Was this NJ's First Base Ball Team?

My primary research goal is to study and analyze how the New York game spread and developed throughout New Jersey.  I've decided to take a more systematic approach and work on a county by county basis beginning with Hudson and Essex counties.  These two counties had the highest population at the time and are also the closest to Manhattan and Brooklyn.  I've already worked through almost all of the Newark newspapers for the period so on Monday I made the short trip to the Orange Public Library to look at The Orange Journal.

                                                           Orange Public Library

The Journal was a weekly paper so I didn't expect to find much in the way of game accounts and, in fact, I only found two - 1858 box scores of games between the Pioneer Club of Orange and the 2nd nine of the Empire Club of Newark.  Only one of the two was new so, as I kind of expected, it seemed like the trip was just part of due diligence.  I didn't go through the newspaper in chronological order so the last year left was 1855, the first year that New Jersey teams started playing the New York game.  Although the Newark Daily Advertiser (8/6/1855) had made reference to an unnamed Orange club, I still was not expecting very much.  Then the May 26, 1855 issue had the following:


"In your Journal of May 12th you undertook to enumerate the Societies of this thriving town; but I must say you entirely over looked one; viz the "Washington Base Ball Club," consisting of (20) young men; they held their semi-annual election on Friday evening, last May 18, at the Park house; where also a collation was served them, of which nothing need be said as the popularity of its host in that line needs no comment, by inserting this you will confer a favor on the W.B.B.C."

I had actually missed this the first time through, but went back after I saw the following letter to the editor in the June 9, 1855 issue:

“In your Journal a short time since, a communication appeared speaking of the “Washington Base Ball Club” of Orange.  From its being noted publicly, I should infer they were somewhat anxious to gain notoriety, or else wish to play a match with some other Club.  If the latter are the facts of the case there are eight men over the mountain who will play their best eight men.  The time and place to be agreed upon after the challenge has been excepted (sic).  By noticing this you will confer a favor on

"Mountain”

Of course the Washington Club wasn't going to let that go without a response so the the following appeared in the June 16, 1855 issue:

"In your journal last week, a notice appeared purporting to come from some one who signed himself “mountain,” stating there were  eight (8) men over the mountain who would play the 8 picked men of the “Washington Base Ball Club.”  We have merely to say in reply, although not quite so desirous of obtaining notoriety as “mountain” says we are, we stand ready at any time to play them or any other 8 men over the mountain, address WBBC, Orange, P.O."

Unfortunately nothing further appeared in the paper about the two teams or whether the game actually took place.  I also went back to the Journal's first issue in June of 1854 and worked forward, but found no further mention of the Washington Club or any other base ball club.

The possible significance of this find lies in the date.  Up until now the earliest documented New Jersey base ball club was the Newark Club which played a match on June 13, 1855 and according to the Newark Daily Advertiser of August 11, 1855 had only been in existence for “a few weeks.”  While this is speculation, the first Washington Club letter seems to suggest that their club is older than the Newark Club.  The Washington Club met on May 18 for what is referred to as a “their semi annual election” which doesn’t sound like a description of a first or initial meeting.  Rather it suggests at the very least a second meeting which if the semi annual reference is accurate would mean an earlier meeting no later than the fall of 1854.

Also of interest is the identity of the eight men from "over the mountain" who are more than willing to take on the Washington Club.  At the time Orange was more properly known as Orange Township and covered a much larger geographic area including today's East, West and South Orange and most likely Maplewood.  Mountain refers to what used to be known as "first mountain" (first mountain west of Newark).  Today's Orange is on the eastern side of the mountain as are South and East Orange so the eight men are most probably from what is now West Orange.  The letter could be interpreted to mean that they have or about to form a club and, if so, that would add another to the growing list of 1855 New Jersey base ball teams.

Although the correspondence refers to a game of eight on a side, I believe this is the New York game and not a predecessor game (which would be even more significant).  My understanding is that nine on a side was not formalized for the New York game until 1857 and we know that in 1855 other New Jersey clubs played the New York game with, for example, eleven on a side.  I'm not at all sure how to pursue this further as I've exhausted the only Orange newspaper and doubt I would have missed any references in the Newark newspapers.  But for the moment it seems there is a real possibility that New Jersey's first base ball club was not from Newark, but from its much smaller western neighbor.  Stay tuned.