1869.13
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George Wright Joins the Cincinnati Club
Salience | Noteworthy |
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Tags | FamousFamous |
Location | |
City/State/Country: | Cincinnati, OH, United States |
Modern Address | |
Game | Base BallBase Ball |
Immediacy of Report | Contemporary |
Age of Players | AdultAdult |
Holiday | |
Notables | |
Text | In late February 1869, the Sunday Mercury reported that prominent player George Wright had joined the Cincinnati base ball club. The 22-year-old, already counted among the most proficient players in the game; playing for New York's Union club in 1868, he had averaged four runs (and over seven hits) per game, and Henry Chadwick cited him as the best "general player" in base ball. George Wright was only 22 years old in 1869, but had already had a variety of base ball experiences. Born into a prominent family of athletes (his father was a NYC club pro, and his older brother Harry played cricket and base ball, and was the player-manager of the famous Cincinnati championship club). Wright's business was base ball. "Arranged employment and waived club dues had been considered acceptable evasions of the NABBP rule forbidding compensation since its adoption in 1859," and at age 19 he played on his brother Harry's Gotham Club in 1863 and 1864. His subsequent migrations: Age 16-17 (1863-4) -- He played in the outfield of the Gotham Club in New York Age 18 (1865) -- He caught for the Olympic Club of Philadelphia, and also subbed for that city's Keystone Club on its NYC visit. He then moved back to the Gotham, scoring 4 runs a game, and earning Chadwick's nod as the best catcher in the game. Age 19 (1866) -- He started the year with the Gotham Club, playing in mostly intramural games, and then decided to move to the first-tier Union Club of Morrisania, which compiled a better record that the year's unofficial champions, the Atlantics, and he became its shortstop. Age 20 (1867) He moved to Washington and the National Base Ball Club, nominally serving with seven teammates as clerks in the Treasury Department. The National Club won 25 of its first 30 games, and undertook a tour to the West, including two games against his brother Harry's Cincinnati club. Age 21 (1868)
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Sources | Robert Tholkes, "The Young and the Restless: George Wright 1865-1868." Baseball Research Journal, Fall 2016, pp. 95-101. |
Warning | |
Comment | Bob Tholkes' thorough 2016 paper [cited below] throws welcome light on the nature of elite base ball in period immediately following the Civil War, a period also associated with the rise of "Base Ball Fever" during which local clubs, representing individual companies, affinity groups, etc., formed clubs, some of which playing at sunrise [as early as five o'clock AM], prior to the work day.
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Source Image | [[Image:|left|thumb]] |
External Number | |
Submitted by | Robert Tholkes |
Submission Note | Publication, November 2016 |
Has Supplemental Text |
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