Early baseball in New York (state)/Club 3
From SABR Encyclopedia
| Spread of baseball: Home -> New York (state) -> Early baseball in New York (state)/Club 3 |
| Location | New York (state) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1857 |
| City | Buffalo |
| State | NY |
| Country | US |
| Nickname | Niagaras |
From Protoball Entry #1857.21 – Buffalo NY Sees its First Club
"The first organized, uniform team was the Niagaras who played their first games in 1857 . . . . The Niagaras were, of course, strictly an amateur nine. They played their first games after 'choosing up' among themselves, and then [later] played matches against other Buffalo nines as they became organized"
Overfield, Joseph, 100 Seasons of Buffalo Baseball (Partner's Press, Kenmore NY, 1985), page 17. Overfield does not cite a source. Originally provided by Priscilla Astifan, email of 12/7/2007.
The Niagara Club of Buffalo is listed as an NABBP member for the first and last time in 1860. M. Wright, The NABBP, page 53.
In 1859 the club "retained the informal city championship by besting the [Buffalo] Eries" They declined, however, to accept a challenge from the Live Oak Club of Rochester: "The Niagaras maintained that they did not have to accept the challenge because the Live Oaks hadn't established themselves as Rochester's best club." (Base Ball Pioneers, page 102.)
Peter Morris, citing Overfield, dates the first modern game in Buffalo to an intramural game of the Niagara Club at August 26, 1858.
Sources
Overfield, Joseph, 100 Seasons of Buffalo Baseball (Partner's Press, Kenmore NY, 1985), page 17.
Peter Morris' source is given as Overfield, "Baseball in Buffalo Before the Civil War," Niagara Frontier, Summer 1964.
See Peter Morris, "Niagaras of Buffalo," in P. Morris et. al., Base Ball Pioneers (McFarland, 2012), pp. 101-115.
