Base Ball. - Two games were played last Sunday, one between the East St. Louis Base Ball Club and the "Dirty Stockings," in which the score stood: East St. Louis Club, 41; Dirty Stockings, 11. The other match was between two colored clubs, the St. Louis Mutual, and the Polar Star of East St. Louis, in which the score stood: St. Louis Mutual, 26; Polar Star, 18.
-East St. Louis Gazette, July 6, 1872
I think this is a rather significant find for two reasons. First, this is the earliest reference that I have to East St. Louis baseball clubs. There were clubs in the Metro East area since at least 1866 but the East St. Louis Club, the Dirty Stockings and the Polar Stars are the earliest clubs I'm aware of from the city.
Secondly, this is the earliest reference I've found to a black club on the east side and it's certainly possible that the Polar Stars predated the East St. Louis Club and the Dirty Stockings. Also, this is, I believe, the second earliest reference to a St. Louis black club that I'm aware of. We have the 1870 reference to the St. Louis Base Ball Club but almost everything else I have comes from after 1874.
And I found all of that in one article. How about that?
Secondly, this is the earliest reference I've found to a black club on the east side and it's certainly possible that the Polar Stars predated the East St. Louis Club and the Dirty Stockings. Also, this is, I believe, the second earliest reference to a St. Louis black club that I'm aware of. We have the 1870 reference to the St. Louis Base Ball Club but almost everything else I have comes from after 1874.
And I found all of that in one article. How about that?
RSS Feed
