baseballtourist

Do you know this man?

If so, you know that he is trouble. 4 months ago he didn't even know what a blog was...now he is critiquing mine! I haven't posted in a while, but have been busy. Bad excuse, maybe...but let me distract you...look at the hair on this kid!

July 27 - Jays ventured into Seattle to take on the M's for three before heading to Oakland. Marco Scutaro had 4 hits, Barajas smacked three into play and Alliteration Man got the win 11-4. Jays improve to 49-51.

July 28 - Scott Downs couldn't hold Ichiro and the Mariners in the 9th and the Bluebirds lose 4-3, dropping to 49-52.

July 29 - another squeaker and another one-run loss. The Doc (still a Jay) logged seven innings and took the 'L' after allowing three runs on 11 hits . He struck out six and walked none, his record slipping to 11-4 on the year. Two mistakes cost him: a solo home run to Jose Lopez in the fifth and a two-run double from Ken Griffey Jr. in the seventh. Jays fall to 49-53 and even Doc can't stem the bleeding.

July 31 - Scott Rolen is traded to the Reds....and while I am not surprised by this deal, his bat and defense will be missed.

After an off day, the Jays offense picks up but it is the lack of defense that brings them another loss...this time at the hands of the A's. Good nights by Lind and Hill are wasted by 3 errors and shaky pitching by Scott (North Van) Richmond. A's win 8-5...Jays slip to 49-54.

July ends with a whimper.

Aug 1- the Jays take one back, in one-run style as Cecil settles in after a tough start and the Jays edge the guys in gold and kelly green 6-5. Seasonal record still a tough to look at, 50-54.

Aug 2 - Two in a row! Hill hits (as usual)....Rios hits as well (wow!).Alliteration Man is looking like he has shot at the rookie of the year award as he gives up only 2 runs through 7 innings and the Jays win going away - 7-2. Inching closer to respectibility at 51-54.

Aug 4- After another off day /travel day, the birds fly home to Toronto to face the Yanks for two (why such a short series?). Doc is still with team and gives up 3 home runs for an uncharacteristic loss (5-3). Jays are stepping backwards - 51-55.

Aug 5 - Rzep had a great first 6 innings, but a bad 7th. Jays lose to the Bombers again. This time taking an 8-4 set back on the chin and slip to 51-56.

Aug 7 -   A cool Flashback Friday event - The Jays honour the Back-to-Back 1992 and 1993 WS Championship teams with a weekend of celebrations, past player intro's etc. The 2009 team don 1993 uni's with WS patches. This little bit of mojo along with a real off day (no traveling) doesn't help the team as they lose anther one, this time to the Orioles. Despite rare back to back dingers by Rios and Wells (really!) Alliteration Man gives up 4 runs and League allows another 3 to cross. Jays lose 7-5 and move to 51-57 overall.

Aug 8 -Cecil and Tallet grind it out and Lind and a surprising Rios combine for most of the offense. Jays take one back from the orange birds...winning 3-2 in the 10th, and improve to 52-57.

Aug 9 -Doc's back on form...allowing 2 earned runs through 8 innings pitched. Jays take the rubber match from Baltimore decidedly, 7-3 and inch upwards again to 53-57. Houston Astro's  outfielder Carlos Lee slugs his 300th career home run...joining fellow 'Stro's Berkman and Pudge, who also reached that lofty plateau this year.

Aug 10 - Alex Rios is gone to the White Sox. Picked up on waivers.

For the second time this season, the Jays give up a player (see BJ Ryan) while getting nothing in return. Unlike BJ, Rios has some upside and while he has been hot and cold (mostly cold) all season...getting a minor leaguer or two would have been good. It appears that his 70 million dollar salary was the obstacle to allow a trade, but did not disaude the Windy City Sox from picking him up.

Kate's, who has him on her fantasy team has this to say "the overall hotness factor of the team has slipped" but  she "is relieved to here that Doc is not gone". 

Busy night for milestones around the leagues as Troy Tulowitzki of the Rockies hit for the cycle tonight....legging out a triple in the 7th...that's the 6th time in 2009.

Vlad Guerrero of the Angles slugs his 400th career homer at home to the Rays.

Back to the Jays game - no rest this time as the team heads out to the Bronx and beat the Yanks 5-4. Third win in row (this is exciting stuff folks!) improves their record to 54-57.

