Hunt Auction - Bud Fowler 1st Professional Game Trophy Ball? - Oh So Close!!!

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Posted By: ramram

I was intrigued by Hunt's Auction Lot 822 which is an 1878 Trophy Ball from a game between Tecumseh and Live Oaks. The ball is dated "May 16th, 1878". Bud Fowler, the first professional negro player, played his first professional game with the Lynn, Mass. Live Oaks team on May 17th, 1878. Could you have imagined the historical importance of this ball if it had been from the next day??

From an internet site:

"It was in this context that Fowler made his professional debut on May 17, 1878. He had been pitching for an amateur team in Chelsea, Mass., when the nearby Lynn Live Oaks of the International Association lost their ace hurler to an illness. Fowler was brought in as a replacement, and he responded by pitching the Live Oaks to a 3-0 victory over the Tecumsehs of London, Ontario. He subsequently appeared in two more games with the Live Oaks and lost both of them. Nonetheless, with this modest beginning, Fowler had officially broken the color line in organized baseball."

Written on Hunt's Trophy Ball:

May 16, 1878 - Lynn
TECUMSEH 14
LIVE OAKS 0

However, it should be noted that all of the Trophy Balls in the Hunt Auction were for Tecumseh wins (thus "Trophy Balls"). Nobody from Tecumseh would have kept a ball from a game they lost, much less a game they lost to an African American!! If only they knew...

Rob M.

P.S. If Tecumseh's "ace hurler" came up with an illness, it sure didn't show in the way he pitched on May 16th!

Internet link for the story on Fowler: http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:Fuld6lVZ9WoJ:www.minorleaguebasebal l.com/app/news/article.jsp%3Fymd%3D20060208%26content_id%3D41022% 26vkey%3Dnews_milb%26fext%3D.jsp+%22lynn+live+oaks %22+1878&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=9>

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Posted By: barrysloate

That is pretty amazing. It seems like Hunt's is breaking up a full case to sell the balls individually. I was wondering if that was such a wise idea.

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Posted By: Daniel Bretta

There are some unbelievable items in that upcoming Hunt's auction. The Deacon White collection is amazing.

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Posted By: barrysloate

Yes, the Deacon White collection is really extraordinary. Considering he played some 120 years ago, it's amazing that the family has held onto it this long without the temptation to sell it. They could have sold the whole thing in 1979 for $1500 and been thrilled somebody paid them so much for it. There are pieces there that have never been seen before, like that 1871 Haymakers photo with Lipman Pike.