Scott Carpenter
Centennial Exhibition in 1876
Methodology
So far I researched baseball in the year 1876 by using many resources. First, I went to the Archives and Special Collections in the library and saw what information they have on baseball at Dickinson College in the year 1876. When I got there I was fortunate to see that there were two very valuable resources I can use. First, an athletic director from many years ago, W.J. Gobrecht wrote a book titled 125 Years of Dickinson Baseball. I found this book to be very useful. IN addition I also found a paper written by Heather Thompson titled Dickinson Baseball 1867-1900. In this book I found more interesting facts that could be used in my paper. I lastly looked in the Dickinsonian and found an article written up on the baseball team and a game they had won. From all these sources I found that I need local newspapers from that time period, which I hope to find either when I go back to the Archives or when I go to the Cumberland County Archives.
I also used the library catalogue to find many books written about the beginnings of baseball. This helps me with background information that could be used in the long run. In addition I found many books contained unique and helpful facts about the beginnings of baseball and the Philadelphia region. I also looked on the shelves that the books were on and found other books that were helpful. Some of these books include Glory Fades Away, by Lansche, and A Century of Baseball Lore, by Thorn.
Another way I researched baseball in 1876 was by looked at online databases. Some of the online databases I searched were Proquest’s historical newspaper articles, 19th Century newspaper articles, America History & Life, as well as other. I found a lot of articles pertaining to baseball in 1876 and either Pennsylvania or Philadelphia. Although these articles provide background information as well, they are also helpful in the specifics of Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. Some of the articles are found in the Dickinson print journals and I will look through the print journals to see if there is any more information on baseball that did not come up when I searched through the library catalogue.
I still have a lot of research to go; I plan on searching through more databases, going to the Cumberland County Archives, and going back through methods I was already used to see if I missed anything.
After my research, I plan to make an outline of what I am going to write in the paper. After my outline I will write a couple of drafts, have the drafts revised and then finally produce my final draft.
Context
On February 2, 1876 the MLB or Major League Baseball was founded by William Ambrose Hubert. The formation of Major League Baseball was a culmination of club teams who wanted to franchise the sport. With its growing popularity, ambitious men such as Hubert sought to make money and gain status through a professional league. On April 22 that same year the first major league game was played by Boston and Philadelphia, Boston won 6-5. By June 24, 1876, a full slate of games was set to play for that summer.
In response to its growing popularity, baseball came to Dickinson College early. At Dickinson, baseball is the oldest known athletic team on record started with club teams dating back to 1867. These club teams played against local Carlisle teams at the Fairgrounds.
Focus
For this paper, I am going to write about baseball at Dickinson College and the Philadelphia region in the year 1876. The title I am looking at is temporarily, “The Beginnings of Baseball in Philadelphia and Dickinson College.” This is a very broad topic because as of now I have a very broad knowledge of the topic. However, as time goes on I hope to narrow it down.
In this paper, I hope to examine the life and times of the year 1876 in regards to sports. This was the year that Major League Baseball was founded and I aim to look at how this impacted college life, as well as life in Carlisle and Philadelphia.
Significance
Baseball today is known as America’s favorite past time and I think that it is important to know how it got to be like that. In addition, by focusing the paper on a small area, it is easier to look at the impact the sport had on the lives of everyday people rather than just the players. In addition, 1876 was the year of the country’s centennial in addition to the year that the MLB was founded. It is very important to examine the lives and the up and comings of baseball in relation to the centennial of the nation’s birth.
Bibliography (so far)
Thompson, Heather. “Dickinson Baseball 1867-1900.” 16 May 1995, Essays History 1995, T472d, Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA.
Grobrecht, Wilbur, J. “125 Years of Dickinson Baseball History.” 1952, G575b, Archives and Special Collections, Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA.
Lansche, Jerry. Glory Fades Away: the Nineteenth Cenutry World Series Rediscovered. Dallas, Tex. : Taylor Pub. Co., 1991.
Thorn, John. A Century of Baseball Lore. New York, Hart Pub. Co., 1974.
Seymour, Harold. Baseball. New York: Oxford University Press, 1960.
Ward, Geoffrey C. Baseball: an Illustrative History. New York : A.A. Knopf : Distributed by Random House, 1994.
Church, Seymour Roberts. Base ball; the history, statistics and romance of the American national game from its inception to the present time. Princeton: Pyne Press, 1964.
THE DIAMOND SQUARED :And an Honest Base-Ball Association Born into the World, Which Required that the Philadelphia and Like Clubs Be Disfellowshiped. Grand Council of Delegates from the Representative Clubs at New York. Adoption of Constitution and Rules for the Centennial Year. Progress of the Female Pedestrians at the Second Regiment Armory. BASE-BALL. A NEW ERA. THE CONFERENCE THE FINANCIAL QUESTION OUT DOWN THE NUMBER OF CLUES CONSIDERED IN DETAIL. A CHICAGO COMMENT. THE HISTORY OF THE NEW MOVEMENT. ANNOUNCEMENT.. (1876, February 4). Chicago Daily Tribune (1872-1963),p. 5.
Zingg, Paul J. “Diamond in the Rough: Baseball and the Study of American Sport History.” The History Teacher 19, no. 3 (1986): 385-403. (America History and Life)
Regalado, Samuel Octavio. “Base Lines and Beyond: The National Past Time and Its Meanings.” Reviews in American History 31, no. 2 (2003): 298-306.
Eckard, E. Woodrow. “Team Promotion in Early Major League Baseball and the Origin of the Closed Sports League.” Explorations in Economic History 42, no.1 (2005): 122-152. Timeline At this point I plan to work diligently and get this project done either by the time it is due or before that.
