In Toronto on 13 April 1803

From Protoball
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Pre-pro Baseball
Magnolia-ball-club.png

Add a Ballgame
Add a Predecessor Game
Add a Field
Add a Club
Add a Player
Add a Game Official

Base Ball Firsts
Add a Base Ball First

About Pre-pro
Waff's Game Tabulation
Bob Tholkes RIM Tabulation

Awaiting Review
Date of Game Wednesday, April 13, 1803
Game "Playing Ball"
Location Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Has Source On Hand No
Description

From William Humber, manuscript "Early Canadian Baseball," 9/14/12:

The diary of Ely Playter found in the Public Archives of Ontario contains the following notation from Wednesday 13 April 1803 at which time, "I went to Town [what we now know as downtown Toronto]...walk'd out and joined a number of Men jumping & Playing Ball, perceived a Mr. Joseph Randall [a farmer near Newmarket in Whitchurch Township, about 40 miles north of downtown Toronto] to be the most active...". Playter operated Abner Miles' tavern in the new community of York which in 1834 was incorporated as the City of Toronto. These extracts from Ely Playter's Diary, from the Public Archives of Ontario, as recorded on p. 248, ed. Edith G. Firth, The Town of York 1793-1815, A Collection of Documents of Early Toronto, (University of Toronto Press, 1962) are no doubt legitimate, but whether the “Men jumping and Playing Ball” were actually playing an early baseball-type game, as opposed to something perhaps closer to primitive football, cannot be ascertained. The influence for the play if it is of a baseball-type is most likely British.

Sources

Original source: Ely Playter's Diary, from the Public Archives of Ontario, as recorded on p. 248, ed. Edith G. Firth, The Town of York 1793-1815, A Collection of Documents of Early Toronto, (University of Toronto Press, 1962)

Comment

Ontario was "Canada West" at this point.

Edit with form to add a comment
Query Edit with form to add a query
Submitted by Bill Humber
Entry Origin Sabrpedia



Comments

<comments voting="Plus" />