Batter UP! Baseball at the Library of Congress

OPAL – Online Programming for All Libraries
http://www.opal-online.org/

Library of Congress – http://www.loc.gov

American Memory – http://memory.loc.gov

Web Conferences from the Library of Congress

The rich and unique holdings of the Library of Congress include many items that document the history of baseball and Americans’ fascination with the game. From photographs, personal accounts, films, official games guides, and memorabilia – including baseball cards dating from 1887 – many of these materials are now available online for viewing by anyone interested in America's national pastime. Below is a brief selection of baseball-related resources available through the Library's web site.

~ American Memory Collections ~

Spalding Base Ball Guides, 1889-1939

A historic selection of Spalding’s Official Base Ball Guide and the Official Indoor Base Ball Guide. Spalding’s Official Base Ball Guide was perhaps the premier publication of its day for the game of baseball, featuring editorials, statistics, photographs, and analysis of the previous season for all the Major League teams and for many of the so-called minor leagues across the nation.

Search Tip: If you are a fan of a particular team, search the full text of the collection and follow their history. Example: conduct a full text search on ‘boston red sox’ (without quotation marks), select the Text option for an item, and then select Best Match to find the portions of the annual guides that describe the activities of the team for that year.

By Popular Demand: Jackie Robinson and Other Baseball Highlights, 1860s-1960s

This presentation commemorates the achievements of Jackie Robinson and describes some aspects of the color line's development and the Negro Leagues. It includes an essay on early baseball pictures from the 1860s to 1920s.

Baseball Cards, 1887-1914

This collection presents a Library of Congress treasure—2,100 early baseball cards dating from 1887 to 1914. The cards show such legendary figures as Ty Cobb stealing third base for Detroit, Tris Speaker batting for Boston, and pitcher Cy Young posing formally in his Cleveland uniform. Other notable players include Connie Mack, Walter Johnson, King Kelly, and Christy Mathewson.

~ Individual Items ~

A Pretty Little Pocket-Book (1760)

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jp/bball/jp_bball_early_1_e.html

Union prisoners at Salisbury, N.C. (c1863)

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/i?ammem/bbpix:@field(NUMBER+@band(cph+3g03036)):displayType=1:m856sd=cph:m856sf=3g03036

"Champions of America." Albumen photographic print by Charles H. Williamson, Brooklyn, New York, copyright 1865.

http://memory.loc.gov/pnp/cph/3b40000/3b40000/3b40700/3b40721r.jpg

"The Maine Base Ball Club." All blown up at Havana except no. 1, J.H. Bloomer. Photographic print, copyright by Geo. C. Mages, Chicago, May, 1898.