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COLLECTION Identifier: HUD 9000

Baseball Collection

Overview

This collection consists chiefly of ephemera and information about baseball at Harvard; it also includes baseball clothing and equipment. The earliest original artifacts are tickets in the 1867 folder.

Dates

  • Creation: 1867-1980, 2004-2005

Creator

Conditions on Use and Access

Open for research.

Some material may require special handling due to fragility. Consult reference staff for details.

Extent

7 cubic feet (13 boxes)

This collection chiefly consists of ephemera and information about baseball at Harvard; the collection also contains baseball clothing and equipment. The earliest original artifacts are tickets in the 1867 folder.

The collection focuses on baseball as played at Harvard University including play by the '66 Base Ball Club and the Harvard University Base Ball Club (H.U.B.B.C). The material dates from baseball's inception at Harvard in the early 1860s until the 1980s, with additional material dating from the beginning of the 21st century.

Materials consist chiefly of ephemera such as tickets, scorecards, programs, and ribbons. The tickets (whole game tickets, torn tickets and season passes) are largely monochromatic with a few graphic flourishes on tickets from 1894, 1913, and the 1920s. Scorecards are varied in format and construction. They range from single sheets to programs, but all were blank forms used to keep score in various ways. These scorecards often include photographs of the teams. The collection contains ribbons issued to ushers for baseball games in 1868, 1893, 1894, 1896, 1905, 1909, and 1913. Still other formats in the collection are dinner programs from 1897, 1901 and 1905, and reunion buttons commemorating the defeat of Yale's baseball team by Harvard's team in 1876, 1877, and 1878. Other textiles include cap and blazer monograms cut from the Harvard Base Ball Club uniforms of 1894.

The baseball clothing and equipment in the collection includes a uniform, cap, socks, a bat, catcher's mask, catcher's mitts, and baseballs.

The collection also contains works about baseball in the form of newspaper and magazine articles and unpublished essays. Newspaper articles are usually from Boston papers and occasionally give play-by-play descriptions of games. Essays and magazine articles are chiefly written by Harvard alumni about Harvard baseball topics or are memoirs.

Interesting graphics appear on all formats in the collection. Some are colorful such as "A Stern Chase" from 1883, a postcard from 1905 showing a Harvard ballplayer, and a program from a Harvard-Princeton game from 1900. Other graphics which are not quite so colorful include a scorecard from 1870 depicting a ballplayer and a dog and a cartoon from 1883 detailing various sports as an Egyptian hieroglyph.

Chronology of Harvard University Baseball, 1858-2006

Baseball was played by members of the Harvard community shortly before the Civil War, circa 1858. The sport was formally organized on campus in 1864, and has been played continuously since then. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the team was organized first under the auspices of the Harvard Athletic Association and later under the Harvard University Department of Athletics.

