Eastern Shore League Memorabilia and New Member Question

[zachtruitt]

Hello all

I have been reading these boards for about 6 months or so and recently joined. I have tried to find answers to these questions searching threads but haven't had any luck so far and I was hoping for some feedback from this awesome community.

I am a 31 year old lifelong baseball fan and I'm from Delaware. I have been fortunate to have made friends with collectors and historians with tons of knowledge in my area of interest which is the Eastern Shore League of the Delmarva (Delaware-Maryland-Virginia) peninsula. This was a Class D League made up of teams from all 3 states which existed from about 1922 through 1947 with war time stoppage for various stretches of time. I am friends with Mike Lambert who wrote the book on the history of the league and he has been an incredible source of knowledge for me and many others.

Jimmie Foxx and Homerun Baker (hailing from rural Eastern Shore Maryland) played in the ESL and so did a few other MLBers. I have been looking for Eastern Shore League memorabilia for a few years now and I have come up empty handed so far. Mike has a great collection and it means the world to him and he has been a great guide on what to look for. If any members have anything they would like to share or any leads for me I would greatly appreciate and you will be doing a great service to enhance our appreciation and documentation of a largely forgotten league. I would especially love to see an official baseball as I have only seen 2 surviving balls in about 12 years of looking. Thanks guys!!

[jerseygary]

There's a great book by Jimmy Keenan about his family called "The Lyston's" which traces his family's baseball history from the 1880's to the 1930's. It particularly focuses on his grandfather Jimmy Lyston who played with the Baltimore Orioles in 1921 and he has meticulously researched every team and almost every game his grandpa played in during the 20's and 30's. He spent 2 years in the ESL and that part of the book is very interesting in how the games were played and the fans. Although the time he spent in the Eastern Shore League is just a small part of this big book, it is in my opinion worth picking up. I have read the 2 mainstream books on the league and while very good, neither have a person perspective like Keenan's book.

And for everyone else who just likes a good semi-pro and minor league saga, pick it up!

http://www.keenanbaseball.com/

[zachtruitt]

Thanks Gary, I will definitely seek that one out. It's a fascinating league to me because of the mix of local yokels and some outstanding ballplayers like Foxx and Baker.

[BlueSky]

Have you been to the Eastern Shore Hall of Fame Museum in Salisbury? Nice collection of ESL memorabilia.

[zachtruitt]

Yes sir, I have been to the ESL museum. I try to catch a peek every time I go to a Shorebirds game there. My friend Mike Lambert actually has several of his items on loan and displayed there at the museum and I think he is going to rotate some newer stuff into there this season.

I swear trying to find some ESL items are like looking for hen's teeth!

[Jaybird]

I used to have a postcard of the Pocomoke Team from 1905 with Home Run Baker on it. I'll refrain from posting since I don't own it anymore but you can do a search for it and find it in google. I've seen 2 copies of it and heard of one other.

[zachtruitt]

That's awesome Jaybird, I definitely haven't seen that postcard or even a picture of the 1905 team. I'll definitely be on the look out now. Thanks!

[bcbgcbrcb]

There is a 1924 Easton original die-cut photo of Jimmy Foxx that I used to own. I believe that another board member now has it.