Early baseball in Mississippi/Club 15
From SABR Encyclopedia
| Spread of baseball: Home -> Mississippi -> Early baseball in Mississippi/Club 15 |
| Location | Mississippi |
|---|---|
| Year | 1864 |
| Month | 11 |
| Note on date | Thanksgiving Day |
| City | Vicksburg |
| State | MS |
| Nickname | Mississippi Valley BBC |
| First in Mississippi | Yes |
| Found by | Bruce Allardice |
The "Spirit of the Times," Dec. 17, 1864, reports on a Thanksgiving Day game in Vicksburg between two nines of the Mississippi Valley BBC. Wentz's nine lost to Tawne's nine, 18 to 6. The article gives a complete box score with the players' names. Note--Julian A. Wentz (1842-1914) was a civilian railroad man born in NY, who came to Vicksburg during the civil war to help run the military railroads there. It is presume that the other ballplayers were civilian government employees. The Vicksburg Daily Times, November 13, 1866, reports: “A game of Base Ball came off yesterday at the Arsenal grounds…. Messrs. Wentz and Borden were captains of the rival sides.” The New Orleans Times, December 27, 1866 says the Mississippi Valley Base Ball Club of Vicksburg has come to New Orleans to play. Note--H. and W. Borden played in the 1864 game cites above.
Vicksburg (1910 pop. about 14,800) is on the Mississippi River about halfway up the state's western border and about 40 miles W of Jackson, which is near the center of the state.
Sources
Spirit of the Times, Dec. 17, 1864; Vicksburg Daily Times, November 13, 1866
