Baseball's First Team Road Trip - Dodgers
Stone193
Posts: 24,351 ✭✭✭✭✭
Hi everyone.
I picked up a piece of original pen & ink for a 1939 newspaper segment that led me on my own "road trip" thru the internet.
Artist Art Krenz ran a segment that was distributed to different newspapers entitled "100 Years of Baseball" - and the one I purchased was from the March 28, 1939 edition - which I knew nothing about before doing some research.
It took some "net" searching to find out about this piece - who, what, where and when.
First - the artwork:
What caught my eye - as a Brooklyn fan was the cartoon on the right:
I don't want to kill you with details - so we'll just say that during this period of time the Brooklyn Excelsiors were a premier team and in 1860 did something that may arguably be a "first."
Real quick - in the 1850s baseball was an amateur sport - travel was arduous - players had full time jobs - so teams that were starting to sprout up only played more locally. NY had a dearth of teams and the competition for preeminence was keen. The word was out that towns like Buffalo, Rochester and Albany, e.g., had really good teams.
To add - in 1860 - the Excelsiors found a way to skirt the amateur rule by hiring players as employees for duties "other than" baseball. A premier pitcher (arguably the best) during this period was Jim Creighton who was picked up along with Asa Brainard and George Flanley. It was said that Creighton was making 500 bucks a year.
The Excelsiors exemplified the gentleman qualities so prized among early clubs - they didn't enjoy the bickering and on-field fighting that plagued many teams. Under the leadership of their "captain" Joe Leggett - the Excelsiors used a strategy that exemplified teamwork which was unparalleled and lacking in many teams of the era.
So - on to the tour. Their initial travel plans were ambitious and included trips to Boston, Providence, New Haven, Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia and even a possible excursion to Detroit! And with the exception of Detroit - planned this to last only two weeks. When the smoke cleared and they came down to earth - they realized a 12 day tour thru NY was more realistic.
So, the impact of baseballs "First Road Trip" may have been monumental and as written in the Brooklyn Eagle - "the excursion would not only be exceedingly pleasant and enjoyable one, but it would add greatly to the advancement of the popularity of the game of base ball in every locality visited."
To add - they played - in 1860 - at Brooklyn's Red Hook Park.
The Lineup during the tour:
James Creighton - Pitcher
Joe Leggett - Catcher
Andrew Pearsall - First Base
John Holder - Second Base, Left Field
William Young - Third Base
John Whiting - Shortstop, Second Base
Edward Russell - Left Field, Shortstop
Henry Polhemus - Center Field
Asa Brainard - Right Field
(left to right): Thomas Reynolds, SS; John Whiting, 3B; Jim Creighton (holding ball), P; Henry D. Polhemus, 2B; Aleck T. Pearsall, 1B; Edwin Russell, LF; Joe Leggett, C; Asa Brainard, LF; and George Flanly, CF.
And the results of the tour in which they won all their games: they set out "on tour" in early July.
The Excelsiors were considered the "Champion" team of 1860.
To add - here's a photostat copy from Massena Observer - March 28, 1939.
with the actual newspaper article that was printed - I'd really like to get a "real" copy of the newspaper - have been searching.
Just wanted to note that I've tried my best to sum up what went on - I purposely left out the historical impact that the Civil War had on baseball and the people - it - also - makes for some interesting reading.
So, we have - perhaps - America's First [true] Baseball Road Team and - perhaps - America's initiation into "Professional" base ball.
It's interesting where a simple purchase can lead? I knew very little about the early days of baseball - it's been educational. And BTW - they did get to Baltimore and Philadelphia in late September - as the news of competitive baseball was spreading throughout the land.
I picked up a piece of original pen & ink for a 1939 newspaper segment that led me on my own "road trip" thru the internet.
Artist Art Krenz ran a segment that was distributed to different newspapers entitled "100 Years of Baseball" - and the one I purchased was from the March 28, 1939 edition - which I knew nothing about before doing some research.
