Auction Item Details
Lot 657a
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Lot Number: 657
Description: Scarce Civil War era inscribed Massachusetts style trophy baseball and related Civil War diary c.1864. Black leather 9" diameter four piece lemon peel style baseball with a period inscription on two side panels, "22nd MASS REGIMENT UNION Feb. 2, 1864 U.S.A.". The 22nd Mass. regiment fought in many of the War's most important battles, including Chancellorsville, Gainsville and Gettysburg, where on July 2, 1863 they participated in some of the heaviest and most important fighting in 'The Wheatfield.' Additional gravity is added to the ball's historical importance given the proximity in time to the unit's experiences on Gettysburg's battlefields and Virginia's baseball field. The baseball may also be considered a "true" example of a ball created specifically under the rules of the "Massachusetts game," which allowed runners to be thrown out when struck by a baseball, rather than tagged out as in the "New York game." Ball exhibits typical age and usage wear remaining intact and fairly clean overall: EX. Includes Civil War diary of H.E. Randell of Co. L, 3rd Regiment of the New York Cavalry, acquired separately from the ball. Although the author, H.E. Randell, was in Co. L, 3rd Regiment of the New York Cavalry, research indicates that the two regiments were camped in reasonably close proximity in Virginia in February 1864, an unlikely time for baseball play. The multi-page handwritten diary gives a highly literate soldier's accounts of life in the field during the Civil War. Randell's entry for Feb. 2, 1864 reads, in part, "Played Base Ball nearly all day and experienced a "chapter" of accidents. Got a severe blow with ball in the face, and a finger almost broken......for it is a healthful sport and quite exciting." Randell's reference to being struck by the ball also corroborates the contention that the game, played between New York and Massachusetts regiments, was played under Massachusetts rules. Diary remains very clean housed in its original leather casing: EX. Interesting pair of baseball items from the formative period of the game.
Estimated Price: ($3,000.00-$4,000.00)
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