or two persons might have it. Attorney-General Luke E. Wright and Judge Thos. Logwood are our authorities for this statement." 
    Game ad for Sunday, 7-08. Tickets are 50 cents - 25 for ladies & children under 15. 
        "Game called at four o'clock. Score cards free of charge at Coleman's Cigar Emporium." 

1877-5-15 Large crowd of coloreds , Sunday, 5-13, at Olympic Park watching the Red Sox beat the Clippers 21-11. Top two colored clubs in the state. 
1877-11-04 Riversides v. Picked Nine, 25 cents. 

1877-7-08 Sun. Reds 3, Blues 2. Play by play + box. 800 ATT. Burkalow k'd 12. 
1877-7-09 Mon. Memphis Reds 12, Evansville Blues 2. Play by play + box. 400 ATT. Game held at Central Park. Tomorrow's game will be last between the clubs. Memphis Evening Herald
1877-7-10 Tues. Reds 15, Blues 8. Play by play + box. 400 ATT. 3rd game between the teams - Reds have won all three. 


Utah

https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/search?q=mckelvy&sort=rel&year_start=1879&year_end=1879

1879-4-10 "Russ McKelvy, the new captain and catcher of the Deserets, arrived last evening"
1879-4-30 "The championship series for this Territory will be ushered in next Thursday with a game between the Reds and Deserets, the prize being the pennant and a purse of $250. The Reds perfected their organization last night, elected Albert Barker manager, and selected a new first-class nine, aiming to get fine fielders and hot throwers. They will be clad in new and very pretty suits - white cap with red binding, knit shirts with short sleeves, trimmed in red, red belts and hose, and short white flannel pants."
    "Arrangements for visiting clubs are pretty much completed, and the exhibition of purely professional teams is promised. Laramie is determined to send us a club, and win back Wyoming's laurels. Denver and Omaha will come, San Francisco and Chicago, and probably Boston and Cincinnati will stop here on their tours. Ogden is stirring with base ball and hopes to give us good games." 
1879-5-27 Laramie will play here on the 5th and 7th. "They are said to be the strongest nine between the Sierra Nevada mountains and the Mississippi. We shall see." 
1879-5-29 Deserets will play fourth game of championship series with Red Stockings. Reds have the "excellent team of last year, including the old favorites Morris and George, besides Barker and Barlow of this year's nine."
1879-6-27 Alley Barker, well-known pitcher for Red Stockings, suffered accident yesterday while working at Salt Lake depot. "By some means his leg was caught between the tender of the engine and a car loaded with lumber, and that member was so severely crushed that one of his bones was broken." 
1879-6-28
    "Every indication points to a particularly successful tournament between the Athletic and Deseret base-ball clubs, and as there is a strong prospect for really first-class games, the largest crowds ever gathered within the ball ground will probably convene. Seats are being put in south of the stands, and every preparation is being made to secure the enjoyment and comfort of the spectators and an enjoyable series of games." Deseret line-up listed.
1879-7-09 (Deseret News - Wed)
    "Hail, Champions of the Coast!-
    "On Saturday last the concluding and deciding game of the championship series between the Deserets and Athletics took place in the presence of a large audience, and was easily won by the Deserets, the score being 18 to 7.
    "The series just ended has been the most interesting ever played in this city. Large crowds have witnessed each game, and the uncertainty as to the result of the contest has maintained the excitement to the close. The comparative ease with which the Athletics secured the two first games [sic] caused some dismay to our champions, but the subsequent rally of the latter and the scientific and thorough knowledge of the mysteries of the game which they displayed, added to their reputation and prestige of their opponents, may well cause them a feeling of some pride at the result. The defeated nine, though evidently splendid players, appeared of late to lose all confidence in themselves and will return home rather discouraged. They expect to leave this city to-morrow for San Francisco, and will be accompanied by Mr. A. Barker, late pitcher of the Red Stockings, whose services they have secured, and who will prove a valuable addition to their club.
    "The Denver Brown Stockings, who made so many friends here two years ago, will again try the metal [sic] of the Deserets on the 24th inst."
1879-7-26 "Joe Barlow, the catcher of the Red Stockings of Salt Lake City, has been telegraphed by the Athletics of San Francisco to go and catch for them. They cannot get anybody to stand up against Barker's pitching."
1879-7-30 Omaha reprint of Salt Lake Tribune account & box of game between Omahas and Deserets.
    "Our boys are improving on the visitors, and as the series have extended to five games we may still see our boys pull out ahead. The Omahas have to-day made arrangements for five games with each of the California League clubs for the championship of the coast, the matter was fixed to give Deseret an equal show, they going to San Francisco to play the same clubs as soon as the Omaha series is completed, the championship of the entire west being determined by the most games won in the entire series of forty-five games, Omaha and Salt Lake playing twenty-five games each."
    Score of 7-24: Omaha 8, Deseret 2. 
    Score of 7-25: Omaha 7, Deseret 4. (Box)
"A letter received by a gentleman in this city states that the gate receipts at the first day's game were $511, of which the Omaha share is 60 per cent. They account for most of their errors by the roughness of the grounds."
1879-8-22 Barker & Bob Addy (MLB) will be added to Deseret team. Bob Addy's career began in 1864.

