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1883 SCORECARD
Q: I have a scorecard and it is in excellent condition for a game played May 12, 1883: HARVARD at YALE. It is scored by a knowledgeable baseball person at that time. My question is to the rarity and if the team players from that game did anything noteworthy in later years or perhaps made the bigs. I have included 3 scans to help. Many thanks in advance. » Click on any photo for a larger image.
-- Brent Daley
A: I have reviewed the nice scorecard from 1883 and would offer this information. The program itself is a nice example of an early scorecard. As with any artifact, particularly one of cardboard or heavy paper stock, condition is very important. From the photos, it looks like it is in nice condition and I am assuming that the pages are together ... that is, not detached. A college program neatly filled out is not what I would consider especially rare but it is what I would consider scarce. You must remember that baseball was played frequently in towns and on colleges by the 1880's so programs do pop up once in a while. I personally love scorecards because of their historical value and, well, they tell a nice story about the tenor of the times. I enjoy reading the advertisements and, as you can see, the design of the cover (in color no less!) is quite interesting. How significant is the item? A quick review of the particulars of the game do not show any particular significance but, of course, the two teams playing -- Yale against Harvard -- was a nice rivalry even back then!! There are no players on either team that distinguished themselves in the major league with the possible exception of "Cupid" Childs who played 13 years in the majors beginning in the mid-1880's. He was a great player but the "Childs" listed in the program as part of the Yale team may or may not be him. I have no idea whether "Cupid" ever was at Yale but it would be interesting if he was.
Back to top	-- Frank Ceresi Curator, National Sports Gallery fceresi@washsports.com

LEFT-HANDED CATCHERS
Q: My son has been chosen the catcher of his little league team. The only problem is, he's left-handed. We would like to know if there have ever been any left-handed catchers in the major leagues? If so, who were they and what teams did they play for? Thanks. Maybe this will give him some encouragement.
-- Kathy
Q: Have there been any left-handed catchers in the National League? My eighty-year-old dad asked me this last week. Any info would be helpful -- thank you.
-- Ben Ashton
A: Here's the list I have of left-handed catchers who played in the major leagues: » Jack Clements, 1,073 G, PHI-U 1884, PHI-N 1884-97, STL-N 1898, CLE-N 1899, BOS-N 1900 » Sam Trott, 272 G, BOS-N 1880, DET-N 1881-83, BAL-AA 1884-88 » Pop Tate, 202 G, BOS-N 1885-88, BAL-AA 1889-90 » Sy Sutcliffe, 186 G, CHI-N 1884-85, STL-N 1885, DET-N 1888, CLE-N 1890, CLE-P 1890, WAS-AA 1891 » Bill Harbidge, 128 G, HAR-N 1876-77, CHI-N 1878, TRO-N 1880-82, PHI-N 1883 » Mike Hines, 99 G, BOS-N 1883-84, 1888, BRO-AA 1885, PRO-N 1885 » John Humphries, 75 G, NY-N 1883, 1884, WAS-AA 1884 » Fred Tenney, 71 G, BOS-N 1894-1901 » Art Twineham, 52 G, STL-N 1893-94 » Phil Baker, 50 G, BAL-AA 1883, WAS-U 1884, WAS-N 1886 » Jiggs Donahue, 45 G, PIT-N 1900-01, MIL-A 1901, STL-A 1902 » Bill Drescher, 37 G, NY-A 1944-46 » Dave Oldfield, 35 G, BAL-AA 1883, BRO-AA 1885-86, WAS-N 1886 » Charlie Householder, 34 G, BAL-AA 1882, BRO-AA 1884 » Fergy Malone, 21 G, PHI-N 1876, PHI-U 1884 » Jack McMahon, 16 G, NY-N 1892-93 » Charlie Krehmeyer, 12 G, STL-AA 1884, LOU-AA 1885, STL-N 1885 » Joe Wall, 7 G, NY-N 1901, BRO-N 1902 » Elmer Foster, 5 G, PHI-AA 1884, PHI-U 1884 » Homer Hillebrand, 3 G, PIT-N 1905 » Benny Distefano, 3 G, PIT-N 1989 » Jim Egan, 2 G, TRO-N 1882 » Dale Long, 2 G, PIT-N 1958 » Mike Squires, 2 G, CHI-A 1980 » John Mullen, 1 G, PHI-N 1876 » John Cassidy, 1 G, CHI-N 1878 » Billy Redmond, 1 G, MIL-N 1878 » Charlie Eden, 1 G, CLE-N 1879 » Martin Powell, 1 G, DET-N 1881 » Joe Wright, 1 G, LOU-N 1885 » Lefty Marr, 1 G, COL-AA 1889 » Chick Shorten, 1 G, DET-A 1921 » Mule Shirley, 1 G, WAS-A 1924 » Chris Short, 1 G, PHI-N 1961 » Roy Weir, 1 G, BOS-N 1937 » Emilio Palmero, 1 G, STL-A 1921 » John McMullin, 1 G, ATH-NA 1874
Back to top	-- Christian Ruzich

1948 YANKEES
Q: I have acquired an old baseball with a lot of signatures in different color inks... On the sweet spot is Joe DiMaggio then around the ball in various spots and colors is John Lindell, Red Eubree, Tommy Byruce, Cliff Mupes, Allie Reynolds, Je Page or (Jor Poge), Bobby Brown, Larry Berra, Gus Nianhos, Vic Rashi. I have discovered that four of these are in the Hall of Fame, and I have dated it approx. 1947. The elderly lady that went to the games is long gone and cannot help me... Can you tell me any more about the team or when they were together playing?
