George Wright and Henry Ditson--according to King Kelly's Play Ball, "a bright young fellow, who is a real lover of lawn tennis"--appear to have started as a partnership in 1878. (Brother Harry had started in the sporting goods business in 1871 with partner Charlie Gould, his first baseman with Cincinnati previously and now with Boston.) First mention of “Wright & Ditson” in Boston city directory is 1880, at 580 Washington. Surreptitiously the firm was purchased by Spalding in 1883 but continued in business as Wright & Ditson. Because George Wright was an investor in the Boston club of the Union Association, that one-year major league made the Wright & Ditson baseball its official choice.
john thorn
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