This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/29/2014
Offered is an Extremely historically significant Civil War baseball score sheet, and related items, dating from the summer of 1862. While all baseball items directly related to the Civil War are exceedingly rare, this score sheet also holds the distinction of being one of the earliest baseball score sheets extant.
It is by far the earliest example offered and the only score sheets that we can recall ever seeing at auction that predate it are a single 1858 Fashion Course game score sheet from the family of early pitching star Frank Pidgeon (who scored the game) sold at Sotheby's in 2006 (where it sold for $60,000) and a large-format presentational score card dating from 1859 that once resided in the famed Barry Halper Collection (appeared as Lot 162 in the 1999 sale of the Halper Collection, where it sold for $51,750).
The accompanying preprinted invitation to the game signed by Arthur Gorman, the secretary of The Washington Nationals, is perhaps an even more extraordinary item. This is not just the earliest baseball spectator invitation, it is the only invitation of this type from this era we have ever seen. As most collectors are aware, the Civil War played an integral role in popularizing the game of baseball across the country. Ballplayers who served in the war introduced the game to fellow soldiers, and soon the game was an organized pastime enjoyed by soldiers as a welcome diversion.
After the war, the popularity of the game literally spread to the four corners of the country as soldiers returned to their homes, bringing with them a love of the game of baseball, which they were anxious to share. In a very short time following the war, baseball was officially America's National Pastime.
The one-page score sheet, recorded on a lined page from a ledger, documents an extremely important and highly publicized game between the National Base Ball Club of Washington, D. C., and the 71st Regiment Ball Club on August 7, 1862. (The 71st Regiment Club was made up of members of the American Guard, 71st Regiment, New York State Militia.) This is one of the most celebrated baseball matches of the Civil War, referenced in virtually all books on baseball and the Civil War, and on all short lists of significant games during the war.
The sheet dutifully notes the name of each club, the starting lineups, the official scorer (“George D. Wolcott”), the umpire (“George W. Moore”), the date, and the location of the game (“Camp Martin, Tenalytown, D.C.”). All of the information is inscribed in black ink with the exception of the umpire’s name and the actual scoring information, which is executed in pencil. As recorded here, the Nationals defeated the 71st Regiment Club by a score of 28-13.
This was one of two games played between the two clubs, with the first game having taken place one year earlier. It is also one of the most important Civil War baseball games, notable for the fact that it matched an established team against a pick nine from the military regiment (as opposed to the soldiers playing amongst themselves).
The sheet (8.5 x 14 inches) displays three horizontal fold lines, a large tear along the right border that affects the last three player names for the National BBC, a smaller interior tear, minor toning, and paper residue on the reverse. In Good condition overall.
A number of related items accompany the score sheet, all of which were saved together for over 150 years. Each has great significance as either an early baseball or Civil War piece.
1-2) Formal invitation and newspaper clipping for a game played between the same two clubs one year earlier in 1861. The invitation (5 x 7.5 inches), which is both preprinted and handwritten, reads “The National Base Ball Club requests the pleasure of your company on their grounds, at the intersection of Maryland Avenue and Sixth street, East on Tuesday at 12 o’clock, to witness a match game with the 71st Regiment Base Ball Club” It is signed in black ink by “Arthur P Gorman,” Secretary N. B. B. P. With two horizontal folds, tiny edge tears, and paper residue on the reverse. In Very Good condition.
Arthur P. Gorman, who is also listed as the third baseman for the Nationals in the score sheet, was one of the most important figures in the history of Washington, D.C. baseball. He helped organize and eventually became president of the Nationals, and helped to promote the game by scheduling matches against the powerful teams in New York and Philadelphia. He later fostered the rise of professionalism by engaging in a bidding war for the services of Al Reach.
In 1866 Gorman served as president of the National Association of Base Ball Players, after which he entered politics and was elected to the Senate. He remained a baseball fan to the end and was even a member of the Mills Commission, but he died in 1906, before the Committee published its formal report on the origins of baseball.
The newspaper clipping (2.25 x 3.25 inches) provides a brief recap and the box score from the contest, which was won by the 71st Regiment by a score of 42-13. As the article notes, the 71st Regiment team was at this time stocked with star ballplayers from prominent clubs. The clipping is affixed to a slightly larger album page segment. Vg-Ex. Given the talent pool of the 71st Regiment, it’s not surprising that they easily defeated the Nationals during the first contest.
The resulting victory of the National Club in 1862 was probably due to the fact that many of the 71st Regiment’s top players were either killed or injured during the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861 (the Union troops were defeated and suffered heavy casualties during at the battle).
3) Three small tickets that were used as camp currency in 1862. Each is for a different cash denomination (“One Cent,” “5 Cents,” and “10 Cents,” respectively) and bears the preprinted lettering “Sutler/71st Regiment N. Y. S. M.” All three tickets are affixed to a scrapbook-page segment that bears a vintage handwritten notation that reads “Camp Currency at camp Martin/Tennalytown D.C – 1862.” Each measures 2 x 1 inches. Good condition.
4) Uncut sheet of four military passes, each bearing the preprinted name of “Col. H. P. Marten/71st Reg’t N. Y. S. M.” and dated 1862. The passes provide spaces to include information that would be handwritten, including the name of the soldier, the time, and the date. Each pass measures 3.25 x 2 inches; the sheet measures 7.5 x 4.75 inches. With light toning, a small tear along the right border, and paper residue on the reverse. Vg.