-- Joan Bubniak, Albany NY
A: The eleven players on the ball you mention all played together for the 1948 New York Yankees, a team that was not eliminated from the pennant race until they lost to Boston on the next-to-last day of the season. The Bronx Bombers finished 94-60, 1 1/2 game behind the second-place Red Sox and 2 1/2 games behind the eventual World Champion Cleveland Indians. The players who signed the ball you own are OF Joe DiMaggio (.320, 39 HR, 155 RBI); OF Johnny Lindell (.317, 13, 55); RHP Red Embree (5-3, 3.74 ERA); LHP Tommy Byrne (8-5, 3.29); OF Cliff Mapes (.250, 1, 12); RHP Allie Reynolds (16-7, 3.78); LHP Joe Page (7-8, 4.25, 16 saves); IF Bobby Brown (.300, 3, 48); C/OF Yogi Berra (.305, 14, 98); C Gus Nianhos (.268, 0, 19); and right-handed ace Vic Raschi (19-8, 3.83). Only two of the players -- DiMaggio and Berra -- are in the Hall of Fame.
Back to top	-- James G. Robinson

RED SOX AT SENATORS: JUNE 27, 1969
Q: Hello from Alaska. Living in southeasten Pennsylvania, I listened to the Phillies games on radio during my youth but the first game that I went to was a Washington Senators game -- I still have the ticket. The date was June 27, 1969 and I remember that it was Ted Williams' first year at manager. For the life of me I can't remember who they played (the ticket doesn't have that on it) or what the score was. Who pitched? It would mean a lot to me if you could provide this information.
-- Paul Eckman
A: Here are the box score and play-by-play for the June 27, 1969 game in Washington: Game of 6/27/1969 -- Boston at Washington (N) Boston AB R H RBI Washington AB R H RBI D Schofield, 2b 3 1 1 1 E Brinkman, ss 3 1 2 0 D Jones, 3b 3 0 1 0 H Allen, 3b 4 0 1 0 C Yastrzemski, 1b 4 0 0 0 F Howard, lf 3 0 0 0 R Smith, cf 4 1 2 2 B Alyea, rf 4 1 2 2 S O'Brien, ss 4 1 1 0 M Epstein, 1b 4 0 0 0 T Conigliaro, rf 4 1 1 0 S Bowens, cf 4 0 0 0 D Lock, lf 3 0 0 0 T Cullen, 2b 3 0 0 0 R Gibson, c 4 0 0 0 P Casanova, c 4 0 1 0 B Landis, p 1 0 0 0 B Moore, p 1 0 0 0 T Satriano, ph 1 0 0 0 K McMullen, ph 1 0 0 0 S Lyle, p 1 0 0 0 C Cox, p 0 0 0 0 E Stroud, ph 1 0 0 0 D Baldwin, p 0 0 0 0 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 32 4 6 3 32 2 6 2 Boston 100 300 000 -- 4 Washington 010 000 010 -- 2 Boston IP H R ER BB SO B Landis (W) 6.0 3 1 1 3 2 S Lyle (S) 3.0 3 1 1 0 5 Washington IP H R ER BB SO B Moore (L) 5.0 6 4 4 3 4 C Cox 2.0 0 0 0 1 0 D Baldwin 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 Game winning RBI -- none DP -- Boston 1, Washington 1 LOB -- Boston 5, Washington 6 HR -- Alyea B, Smith R WP -- Moore B T -- 2:18 A -- 29032 RED SOX 1ST: D.Schofield walked; D.Jones grounded out (M.Epstein-1b unassisted) [D.Schofield to second]; C.Yastrzemski struck out; R.Smith singled to right field (it was the 2-0 pitch) [D.Schofield scored]; S.O'Brien popped to T.Cullen-2b; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Red Sox 1, Senators 0. SENATORS 1ST: E.Brinkman singled to left field (it was the 3-2 pitch); H.Allen flied to T.Conigliaro-rf; F.Howard grounded into a double play (D.Schofield-2b to C.Yastrzemski-1b) [E.Brinkman out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Red Sox 1, Senators 0. RED SOX 2ND: On a bunt T.Conigliaro grounded out (B.Moore-p to M.Epstein-1b); D.Lock popped to H.Allen-3b in foul territory; R.Gibson flied to F.Howard-lf; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Red Sox 1, Senators 0. SENATORS 2ND: B.Alyea homered to very deep left-center; M.Epstein grounded out (D.Schofield-2b to C.Yastrzemski-1b); S.Bowens popped to D.Jones-3b; T.Cullen flied to T.Conigliaro-rf; 1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Red Sox 1, Senators 1. RED SOX 3RD: B.Landis struck out; D.Schofield grounded out (E.Brinkman-ss to M.Epstein-1b); D.Jones singled to center field (it was the 2-0 pitch); C.Yastrzemski struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Red Sox 1, Senators 1. SENATORS 3RD: P.Casanova grounded out (B.Landis-p to