Aug 11 - Lots of bombs in this one. Randy Ruiz, a journeyman 31 year old call up from AAA "Lost Wages" hits one out on Joba...but the Jays lose 7-5 and land at 54-58 over all.

Aug 12- Jays knock out 14 hits, twice the number that the pinstripers got, and even with another dinger by Ruiz, the Jays still lose. Dropping a 4-3 heart breaker in the 11th.

Can the Jays win in extra innings??? Doesn't look like it. They slip again - 54-59.

Aug 14 - The ever traveling Jays move on to the 'Trop" and take the opener from the Rays behind a great outing by Halladay. They win 5-2 and notch upwards to 55-59.

Felix Pye of the Orioles hits for the cycle...and doesn't even realize that he's done it.

Aug 15 - Haven't written about the 'Stache' in a while (may have mentioned Tallet and Tullet, but not Brian's lip appendage nor Ash's power alleys).

The 'Stache' resurfaced for the first start since July 25th and looked like Matthew returning to the soccer pitch - clean and ready to go, but actually, rather limp and unable to do the job! Brian gives up 5 runs in 5.2 innings and the Jays lose 8-3 to a surging Rays squad. Record is not good  - 55-60.

Aug 16 - passed over, former Jays' catcher - Greg Zaun made the team 'pay' for not renewing his contract in '09. Just over from the O's where he hit rarely (except against the Jays) he smacks a pinch hit Grand Slam to knock the wind out of League and the blue birds.

I watched this one (haven't been able to catch a game on the tube in a while) and it looked like Brandon severed it up on a platter for Zaunie. Jays lose 5-2 and fall again, to 55-61.

Good news - the team heads home for 9 games in 9 nights. Bad news - they play Boston, the Angels and the Rays again.

Jays on a bit of a roll, but I'm behind. SkyDome is 20 !

I have been watching the games and keeping up on the collecting hobby news, even monitoring the losing status of my MLB Fantasy team (damn that Matthew!).

The Jays have turned it around since last Friday..starting with a big win over Greinke and the Royals.

June 5 - Alliteration Man picked a great time to pull it together - going 7 great innings, scattering 5 hits and 3 runs. The Jays offense did what no team has been able to do to the KC ace...knock him out and hit a home run off him (2, in fact). Overbay (more on him later) and Lind took Zack yard, putting him out of the game after 5 innings, and having given up 7 earned. Greinke's ERA 'shot' up to 1.55 after the game! Jays improve to 31-26.

 

Need to mention that this weekend (in fact, the June 5th game) marked the 20th year of the Rogers Centre...formally called the SkyDome. Having worked in the stadium for 10 years, off and on and lived next door for a season...and having gone to countless events there, I have a fondness for the concrete and steel monstrosity. I also have some great  memories from the Jay's former home, 'The Mistake on the Lake" - the old 'Ex" as it was known. Ask me the one about Matt falling up the stairs into his pizza "Come on Jess!!".

 

June 5th was another of the Jays'  'Flashback Fridays'....I love the retro Jays uni's; especially the powder blues! Above is my Tony Fernandez, 1988 gamer (with some other Jays items), that is signed by the Dominican gold glove shortstop. Tony is a classic Jay and a standout player from my early days as a fan of the team. He played 17 years in the bigs, including 4 separate stops in Toronto (1983-1990, 1993, 1998-99 and 2001). He picked up a World Series ring in 1993, 4 gold gloves, 5 all star selections and was honoured with his name and number being added to the "Jays Level of Excellence".

1988 was a great year for Tony - 186 hits including 41 doubles, .287 batting average, a .971 fielding percentage, on his way to his 3rd gold glove of 4 in a row. Tony finished his career with 2276 hits and a .278 BA.

I just finished reading a interesting book entitled - 'EL BEISBOL - Travels Through the Pan-American Pastime',  By John Krich. It is written in 1989 and covers a baseball-loving writer's journeys through Latin America. Tony is highlighted, as is the 'shortstop factory' - Tony's hometown - San Pedro de Macoris.

 

Back to the Jays..and a loss to KC on June 6th - Scott Richmond of BC, looked great at the outset...allowing only one single to George's fantasy team member (that I recommended, no less) Callaspo. Scott was otherwise perfect through 4 innings. Didn't last...as the Royals got 5 runs in the 5th and took the game 6-2. Jays falter to 31-27 overall.

