Overview
This collection consists chiefly of ephemera and information about baseball at Harvard; it also includes baseball clothing and equipment. The earliest original artifacts are tickets in the 1867 folder.
Dates
- Creation: 1867-1980, 2004-2005
Creator
- Harvard University (Organization)
Conditions on Use and Access
Open for research.
Some material may require special handling due to fragility. Consult reference staff for details.
Extent
7 cubic feet (13 boxes)This collection chiefly consists of ephemera and information about baseball at Harvard; the collection also contains baseball clothing and equipment. The earliest original artifacts are tickets in the 1867 folder.
The collection focuses on baseball as played at Harvard University including play by the '66 Base Ball Club and the Harvard University Base Ball Club (H.U.B.B.C). The material dates from baseball's inception at Harvard in the early 1860s until the 1980s, with additional material dating from the beginning of the 21st century.
Materials consist chiefly of ephemera such as tickets, scorecards, programs, and ribbons. The tickets (whole game tickets, torn tickets and season passes) are largely monochromatic with a few graphic flourishes on tickets from 1894, 1913, and the 1920s. Scorecards are varied in format and construction. They range from single sheets to programs, but all were blank forms used to keep score in various ways. These scorecards often include photographs of the teams. The collection contains ribbons issued to ushers for baseball games in 1868, 1893, 1894, 1896, 1905, 1909, and 1913. Still other formats in the collection are dinner programs from 1897, 1901 and 1905, and reunion buttons commemorating the defeat of Yale's baseball team by Harvard's team in 1876, 1877, and 1878. Other textiles include cap and blazer monograms cut from the Harvard Base Ball Club uniforms of 1894.
The baseball clothing and equipment in the collection includes a uniform, cap, socks, a bat, catcher's mask, catcher's mitts, and baseballs.
The collection also contains works about baseball in the form of newspaper and magazine articles and unpublished essays. Newspaper articles are usually from Boston papers and occasionally give play-by-play descriptions of games. Essays and magazine articles are chiefly written by Harvard alumni about Harvard baseball topics or are memoirs.
Interesting graphics appear on all formats in the collection. Some are colorful such as "A Stern Chase" from 1883, a postcard from 1905 showing a Harvard ballplayer, and a program from a Harvard-Princeton game from 1900. Other graphics which are not quite so colorful include a scorecard from 1870 depicting a ballplayer and a dog and a cartoon from 1883 detailing various sports as an Egyptian hieroglyph.
Chronology of Harvard University Baseball, 1858-2006
Baseball was played by members of the Harvard community shortly before the Civil War, circa 1858. The sport was formally organized on campus in 1864, and has been played continuously since then. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the team was organized first under the auspices of the Harvard Athletic Association and later under the Harvard University Department of Athletics.
- 1858The Lawrence Base Ball Club forms; members are chiefly from the Lawrence Scientific School, a part of Harvard University. It plays the "New York" style of the game.
- 1862 The '66 Base Ball Club is begun by George A. Flagg (Harvard College Class of 1866) and Frank Wright (Harvard College Class of 1866). Wright and Flagg were graduates of Phillips Exeter Academy.
- 1863 A baseball field is laid out on Cambridge Common near the Washington Elm. Harvard plays against local clubs. Intercollegiate baseball at begins with Harvard '66 against the Brown '65 in Providence on June 27, 1863; Harvard wins 27 to 17.
- 1864 A field is laid out at the "Delta" area of the Harvard campus. The Harvard University Base Ball Club forms under George A. Flagg and Frank Wright.
- 1865 The first strictly intercollegiate game in Harvard history is played July 18 against Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Harvard wins 35 to 20.
- 1867 The field moves from the Delta to Jarvis Field. The Delta becomes the site of Memorial Hall.
- 1868 June 24: Harvard plays its first game against Princeton University; Harvard wins 17 to 16.July 25: Harvard plays its first game against Yale in Worcester, Massachusetts; Harvard wins 25 to 17.
- 1869 June 5: Harvard plays its first game against Dartmouth College in Lowell; Harvard wins 38 to 0.
- 1870 Harvard embarks on a western tour in which they play 26 games in 43 days while visiting 20 cities.
- 1872 Spring: at the suggestion of Yale, a series of three games is played between the two universities. This becomes an annual contest.
- 1874 Yale plays its first shut-out against a Harvard Nine.
- 1875 Princeton makes the first use of curve pitching against a Harvard team on June 4.
- 1876-1877 Winter: Frederick W. Thayer (Harvard College Class of 1878) invents the catcher's mask. The first one is manufactured by a tinsmith in Cambridge and worn by James A. Tyng (Harvard College Class of 1876) in a game against the Live Oaks of Lynn on April 12, 1877.