  • 1858The Lawrence Base Ball Club forms; members are chiefly from the Lawrence Scientific School, a part of Harvard University. It plays the "New York" style of the game.
  • 1862 The '66 Base Ball Club is begun by George A. Flagg (Harvard College Class of 1866) and Frank Wright (Harvard College Class of 1866). Wright and Flagg were graduates of Phillips Exeter Academy.
  • 1863 A baseball field is laid out on Cambridge Common near the Washington Elm. Harvard plays against local clubs. Intercollegiate baseball at begins with Harvard '66 against the Brown '65 in Providence on June 27, 1863; Harvard wins 27 to 17.
  • 1864 A field is laid out at the "Delta" area of the Harvard campus. The Harvard University Base Ball Club forms under George A. Flagg and Frank Wright.
  • 1865 The first strictly intercollegiate game in Harvard history is played July 18 against Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Harvard wins 35 to 20.
  • 1867 The field moves from the Delta to Jarvis Field. The Delta becomes the site of Memorial Hall.
  • 1868 June 24: Harvard plays its first game against Princeton University; Harvard wins 17 to 16.July 25: Harvard plays its first game against Yale in Worcester, Massachusetts; Harvard wins 25 to 17.
  • 1869 June 5: Harvard plays its first game against Dartmouth College in Lowell; Harvard wins 38 to 0.
  • 1870 Harvard embarks on a western tour in which they play 26 games in 43 days while visiting 20 cities.
  • 1872 Spring: at the suggestion of Yale, a series of three games is played between the two universities. This becomes an annual contest.
  • 1874 Yale plays its first shut-out against a Harvard Nine.
  • 1875 Princeton makes the first use of curve pitching against a Harvard team on June 4.
  • 1876-1877 Winter: Frederick W. Thayer (Harvard College Class of 1878) invents the catcher's mask. The first one is manufactured by a tinsmith in Cambridge and worn by James A. Tyng (Harvard College Class of 1876) in a game against the Live Oaks of Lynn on April 12, 1877.
  • 1877 Harvard plays a 24-inning game against the Manchester nine which ends in a 0-0 tie.
  • 1878 Harvard sweeps the Harvard-Yale series.
  • 1879 The Hemenway Gymnasium opens and houses a small batting cage in its basement.December: The Intercollegiate Base Ball Association is formed with Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Amherst, Dartmouth, and Brown as members.
  • 1883 The northerly portion of Holmes Field is graded for a baseball field. Beginning with a game against the Beacons on June 7, 1884, Holmes Field becomes home for the baseball team for the next 14 years.
  • 1886 1886 is the final year that includes a fall schedule; the first game in of the 1887 season was April 9. Harvard leaves the Intercollegiate Base Ball Association.
  • 1887 March 14: Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Columbia organize the College Baseball League.
  • 1889 Yale sweeps the Harvard-Yale series.
  • 1890 May: the Carey Building is completed on the northerly side of Holmes Field. The Carey Building contains a batting cage. Harvard receives a gift of 20 acres of land from Major Henry L. Higginson which would be the future home of Harvard saseball, known as Soldier's Field. January 15: Harvard resigns from the College Baseball League.
  • 1898 April 27: the first game at Soldier's Field is played against Dartmouth. A new Carey Building contains a batting cage and the team has full use of the Locker Building's dressing rooms.Harvard takes a southern trip during spring recess; this becomes part of Harvard baseball policy.
  • 1910 A Baseball Advisory Committee is formed; it has general oversight of choices of coaches and development of teams.The Advisory Committee abandons the graduate system of coaching and hires the first professional coach, Dr. Frank J. Sexton.
  • 1915 Percy Duncan Haughton (Harvard College Class of 1899) becomes coach after resignation of Dr. Frank J. Sexton.The Barrett Wendell, Jr. Trophy is donated and thereafter awarded annually for the best performance in reaching first base, sacrifice hits, stolen bases, and runs scored.
  • 1916 April 10: Harvard defeats the World Champion Boston Red Sox 1-0.
  • 1917-1918 During World War I, the athletic program is diminished and has a limited schedule.
  • 1919 The Dana J. P. Wingate Cup is donated and awarded annually to the player with best all-around ability.
  • 1921 May 26: Harvard faces Waseda University of Japan in Harvard's first game against a foreign team; Harvard wins 6-5.
  • 1926 Fred Mitchell becomes manager of the team.
  • 1927 The Briggs Cage is built.The first double-header in Harvard baseball history is scheduled for May 20, when the University nine will meet a team from Waseda University of Japan and a nine composed of Crimson alumni.
  • 1934 August: Harvard travels to Japan for games.
  • 1938 Fred Mitchell resigns; Fred Stahl becomes manager of the team.
  • 1943-1946 Baseball is suspended due to World War II.
  • 1946 Fred Stahl resigns; Adolph Samborski becomes manager of the team.
  • 1949 Adolph Samborski resigns; John F. "Stuffy" McInnis becomes manager of the team.
  • 1952 The Eastern Collegiate Baseball League splits into Northern (Army, Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard and Yale) and Southern divisions (Cornell, Columbia, Princeton, Navy and Pennsylvania).
  • 1953 The Greater Boston Baseball League forms and includes Harvard, Boston College, Boston University, Tufts, Brandeis, Northeastern, and M.I.T.
  • 1955 Stuffy McInnis resigns; Norman W. Shepard becomes manager of the team.
  • 1957 Harvard sweeps the Harvard-Yale series.
  • 1959 Harvard plays its first night game in Quantico, Virginia; Harvard wins 5-4.
  • 1974 Joseph Mackey (Harvard College Class of 1974) appears as Harvard's first designated hitter.
  • 1990 Harvard, Boston University, Boston College, and Northeastern play the first annual baseball Beanpot Championship in Fenway Park.
  • 1998 Harvard wins the first of three consecutive Ivy League championships.
  • 2006 The William Clarence Matthews Trophy is dedicated to honor Matthews (Harvard College Class of 1905) as a pioneer African-American athlete.

