Uncas Base Ball Club of 1865

[COGGINSS]

While poking around, I discovered this NY Times clipping the a “Base Ball” club that existed in Spuyten Duyvil in  1865.

[Thomas Casey]

Back at you.   ( ps The Unions of Morrisania, Bronx NY were  1867 World Champions )

 

September 27, 1914

Civil war between Manhattan and Brooklyn is impending as a consequence of the baseball game played yesterday afternoon at Hedley Field, at the 242d Street end of the Subway, between the Car Shops team, champions of the Interborough Rapid Transit Company’s League, and a picked team from the league of the Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company.

[Thomas Casey]

Not to forget the Kingsbridge Athletics !

[Thomas Casey]

Or the Hector Club of Spuyten Duyvil !   and Star Club of Riverdale

[COGGINSS]

I’d love to locate the field where the “Uncas” played. BTW: the inspiration for this “poking around” was Nick’s presentation on Thursday in which the “Uncas River” was referenced.

The Presentation was a rousing success, as d very inspiring!

 

[COGGINSS]

And who knew there was so much early “Base Ball” played in our area? Thanks so much Thomas Casey, you’re way ahead of me!

[Peter Ostrander]

In the vein of putting a name to a face, in this case a face to a name.

In the above newspaper clippings  from 1918/1919 there is mention of a George Endlich who was manager and team captain of the Anoka semipro baseball team out of Yorkville.

Here is that George F .Endlich, who also was my grandfather.

[ndembowski]

Well, that’s one heck of a coincidence!  Pretty amazing.

Stephanie asked about where the baseball games may have been played at Spuyten Duyvil.  That’s a good question since the area is so hilly with very little level ground for a field.  I think the answer can be found in this memoir by J.B. James, who grew up in the neighborhood in the late 1800s:

There was a baseball club at Riverdale and one at Spuyten Duyvil, and matches were played between them, usually on a level piece of land at the Spuyten Duyvil belonging to the Cox Estate. Here also were held athletic games, which were quite important events socially.

Cox was a business associate of the Johnsons who operated the iron foundry and stove works on the Spuyten Duyvil Creek.  The Cox estate was just to the west of Edgehill Church in today’s lower Henry Hudson Park.

Our neighborhood panorama exhibit, which opens on April 25th at Edgehill, features this image of the Cox estate house and the field behind it that is almost certainly the “level piece of land” described in the memoir.  Great backdrop for a ball game.

What’s there today?  A baseball field!  Going by the date of the 1865 New Times article, today’s little leaguers are carrying on a 160 year old tradition of playing baseball at that location.

[Thomas Casey]

We have made the trip and touched all the bases

[COGGINSS]

[Author]

Posts