Richmond Club of Richmond

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Nick Name

Richmond

Earliest Known Date

Thursday, July 12, 1866

Location

Richmond, VA, United States

Nine Class

Senior

Description

The Richmond Dispatch, July 12, 1866, reports that the Richmond BBC will have its first match game that day, on grounds opposite Elba Park [bsa]

"After the War, the first club was formed in 1866 by Captain Alexander Babcock, profession given as ice dealer. The Richmond Club practiced on a vacant lot (there were a LOT of those in postwar Richmond!) at Franklin and Harrison, near the VCU campus today. Soon thereafter we had the Church Hill Lone Stars, the Union Hill Ashbys, and the Manchester Alerts. Aggressively Confederate names, at least the first two, but they were countered by the Union Club, comprising employees of the military occupation government."

Daniel, Baseball in Richmond, says that on Nov. 23, 1866 the Spottswood Club beat the Richmond Club 102-76 for the city championship.

On Aug. 2, 1866, the Richmond Club lost to the Ashby Club 43-34 in 8 innings (called because of darkness). The Richmond Dispatch Aug. 2, 1866 says this game was played on the Richmond grounds, near Elba Park. The Richmond Times, Aug. 4, 1866, has a box score.

At the 1867 state baseball convention Edward Cohen of the Richmond Club was elected president of the association.

Sources

Email, Bill Hicklin, 4 February 2016.

See also W. Harrison Daniel , Baseball in Richmond,

http://protoball.org/Baseball_and_Richmond:_A_History_of_the_Professional_Game._1884-2000.

The Richmond Dispatch, July 12, 1866

Comment

"Baseball didn't take root in Richmond until 1866, and the pioneer appears to have been Alexander Babcock, a New Yorker who played for Atlantic of Brooklyn in the 1850s, but went south and fought for the Confederacy, settling in Richmond after the war. He founded the Richmond Club, probably the first there, and then the Pastimes, which was a sort of City All-Stars and touring team." -- Bill Hicklin, 10/5/2020

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Query

Do we have a date for the foundation of this club?

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Found by

Bill Hicklin, Bruce Allardice

Entered by

Bruce Allardice

Win/Loss Records As Far As We Now Know

Warning: Users should not rely on a team's won-loss record as a reflection of its "standing" among all base ball clubs. Team schedules were not balanced, and a good record against mostly weak opponents does not signify a leading club.

Year	Games	Wins	Losses	Ties
1866	3 Played	2 Won	0 Lost	0 Tied
1867	1 Played	0 Won	0 Lost	0 Tied

Ballgames

Page	Date	City	State	Team 1	Team 2	Score	First in	Contributor
Ballgame	1866-08-02	Richmond	VA	Richmond Club of Richmond	Union Hill Ashbys Club of Richmond		Richmond, VA	Bill Hicklin
Ballgame	1866-10-13	Richmond	VA	Richmond Club of Richmond	Olympic Club of Richmond	52 - 49		Bill Hicklin
Ballgame	1866-11-23	Richmond	VA	Richmond Club of Richmond	Spottswood Base Ball Club of Richmond	102 - 76
Ballgame	1867-07-09	Ashland	VA	Ashland Club of Ashland	Richmond Club of Richmond			Bill Hicklin

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Players

Player	Years	Roles	Edit Association with Club
Alexander G. Babcock		Founder, Key Player

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Playing Fields

Field	Years	Edit Association with Club
Elba Park	1866

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Comments

Probably first BBC in Richmond.