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Posted By: barrysloate

Just noticed this. Good question.

There are lemon peel balls that date to the 1840's, but if you mean the oldest trophy ball, there is an 1853 Knickerbocker gold ball owned by one of the board members.

The oldest photo I know of picturing a complete team is a full plate tintype, dating probably around 1860, of a club that Mark Rucker identified as the Atwater BBC. I don't know how he determined that, but the image is superb and it is the nicest and earliest baseball team tintype I have ever seen.

I don't know bats and gloves at all, and I would have to give some thought to the game action question.