1876 scorecard in REA

[bmarlowe1]

Amazing - I've never heard of this.

[Dto7]

The 1888 Pittsburgh Alleghenys wore different colored hats in August 1888.

[johnmh71]

It is news to me too. It must have been interesting to watch a game back then with everyone wearing a different color jersey or hat.

[oldjudge]

Gary--as someone who bid on this scorecard, I think your characterization of the price it went for being crazy is, to coin a term, crazy. On the contrary, I think it is one of the most important scorecards in existence. To put this in context, by 1875 William Hulbert was convinced that eastern baseball powers in the National Association were conspiring against western teams. After the 1875 season he spirited Al Spaulding, Cap Anson, Deacon White and Ross Barnes to Chicago and then orchestrated the formation of the National League. On May 30, 1876 Boston met Chicago for their first National League game. This was the first time that Al Spaulding played against his former team, and marked the first battle of the two baseball powers of the early years of the league. Today, 138 years after the National League was formed, only two franchises have had uninterrupted National League membership, making them the oldest National League franchises-the Cubs and the Braves--and this is the scorecard from the first time they met.
As for your question about the colors listed with the Chicago player's names, in 1876 the Chicago team had each player wear a different colored fez like hat (no tassel). The program shows the color each player wore.

[RUKen]

Originally Posted by oldjudge

As for your question about the colors listed with the Chicago player's names, in 1876 the Chicago team had each player wear a different colored fez like hat (no tassel). The program shows the color each player wore.

The Threads of Our Game website has further information about the Chicago uniforms in 1876: http://www.threadsofourgame.com/1876-chicago/

[barrysloate]

Jay- while I do think it is a really great scorecard, I'm not sure I see the significance of this game. Each of the teams had played roughly a dozen games before May 30, and while this was the first National League match between Boston and Chicago, do historians think of those teams as natural rivals? It seems like any league material from 1876 is important, and while this particular match is noteworthy, it doesn't strike me as historic. If it were played on opening day, making it the first league game in history, that would be extraordinary. This one is a tier or two below. Still a cool scorecard, though, no question about that.

[GaryPassamonte]

Jay- As someone who also bid on this scorecard, your points are well taken. However, as an underbidder on the scorecard, I believe if I or any other bidder was out of the equation,
the price would be significantly lower regardless of the historical significance of the scorecard. I think if it sold tomorrow, it would not come near the price realized on Saturday.

I had forgotten about the different coloration of the 1876 Chicago players' fezlike caps. Uniform history remains unchanged.

[oldjudge]

LOL---Gary, you state that as an underbidder, if you or other underbidders had not bid the price would have been lower. What lot was this not the case for? If you were an aggressive bidder on this lot, but believe that it went way too high, why were you bidding? If you want to see high prices let's talk about the PSA 8.5 Curley Three Stooges card or the $95,000 presidents card.
Barry--who knows. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I could see this on display in Wrigley or Atlanta when (if) the Cubs play the Braves next year. Think about it, the person who scored this scorecard sat in the South End Grounds 138 years ago and watched Al Spaulding pitch to George Wright while he was being caught by Deacon White. This is not a card that was produced after the fact, which by the way would cost many multiples of the scorecard price. This scorecard was part of the game. BTW, Anson talks about this very game in his autobiography.