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Posted By: J Levine

About six years ago, I was in Cooperstown for the HOF weekend. Walking around the museum I noticed they had a watch on display saying it was Kid Nichols (still might be there). Very nice watch fob but inscribed on the front was Charlie Bennet's name. I asked a curator about it and he said he had no clue but to hold on. Two minutes later there was a guy there asking me questions. I said Bennett played with Nichols but the watch clearly said Bennett. I flashed my MLB Alumni Association card and I then was escorted to their record room where we looked up the watch. It was indeed from Nichols "estate." Apparently Nichols, like many ballplayers from that era, was destitute later in life. Bennett gave him the watch to sell and make some money but Nichols died before he sold it. AFter that I was treated to a walk in the basement. In the room where the other Nichols effects were was his death certificate, a pair of shoes that he wore, a hat, and some correspondence between Bennett and Nichols. It was amazing to walk past crates of stuff that had labels stating they had been packed away in the 1950s and looked like they had not been opened since.

Joshua