Early baseball in Mississippi/Game 1
From SABR Encyclopedia
| Spread of baseball: Home -> Mississippi -> Early baseball in Mississippi/Game 1 |
| Location | Mississippi |
|---|---|
| Year | 1866 |
| Month | 11 |
| Date | 12 |
| City | Vicksburg |
| State | MS |
| Country | US |
| Site | Arsenal Grounds |
| Was NY rules baseball | Likely |
| Played by | Unknown |
| Team 1 | Wentz's nine |
| Team 2 | Borden's nine |
| Found by | Bruce Allardice |
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.” This is the first verified game I've found, though McCain's "Jackson" claims some games were played there in 1866 also. And see Vicksburg for an 1864 game played there. It is unclear whether this was an "army" game or a civilian game. Julian A. Wentz and H. Borden are the captains named above.
Vicksburg (pop. about 26,000) 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
Vicksburg Daily Times, November 13, 1866
