Description of Early Baseball Game Played at Pelham Bridge in 1878

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I long have been intrigued by early references to baseball being played in Pelham.  At the end of this posting is a long list of earlier postings on the subject.

I have located yet another very early reference to baseball being played in Pelham.  In fact, it is more than a reference.  It is a nicely-detailed description of a baseball game played near the Arcularius Hotel at Pelham Bridge on June 19, 1878.  I have transcribed below the text of the article about the game that appeared in the Friday, June 28, 1878 issue of The Chronicle published in Mount Vernon, New York.

"Last Wednesday vehicles of all sorts were seen passing through Mt. Vernon, to and from Yonkers and it was impossible not to notice that many of the Yonkerites who filled these vehicles were heavy weights.  It seems that they went to Arcularius's, at Pelham Bridge, for a game of base ball.  Col. Joseph L. Proseus and Col. Matt H. Ellis were chosen captains and they selected eleven men each to assist them.  They began at 10 A.M., and at 4 P.M. had played three innings.  In the first inning, Col. Proseus's side made 32 runs, but Col. Ellis's made 36.  In the second inning, both sides fell off considerably, Col. Proseu's men making only 11 and Col. Ellis's 13.  The game now stood 48 to 49.  Col. P's men now made a grand rally and scored 37 runs.  In vain did Col. E. urge on his men to the scratch.  They scored but 14 and were ignominiously vanquished.  We regret that our limited space prevents a full report, but take pleasure in concluding with the remark that the chivalrous bearing of the victors and the quiet submission of the vanquished were worthy of the grandest days of knight errantry."

Source:  [Untitled], The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Jun. 28, 1878, p. ?, col. 3 (no page number printed on the newspaper page).

Below are other postings to early baseball references involving games played in and around Pelham.

Tue., March 9, 2010:  Earliest Reference Yet to Organized Baseball Played in Pelham.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010:  Photograph of Only Known 19th Century Women's Baseball Team in Pelham, New York.

Thursday, January 28, 2010:  News About Pelham Manor and Pelhamville in 1895 - Lighting Districts, Gas for the Village, Baseball and More.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009:  Baseball Games Played by the City Island Beldenites and the City Island Rivals in 1884. 

Monday, December 14, 2009:  Baseball Games Played by the City Island Shamrocks in 1889. 

Friday, December 11, 2009:  Earliest Reference Yet to Baseball Played in Pelham. 

Thursday, December 10, 2009:  More 19th Century Baseball and Firefighting References.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009:  City Island Shamrocks Base Ball Club Changed its Name to the Minnefords in 1888.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009:  Even More Early References to Baseball Played in Pelham.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009:  Yet Another Reference to Early Baseball in Pelham.

Monday, November 23, 2009:  Additional Brief Accounts of Baseball Played in Pelham in the 19th Century.

Friday, November 20, 2009:  More Accounts of Early Baseball Played in Pelham.

Friday, November 13, 2009:  1894 Account of Developments in Pelham Including a Reference to a Baseball Game Played that Year.

Thursday, November 12, 2009:  More Early References to Baseball Played in Pelham.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009:  Score of June 1, 1887 Baseball Game Between the Country Club and The Knickerbocker Club.

Friday, March 20, 2009:  Another Reference to 19th Century Baseball in Pelham.

Tuesday, March 4, 2008:  Another Brief Reference to 19th Century Baseball in Pelham.

Monday, November 26, 2007: Box Score of a Baseball Game Played on Travers Island in Pelham Manor in July 1896.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007: Baseball on Travers Island During the Summer of 1897.

Friday, July 20, 2007: Account of Early Baseball in Pelham: Pelham vs. the New York Athletic Club on Travers Island in 1897

Friday, November 10, 2006: The Location of Another Early Baseball Field in Pelham

Monday, October 9, 2006: Reminiscences of Val Miller Shed Light on Late 19th Century Baseball in Pelham and the Early Development of the Village of North Pelham

Thursday, March 23, 2006: Baseball Fields Opened on the Grounds of the Westchester Country Club in Pelham on April 4, 1884

Tuesday, January 31, 2006: Another Account of Baseball Played in Pelham in the 1880s Is Uncovered

Thursday, October 6, 2005: Does This Photograph Show Members of the "Pelham Manor Junior Base Ball Team"?

Thursday, September 15, 2005: Newspaper Item Published in 1942 Sheds Light on Baseball in 19th Century Pelham

Thursday, February 10, 2005: New Discoveries Regarding Baseball in 19th Century Pelham

Bell, Blake A., Baseball in Late 19th Century Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 17, Apr. 23, 2004, p. 8, col. 2.

Please Visit the Historic Pelham Web Site
Located at http://www.historicpelham.com/.Please Click Here for Index to All Blog Postings.