Reports of baseball games from during the Civil War...
Item # 709903
July 05, 1862
WILKES' SPIRIT OF THE TIMES, New York, July 5, 1862
* Civil War era baseball reporting
Over one-third of page 4 has: "Base Ball" reports with details of five games and box scores for 3 of them. Uncommon to find much baseball reporting from during the Civil War.
Sixteen pages, 11 by 16 inches, some foxing and light damp staining, otherwise good.
background: This specific issue of Wilkes’ Spirit of the Times serves as a vital historical bridge, proving that baseball’s "National Pastime" status was being forged even as the Civil War reached a bloody crescendo. Published just as the Peninsula Campaign was faltering in Virginia, the inclusion of five detailed game reports and three box scores highlights a resilient urban sporting culture that refused to be sidelined by the conflict. These reports likely capture the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) era, featuring storied amateur clubs like the Brooklyn Atlantics or the Eckfords, and utilize archaic statistical categories such as "hands out" and "runs." Because much of the era's newsprint was dedicated to casualty lists and troop movements, this July 5, 1862, edition is a rare primary source that documents the survival of the New York Game, illustrating how the sport provided a necessary social tether for a public seeking a momentary reprieve from the anxieties of the rebellion.
* Civil War era baseball reporting
Over one-third of page 4 has: "Base Ball" reports with details of five games and box scores for 3 of them. Uncommon to find much baseball reporting from during the Civil War.
Sixteen pages, 11 by 16 inches, some foxing and light damp staining, otherwise good.
background: This specific issue of Wilkes’ Spirit of the Times serves as a vital historical bridge, proving that baseball’s "National Pastime" status was being forged even as the Civil War reached a bloody crescendo. Published just as the Peninsula Campaign was faltering in Virginia, the inclusion of five detailed game reports and three box scores highlights a resilient urban sporting culture that refused to be sidelined by the conflict. These reports likely capture the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) era, featuring storied amateur clubs like the Brooklyn Atlantics or the Eckfords, and utilize archaic statistical categories such as "hands out" and "runs." Because much of the era's newsprint was dedicated to casualty lists and troop movements, this July 5, 1862, edition is a rare primary source that documents the survival of the New York Game, illustrating how the sport provided a necessary social tether for a public seeking a momentary reprieve from the anxieties of the rebellion.
Category: Yankee