1858
The Lawrence Base Ball Club forms; members are chiefly from the Lawrence Scientific School, a part of Harvard University. It plays the "New York" style of the game.
1862
The '66 Base Ball Club is begun by George A. Flagg (Harvard College Class of 1866) and Frank Wright (Harvard College Class of 1866). Wright and Flagg were graduates of Phillips Exeter Academy.
1863
A baseball field is laid out on Cambridge Common near the Washington Elm. Harvard plays against local clubs.
Intercollegiate baseball at begins with Harvard '66 against the Brown '65 in Providence on June 27, 1863; Harvard wins 27 to 17.
1864
A field is laid out at the "Delta" area of the Harvard campus.
The Harvard University Base Ball Club forms under George A. Flagg and Frank Wright.
1865
The first strictly intercollegiate game in Harvard history is played July 18 against Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Harvard wins 35 to 20.
1867
The field moves from the Delta to Jarvis Field. The Delta becomes the site of Memorial Hall.
1868
June 24: Harvard plays its first game against Princeton University; Harvard wins 17 to 16.
July 25: Harvard plays its first game against Yale in Worcester, Massachusetts; Harvard wins 25 to 17.
1869
June 5: Harvard plays its first game against Dartmouth College in Lowell; Harvard wins 38 to 0.
1870
Harvard embarks on a western tour in which they play 26 games in 43 days while visiting 20 cities.
1872
Spring: at the suggestion of Yale, a series of three games is played between the two universities. This becomes an annual contest.
1874
Yale plays its first shut-out against a Harvard Nine.
1875
Princeton makes the first use of curve pitching against a Harvard team on June 4.
1876-1877
Winter: Frederick W. Thayer (Harvard College Class of 1878) invents the catcher's mask. The first one is manufactured by a tinsmith in Cambridge and worn by James A. Tyng (Harvard College Class of 1876) in a game against the Live Oaks of Lynn on April 12, 1877.
1877
Harvard plays a 24-inning game against the Manchester nine which ends in a 0-0 tie.
1878
Harvard sweeps the Harvard-Yale series.
1879
The Hemenway Gymnasium opens and houses a small batting cage in its basement.
December: The Intercollegiate Base Ball Association is formed with Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Amherst, Dartmouth, and Brown as members.
1883
The northerly portion of Holmes Field is graded for a baseball field. Beginning with a game against the Beacons on June 7, 1884, Holmes Field becomes home for the baseball team for the next 14 years.
1886
1886 is the final year that includes a fall schedule; the first game in of the 1887 season was April 9.
Harvard leaves the Intercollegiate Base Ball Association.
1887
March 14: Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Columbia organize the College Baseball League.
1889
Yale sweeps the Harvard-Yale series.
1890
May: the Carey Building is completed on the northerly side of Holmes Field. The Carey Building contains a batting cage.
Harvard receives a gift of 20 acres of land from Major Henry L. Higginson which would be the future home of Harvard saseball, known as Soldier's Field.
January 15: Harvard resigns from the College Baseball League.
1898
April 27: the first game at Soldier's Field is played against Dartmouth. A new Carey Building contains a batting cage and the team has full use of the Locker Building's dressing rooms.
Harvard takes a southern trip during spring recess; this becomes part of Harvard baseball policy.
1910
A Baseball Advisory Committee is formed; it has general oversight of choices of coaches and development of teams.
The Advisory Committee abandons the graduate system of coaching and hires the first professional coach, Dr. Frank J. Sexton.
1915
Percy Duncan Haughton (Harvard College Class of 1899) becomes coach after resignation of Dr. Frank J. Sexton.
The Barrett Wendell, Jr. Trophy is donated and thereafter awarded annually for the best performance in reaching first base, sacrifice hits, stolen bases, and runs scored.
1916
April 10: Harvard defeats the World Champion Boston Red Sox 1-0.
1917-1918
During World War I, the athletic program is diminished and has a limited schedule.
1919
The Dana J. P. Wingate Cup is donated and awarded annually to the player with best all-around ability.
1921
May 26: Harvard faces Waseda University of Japan in Harvard's first game against a foreign team; Harvard wins 6-5.
1926
Fred Mitchell becomes manager of the team.
1927
The Briggs Cage is built.
The first double-header in Harvard baseball history is scheduled for May 20, when the University nine will meet a team from Waseda University of Japan and a nine composed of Crimson alumni.
1934
August: Harvard travels to Japan for games.
1938
Fred Mitchell resigns; Fred Stahl becomes manager of the team.
1943-1946
Baseball is suspended due to World War II.
1946
Fred Stahl resigns; Adolph Samborski becomes manager of the team.
1949
Adolph Samborski resigns; John F. "Stuffy" McInnis becomes manager of the team.
1952
The Eastern Collegiate Baseball League splits into Northern (Army, Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard and Yale) and Southern divisions (Cornell, Columbia, Princeton, Navy and Pennsylvania).
1953
The Greater Boston Baseball League forms and includes Harvard, Boston College, Boston University, Tufts, Brandeis, Northeastern, and M.I.T.
1955
Stuffy McInnis resigns; Norman W. Shepard becomes manager of the team.
1957
Harvard sweeps the Harvard-Yale series.
1959
Harvard plays its first night game in Quantico, Virginia; Harvard wins 5-4.
1974
Joseph Mackey (Harvard College Class of 1974) appears as Harvard's first designated hitter.
1990
Harvard, Boston University, Boston College, and Northeastern play the first annual baseball Beanpot Championship in Fenway Park.
1998
Harvard wins the first of three consecutive Ivy League championships.
2006
The William Clarence Matthews Trophy is dedicated to honor Matthews (Harvard College Class of 1905) as a pioneer African-American athlete.

