Early baseball in Ohio/Club 5
From SABR Encyclopedia
| SABR Origins Committee project on the |
Spread of baseball |
|---|
 |
| Key pages |
| Project home page Project map History of early baseball Research needs in the spread of baseball |
| Lists |
| Earliest games by state Earliest clubs by state All games ยท All clubs Predecessor games Other firsts in baseball |
| Help |
| Researching early baseball Submitting research online |
| Spread of baseball: Home -> Ohio -> Early baseball in Ohio/Club 5 |
| Location | Ohio |
|---|---|
| Year | 1866 |
| Note on date | "1865 or 1866" |
| Modern address | Belle Center OH |
| City | Belle Center |
| State | OH |
| Country | US |
| Nickname | Eagle Base Ball Club of Belle Center |
"When the soldiers returned from the civil war in 1865 and 1866, many of them still young and vigorous, they entered with zest into the new and popular game of base ball . . . . Among the first base ball clubs organized in the vicinity of the College was the "Eagles" of Belle Center, whose fame was well merited, as they were seldom defeated in the popular game."
This was evidently a local club unconnected to Geneva College, but that played "with and against" the college team later on.
An 1866 roster of the 9 modern positions is listed.
Belle Center (current pop. about 800), in western OH, is about 50 miles NW of Columbus.
Sources
W. Glasgow, The Geneva Book (Westbrook, Philadelphia, 1908), page 155.
