(SPORTS--BASEBALL.) Photographs, ephemera, and equipment from the Anglo-American Baseball Association. 12 items: 8 photographs, a program, a bat, and 2 gloves; various conditions. London, 1927-1929 and undated
As part of the long effort to spread baseball throughout the globe, the Anglo-American Baseball Association was founded in 1918 by expatriates hoping to develop an English audience for the American national game. Games were played at the Stamford Bridge Grounds in the western part of London, which was (and is) the home of the venerable Chelsea Football Club. Many of the players were drawn from the crews of visiting American steamships and naval vessels. 19th-century American baseball star Arlie Latham was one of the founders of the league and served as the primary umpire.
This collection belonged to Irving Hedley "Eddie" Jones (1899-1980) of Califon, NJ, a 3rd Engineer on the S.S. Leviathan and third baseman for the New York Leviathans. It includes:
Program-scorecard for a 4 August 1929 match between the New York Leviathans and the London Americans. 24 pages, octavo; minor wear and a bit of rust at the staples. Includes a rudimentary introduction to the rules and strategies of baseball, a short notice of an impending visit by Ty Cobb, a scorecard listing all players and their home states (plus Umpire Latham), the year's schedule, and a stadium map on the rear wrapper.
8 photographs (6 period prints and 2 later copy prints), various sizes. Most are team or group photographs of the Leviathan / United States Lines team in uniform; most have extensive captioning on verso. One shows Jones standing alone in front of a primitive scoreboard in July 1927, while a copy print shows a batter swinging during a game in progress. Many of the players are identified in the captions; one explains that "this team mostly Engine Room personnel" and another identifies the players by their shipboard roles rather than their playing positions. Another dated July 1927 names all of the players, adding "We won 18-9."
Baseball bat, Spalding Frankie Frisch model, 34 inches long, handle wrapped with tape, with worn red, white and blue stripes on the barrel to match the stacks of the Leviathan; and two worn baseball gloves, with early tags identifying them as property of I.H. Jones of the S.S. Leviathan, 1927-1931.