Obsolete Call Numbers

Material was greatly re-organized in 2005-2006. For the sake of those who might have citations to call numbers made obsolete by the new organization, this list indicates which folder now holds the material from the former call number.

  1. HUB 3171 Baseballs; Catcher's mask; Catcher's mitts
  2. HUD 9636 General information about baseball at Harvard; Baseball in the 1870s; Baseball, 1882; Baseball, 1902; Baseball, 1905; Baseball, 1909
  3. HUD 9636.10 Succession of winning teams [by] Barrett Wendell H.C. 1902
  4. HUD 9636.20 Bunting: Its Advantages & Cases in Which to Use a Bunt Hit [by] H. L. E.
  5. HUD 9858 Baseball, 1858
  6. HUD 9862 Baseball, 1862
  7. HUD 9864 Baseball, 1864
  8. HUD 9865 Baseball, 1865
  9. HUD 9866 Baseball, 1866
  10. HUD 9867 Baseball, 1867
  11. HUD 9868 Baseball, 1868
  12. HUD 9868.24 The 1868 Nine: Early Baseball at Harvard [by] Harold C. Ernst H.C. 1876
  13. HUD 9869 Baseball, 1869
  14. HUD 9870 Undated information about baseball at Harvard
  15. HUD 9871 Baseball in the 1870s
  16. HUD 9872 Baseball, 1872
  17. HUD 9872.2 Baseball Scrapbook [by] Harold C. Ernst H.C. 1876
  18. HUD 9873 Baseball, 1873
  19. HUD 9874 Baseball, 1874
  20. HUD 9875 Baseball, 1870
  21. HUD 9875 Baseball, 1875
  22. HUD 9876 Baseball, 1876
  23. HUD 9877 Baseball, 1877
  24. HUD 9877.24 Baseball in 1860s & 1870s
  25. HUD 9877.24 Baseball in the 1870s
  26. HUD 9877.24 Baseball, 1876
  27. HUD 9877.24 Baseball, 1877
  28. HUD 9877.24 Baseball, 1878
  29. HUD 9877.24 Baseball, 1879
  30. HUD 9877.24 Baseball, 1880
  31. HUD 9877.24 F Baseball scrapbook of Harold C. Ernst
  32. HUD 9878 Baseball, 1878
  33. HUD 9878.3 Baseball, 1878
  34. HUD 9879 Baseball in the 1870s
  35. HUD 9880.70 Baseball in the 80's [by] Walter B. Phillips H.C. 1886
  36. HUD 9881 Baseball, 1881
  37. HUD 9882 Baseball in the 1880s
  38. HUD 9882 Baseball, 1882
  39. HUD 9883 Baseball, 1883
  40. HUD 9884 Baseball in the 1880s
  41. HUD 9884 Baseball, 1884
  42. HUD 9885 Baseball, 1885
  43. HUD 9886 Baseball, 1886
  44. HUD 9887 Baseball, 1887
  45. HUD 9888 Baseball, 1888
  46. HUD 9889 Baseball, 1889
  47. HUD 9890 Baseball in the 1890s
  48. HUD 9890 Baseball, 1890
  49. HUD 9890.30 In the Early 90's [by] Louis A. Frothingham H.C. 1893
  50. HUD 9891 Baseball, 1891
  51. HUD 9892 Baseball, 1892
  52. HUD 9893 Baseball, 1893
  53. HUD 9894 Baseball, 1894
  54. HUD 9894 Baseball, 1916
