Harvard Baseball Nine, 1867

Baseball history photo: Harvard Baseball Nine, 1867. The Harvard Club's first team was established in 1862 with help from the Boston Lowells. The Harvard Club one of only three New England teams to hold the Silver Ball trophy, pictured in a case on the table. The other two were the Tri-Mountain Club and the Boston Lowell Club. The trophy was commissioned by John A. Lowell, an engraver, who was once the president of the Boston Bowdoin Club and a respected umpire. The results of championship matches were engraved on the ball and a total of seventeen matches were recorded at the time of its destruction in 1868. The New England Association of National Base Ball Players elected to destroy the trophy due to the bad behavior the players exhibited while attempting to win it. The Silver Ball was melted down and sold for $19.46. The Harvard University Base Ball Club was formed in 1864. According to Troy Soos in his book Before the Curse, two of its players purchased grey flannel for the shirts and asked for a crimson old English “H” to be sewn on the front. The seamstress decided that magenta was more fashionable and prettier so the players took the field as the Harvard Magenta. The student body enjoyed the uniforms so well that the official school color was changed to magenta until 1875, when crimson was re-adopted. The Harvard Club played the famed Cincinnati Club three times during the 1869-1870 seasons. On July 18, 1870 the Magenta held a 17-12 lead in the ninth inning while playing the Red Stockings on Cincinnati's Union Grounds. The more experienced Red Stockings scored eight runs to win the match 20-17. Click photo to return to previous page.