- 1877 Harvard plays a 24-inning game against the Manchester nine which ends in a 0-0 tie.
- 1878 Harvard sweeps the Harvard-Yale series.
- 1879 The Hemenway Gymnasium opens and houses a small batting cage in its basement.December: The Intercollegiate Base Ball Association is formed with Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Amherst, Dartmouth, and Brown as members.
- 1883 The northerly portion of Holmes Field is graded for a baseball field. Beginning with a game against the Beacons on June 7, 1884, Holmes Field becomes home for the baseball team for the next 14 years.
- 1886 1886 is the final year that includes a fall schedule; the first game in of the 1887 season was April 9. Harvard leaves the Intercollegiate Base Ball Association.
- 1887 March 14: Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Columbia organize the College Baseball League.
- 1889 Yale sweeps the Harvard-Yale series.
- 1890 May: the Carey Building is completed on the northerly side of Holmes Field. The Carey Building contains a batting cage. Harvard receives a gift of 20 acres of land from Major Henry L. Higginson which would be the future home of Harvard saseball, known as Soldier's Field. January 15: Harvard resigns from the College Baseball League.
- 1898 April 27: the first game at Soldier's Field is played against Dartmouth. A new Carey Building contains a batting cage and the team has full use of the Locker Building's dressing rooms.Harvard takes a southern trip during spring recess; this becomes part of Harvard baseball policy.
- 1910 A Baseball Advisory Committee is formed; it has general oversight of choices of coaches and development of teams.The Advisory Committee abandons the graduate system of coaching and hires the first professional coach, Dr. Frank J. Sexton.
- 1915 Percy Duncan Haughton (Harvard College Class of 1899) becomes coach after resignation of Dr. Frank J. Sexton.The Barrett Wendell, Jr. Trophy is donated and thereafter awarded annually for the best performance in reaching first base, sacrifice hits, stolen bases, and runs scored.
- 1916 April 10: Harvard defeats the World Champion Boston Red Sox 1-0.
- 1917-1918 During World War I, the athletic program is diminished and has a limited schedule.
- 1919 The Dana J. P. Wingate Cup is donated and awarded annually to the player with best all-around ability.
- 1921 May 26: Harvard faces Waseda University of Japan in Harvard's first game against a foreign team; Harvard wins 6-5.
- 1926 Fred Mitchell becomes manager of the team.
- 1927 The Briggs Cage is built.The first double-header in Harvard baseball history is scheduled for May 20, when the University nine will meet a team from Waseda University of Japan and a nine composed of Crimson alumni.
- 1934 August: Harvard travels to Japan for games.
- 1938 Fred Mitchell resigns; Fred Stahl becomes manager of the team.
- 1943-1946 Baseball is suspended due to World War II.
- 1946 Fred Stahl resigns; Adolph Samborski becomes manager of the team.
- 1949 Adolph Samborski resigns; John F. "Stuffy" McInnis becomes manager of the team.
- 1952 The Eastern Collegiate Baseball League splits into Northern (Army, Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard and Yale) and Southern divisions (Cornell, Columbia, Princeton, Navy and Pennsylvania).
- 1953 The Greater Boston Baseball League forms and includes Harvard, Boston College, Boston University, Tufts, Brandeis, Northeastern, and M.I.T.
- 1955 Stuffy McInnis resigns; Norman W. Shepard becomes manager of the team.
- 1957 Harvard sweeps the Harvard-Yale series.
- 1959 Harvard plays its first night game in Quantico, Virginia; Harvard wins 5-4.
- 1974 Joseph Mackey (Harvard College Class of 1974) appears as Harvard's first designated hitter.
- 1990 Harvard, Boston University, Boston College, and Northeastern play the first annual baseball Beanpot Championship in Fenway Park.
- 1998 Harvard wins the first of three consecutive Ivy League championships.
- 2006 The William Clarence Matthews Trophy is dedicated to honor Matthews (Harvard College Class of 1905) as a pioneer African-American athlete.
- 1858
- The Lawrence Base Ball Club forms; members are chiefly from the Lawrence Scientific School, a part of Harvard University. It plays the "New York" style of the game.
- 1862
- The '66 Base Ball Club is begun by George A. Flagg (Harvard College Class of 1866) and Frank Wright (Harvard College Class of 1866). Wright and Flagg were graduates of Phillips Exeter Academy.
- 1863
- A baseball field is laid out on Cambridge Common near the Washington Elm. Harvard plays against local clubs.
- Intercollegiate baseball at begins with Harvard '66 against the Brown '65 in Providence on June 27, 1863; Harvard wins 27 to 17.