  55. HUD 9894.49 Baseball Letters, 1893-1894 [by] James H. Williams
  56. HUD 9894.68 Baseball papers of James H. Williams, 1893- 1894
  57. HUD 9895 Baseball, 1895
  58. HUD 9896 Baseball, 1896
  59. HUD 9897 Baseball, 1897
  60. HUD 9898 Baseball, 1898
  61. HUD 9899 Baseball, 1899
  62. HUD 9900 Baseball, 1900
  63. HUD 9901 Baseball, 1901
  64. HUD 9901.5 Baseball, 1901
  65. HUD 9902 Baseball, 1902
  66. HUD 9902 Baseball, 1905
  67. HUD 9903 Baseball, 1878
  68. HUD 9903 Baseball, 1903
  69. HUD 9903.2B Harvard University Baseball Club
  70. HUD 9904 Baseball, 1904
  71. HUD 9905 Baseball, 1905
  72. HUD 9906 Baseball, 1906
  73. HUD 9907 Undated information about baseball at Harvard
  74. HUD 9907 Baseball, 1907
  75. HUD 9908 Baseball, 1908
  76. HUD 9909 Baseball, 1909
  77. HUD 9910 Baseball, 1910
  78. HUD 9911 Baseball, 1911
  79. HUD 9912 Baseball, 1912
  80. HUD 9913 Baseball, 1913
  81. HUD 9914 Baseball, 1914
  82. HUD 9915 Early Baseball at Harvard
  83. HUD 9915 Baseball, 1915
  84. HUD 9916 Baseball, 1916
  85. HUD 9919 Baseball, 1919
  86. HUD 9920Baseball, 1920
  87. HUD 9921 Baseball, 1921
  88. HUD 9921.5 Harvard Varsity Baseball Scrapbook, 1921
  89. HUD 9923 Baseball, 1923
  90. HUD 9924 Baseball, 1924
  91. HUD 9925 Baseball, 1925
  92. HUD 9925.5 Outline of Baseball System at Harvard: Established for year 1925
  93. HUD 9926 Baseball, 1926
  94. HUD 9927 Baseball, 1927
  95. HUD 9932 Baseball, 1931
  96. HUD 9932 Baseball, 1932
  97. HUD 9932 Baseball, 1933
  98. HUD 9934 Baseball, 1934
  99. HUD 9938 Baseball, 1938
  100. HUD 9939 Baseball, 1939
  101. HUD 9940 Baseball, 1940
  102. HUD 9947 Baseball, 1947
  103. HUD 9949 Baseball, 1949
  104. HUD 9950 Baseball, 1950
  105. HUD 9952 Baseball, 1952
  106. HUD 9953 Baseball, 1953
  107. HUD 9954 Baseball in the 1870s
  108. HUD 9954 Baseball, 1954
  109. HUD 9955 Baseball, 1955
  110. HUD 9956 Baseball, 1956
  111. HUD 9957 Baseball, 1958
  112. HUD 9958 Baseball, 1916
  113. HUD 9959 Baseball, 1959
  114. HUD 9960 Baseball, 1960
  115. HUD 9965 Baseball, 1965
  116. HUD 9967.10 From Andover Hill to Harvard Yard: The Story of Early Baseball [by] Frances Dwight Buell
  117. HUD 9971 Baseball, 1971
  118. HUD 9973 Baseball, 1973
  119. HUD 9974 Baseball, 1974
  120. HUD 9975 Baseball, 1975
  121. HUD 9976 Baseball, 1976
  122. HUD 9978 Baseball, 1978
  123. HUD 9978 Baseball, 1980
  124. HUO 14.804.2 Baseball socks
  125. HUO 14.804.1 Baseball cap, circa 1904

