Alaska BB tintype
 

An unremarkable baseball tintype, except for the fact that it is depicts an Alaska ballplayer (and is reversed...unusual in a tintype)

I find it interesting too that he is basically wearing what looks like a modern T-shirt, and the collar and sleeves look like they were drawn on in the photo to add the dark edging.

I can't recall ever seeing a tintype with lettering that was NOT reversed - all of mine have been reversed.

early scorecards
 

Picked these up this month from a board member. 1878, 1879, 1881. the 1881 vs Chicago With both Anson and Kelly... and board favorite Ross Barnes. I will upload more pics later.

This uniform style was briefly popular in the mid 1870s.

I can't get a good picture but I have an original "The Sunday Times" from April 22, 1877 and on page 3 is the write-up of the "Base-Ball" Opening Game between the Chicagos and the Fairbanks. The better part of the write-up consisted of speaking about the pennant flying from 1876. The Chicagos were referred to as the Whites in the write-up.

Historic 1866 Philadelphia document
 

It's not often you get to hold a document penned by someone who in 1860 played in the first true baseball game in Philadelphia, one of America's most important baseball cities, who fought in the Civil War that contributed to his club's demise, and who in the document is seen in his own hand vainly trying to restore the team's pre-war standing.

William H. Litzenberg was the Equity Base Ball Club of Philadelphia's catcher in the historic June 11, 1860 first game between two organized ball clubs played under the New York rules in Philadelphia. Their opponent Winona, another local team, prevailed 39-21. The box score confirms Litzenberg's participation. See New York Clipper, June 30, 1860, p. 85. That contest is "generally given the distinction of being the first match game ever played in Philadelphia under the New York rules." Base Ball Founders (Morris et al., ed.) at p. 242.

The Civil War led the Equitys to suspend play. Litzenberg then fought with the Union Army. After the war the team tried to resurrect itself. In the fall of 1866 the Equitys sent representatives to the National Association of Base Ball Players convention. It was not enough for the team to survive. For these and further details on the team's history, see generally Base Ball Founders, pp. 241-246. In the midst of that unsuccessful rebuilding effort Litzenberg wrote and signed this May 28, 1866 telegraph proposing that Wayne Litzenberg (likely a relative) become a team member and directed it to the Equity team's president, officers, and members.

The Equitys are credited with being one of the clubs that "sparked a major shift from town ball to baseball that took place in 1860" and as having "a strong claim to having been Philadelphia's best prewar club and might well have remained a major force on the city's baseball scene if not for the intervention of the Civil War." Base Ball Founders, pp. 241, 244. Litzenberg was involved at every turn.

Regarding your tintype, I wonder what the infatuation with Alaska was that there were a fair number of teams named "Alaska" in the 1860's/1870's. I know there was an "Alaska" team from Brooklyn, NY. There was also an "Alaska" team from Fairhaven, Mass that I have in an 1867 scorebook. Probably several others as well. It caused me to look up Alaska in Wiki and I see that the U.S. purchased it in 1867 from Russia which, I suppose, was the reason. Still seems odd that a team would name themselves after a remote, little known, wilderness.

Rob M.

P.S. As Scott alluded to - All tintypes were produced as mirror images (as well as ambrotypes and dags). If you see one that is not reversed, either it's a photo of a photo (a mirror image of a mirror image) or, as is often seen in Civl War images, the photographer made the correction on the original image with overpainting.

Attachment 206667

19th century score cards
 

I will try and post pictures of 2 Harvard Yale baseball score cards. The 1881 is smaller than the 1887. The 1887 has Stagg in the lineup as a pitcher for Yale. It's split at the spine and missing inch and a half of paper on right top front cover. The 1881 is in much better shape. Sam Majors

1881 score card
 

Here is the 1881 Harvard Yale score card.