Early baseball in North Carolina/Club 16

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Spread of baseball: Home -> North Carolina -> Early baseball in North Carolina/Club 16

Location	North Carolina
Year	1876
Month	5
Date	13
Modern address	Salisbury NC
City	Salisbury
State	NC
Nickname	Surprise
Found by	Bruce Allardice

Baseball games were played in 1863, and perhaps 1862, at the Salisbury POW camp. See “Base Ball,” Spring 2011, page 152. Some sources say the Confederate guards occasionally joined in on the games.

But it does not appear that viewing the POW games spurred the locals to play baseball themselves. The first notice I can find is the Gold Hill club beating the “Surprise” of Salisbury May 13, 1876, 21 to 14. Salisbury Carolina Watchman, May 4, May 11, May 18, 1876.

Salisbury NC (current pop. about 33,500)is about 40 miles SW of Winston-Salem NC. Gold Hill NC (current pop. unknown) is about 15 miles SE of Salisbury NC.

Sources

Salisbury Carolina Watchman, May 4, May 11, May 18, 1876.