June 7th - enter Roy Halladay. Complete game. Shutout. 6 Ks. Done. Major League leading 10th win of the year. Lyle Overbay continued to look good - slugging a long shot of the top of Windows Restaurant in dead centre. I managed in Windows for a few years and this is a feat. Only happens a few times, if at all all season. Hill snaps his 0-25 slump with a home run of his own, and amazingly, still held the MLB hit lead despite the slide, in which his average dippedc from the .340's to just over .300. Great game to watch! Jays win 4-0 and move up to 32-37 on the campaign.

June 8 - Jays, with Casey Janssen on the mound, travel to hitter-friendly Arlington to face the Rangers for 4. Overbay earns 'MLB Player of the Week' nod (not THAT kind of player) - hitting at a .533 clip, with 2 impressive dingers and 8 ribbies. Adam Lind knocks 2 out of the park (of course, I sat him in my fantasy league for the first time all year...to give some 'hot' hitters a chance to shine...see what facing Ashley does to a man's mindset). Casey pitched well enough to win and the Jays hung on for a 6-3 victory (33-27).

June 9 -The Stache of Brian was dominating! Actually, the hairy appendage itself looked a little diminished in this game - kind of blending in with his chin stubble...but it piched well! 7 innings (tying his longest outing ever) and gave up 2 hits. Lind hit another big fly (good form the Jays, bad for my points) and Hill also knocked one out (good for Kates and also proving that the 0-25 snide is forgotten).Jays inch up to 34-27 on the season.

Another big test for Romero tonight...no let down after beating Greinke last week, the Alliteration Man must face Texas' Kevin Millwood.

7 in a Row - Stop the Bleeding! / Another Cycle for the Twinkies

May 22 - Jays and Cito return to Altanta for their first game of '09 Interleague play and Cito's first game at the helm since his Game 6 WS win in 1992. With Roy on the hill, the Jays looked to stop the mini losing streak and get back in the win column. No dice. The Doc pitched...well, Doc like (7 innings, 5 hits, ZERO earned runs), but had to be pulled as the Jays had not put any runs on the board either, and Roy was coming around to bat again. Carlson came on, gave up a quick double, a ground out(moving the runner to third) and a sac-fly. One run...no responding offense from the Jays....game over. With this hard luck loss (1-0), the team falls to 27-18.

 

Twins's right fielder Micheal Cuddyer smacks his first career cycle at home versus the Brew Crew. Only the 10th Twinkie ever (and the seconsd this year) to do so. He did it is 4 straight at-bats - homer, double, single and triple. 5 cycles were hit in 2008 and now, this season, there have been 4 through May 22.

May 23 - Casey Janssen gave the Jays almost what they needed...PROS: a non-rookie arm on the mound and one that ate up 6 innings. Despite coming back from AAA after a long rehab, Casey gave up 3 runs on 8 hits.....adequate, considering the Jays typically active offense this season. CONS: the offense didn't kick in until the 9th, staging a comeback - loading the bases, but falling short. Jays drop loss 4-3 and fall to 27-19 but cling to 1st place by 1/2 a game over the BoSox.

May 24 - Scott Richmond gives up two solo taters in the first, but settled down and lasted 5 innings. Frason and Camp then took a beating - (7 runs in the 7th) from the Braves and the Jays were done 10-2. 27-20 on the season and out if first place. Braves sweep at Turner Field. 

May 25 - Wow! This is worse than I feared! The pitching was good in today's afternoon tilt at Camden Yard, vs. the Orioles...but the batters haven't been able to cash in runners, despite banging out another 9 hits. Brian Talet's mustchace and his snappy, Memorial Day cap, drop to 2-3 with the 4-1 loss and the Jays continue their tumble to 27-21.

Jays Bats Die in KC / 4 No-Hitters in a Row / Hammerin' Hank Gets His Own HOF Room

The hits just keep on coming, but not last night, as the Jays mustered only 2, in a 7-1 loss to the surprising Kansas City Royals. Rookie pitcher David Purcey hasn't looked very comfortable out there this year and my biggest fears are being realized - that Jays hitters can't always make up for the weak (injury depleted) starting pitching.

 

An 18 year old Florida high school hurler pitches 4 no hit games in row and comes up short in his bid for 5.

Former Vancouver Canadians pitcher Tom Drees had 3 in one AAA season (including 2 back-to-back). I found 3 partially-team-signed baseballs at an antique show here in Vancouver. Each is from 1989, the year of Tom's feats and each has Tom's autograph on it.....I will post some pics later (note to self, this blog is too heavy on current themes and too short on vintage ones).