- 1864
- A field is laid out at the "Delta" area of the Harvard campus.
- The Harvard University Base Ball Club forms under George A. Flagg and Frank Wright.
- 1865
- The first strictly intercollegiate game in Harvard history is played July 18 against Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Harvard wins 35 to 20.
- 1867
- The field moves from the Delta to Jarvis Field. The Delta becomes the site of Memorial Hall.
- 1868
- June 24: Harvard plays its first game against Princeton University; Harvard wins 17 to 16.
- July 25: Harvard plays its first game against Yale in Worcester, Massachusetts; Harvard wins 25 to 17.
- 1869
- June 5: Harvard plays its first game against Dartmouth College in Lowell; Harvard wins 38 to 0.
- 1870
- Harvard embarks on a western tour in which they play 26 games in 43 days while visiting 20 cities.
- 1872
- Spring: at the suggestion of Yale, a series of three games is played between the two universities. This becomes an annual contest.
- 1874
- Yale plays its first shut-out against a Harvard Nine.
- 1875
- Princeton makes the first use of curve pitching against a Harvard team on June 4.
- 1876-1877
- Winter: Frederick W. Thayer (Harvard College Class of 1878) invents the catcher's mask. The first one is manufactured by a tinsmith in Cambridge and worn by James A. Tyng (Harvard College Class of 1876) in a game against the Live Oaks of Lynn on April 12, 1877.
- 1877
- Harvard plays a 24-inning game against the Manchester nine which ends in a 0-0 tie.
- 1878
- Harvard sweeps the Harvard-Yale series.
- 1879
- The Hemenway Gymnasium opens and houses a small batting cage in its basement.
- December: The Intercollegiate Base Ball Association is formed with Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Amherst, Dartmouth, and Brown as members.
- 1883
- The northerly portion of Holmes Field is graded for a baseball field. Beginning with a game against the Beacons on June 7, 1884, Holmes Field becomes home for the baseball team for the next 14 years.
- 1886
- 1886 is the final year that includes a fall schedule; the first game in of the 1887 season was April 9.
- Harvard leaves the Intercollegiate Base Ball Association.
- 1887
- March 14: Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Columbia organize the College Baseball League.
- 1889
- Yale sweeps the Harvard-Yale series.
- 1890
- May: the Carey Building is completed on the northerly side of Holmes Field. The Carey Building contains a batting cage.
- Harvard receives a gift of 20 acres of land from Major Henry L. Higginson which would be the future home of Harvard saseball, known as Soldier's Field.
- January 15: Harvard resigns from the College Baseball League.
- 1898
- April 27: the first game at Soldier's Field is played against Dartmouth. A new Carey Building contains a batting cage and the team has full use of the Locker Building's dressing rooms.
- Harvard takes a southern trip during spring recess; this becomes part of Harvard baseball policy.
- 1910
- A Baseball Advisory Committee is formed; it has general oversight of choices of coaches and development of teams.
- The Advisory Committee abandons the graduate system of coaching and hires the first professional coach, Dr. Frank J. Sexton.
- 1915
- Percy Duncan Haughton (Harvard College Class of 1899) becomes coach after resignation of Dr. Frank J. Sexton.
- The Barrett Wendell, Jr. Trophy is donated and thereafter awarded annually for the best performance in reaching first base, sacrifice hits, stolen bases, and runs scored.
- 1916
- April 10: Harvard defeats the World Champion Boston Red Sox 1-0.
- 1917-1918
- During World War I, the athletic program is diminished and has a limited schedule.
- 1919
- The Dana J. P. Wingate Cup is donated and awarded annually to the player with best all-around ability.
- 1921
- May 26: Harvard faces Waseda University of Japan in Harvard's first game against a foreign team; Harvard wins 6-5.
- 1926
- Fred Mitchell becomes manager of the team.
- 1927
- The Briggs Cage is built.
- The first double-header in Harvard baseball history is scheduled for May 20, when the University nine will meet a team from Waseda University of Japan and a nine composed of Crimson alumni.
- 1934
- August: Harvard travels to Japan for games.
- 1938
- Fred Mitchell resigns; Fred Stahl becomes manager of the team.
- 1943-1946
- Baseball is suspended due to World War II.
- 1946
- Fred Stahl resigns; Adolph Samborski becomes manager of the team.
- 1949
- Adolph Samborski resigns; John F. "Stuffy" McInnis becomes manager of the team.
- 1952
- The Eastern Collegiate Baseball League splits into Northern (Army, Brown, Dartmouth, Harvard and Yale) and Southern divisions (Cornell, Columbia, Princeton, Navy and Pennsylvania).
