1882 Presentation or Trophy Baseball
From my collection - a 1880's leather baseball. The writing indicates that this was a ball from a game played between Lewisburg and Mt. Joy - two towns in Pennsylvania, approximately 95 miles apart.
The ball is dated Aug. 19th, 188? (it looks like a "2"....or possibly an "8". Aug 19th, 1882 fell on a Saturday...a likely day of the week for a big match; while Aug 19th, 1888 was a Sunday, and it’s unlikely that the game was played on the Sabbath. In fact, I learned from reading a great baseball book - "The Echoing Green: The Untold Story of Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca, and the Shot Heard Round the World" by Joshua Prager ; that Sunday baseball was outlawed in PA until the 1930’s and then only allowed until an hour after sunset right through 1951 at least.
The ball also reads “Umpire W.W. Fisher” on one panel and, "Lwb 3 Mt. Joy 0" on another and also "3 inn." on another (short game!).
Last edited by baseball tourist; 09-22-2009 at 02:14 PM.
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