 

Great news if you are planning to tour the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown NY this summer - they have dedicated a room to one on my hero's, MLB's "real" all-time homer champ - Hammerin' Hank Aaron. This has only been done before for one other player - The Babe. I will post some of my Aaron stuff soon too...really.

BJ..what's up? Millar saves his bacon as jays move to 11-5 / Pitcher gets no respect

BJ Ryan is a huge man...I met him in the SkyDome Hotel when he first came to the team, so I wouldn't want him to hunt me down and stomp me....but, he sucks right now!

Handed a 3 run lead in the 9th, he coughed it up and was saved by Kevin Millar in the 11th, and 2, 2-run homers by Rod Barajas.

Weird moment for a new Rangers call-up...pitcher, Darren O'Day was added to the big club today and just made it to Toronto tonight, in time for the game. As the game went into extras, he was called upon and it was so unexpected, that the Rangers didn't even have a jersey made up for him. He had to wear #30, not his #56.   Adding insult, he gave up the hit that lost it for the Rangers too....talk about a rough night.

Jays lose when they really had a chance to win and drop to 10-5 on the season

The Dr. coughs up a rare loss. can't win 'em all. 

This pic was taken in the summer by our housemate, Erin. Erin and Andrea came to visit me at a antique show I set up for (and brought me a muffin!)

I was able to visit some of my sold memorabilia, unexpectedly today. I met a marketing partner in sunny New Westminster today and afterward I toured through a row of second hand/antiques stores in the "Royal City". In one, I saw several old jerseys that I sold at a sports show in Vancouver approx. 6 months ago. A gent from Kelowna bought my entire table from me and apparently some of the items have made it to New West (including a 1950's era minor league baseball uniform that I originally purchased in New West!.

The stuff really does get recycled.

1923 Babe Ruth Bat/ Another Cycle/ Shef Hits 500/ Jays Win One, Lose One and Win Another (9-4 on season)

I'm a little behind.....

The Yankees open their new stadium on Thursday and brought out a vintage, 1923 Babe Ruth game used bat...the one that he used to hit the first home run in the old stadium. The Bambino's lumber didn't help them, as they lost to the Indians.

Thursday night....the Doc and and a slam by Kevin Millar help the Jays pound the Twins again...moving the team to 8-3.

Friday...the Jays carried on the recent tradition of breaking out the retro baby blue uniforms for their Friday home games. Despite the cool rags, they lost to the Oakland A's.

ANOTHER cycle was hit...this time, by Jason Kubel of the Twins (had to get TO out of town first though).

Gary Sheffield hits his 500th career home run as a Met (in his first at bat) and the guy that grabbed it gave it back for nothing. Shef gave him 5 signed replica jerseys and some bats, but the ball may have been worth up to $100K. I would have held on to it for a while, at least.

On Saturday, while Kates, Agnes, Mark and I were biking the blossoms (I know....I missed a good game) Brian Tallet made his 'emergency" start and pitched very well and Lyle Overbay hit a timley 2 run dinger in the 12th...to take the Jays to 9-4.

Jays Pound Tigers 12-5 - Doc gets some run support

Halladay doesn't typically need more than a run or two to beat the opposition, and the offense doesn't usually give him much more......but tonight it was a very different mix.

 Lots of hits and runs and Roy was little off...giving up 6 hits and all 5 runs over 7 innings. Lind pokes one out and cranks in a career high 6 ribbies, and the rookie,  Snider goes deep too.....in fact, everyone in the lineup got at least one hit. Just the kind of offense Cito was looking for.  Check out the recap.

I like the added touch of the red maple leaf on the right sleeves of the jerseys. Apparently, this was Beeston's idea.....reminding the fans that with the Expos gone to Washington, the Jays are Canada's team...oh, and also, please buy more jerseys from the team store and online :)

What do 1950's comedians, Zack Hample and I have in common? Monster Gloves!

I stole this idea (not the glove..I paid for that) from Zack Hample. I love Zack's blog and really appreciated that he had a blast with this thing at a spring game in the sun last season (interacting with my Jays...none the less).

Zack used his charm and baseball smarts to add baseballs to his impressive collection...but he also employed the use of his "BIG GLOVE" (pictured here from Zack's site).

I'm bringing mine to San Fran at the beginning of May to the 3 Giants vs Rockies games (1st, 2nd and 3rd to be exact)  that Grant (aka wally or howie) and I are planning to watch.

