"The Steele Box" - 1880's / 1890's Baseball

[Mforder]

In this section I see "The Red Stockings Game", I also see another game with them in a different section of the ledger. Unfortunately I cannot pinpoint the exact year. I will need to go back and look. I don't know if they whad anything to do with the Boston Team of the Cincinnati team at all. I'd have to see if I could make a connection through other papers, or maybe someone here could see something that can tell us.

What I also notice here is that there was a Ladies Base Ball Club too. I cannot say for sure if this was paid for by the Newton team or if they actually played a game against them.

[bgar3]

Mark, I think this is a very nice historical archive that deserves all the time you can spare to organize as best you can. Just my opinion, but before spending an enormous amount of time checking out individual entries or items, I think you should prioritize the organization. Then some questions will be answered as you go, like the confirmation of Esterbrook. Nice by the way. Caution, saying it has historical significance does not always translate to enormous value. This grouping as it is has real value and it only grows as you add to it, but if you can put it all together I think that will enhance it. Again, just an old timer’s opinion. Are you even close to finding all the baseball stuff? Really excellent, thanks again.
Who knows, you may actually become a collector.

[Mforder]

Originally Posted by bgar3

Mark, I think this is a very nice historical archive that deserves all the time you can spare to organize as best you can. Just my opinion, but before spending an enormous amount of time checking out individual entries or items, I think you should prioritize the organization. Then some questions will be answered as you go, like the confirmation of Esterbrook. Nice by the way. Caution, saying it has historical significance does not always translate to enormous value. This grouping as it is has real value and it only grows as you add to it, but if you can put it all together I think that will enhance it. Again, just an old timer’s opinion. Are you even close to finding all the baseball stuff? Really excellent, thanks again.
Who knows, you may actually become a collector.

Hello bgar3,

Thank you. You are not an old timer. If that were the case you wouldn't even have a PC... I agree with you it does seems as I go through things that it is difficult to sort things out. I have dates for some things and no dates for others, some things are related and help tell the story and so on. It's just difficult for me at the moment since I am dong things around my schedule with work. I want to share as much as I can and if folks pick up on things then maybe I can get to a point where it could help me get this organized. As for fining all of the papers related to BB I am not even close unfortunately. I think each time I pull out a binder that I am done with it and then I find out I am not.

There are still bags of checks and other papers that I did not organize yet. I think for me doing some research on the individual items helps me to identify things that need to be pulled. They don't always say BBC or Baseball on them. It's overwhelming to me but I am doing my best. Hopefully If I can get the images posted then I can move slowly onto getting things into some type of order. Either that or I will be pretty much done in general. Who knows.

As for being a collector I can't say for sure if I would become one but I can tell you the more and more I dig the more and more I become intrigued by what's in the box.

Thank you again for the suggestion. I may e confusing things because of the way I am posting them but for now I may continue until I reach the end of what I already have pulled. There is a schedule that I am waiting to post as well. Some of the etching images within it are pretty neat. am just holding off on the since I am trying to get some of the less interesting things out of the way.

---Mark

[bgar3]

If these are the less interesting I can’t wait. Thanks, just do it at your own pace, there is no rush.

[Mforder]

Originally Posted by bgar3

If these are the less interesting I can’t wait. Thanks, just do it at your own pace, there is no rush.

I think some of these are more interesting than what's left BUT there is one schedule that stands out to me 1890. It's a pocket schedule nondescript in a way but it has some players in it that are I would guess fairly famous for their time. They are wood cut etchings I think. I guess I like it over all because it has the schedule some additional information and a number of advertisements with lithographs. Please don't think it's that great. It's just the one thing that stands out to me. Outside of that I think what you are seeing already is typical of what I found. Sorry to mislead anyone.

The green schedule in the attached pic is the one I am talking about, it's about 40 pages long.

[Mforder]

This appears to be a signed letter from a Rich Cogan (Dick Cogan, Richard Henry Cogan) who later went on to become a professional baseball player. in the NL He played during the late 1890's and played for the New York Giants, Baltimore Orioles and also the Chicago Orphans.

[ooo-ribay]

Penmanship is definitely a lost art, huh?