Carlton,
I found this mention of playing for the Jervis Team in Mike Kellys book.
PLay Ball: Stories of the Diamond Field
By
Mike Kelly of the Boston Base-Ball Club
I have copied the paragraph below from the baseball chronology site. The mention is in the second paragraph, but I included the first because it gives the year 1877...
"The great games of that season were played with the Mutuals, of Brooklyn. The Mutuals were, perhaps, the strongest base ball organization in New York. Well, we met them, and played a series of games for the championship. First one club would win a game then the other. In the club were Bobby Matthews, who is at it yet, Hicks, Nelson, and old Joe Start. There was a ball player for you. I regarded Joe Start as the most reliable man I ever saw cover the first bag, next to Anson. He saw his palmy days with the Mutuals, and later with the Providence club, when it was in the league. Not only could Joe Start bat well, but he could save the players more errors when covering the first bag than any man in the business. The games we had with the Mutuals finished the season in grand shape. It began to get cold, and finally the winter came. Like Othello, the ball player was without an occupation. I resolved to learn a trade. In the winter of 1877 I went into a factory to learn the silk weaver's trade. I stuck at it until the opening of the ball season. I was a crank on the game, and couldn't leave it alone if I wanted to. So I went at it again.
At the opening of the ball season that year I played several games with the Port Jervis team. I didn't care very much for the place, and jumped at an offer to go to the Buckeye club, with Jim McCormick for my pitcher. We had a great nine that year, and it was the first time that I really thought that I could play ball. Dorgan and I led off the batters. In the first game I made a base hit, and was so tickled that I started to steal second. I was thrown out, and the gang gave me the laugh. I didn't think that I was such a great ball player after that. I might have made the bag, too, but I had more confidence than I should have had. I thought that I could make it easy, but I couldn't."
http://www.baseballchronology.com/Ba...By-King-Kelly/
hope this helps!