1857.29

Chronologies

Prominent Milestones

Ancient - 1700 1701 - 1780 1781 - 1815 1816 - 1830 1831 - 1845 1846 - 1850 1851 - 1855 1856 - 1860 1861 - 1865 1866 - 1876

Misc BB Firsts

Add a Misc BB First

About the Chronology

Tom Altherr Dedication

Add a Chronology Entry

Open Queries

Open Numbers

Most Aged

Six-Player Town-ball Teams Play for Gold in Philly

Salience	Prominent
Tags
Location	PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia
City/State/Country:	[[{{{Country}}}]]
Modern Address
Game	Town BallTown Ball
Immediacy of Report	Contemporary
Age of Players	AdultAdult
Holiday
Notables
Text	[A]  "TOWN BALL. - The young men of Philadelphia are determined to keep the ball rolling . . . On Friday, 20th ult. (10/20/1857 we think) the United States Club met on their grounds, corner of 61st and Hazel streets . . . each individual did his utmost to gain the prize, at handsome gold ring, which was eventually awarded to Mr. T. W. Taylor, his score of 26 being the highest." Each team had six players, and the team Taylor played on won, 117 to 82. [B] "In 1858, a Philadelphia correspondent with the pen name 'Excelsior' wrote to the New York Clipper . . . about early ball play in New York, , and called town ball, the Philadelphia favorite, 'comparatively unknown in New York.'"
Sources	[A] New York Clipper (November 1857--as handwritten in clippings collection; 1857, but no date is given).  [B] John Thorn, Baseball in the Garden of Eden (Simon and Schuster, 2011), page 26. The date of this Clipper account is not noted.
Warning
Comment	Edit with form to add a comment
Query	Do we now know any more about this event?  Was it an intramural game?  Was a six-player side common in Philadelphia town ball?  Was a gold ring a typical prize for winning? Edit with form to add a query
Source Image	[[Image:|left|thumb]]
External Number
Submitted by	Craig Waff
Submission Note	Facsimile provided September 2008.
Has Supplemental Text

1857.29 Six-Player Town-ball Teams Play for Gold in Philly"

---

Comments

<comments voting="Plus" />