Custodial Information

Archivists in the Harvard University Archives and their predecessors assembled baseball ephemera from numerous sources to create this collection. Archivists and librarians had placed it in roughly chronological order.

Acquisition Information

The material in this collection was received from a variety of sources or collected by the Harvard University Archives (or its predecessor, the Harvard College Library) in small amounts over many years. Acquisition information was not often recorded. Where acquisition information is available for an item, it appears in the inventory below. Portions appear to have originated from disassembled scrapbooks.

Related Materials

In the Harvard University Archives:

  1. Records of Organized Base Ball at Harvard (HUD 9500): http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua02006
  2. Records of the Lawrence Base Ball Club (HUD 9600): http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua06007
  3. Harvard University Photograph Subject Files: Baseball (HUPSF Baseball): http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua20004
  4. Papers of William T. Reid, Jr. (HUG 4736.xx)
  5. Records of the Harvard Athletic Association
  6. Records of the Harvard University Dept. of Athletics
  7. Scorebook of the Aquila Base Ball Club (HUD 866.90)
  8. Scorebook of the Harvard '70 Base Ball Club (HUD 270.55)

Also search in HOLLIS, Harvard's on-line library information system, for other works by and about baseball at Harvard, including The H Book of Harvard Athletics, 1852-1922 and The Second H Book of Harvard Athletics, 1923-1963. Some book-like items contained in this collection are also cataloged individually in HOLLIS.

Inventory update

This document last updated 2020 September 18.

Processing Information

From October 2005 to January 2006, this collection was re-processed by intern Kurt Eichner who made date estimates for all undated material and edited the chronological order. He also placed all items in appropriate archival containers.

During the spring and summer of 2006, Kate Bowers and Juliana Kuipers distinguished between the records proper and the assembled ephemera, inserted equipment and clothing into the ephemera collection, and produced two separate descriptions. One of these descriptions is this collection, the "Harvard University Baseball Collection," which consists chiefly of ephemera from largely unknown sources. The other is the Records of the Harvard University Base Ball Club (HUD 9500): http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua02006. The records are the products of team organization, administration, and coaching and chiefly came from the persons responsible for those activities.

Most newspaper clippings have been photocopied onto acid-free paper; an exception was made only in cases where the content was primarily visual in which photocopying would have diminished the clarity of the image. The presence of images is noted in the description.

Photographs that had been housed in this collection have been moved to the Harvard University Photograph Subject Files : Baseball (HUPSF Baseball): http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua20004

Creator

Title
Harvard University. Baseball Collection, 1867-1980, 2004-2005 : an inventory
Author
Harvard University Archives
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hua01006

Repository Details

Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository

Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.

Contact:
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461