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Als- Formed 1st Cincinnati Baseball Team- Played 1866-68 For Sale
1 pg. ALS, Feb. 24, 1910, Cincinnati, by J. Williams Johnson (b. 1842) who organized and attended the first meeting that resulted in the formation of the Cincinnati Baseball Club in 1866. He gave the team its name (Cincinnati Baseball Club) and played on the 1866 (first team), 67, and 68 teams, winning gold medal for best batter in country for Right Field. In this letter to Judge Howard Hollister, an aging (and deaf) Johnson congratulates Hollister for his appointment to the Federal Bench. Difficult to read, so I will transcribe the letter in its entirety: "My Dear Judge- I am exceedingly pleased with the announcement of your appointment to the Federal Bench as the successor of the late Judge Thompson, and believe that a more suitable and acceptable candidate could not have been named. I knew and admired your father as a most conscientious and upright lawyer, and your decisions while on the Common Pleas Bench convinced me of your painstaking industry as well as of your general learning and comprehensive knowledge of legal principles. I have no fears but that you will prove an honorable and worthy successor to those eminent jurists who have preceded you as judge of the United States Court in this City. With my heartiest congratulations. I beg to remain Very Sincerely Yours-- J. Wm. Johnson."
Johnson was born in Wales and emigrated to Pomeroy, Ohio in 1844. During the Civil War he served in the Quartermaster's Dept. under Colonel C. W. Moulton. After the war he studied law at Harvard (1866) and graduated from the Cincinnati Law School with an LL.B. degree in 1867. He started his legal career working for the law firm of Tilden, Sherman, & Moulton. Moulton, his old Civil War Colonel (and brother-in-law of Senator John Sherman and General William T. Sherman) later broke off from the firm and formed a new firm named Moulton, Bateman & Johnson (Johnson, becoming a partner in this firm). When Batemen was appointed U.S. District attorney he left the firm and it was renamed Moulton, Johnson & Levy. When Colonel Moulton died in 1889, his name was dropped and the firm became Johnson & Levy-- the firm name when Johnson wrote this letter. Besides being an attorney, Johnson served as trustee of the Eclectic Medical College, was Vice President of the Western & Southern Life Insurance Company and the Victor Safe & Lock Company. He also served twice as Vice President of the Cincinnati Bar Association. He became deaf in the early 1890s.. More interesting though is Johnson's connection with early baseball in Cincinnati. Johnson was an athlete and upon his return from Harvard in 1866 he was instrumental in introducing baseball in the city. It was in his office that the first meeting was called that finally resulted in the organization of the famous Cincinnati "Red Stockings." The meeting as held July 23, 1866 in the law office of Tilden, Sherman, & Moulton. J. William Johnson was instrumental in calling this meeting and was one of the few men in attendance. At this first meeting a constitution and by laws were adopted. Officers were also elected with Alfred T. Goshorn as President, Aaron B Champion as VP, Henry Glassford as Sec., and E. E. Townley as Treasurer. George B. Ellard was chosen Manager the following year (1867). The name of the team was the “Resolutes” but at Johnson’s suggestion, it was changed to the Cincinnati Baseball Club. Johnson was also a player on this first 1866 team, beginning in Center Field, then shifting over the Right Field. George Ellard, the manager, submitted the design for the club uniform (Red Stockings) and it has been used ever since. The 1867 team only lost one game- to the Washington Nationals (score 53-10). In 1868 the team record was 21-3. This team had some amateur and professional (i.e. paid) players, and was considered the best team in the country (regardless of the one loss). Johnson played Right Field on the 1867 team. In 1868 the New York Clipper offered nine gold medals to be given to the players making the best (batting) averages at their position. Johnson won the gold medal for his position at right field. Two other Cincinnati players picked up two of the remaining nine gold medals. Johnson was recognized as the best right fielder of his time and the fastest on the bases. He was never thrown out stealing base and stole 3rd to home many times. The team record in 1868 was 36-7. Late in 1868, again in the office of Tilden, Sherman, & Moulton, the team was finally put on a fully professional basis. A professional only league was established and this team became the first fully professional nine in the U.S.. (All their players were paid). The men behind the scenes (mostly the same mentioned above) hired Harry and George Wright to run the operation. Aaron B. Champion became President of the club. Harry Wright was the captain and played center field. George, his brother, played SS. Asa Brainard was pitcher. Johnson did not play on this team. He was replaced in right field by Cal McVey, who was paid $700. The Team went undefeated touring the U.S. and was considered the best baseball team in the world. McVey, who replaced Johnson, went on to become a star in his own right. Johnson, instead, practiced law for the rest of his life.
Really neat item for the "eclectic" baseball collector. Paper mounting remnants on the reverse of the letter (removed from scrap book) and minor aging tones, o/w very good. Buyer pays $2.25 shipping.
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Als- Formed 1st Cincinnati Baseball Team- Played 1866-68: $114
