Anyone know about the 1877 Delawares baseball team of Port Jervis N.Y.?

[barrysloate]

Hi Carlton- went through a number of my books but haven't been successful finding anything.

[smokelessjoe]

Hi Carlton,

You have probably already seen this and I am not sure if it will even help, but thought I would post it. 1876

[smokelessjoe]

Here is an article...

[CarltonHendricks]

timzcardz, Barrry, and Shawn, thanks for all your help. I used this poster for this week's Sports Antique of the Week on my site. Naturally I linked this thread in the short article.

[smokelessjoe]

Carlton,

I found this mention of playing for the Jervis Team in Mike Kellys book.

PLay Ball: Stories of the Diamond Field
By
Mike Kelly of the Boston Base-Ball Club

I have copied the paragraph below from the baseball chronology site. The mention is in the second paragraph, but I included the first because it gives the year 1877...

"The great games of that season were played with the Mutuals, of Brooklyn. The Mutuals were, perhaps, the strongest base ball organization in New York. Well, we met them, and played a series of games for the championship. First one club would win a game then the other. In the club were Bobby Matthews, who is at it yet, Hicks, Nelson, and old Joe Start. There was a ball player for you. I regarded Joe Start as the most reliable man I ever saw cover the first bag, next to Anson. He saw his palmy days with the Mutuals, and later with the Providence club, when it was in the league. Not only could Joe Start bat well, but he could save the players more errors when covering the first bag than any man in the business. The games we had with the Mutuals finished the season in grand shape. It began to get cold, and finally the winter came. Like Othello, the ball player was without an occupation. I resolved to learn a trade. In the winter of 1877 I went into a factory to learn the silk weaver's trade. I stuck at it until the opening of the ball season. I was a crank on the game, and couldn't leave it alone if I wanted to. So I went at it again.

At the opening of the ball season that year I played several games with the Port Jervis team. I didn't care very much for the place, and jumped at an offer to go to the Buckeye club, with Jim McCormick for my pitcher. We had a great nine that year, and it was the first time that I really thought that I could play ball. Dorgan and I led off the batters. In the first game I made a base hit, and was so tickled that I started to steal second. I was thrown out, and the gang gave me the laugh. I didn't think that I was such a great ball player after that. I might have made the bag, too, but I had more confidence than I should have had. I thought that I could make it easy, but I couldn't."

http://www.baseballchronology.com/Ba...By-King-Kelly/

hope this helps!

[CarltonHendricks]

Shawn, Very good digging...quite insightful Kelly only played a few games with the Delawares and apparently didn't like the geographical area or social environment...as he didn't say exactly what he didn't care for:
"At the opening of the ball season that year I played several games with the Port Jervis team. I didn't care very much for the place, and jumped at an offer to go to the Buckeye club, with Jim McCormick for my pitcher."

I got an interesting email from Bob Mayer of N.Y. state, who is quiet a baseball researcher. I learned the Delawares team existed by at least 1866. Quote from Bob's email below:
"The Delawares of Port Jervis were an opponent of a team I did some research on a few years ago. The team was already organized by 1866 and was the first team the Wallkills of Middletown played that year. PJ won the first game and the Wallkills won the second. In the early 1880's Fred Nyce who later played some in the Minors pitched for the Delawares"