Frederick E. Long papers
Scope and Contents
Series I - Boston Base Ball Club in the National Association, 1871-1875, and the National League, 1876-1888. It is divided into four subseries: Administrative, correspondence, financial, and newspaper clippings. The administrative subseries includes a legal document relating to an 1876 contract dispute with George Wright, who had been paid by Boston, but wanted the option of playing for another team instead. The correspondence subseries includes general correspondence from Nick Apollonio, Arthur Soden, and others concerning finances, scheduling, accounts of baseball games, and a variety of other topics. The financial records subseries documents the financial operation of the team from 1873 to 1888, not a complete documentation. The newspaper clippings subseries includes photocopies of a number of articles documenting the business activities of the Boston club in the local papers of the time. Also included are a few photocopies of articles giving accounts of Boston games.
Series II - Boston Base Ball Club in the Players' League, 1889-1903. It is divided into three subseries: Correspondence, financial, and newspaper clippings. The correspondence includes a request for employment; a dunning letter from the construction company contracted to build the Boston Players' League stadium; and a pre-season letter about changes to the league schedule. The financial subseries includes detailed information about the general operation of the short-lived Players' League club in Boston, including contracts with the players, contracts for grading the grounds and constructing the grandstand, and concession contracts covering scorecard and refreshments sales at the stadium. The newspaper clippings subseries includes a small number of photocopied articles from Boston papers about the origins of the Players' League.
Series III - Frederick E. Long ephemera, 1871-1902, consists of a small number of documents related to Long personally, such as an employment contract, correspondence, game tickets, and passes.
Dates
- Creation: 1870-1905
Language of Materials
English .
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions but viewing materials does require an appointment. Please contact the Giamatti Research Center, research@baseballhall.org, 607-547-0330.
Conditions Governing Use
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum provides use copies of materials to facilitate private study, scholarship, and research. The Museum welcomes you to use materials in our collections that are in the public domain and to make fair use of copyrighted materials as defined by copyright law and with proper citation. Permission to publish materials must be obtained from: Giamatti Research Center, National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, 25 Main St., Cooperstown, NY 13326 Phone: 607.547.0330 E-mail: research@baseballhall.org
Biographical / Historical
Frederick E. Long was the treasurer of the Boston Base Ball Club of the National Association and National League (1871-1888). It appears that Long's tenure with the Boston National League Club ended sometime in 1888, perhaps after he, Charles H. Porter, and J.B. Hart petitioned the Board of Directors for season passes for stockholders. Long was awarded a lifetime pass to all Boston Base Ball Club games by J.B. Billings, the new treasurer, in 1888. By 1889, Long was the treasurer for the Boston Players' League Base Ball Club.
The club had a number of nicknames during its existence. They include: Boston Red Stockings (1876-1882), Boston Beaneaters (1883-1906), and Boston Braves (1912-1952).
By 1889, it was clear that the players were not satisfied with the National League in regard to salary and reserve clause dealings and were pursuing the formation of their own league. The concept of this league was initially proposed in 1885, but did not take form until 1890, when the Players' League organized eight teams, including one in Boston. Charles H. Porter, President; Frederick E. Long, Treasurer; and J.B. Hart, Secretary administered the Boston team. King Kelly was lured away from the Boston National League team to captain the Players' League team. John Morrill and Arthur Dixwell scouted for the team.
The Players' League lasted only one year. After it disbanded, the American Association absorbed many of the teams and players; others returned to the Boston National League team. One exception was King Kelly who went to Cincinnati.
Games held in Boston by the Players' League club were played at the Congress Street Grounds from April 19 - Septmber 10, 1890. Subsequently, the American Association club used the grounds from April 18 - October 3, 1891. The National League utilized the grounds from May 16 - June 20 in 1894, after the South End Grounds II grandstand was destroyed by fire on May 14.
Full Extent
0.83 Linear Feet (In two legal five-inch document boxes)
Full Extent
0.92 Cubic Feet
Abstract
The collection consists of records and correspondence relating to the operation of the Boston baseball clubs of the National Association, National League, and Players' League, with the bulk of the material consisting of financial and administrative records. Other records document player contracts, player negotiations and hiring decisions, and stockholder relations. The records of the Players' League team focus on the issues involved in setting up a team including hiring players, constructing a stadium, and negotiating concessions contracts. A small number of news clippings describing Boston baseball games are also part of the collection.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged into three series. Series I. Boston Base Ball Club, National Association, National League; Series II. Boston Base Ball Club, Players' League; Series III. Frederick E. Long ephemera.
Physical Location
Manuscript Archives, Aisle 7, Range d, Shelf 4
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift (BL-2001-02666)
Existence and Location of Copies
Available on microfilm in the Giamatti Research Center.
Separated Materials
BA MSS 329 Tickets collection: Boston Club Ticket Books, 1895-1902; Boston Club tickets, 1876.
Subject
- National League of Professional Baseball Clubs (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the Frederick E. Long papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Anne McFarland in October 2001, with further processing by Jonathan Nelson in January 2002.
- Date
- 2001
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Archives Repository