1850' baseball team players belt

[EVAJOY91]

Original 1850's baseball team leather belt " woodmont" n0.5
purchased from collector who told me that it been passed down from a south carolina family to him. Fabulous early belt. I examined it, except for the lock, which i think was replaced, look and smells original. Fellow collector. Please look at the belt. Any additional information would be very helpful. It measure 46 1/2 inches. Thank you

[Leon]

Neat belt and certainly resembles an old baseball belt but it also resembles a fireman's belt too. Any way of knowing for sure which it is?

[daves_resale_shop]

If this was picked up on your Connecticut trip in could be something related to the woodmont fire station in Milford ct which also happens to be station #5

[baseball tourist]

Prob dates closer to 1890's and likely fire/baseball related (possible to be used on both unis)

[khkco4bls]

with the number 5 attached I would say fireman not baseball

[aquarius31]

That's a nice belt and in good condition. I've casually collected these belts for the past year or so and concur with others regarding dating to late 19th century and multi-purpose. Without provenance, it's difficult to determine true purpose. I think there are 1-2 examples out there which have 'BBC' listed on them...those are beyond difficult to find.

Regardless, these are beautiful displays pieces and Cairns and Bros. were the primary manufacturers...you'll sometimes find them with the brand mark on the belts. Here's the display that I've put together.

A great resource is the NYC fire museum. Do a search for 'belt' and you'll see some superb early examples.