C.Yastrzemski-1b); B.Moore flied to R.Smith-cf; E.Brinkman walked; H.Allen forced E.Brinkman (D.Jones-3b to D.Schofield-2b) [H.Allen to first]; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Red Sox 1, Senators 1. RED SOX 4TH: R.Smith homered to leftfield (it was the 2-2 pitch); S.O'Brien singled to center field (it was the 1-2 pitch); T.Conigliaro singled to left field (it was the 1-1 pitch) [S.O'Brien to second]; B.Moore threw a wild pitch [S.O'Brien to third, T.Conigliaro to second]; D.Lock walked; R.Gibson grounded into a double play (E.Brinkman-ss to T.Cullen-2b to M.Epstein-1b) [S.O'Brien scored (no RBI), T.Conigliaro to third, D.Lock out at second]; B.Landis walked; D.Schofield singled to right field (it was the 2-1 pitch) [T.Conigliaro scored, B.Landis to third]; D.Jones lined to B.Alyea-rf; 3 R, 4 H, 0 E, 2 LOB. Red Sox 4, Senators 1. SENATORS 4TH: F.Howard walked; B.Alyea flied to R.Smith-cf; M.Epstein struck out; S.Bowens popped to D.Jones-3b in foul territory; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Red Sox 4, Senators 1. RED SOX 5TH: C.Yastrzemski flied to S.Bowens-cf; R.Smith was called out on strikes; S.O'Brien grounded out (E.Brinkman-ss to M.Epstein-1b); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Red Sox 4, Senators 1. SENATORS 5TH: T.Cullen walked; P.Casanova flied to T.Conigliaro-rf; K.MCMULLEN BATTED FOR B.MOORE; K.McMullen flied to D.Lock-lf; E.Brinkman popped to D.Schofield-2b; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Red Sox 4, Senators 1. RED SOX 6TH: C.COX REPLACED K.MCMULLEN (PITCHING); T.Conigliaro grounded out (E.Brinkman-ss to M.Epstein-1b); D.Lock flied to S.Bowens-cf; R.Gibson grounded out (E.Brinkman-ss to M.Epstein-1b); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Red Sox 4, Senators 1. SENATORS 6TH: H.Allen singled to center field; F.Howard grounded out (D.Schofield-2b to C.Yastrzemski-1b) [H.Allen to second]; B.Alyea struck out; M.Epstein grounded out (C.Yastrzemski-1b to B.Landis-p); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Red Sox 4, Senators 1. RED SOX 7TH: T.SATRIANO BATTED FOR B.LANDIS; T.Satriano grounded out (M.Epstein-1b unassisted); D.Schofield grounded out (E.Brinkman-ss to M.Epstein-1b); D.Jones walked; C.Yastrzemski grounded out (E.Brinkman-ss to M.Epstein-1b); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Red Sox 4, Senators 1. SENATORS 7TH: S.LYLE REPLACED T.SATRIANO (PITCHING); S.Bowens struck out; T.Cullen popped to C.Yastrzemski-1b; P.Casanova singled to shortstop; E.STROUD BATTED FOR C.COX; E.Stroud grounded out (D.Schofield-2b to C.Yastrzemski-1b); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Red Sox 4, Senators 1. RED SOX 8TH: D.BALDWIN REPLACED E.STROUD (PITCHING); R.Smith grounded out (M.Epstein-1b unassisted); On a bunt S.O'Brien grounded out (P.Casanova-c to M.Epstein-1b); T.Conigliaro grounded out (T.Cullen-2b to M.Epstein-1b); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Red Sox 4, Senators 1. SENATORS 8TH: E.Brinkman singled to center field (it was the 1-2 pitch); H.Allen popped to D.Schofield-2b; F.Howard grounded out (D.Schofield-2b to C.Yastrzemski-1b) [E.Brinkman to second]; B.Alyea singled to left field (it was the 3-2 pitch) [E.Brinkman scored]; M.Epstein was called out on strikes; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB. Red Sox 4, Senators 2. RED SOX 9TH: D.Lock was called out on strikes; R.Gibson grounded out (H.Allen-3b to M.Epstein-1b); S.Lyle grounded out (H.Allen-3b to M.Epstein-1b); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Red Sox 4, Senators 2. SENATORS 9TH: S.Bowens struck out; T.Cullen struck out; P.Casanova struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB. Red Sox 4, Senators 2. (The information used here was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by Retrosheet. Interested parties may contact Retrosheet at 20 Sunset Rd., Newark, DE 19711.)
Back to top	-- David W. Smith

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