Do I look like these guys? If so, It's OK...Fun is Good!

Canadians, Mounties, Beavers...Baseball in Vancouver is SO Canuck

I toured the BC Sports Hall of Fame last week and snapped some pics of various historical displays.

Vancouver Canadians - 1978-2009 (Moved from Triple A to Short Season, Single A Ball)

Game used/worn jersey, hats, balls and lots of stadium stuff..programs etc. Canucks hockey items in the same case? Why?

Vancouver Mounties - 1956-1962

Game? or souvenir signed balls, a game worn cap and a 1958 team presentation "trophy" bat plaque. I understand that the team used cracked bats to make these up.

Vancouver Beavers -Northwestern League 1908-1911, 1914-1917; Pacific Coast International League 1918, 1920-1921; Northwest International League 1919; Western International League 1922...with names like the "Canucks" and the "Vets" mixed in.

1913 NW League Champs Pennant

The Baseball Collector- Zack Hample- Heading to Toronto for Opening Day

(photo from zackhample.com)

I have recently posted about the gloves and bats in my collection, but I haven't mentioned that I also collect baseballs. Ok, I have a half dozen. Zack Hample has collected over 3,800 game used MLB baseballs!

Zack has caught some impressive taters - including Barry Bonds 724th career homer in San Diego, and the last home run ever hit by a Mets player at Shea Stadium and also two homeruns caught in consecutive games in the last week of MLB play in historic Yankee Stadium last year.

Zack is heading up to my old home town, Toronto, to kick off his own collecting season along with the MLB 2009 season in style. Toronto is hosting the Detroit Tigers for 4 games in early April and current Tiger, Gary Sheffield  is sitting on 499 career homeruns.

Check out Zack's Blog.

Baseball Mats...I mean Bats

Gotta love Mr. Tullett!

Matt and I took in a game at the Roger's Centre last April when I took a trip back to Toronto. This over-sized bat is on level 200 of the stadium, just below the Hard Rock Cafe. They need better security, as behaviour like this could wear off the names burnt into it - no one really....just the names of the 1992 World Series Champions.

Like gloves, I enjoy collecting vintage and game used bats. I've touched on index bats in a previous post.  Images of some others to follow in future posts....stay tuned!

Here's an over-sized "presentation" bat that Matt couldn't have his way with....

Baseball Glove Collecting. Do you like the smell of old leather?

This is a collection! "Mike**Mize" of Vintage Baseball Glove Forum fame is the owner of this amazing group of classic leather. Many eras of glove manufacturing are represented here.

I have framed and shadow-boxed a small group of my vintage gloves and Kates has used her installation skills to display them smartly in our apartment. I will add photos of some from my collection in later posts.

Baseball gloves were first used in the game of baseball in the 1870's, and even then the gloves were a far cry from the baseball gloves of today. At first, baseball gloves were designed only to pad the hands of the fielders so they could knock down the baseball - and were just a piece of leather padding that covered the palm of the hand (they had holes for the fingers to fit through!). The first players who wore gloves were even looked down upon for not being tough enough, but soon gloves became a standard piece of equipment. By the 1890's however, baseball gloves slowly began to resemble the larger gloves we are familiar with today.

 

 

Above: Fingerless baseball gloves from the 1870's - photo taken by baseballgloves.com

 

 

Above: A glove from the 1910's -1920's. Photo courtesy of Sports Artifacts

 

 

Above: A glove from the 1930's. Photo courtesy of Sports Artifacts

 

 

Above: A glove from the 1950's-60's. Photo courtesy of Sports Artifacts

At the BC Sports Hall of Fame ('80 Jays - Bailor, '80-Gretzky Oilers jerseys)

Uploaded by www.cellspin.net

HOW DO YOU DISPLAY THE ITEMS IN YOUR COLLECTION?

I want to put my stuff on display, and Katie has been more than supportive of that, but I am stuck for great ideas to keep it interesting, tasteful and uncluttered (see above, for an example of what I would say is too much at one time...all though, I love the bat rack!).

I would love to hear ideas and see examples of how you have integtrated your collection into your home, office etc.

The Faceless Ballplayer

 

Who is this mystery man?

From my collection - a large (10" by 6"), sepia photograph of a circa 1910 ball player. The cap has a "P" (possibly for Pittsburgh) on the front. Do you recognize him?