1879-8-29 Colorado newspaper - account of 8-23 game.
    "The game of base ball between the Denver Browns and the Salt Lake Deserets was witnessed by an immense crowd this afternoon, and resulted in favor of the Deserets by a score of 8 to 6.
    "The Browns feel cheerful over their defeat, and hope to retrieve their loss as soon as they become familiar with the grounds. The Deserets give them great credit, and think them men worthy of the bat. A good deal of money changed hands on the result of the game and a great deeal of interest was manifested."

1879-10-02 Thur. (Daily Ogden Junction quoting Salt Lake Tribune) 
    "Monday evening [9-29]Mr. Leviberg received from Cheyenne a touching tribute of the affection borne our Deserets by the ball players of that place. It is a leather medal artistically gotten up. A square piece of sole leather contains the cheerful words, 'Cheyenne Greeting.'
    'To those whose hearts with grief are bent
    We dedicate this ornament.'
    "Pendant is a circular piece of leather, containg the following:
          IN MEMORIAM
                    AT
            Denver, Colorado
                   SCORE:
        Browns         Deserets
          10        to       6
            4        to       3
          18        to       9
          10        to       8
          14        to       5
                  Sept. 1879
           Deseret Base Ball Club.
           "Misery Loves Company."

    "On a blue ribbon sewed on as a back-ground are written these verses, more apposite than good poetry:
        'Twas ever thus from childhood's hour,
           We've seen our fondest hopes decay;    
         And now on this our first tour
            We have given ourselves dead away.'
    "The medal caused considerable amusement and was the object of many good-natured remarks."
1879-10-04 Ogden Red Stockings will try to defeat Deserets. "...notwithstanding the late defeat of the Deserets by the Denver B.B.'s, the fact cannot be denied that the Salt Lake club is a good one, and the fact that they have managed to defeat several first-class traveling base ball clubs which they have encountered proves the assertion. But, we shall see what we shall see."
    Ogden received communication from Mr. McKelvey.
    Will play 10-07 and 10-08.
1879-12-11 Deseret season averages. Played 27 games, "not including exhibition games, of which they won fifteen and lost fourteen."
    Mr. Robert Burns was manager. 

1879-8-28 Browns 21, Deseret 10. Bob Addy in line-up. 


"In 1875 St. Louis businessmen led by J.B.C. Lucas, tiring of their amateur teams getting soundly thrashed by the Chicago White Stockings, put together funding and entered a team in the National Association. They hired C. Orrick Bishop, a local baseball enthusiast, to recruit talented players from New York and Philadelphia and put together a top-notch team. However, some local boosters felt the Brown Stockings didn’t represent St. Louis since there was no local talent on the team (although eventually remedied by adding Pud Galvin and George Seward). The St. Louis boosters didn’t have much money but they took the existing amateur St. Louis Red Stockings (with a few upgrades of other local talent) and entered the National Association. Charlie Hautz was chosen as the first baseman for the Red Stockings.
On May 4, 1875, the newly formed Red Stockings and Brown Stockings faced off in the first fully professional league game held in St. Louis. The game was highly anticipated, although only about a thousand fans were in attendance, largely due to confusion of the location and date of the match. The talent disparity was obvious to observers. One of the Brown Stockings shareholders, E.H. Tobias, noted in an interview years later, “Every one of the Brown Stockings was of massive mold and great experience while the Reds were mere striplings of limited experience.”

Western League

  1898-7-07 -  Columbus WL franchise will move to Denver