Early baseball in Michigan/Club 11
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| Spread of baseball: Home -> Michigan -> Early baseball in Michigan/Club 11 |
| Location | Michigan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1870 |
| City | Benton Harbor |
| State | MI |
| Country | US |
| Nickname | Wolverines |
| Found by | lem |
"Previous to 1870, base ball was unknown in the villages of Michigan. . . . The first base ball club organized in Benton Harbor was known as the Wolverines. It was made up of the boys and young men of the village." [11 members are listed.] This club was organized in the year 1870. The members were: [11 names]. . . .
"In Benton Harbor the games were played on the Morton ball ground on Morton Hill."
"A favorite ball ground was the one near the old Congregational Church on East Main Street. . . . When playing practice games on this ground a few of the players would occasionally bat the ball to the top of the hill. Luck Hackley (light negro) had more home runs of this kind to his credit than any other player. . . . Luck Hackley was the most popular base ball man in the village."
Benton Harbor MI's pop. in 1870 was about 651. The town is about 180 directly W of Detroit, and on Lake Michigan.
Benton Harbor is near Lake Michigan in the southwestern corner of the state; it is about 35 miles N of South Bend IN and about 45 miles W of Kalamazoo MI.
Sources
James Pender, History of Benton Harbor and Tales of Village Days (Braun Printing, Chicago, 1915), pages 72ff. Accessed 2/28/2010 via Google Books search ("history of benton harbor").