- 1953
- The Greater Boston Baseball League forms and includes Harvard, Boston College, Boston University, Tufts, Brandeis, Northeastern, and M.I.T.
- 1955
- Stuffy McInnis resigns; Norman W. Shepard becomes manager of the team.
- 1957
- Harvard sweeps the Harvard-Yale series.
- 1959
- Harvard plays its first night game in Quantico, Virginia; Harvard wins 5-4.
- 1974
- Joseph Mackey (Harvard College Class of 1974) appears as Harvard's first designated hitter.
- 1990
- Harvard, Boston University, Boston College, and Northeastern play the first annual baseball Beanpot Championship in Fenway Park.
- 1998
- Harvard wins the first of three consecutive Ivy League championships.
- 2006
- The William Clarence Matthews Trophy is dedicated to honor Matthews (Harvard College Class of 1905) as a pioneer African-American athlete.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in three groups:
Obsolete Call Numbers
Material was greatly re-organized in 2005-2006. For the sake of those who might have citations to call numbers made obsolete by the new organization, this list indicates which folder now holds the material from the former call number.
- HUB 3171 Baseballs; Catcher's mask; Catcher's mitts
- HUD 9636 General information about baseball at Harvard; Baseball in the 1870s; Baseball, 1882; Baseball, 1902; Baseball, 1905; Baseball, 1909
- HUD 9636.10 Succession of winning teams [by] Barrett Wendell H.C. 1902
- HUD 9636.20 Bunting: Its Advantages & Cases in Which to Use a Bunt Hit [by] H. L. E.
- HUD 9858 Baseball, 1858
- HUD 9862 Baseball, 1862
- HUD 9864 Baseball, 1864
- HUD 9865 Baseball, 1865
- HUD 9866 Baseball, 1866
- HUD 9867 Baseball, 1867
- HUD 9868 Baseball, 1868
- HUD 9868.24 The 1868 Nine: Early Baseball at Harvard [by] Harold C. Ernst H.C. 1876
- HUD 9869 Baseball, 1869
- HUD 9870 Undated information about baseball at Harvard
- HUD 9871 Baseball in the 1870s
- HUD 9872 Baseball, 1872
- HUD 9872.2 Baseball Scrapbook [by] Harold C. Ernst H.C. 1876
- HUD 9873 Baseball, 1873
- HUD 9874 Baseball, 1874
- HUD 9875 Baseball, 1870
- HUD 9875 Baseball, 1875
- HUD 9876 Baseball, 1876
- HUD 9877 Baseball, 1877
- HUD 9877.24 Baseball in 1860s & 1870s
- HUD 9877.24 Baseball in the 1870s
- HUD 9877.24 Baseball, 1876
- HUD 9877.24 Baseball, 1877
- HUD 9877.24 Baseball, 1878
- HUD 9877.24 Baseball, 1879
- HUD 9877.24 Baseball, 1880
- HUD 9877.24 F Baseball scrapbook of Harold C. Ernst
- HUD 9878 Baseball, 1878
- HUD 9878.3 Baseball, 1878
- HUD 9879 Baseball in the 1870s
- HUD 9880.70 Baseball in the 80's [by] Walter B. Phillips H.C. 1886
- HUD 9881 Baseball, 1881
- HUD 9882 Baseball in the 1880s
- HUD 9882 Baseball, 1882
- HUD 9883 Baseball, 1883
- HUD 9884 Baseball in the 1880s
- HUD 9884 Baseball, 1884
- HUD 9885 Baseball, 1885
- HUD 9886 Baseball, 1886
- HUD 9887 Baseball, 1887
- HUD 9888 Baseball, 1888
- HUD 9889 Baseball, 1889
- HUD 9890 Baseball in the 1890s
- HUD 9890 Baseball, 1890
- HUD 9890.30 In the Early 90's [by] Louis A. Frothingham H.C. 1893
- HUD 9891 Baseball, 1891
- HUD 9892 Baseball, 1892
- HUD 9893 Baseball, 1893
- HUD 9894 Baseball, 1894
- HUD 9894 Baseball, 1916
- HUD 9894.49 Baseball Letters, 1893-1894 [by] James H. Williams
- HUD 9894.68 Baseball papers of James H. Williams, 1893- 1894
- HUD 9895 Baseball, 1895
- HUD 9896 Baseball, 1896
- HUD 9897 Baseball, 1897
- HUD 9898 Baseball, 1898
- HUD 9899 Baseball, 1899
- HUD 9900 Baseball, 1900
- HUD 9901 Baseball, 1901
- HUD 9901.5 Baseball, 1901
- HUD 9902 Baseball, 1902
- HUD 9902 Baseball, 1905
- HUD 9903 Baseball, 1878
- HUD 9903 Baseball, 1903
- HUD 9903.2B Harvard University Baseball Club
- HUD 9904 Baseball, 1904
- HUD 9905 Baseball, 1905
- HUD 9906 Baseball, 1906
- HUD 9907 Undated information about baseball at Harvard
- HUD 9907 Baseball, 1907
- HUD 9908 Baseball, 1908
- HUD 9909 Baseball, 1909
- HUD 9910 Baseball, 1910
- HUD 9911 Baseball, 1911
- HUD 9912 Baseball, 1912
- HUD 9913 Baseball, 1913