It took some "net" searching to find out about this piece - who, what, where and when.
First - the artwork:
What caught my eye - as a Brooklyn fan was the cartoon on the right:
I don't want to kill you with details - so we'll just say that during this period of time the Brooklyn Excelsiors were a premier team and in 1860 did something that may arguably be a "first."
Real quick - in the 1850s baseball was an amateur sport - travel was arduous - players had full time jobs - so teams that were starting to sprout up only played more locally. NY had a dearth of teams and the competition for preeminence was keen. The word was out that towns like Buffalo, Rochester and Albany, e.g., had really good teams.
To add - in 1860 - the Excelsiors found a way to skirt the amateur rule by hiring players as employees for duties "other than" baseball. A premier pitcher (arguably the best) during this period was Jim Creighton who was picked up along with Asa Brainard and George Flanley. It was said that Creighton was making 500 bucks a year.
The Excelsiors exemplified the gentleman qualities so prized among early clubs - they didn't enjoy the bickering and on-field fighting that plagued many teams. Under the leadership of their "captain" Joe Leggett - the Excelsiors used a strategy that exemplified teamwork which was unparalleled and lacking in many teams of the era.
So - on to the tour. Their initial travel plans were ambitious and included trips to Boston, Providence, New Haven, Baltimore, Washington and Philadelphia and even a possible excursion to Detroit! And with the exception of Detroit - planned this to last only two weeks. When the smoke cleared and they came down to earth - they realized a 12 day tour thru NY was more realistic.
So, the impact of baseballs "First Road Trip" may have been monumental and as written in the Brooklyn Eagle - "the excursion would not only be exceedingly pleasant and enjoyable one, but it would add greatly to the advancement of the popularity of the game of base ball in every locality visited."
To add - they played - in 1860 - at Brooklyn's Red Hook Park.
The Lineup during the tour:
James Creighton - Pitcher
Joe Leggett - Catcher
Andrew Pearsall - First Base
John Holder - Second Base, Left Field
William Young - Third Base
John Whiting - Shortstop, Second Base
Edward Russell - Left Field, Shortstop
Henry Polhemus - Center Field
Asa Brainard - Right Field
(left to right): Thomas Reynolds, SS; John Whiting, 3B; Jim Creighton (holding ball), P; Henry D. Polhemus, 2B; Aleck T. Pearsall, 1B; Edwin Russell, LF; Joe Leggett, C; Asa Brainard, LF; and George Flanly, CF.
And the results of the tour in which they won all their games: they set out "on tour" in early July.
The Excelsiors were considered the "Champion" team of 1860.
To add - here's a photostat copy from Massena Observer - March 28, 1939.
with the actual newspaper article that was printed - I'd really like to get a "real" copy of the newspaper - have been searching.
Just wanted to note that I've tried my best to sum up what went on - I purposely left out the historical impact that the Civil War had on baseball and the people - it - also - makes for some interesting reading.
So, we have - perhaps - America's First [true] Baseball Road Team and - perhaps - America's initiation into "Professional" base ball.
It's interesting where a simple purchase can lead? I knew very little about the early days of baseball - it's been educational. And BTW - they did get to Baltimore and Philadelphia in late September - as the news of competitive baseball was spreading throughout the land.
Mike 0
Comments
The drawing is what drew me in. I really like pen and ink strip art from then and even today. It is much harder than it looks.
Glad to see you around these parts again!
Hi, I read your post after a Google search and happen to have a scrapbook that contains the entire collection of Art Kranz's 100 years of baseball. My family has had it for years. I have tons of questions about it if you have the time to chat.
Hiya Misty!
Don't have much more to contribute on the topic.
To be frank - I don't post much anymore and definitely nothing that takes a lot of time since it gets little or no "love" and just not worth the effort.
But thanx for reposting this - I - personally - really enjoy this kind of stuff - it's way more in my "wheelhouse" than cards.