Overview
The Lawrence Scientific School, part of Harvard University, formed a baseball club in November 1858. These records contain information about the founding of the club, game scores and statistics, and an article about the club written by Eben Putnam and published in the Harvard Graduates' Magazine in 1917 as well as preparatory material for the article.
Dates
- Creation: 1858-1859 and 1910-1917
Creator
- Lawrence Base Ball Club (Organization)
Conditions on Use and Access
Some material may require special handling due to fragility. Consult reference staff for details.
Extent
0.2 cubic feet (1 volume and 6 folders (1 document box))These records concern the club's founding, its constitution, regulations, and members, as well as game scores and statistics. The original records are contained in a record book which dates from the first year of the Lawrence Base Ball Club, 1858-1859. Later records concern the publication of an article written by Eben Putnam and published in the Harvard Graduates' Magazine in 1917. The later records date from 1910-1917 and include typewritten reproductions of the original records, correspondence between Eben Putnam and Frederic Ward Putnam and the editors of the Harvard Graduates' Magazine .
History of the Lawrence Base Ball Club
The Lawrence Base Ball Club was organized in November 1858 and was the first baseball organization associated with Harvard University . The club played the "New York" style of the game and was certainly among the first to do so in Massachusetts before the Civil War.
The club played matches against a club formed by men in the Harvard Law School . Practice was held where the University Museum now stands, while matches were played on Cambridge Common near the Washington Elm. It is unclear when the club disbanded, but it is likely to have broken up during the Civil War.
Its first members were largely, although not exclusively, students of the Lawrence Scientific School, which was Harvard's first graduate school dedicated solely to science and engineering . Early members included Frederic Ward Putnam, a professor and Harvard College alumnus from the Class of 1862, and José Eulogio Delgado, a Harvard College alumnus from Class of 1858 and later Minister of Finance for Peru.
Arrangement
The records are arranged in rough chronological order.
Acquisition Information
The material in this collection was received from a variety of sources, including Eben Putnam,Jose Eulogio Delgado, and the Harvard Graduates' Magazine . The majority of these papers were originally held by ProfessorFrederic Ward Putnam .
Inventory update
This document last updated 2016 February 23.
Processing Information
This collection was re-processed in July 2006 by Juliana Kuipers as part of a larger project to describe all baseball material in the Harvard University Archives. The bulk of the collection was formerly classified as HUD 3514.1500, one item was classified as HUD 3514.1000.
Creator
- Lawrence Base Ball Club (Organization)
- Title
- Lawrence Base Ball Club. Records of the Lawrence Base Ball Club : an inventory
- Author
- Harvard University Archives
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hua06007
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.
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