Many teams of this era didn't have logos, lettering or numbers on their uniforms top. Rumor has it that uniform numbers were first used in the 19th century, the earliest verified instance in which a team experimented with numbering its players occurred in 1907. Early that season, Alfred Lawson, manager of the Reading (Pennsylvania) Red Roses of the Atlantic League, decided to number his club’s uniforms. He did so in an effort to help fans identify the players. The plan was a sound one, but it is unknown if the club ever took the field with numbered jerseys.

Inspired by hockey’s and football’s use of uniform numbers, the Cleveland Indians became the first big league club to experiment with numbered uniforms when they took the field at League Park in Cleveland, on June 26, 1916, donning large numerals on their left sleeves. The experiment lasted just a few weeks that season and, after a brief trial the following year, was abandoned altogether. The numbers and corresponding names were listed in the club’s scorecards, and so, perhaps, this date also marked the first time a ballpark vendor called out: “Programs, get your programs". You can’t tell the players without a program.”

Not only were the Cleveland Indians the first big league club to wear uniform numbers, they were the first to wear numbers on the back of their jerseys. The practice has often been credited as originating with the New York Yankees in 1929, as the reigning World Champions were scheduled to open the season donning uniforms with the new numbering style. However, rain cancelled the Yankees’ April 16 home opener, while the Indians were blessed with clear skies that same day.

Back to my mystery man - a knowledgeable Net54 collector has guessed - Claude Hendrix, 1913 Pirates. Hendrix had an interesting career, with tie-ins to the 1919 Black Sox scandal and the upstart Federal League.

Lou Gehrig - Vintage Index Bat

(photo credit Corbis.com)

Index bats - an interesting and affordable area of baseball bat collecting.

I have a few game used MLB bats, received directly from players and have a few store/retail, player model bats of my all time heroes (Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson etc); but I am just beginning to learn about index bats.  Explanation of the term (thanks to Jeff Scott of www.birdbats.com):

“An index bat is one ordered by the team (major league or minor league affiliate) for use by any player.  For example, if the Yankees ordered G69 bats or K55 bats for use by pitchers or rookies, H&B would have sent them Gehrig (G69) or Mantle (K55) models” some “index bats can be identified because they don't match factory records -- for example, if a player only ordered 35" bats and your bat is 34", it's probably an index bat ordered by the team and not the player”

This is a great looking Lou Gehrig index bat from the 1950’s that I wanted to highlight.

 

(photo credit - Jeff Scott birdbats.com)

I also have an Adirondack-made Gehrig store model, but this index bat is probably the closest I will get to a Lou gamer.  Lou passed in 1941 and as this highlights the 1950’s-‘60’s Louisville Slugger manufacturing traits, this obviously was never in his hands.

As it a G69 it matches Lou’s preferred model number (G69 stamped on the end of the knob of the bat), and it is approx. 34 inches long (the shortest length that Lou might have used).

Was it ordered by a 1950’s Yankee player, or a Yank's minor leaguer? I will never know…but I still love the bat!

 

19th Century Baseball Equipment - from my collection

I don't have a lot from this era in my collection, but I have picked up some interesting 1880's-to-early turn of the century baseball equipment, and ephemera that I would like to share with you.

First Item (please see future posts for more!):

1882 Presentation or Trophy Baseball 

Great looking 1880's leather baseball with excellent period stitching (white, tight, double stitching), great patina, and clear ink inscription.

The ink writing indicates that this was a ball from a game played between Lewisburg and Mt. Joy - two towns in Pennsylvania, approximately 95 miles apart. 

The ball is dated Aug. 19th, 188? (it looks like a "2"....or possibly an "8". Aug 19th, 1882 fell on a Saturday...a likely day of the week for a big match; while Aug 19th, 1888 was a Sunday, and it’s unlikely that the game was played on the Sabbath. In fact, I learned from reading another great baseball book (and also another great Xmas gift from Katie!) -. "The Echoing Green: The Untold Story of Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca, and the Shot Heard Round the World"  by Joshua Prager ; that Sunday baseball was outlawed in PA until the 1930’s and then only allowed until an hour after sunset right through 1951 at least.

(Things have changed!)

It also reads “Umpire W.W. Fisher” on one panel and, "Lwb 3 Mt. Joy 0" on another and also "3 inn." on another (short game!).

I have contacted the Historical Society in each town and asked for newspaper research support in the hope that this game may have been publicized, but have come up empty thus far.