Rare 1889 Photograph of Baseball Players Playing on Pelham Field

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.
Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

While researching an unrelated issue I recently ran across an extraordinary photograph of a group of baseball players playing on a field in Pelham in 1889.  They are playing on the "Ball Field" of the New York Athletic Club on Travers Island on an unspecified date before the photograph was published on June 8, 1889.

It is difficult to tell for certain whether the photograph depicts a practice or an actual game.  It appears to this author that the photograph depicts a practice rather than a game.  A batter (or a player / coach) appears to be hitting infield ball or fly balls and can be seen holding his bat near the left foreground.  It is fascinating that there is a large tree standing in the midst of center field.  That arboreal obstacle was infamous and was referred to in a number of writings about the baseball diamond that once graced Travers Island.

The image appears immediately below, followed by a citation to its source.

"THE BALL FIELD"

Source:  ON TRAVERS ISLAND -- SUMMER HOME OF THE NEW

YORK ATHLETIC CLUB, The Daily Graphic [New York, NY],

Jun. 8, 1889, cols. 1-5.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *           *          *          *

Below is a listing, with links, of my previous postings and a published article on the topic of 19th century baseball in Pelham.

Fri., Dec. 19, 2014:  More 19th Century Pelham Baseball References.

Wed., Nov. 26, 2014:  More Early References to Baseball Played in Pelham.

Thu., Nov. 13, 2014:  Baseball Crowds in Pelham Got Out Of Hand in 1896.

Fri., Sep. 12, 2014:  Reference to an 1884 Baseball Game Between the Country Club of Pelham and Calumet.

Thu., Jul. 31, 2014:  Fascinating Account of Baseball Game Played at Pelham Bridge in 1878.

Mon., Jul. 28, 2014:  Additional 19th Century References to Baseball Being Played in Pelham.

Tue., Apr. 08, 2014:  More 19th Century References to Baseball in the Town of Pelham.

Fri., Mar. 28, 2014:  Earliest Evidence Yet! Baseball Was Played in Pelham Only Months After the Civil War Ended.  

Thu., Mar. 20, 2014:  19th Century Baseball in Pelham - Newly-Discovered References.

Tue., Feb. 16, 2010:  Photograph of Only Known 19th Century Women's Baseball Team in Pelham, New York.Fri., Apr. 16, 2010:  Formation of the City Island Beldonites Baseball Club in June 1884 

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

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

Mon., Dec. 14, 2009:  Baseball Games Played by the City Island Shamrocks in 1889.  

Fri., Dec. 11, 2009:  Earliest Reference Yet to Baseball Played in Pelham.  

Thu., Dec. 10, 2009:  More 19th Century Baseball and Firefighting References. 

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

Wed., Nov. 25, 2009:  Even More Early References to Baseball Played in Pelham.

Tue., Nov. 24, 2009:  Yet Another Reference to Early Baseball in Pelham.

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

Fri., Nov. 20, 2009:  More Accounts of Early Baseball Played in Pelham.

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

Thur., Nov. 12, 2009:  More Early References to Baseball Played in Pelham.

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

Fri., Mar. 20, 2009:   Another Reference to 19th Century Baseball in Pelham.

Tue., Mar. 4, 2008:   Another Brief Reference to 19th Century Baseball in Pelham.

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

Wed., Nov. 21, 2007:  Baseball on Travers Island During the Summer of 1897.

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

Fri., Nov. 10, 2006: The Location of Another Early Baseball Field in Pelham.

Mon., Oct. 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.

Thu., Mar. 23, 2006:  Baseball Fields Opened on the Grounds of the Westchester Country Club in Pelham on April 4, 1884.  

Tue., Jan. 31, 2006:  Another Account of Baseball Played in Pelham in the 1880s Is Uncovered.  

Thu., Oct. 6, 2005:   Does This Photograph Show Members of the "Pelham Manor Junior Base Ball Team"?

Thu., Sep. 15, 2005:  Newspaper Item Published in 1942 Sheds Light on Baseball in 19th Century Pelham.  

Thu., Feb. 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.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."