Oct 02, 2012 - Sale 2287

Sale 2287 - Lot 122

Price Realized: $ 1,200
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500
(BASEBALL.) Harris, Frank C. Manuscript records of three early amateur baseball clubs in Washington, and more. 9 non-continuous sheets disbound from a ledger, each 16 x 10 1/2 inches; some clippings and other memorabilia pasted in. Washington, DC, 1864-71
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By trade, Frank Cullio Harris (circa 1849-1897) was a Treasury clerk in Washington. In his off hours, he was a "joiner" on a grand scale. These pages document his service as secretary, treasurer, or member in at least eight different organizations, including Our Beloved Secret Friendship Corps, the Perseverance Socials, and most notably the Powhattan, Perseverance, and Arlington Base Ball Clubs.
The baseball content includes an undated membership list of the Powhattan Base Ball Club Officers and players of the Arlington Base Ball Club for 1870 and 1871, along with Harris's partly printed membership receipt, plus a summary explaining their final loss to the Mutual Club of D.C. ("This game busted us") Printed circular letter soliciting baseball, lacrosse, and cricket clubs to participate in a Grand Carnival, February 1871 Complete statistical summary for the Perseverance Base Ball Club for the 1867 season. Most of Harris's teammates did not go on to later fame in the baseball realm. One exception was Oscar Bielaski, who apparently appeared in one game with the Perseverance club (three outs, no runs), but later became the first Polish-American in the major leagues.
At the end are nine pages offering a detailed summary of 121 of Harris's friends and enemies from his various clubs over the years. For example, John Wheatley of the Perseverance Base Ball Club is described as "Member of the P.B.B.C. 1 Nine, an arbitrary boy, always getting in a fuss with some member of the club. He was one of the finest Junior pitchers in the city. Has gone west to seek his fortune." Bill Hurley of the Tenth Street Crowd was "an Irish aristocrat; his father deals in policy shops and keeps a nigger restaurant." Other notations read "soft on actresses," "has been married three times and deserted his wives," "one of the meanest contemptable boys I ever knew," "for whiskey he would steal anything he could lay his hands on." Abbreviations helpfully indicate which boys were deadbeats (DB), billiard sharps (BS), or shysters ($). Members of formal groups such as Senate pages and the Washington Zouaves are also indicated, as well as gangs such as the Young Mice, Cats, and Paris Pimps.
Anyone with an interest in baseball's early amateur era, or in the quirky side of urban youth culture just after the Civil War, will be sure to find hours of amusement in these pages.