Summer 2020 - Item detail
Circa 1870s Brookside Nine Baseball Club of Pennsylvania Silver Trophy Baseball
- Sold For:
- $9,900
- Year:
- 1883
- Auction:
- 2020 Summer
- Lot #:
- 1821
- Category:
- Pre-1900 Baseball Memorabilia
Beginning in the 1860s, the ultimate prize for a victorious team in an organized baseball tournament was a silver ball. Today, silver balls, which were the earliest formal baseball trophies, are scarce and seldom appear at public auction. This particular silver ball, which was presented to the Brookside Nine Base Ball Club, is one of those few survivors. The design of the ball (9.125 inches in circumference) replicates the stitch pattern of a figure-eight baseball from the era and bears an engraved inscription on the front that reads: "Presented by/Wm Thompson/Post No. 174/G. A. R./to the/Brookside Nine/B. B. C." The ball remains in Near Mint condition and is easily one of the finest examples we have ever seen, let alone offered.
While we do not have much information regarding the Brookside Nine B. B. C., we did uncover an 1883 newspaper article that mentions a Brookside Base Ball Club of Tower City, Pennsylvania. Research also indicates that the William Thompson Post 174 of the G. A. R. was also located in Tower City, Pennsylvania. (G. A. R. stands for Grand Army of the Republic.) The post was named after Private William Thompson, a member of Co. G, 96th Pennsylvania Infantry, who died during the Civil War at Frederick, MD, on 18 Dec. 1862. The fact that the Brookside club won this ball means it was one of the top teams from the area. Teams did not purchase their own silver balls to commemorate important victories; they were prizes to be won and were always awarded by outside parties or organizations. In that way they differ significantly from the gold-painted trophy balls from the era, which were game balls from the match that were elaborately decorated and given to the victorious club for display in their clubhouse. The announcement that a silver ball would be presented to the winner of a match game conferred a special status upon that contest and always served to increase fan interest. In that manner, it was also an effective promotional tool for the organization or individual offering the silver trophy ball.
We should point out that just because the article we found was from 1883, it does not necessarily date the trophy ball to that year. It stands to reason that the Brookside Base Ball club was founded much earlier than that and this ball may have been presented to the club years or even decades earlier. That is probably the case, since the presentation of silver trophy balls was most common during the 1860s and early 1870s. We have seen very few examples dating from the 1880s or 1890s. As previously mentioned, all silver trophy balls are exceedingly rare. The explanation for their great scarcity is probably a combination of several factors: 1) Each silver trophy ball represented a special tournament or even an entire season of games for an organized league; therefore, relatively few were ever needed for presentation; 2) They were very expensive. One 1860s advertisement quoted a price of $10 for a silver ball. That was a lot of money at that time, and this alone probably caused many baseball tournaments and leagues to pass on the purchase of a silver ball; and 3) The tradition of awarding a silver trophy ball was almost exclusively associated with the 1860s and early 1870s, which naturally resulted in only a limited number produced. Also, because they were made out of silver, most silver trophy balls probably fell victim to being melted down over the years. All of these factors make the survival of any silver trophy ball unlikely. Reserve $1,000. Estimate (open).
While we do not have much information regarding the Brookside Nine B. B. C., we did uncover an 1883 newspaper article that mentions a Brookside Base Ball Club of Tower City, Pennsylvania. Research also indicates that the William Thompson Post 174 of the G. A. R. was also located in Tower City, Pennsylvania. (G. A. R. stands for Grand Army of the Republic.) The post was named after Private William Thompson, a member of Co. G, 96th Pennsylvania Infantry, who died during the Civil War at Frederick, MD, on 18 Dec. 1862. The fact that the Brookside club won this ball means it was one of the top teams from the area. Teams did not purchase their own silver balls to commemorate important victories; they were prizes to be won and were always awarded by outside parties or organizations. In that way they differ significantly from the gold-painted trophy balls from the era, which were game balls from the match that were elaborately decorated and given to the victorious club for display in their clubhouse. The announcement that a silver ball would be presented to the winner of a match game conferred a special status upon that contest and always served to increase fan interest. In that manner, it was also an effective promotional tool for the organization or individual offering the silver trophy ball.
We should point out that just because the article we found was from 1883, it does not necessarily date the trophy ball to that year. It stands to reason that the Brookside Base Ball club was founded much earlier than that and this ball may have been presented to the club years or even decades earlier. That is probably the case, since the presentation of silver trophy balls was most common during the 1860s and early 1870s. We have seen very few examples dating from the 1880s or 1890s. As previously mentioned, all silver trophy balls are exceedingly rare. The explanation for their great scarcity is probably a combination of several factors: 1) Each silver trophy ball represented a special tournament or even an entire season of games for an organized league; therefore, relatively few were ever needed for presentation; 2) They were very expensive. One 1860s advertisement quoted a price of $10 for a silver ball. That was a lot of money at that time, and this alone probably caused many baseball tournaments and leagues to pass on the purchase of a silver ball; and 3) The tradition of awarding a silver trophy ball was almost exclusively associated with the 1860s and early 1870s, which naturally resulted in only a limited number produced. Also, because they were made out of silver, most silver trophy balls probably fell victim to being melted down over the years. All of these factors make the survival of any silver trophy ball unlikely. Reserve $1,000. Estimate (open).