- HUD 9914 Baseball, 1914
- HUD 9915 Early Baseball at Harvard
- HUD 9915 Baseball, 1915
- HUD 9916 Baseball, 1916
- HUD 9919 Baseball, 1919
- HUD 9920Baseball, 1920
- HUD 9921 Baseball, 1921
- HUD 9921.5 Harvard Varsity Baseball Scrapbook, 1921
- HUD 9923 Baseball, 1923
- HUD 9924 Baseball, 1924
- HUD 9925 Baseball, 1925
- HUD 9925.5 Outline of Baseball System at Harvard: Established for year 1925
- HUD 9926 Baseball, 1926
- HUD 9927 Baseball, 1927
- HUD 9932 Baseball, 1931
- HUD 9932 Baseball, 1932
- HUD 9932 Baseball, 1933
- HUD 9934 Baseball, 1934
- HUD 9938 Baseball, 1938
- HUD 9939 Baseball, 1939
- HUD 9940 Baseball, 1940
- HUD 9947 Baseball, 1947
- HUD 9949 Baseball, 1949
- HUD 9950 Baseball, 1950
- HUD 9952 Baseball, 1952
- HUD 9953 Baseball, 1953
- HUD 9954 Baseball in the 1870s
- HUD 9954 Baseball, 1954
- HUD 9955 Baseball, 1955
- HUD 9956 Baseball, 1956
- HUD 9957 Baseball, 1958
- HUD 9958 Baseball, 1916
- HUD 9959 Baseball, 1959
- HUD 9960 Baseball, 1960
- HUD 9965 Baseball, 1965
- HUD 9967.10 From Andover Hill to Harvard Yard: The Story of Early Baseball [by] Frances Dwight Buell
- HUD 9971 Baseball, 1971
- HUD 9973 Baseball, 1973
- HUD 9974 Baseball, 1974
- HUD 9975 Baseball, 1975
- HUD 9976 Baseball, 1976
- HUD 9978 Baseball, 1978
- HUD 9978 Baseball, 1980
- HUO 14.804.2 Baseball socks
- HUO 14.804.1 Baseball cap, circa 1904
Custodial Information
Archivists in the Harvard University Archives and their predecessors assembled baseball ephemera from numerous sources to create this collection. Archivists and librarians had placed it in roughly chronological order.
Acquisition Information
The material in this collection was received from a variety of sources or collected by the Harvard University Archives (or its predecessor, the Harvard College Library) in small amounts over many years. Acquisition information was not often recorded. Where acquisition information is available for an item, it appears in the inventory below. Portions appear to have originated from disassembled scrapbooks.
Inventory update
This document last updated 2020 September 18.
Processing Information
From October 2005 to January 2006, this collection was re-processed by intern Kurt Eichner who made date estimates for all undated material and edited the chronological order. He also placed all items in appropriate archival containers.
During the spring and summer of 2006, Kate Bowers and Juliana Kuipers distinguished between the records proper and the assembled ephemera, inserted equipment and clothing into the ephemera collection, and produced two separate descriptions. One of these descriptions is this collection, the "Harvard University Baseball Collection," which consists chiefly of ephemera from largely unknown sources. The other is the Records of the Harvard University Base Ball Club (HUD 9500): http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua02006. The records are the products of team organization, administration, and coaching and chiefly came from the persons responsible for those activities.
Most newspaper clippings have been photocopied onto acid-free paper; an exception was made only in cases where the content was primarily visual in which photocopying would have diminished the clarity of the image. The presence of images is noted in the description.
Photographs that had been housed in this collection have been moved to the Harvard University Photograph Subject Files : Baseball (HUPSF Baseball): http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.ARCH:hua20004
Creator
- Harvard University (Organization)
- Title
- Harvard University. Baseball Collection, 1867-1980, 2004-2005 : an inventory
- Author
- Harvard University Archives
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua01006
Repository Details
Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository
Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461
archives_reference@harvard.edu