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In 1866, John B. Clarke, a teenager from New Orleans, traveled up the Mississippi River and landed at Vicksburg to take up a new job working for a local bookseller. The boy was terribly lonely in this strange new town, and was contemplating a return to New Orleans when he spied some soldiers playing a familiar sport:
"One afternoon I was on Castle Hill and was looking down the hill at Reddings [Readings] factory. Nothing else was built up in that section at the time. I saw a lot of men playing some sort of game, and I ran to the place. When I arrived where the men were engaged in the sport I was breathless. It turned out that two nines were engaged in the game - one composed of men from Major Forsythe's quarter-master outfit and the other, of regular soldiers. 'Buddy,
do you know how to play?' 'Yes sir,' I replied. 'I wish you would let me.' It was suggested that I umpire the game. I was afraid to and thought the men might get in a squabble, but finally I consented. So someone ran over to Lewis Peters' bakery and got a barrel, and I umpired the game standing upon the barrel. The soldiers liked my work so well that after they quit playing they took me to Denechaud's restaurant - the first one I had ever been in - and gave me an oyster supper...After that Major Forsythe sent his quarterly [orderly] for me every day, and I played ball with the soldiers - being the first Vicksburg boy ever to engage in the sport." (Vicksburg Evening Post, August 1, 1999)
His loneliness forgotten by his love for baseball, John B. Clarke lived in Vicksburg for the next sixty-five years until his death in 1931.
Organized baseball had come to Vicksburg in the fall of 1864, heralding its arrival with this notice in the October 13, edition of the Vicksburg Daily Herald:
In the early 19th Century, many "stick and ball" games were played in the Northern states, and by the 1850's the version known as "base ball" was becoming very popular. At a meeting held among New York teams in 1857, a number of rules were adopted that would help the modern form of the game to take shape. It was determined that there would be nine innings, the distance between bases was set at 30 yards, and the decision was made that if a player missed the ball on three swings, and the third pitched ball was caught on the first bounce or in the air, the batter was out unless he could beat a throw to first base. (http://www.19cbaseball.com/rules.html)
Baseball was catching on in the South as well, but I can not find it had made any serious headway into Mississippi by the time the Civil War started. The marching of Northern armies into the Magnolia state in 1862 and 1863 brought thousands of Yankee soldiers, and with them came the game of baseball. After the siege of Vicksburg ended in July 1863, a large Union garrison was left in the city, and soon a large influx of Northern civilians came as well, some working for the government, and others as civilians looking to profit on the many business opportunities available in the bustling river city.
With time on their hands, some of Vicksburg's new civilian workforce began organizing a base ball team to while away their free time in the occupied city. One of these men was Ira A. Batterton, a former soldier in the 8th Illinois Infantry who had been discharged after the siege ended and decided to stay in the city and make his fortune. He had found a job as editor of the Vicksburg Daily Herald, and the October 21. 1864 edition of the paper carried the following story under the headline "Ball-istic:"
A number of the young men of this city, whose occupations enforce somewhat of a sedentary life, have formed a base-ball club, for the purpose of exercising their muscles, and enjoying the effects of out-door sport. On Tuesday afternoon last, about twenty young men met on the level ground near the arsenal, and initiated the game. In the evening they had a meeting and elected the following officers of the club: Benj. Boneau, President; Ira A. Batterton, Vice-President; R.M. Johnson, Secretary; Louis Fitzgerald, Treasurer."
The president of the new ball club was Benjamin Boneau, a civilian lawyer from East St. Louis, Illinois. He moved to Vicksburg after the siege, and opened his law practice in an office on Washington Street. A biography of Boneau noted that his "eloquence is natural, fluent and persuasive. His veneration for the law, and his high sense of moral responsibility, invest his manner with peculiar grace, and this, combined with his accuracy of legal knowledge, lucidity of statement, felicity of illustration, and copiousness of vocabulary, renders him one of the popular orators of the Illinois Bar." (Portrait And Biographical Record of St. Clair County, Illinois; Chicago: Chapman Bros., 1892, page 281.)
After electing their officers, the members of Vicksburg's newest recreational organization came up with a grand name for their new enterprise; the "Mississippi Valley Base Ball Club." The Vicksburg Daily Herald proudly announced the name in their October 26, 1864, edition:
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY BASE BALL CLUB
The Young gentlemen composing the members of this club met yesterday evening and played on the flat below the city. Quite a number of our soldiers and citizens were out, as lookers-on, of the beautiful and healthful game. The club meets on every Tuesday and Friday for play, and we think it would richly pay any one having leasure time to go down and see this scientific game played. Vicksburg can boast of having not the poorest players in the United States. The club meets on Monday evenings for the transaction of business, at the rooms of Mr. J.A. Wentz.
The Mississippi Valley Base Ball Club quickly gained new members, and William E. Selleck, secretary pro tem of the organization put a notice in the local newspaper for the members to appear on the field in uniform for a match game on November 24th, with the best player receiving a "Champion pin." (Vicksburg Daily Herald, November 23, 1864) The club secretary William E. Selleck, was a native of Tremont, Illinois, and a civilian employee of the United States Treasury Department. He came to work in Vicksburg for the U.S. Treasury after the fall of the city to the Union army. (The National Cyclopedia of American Biography, Volume XVIII, New York: James T. White & Company, 1922, page 122)
The day of the big match game the Vicksburg Daily Herald ran a long article promoting the event:
The effort of a few enterprising gentlemen of this city to organize a Base Ball Club, has been crowned with entire success. Forty-three names are now upon the rolls. We congratulate the young men of the 'Hill City,' that they now have an opportunity to engage in this healthful exercise. To increase the ordinary interest and excitement consequent upon the game, is now added the competition created between match 'nines,' emulate each other at play this morning. The prize to be played for is a Champion Pin, ordered specially for this occasion.
The pin is a large gold star, enameled, and engraved with devices peculiar to the club; attached to this by a blue ribbon, is a small plain star. The workmanship is most elaborate, and the prize is well worth the effort being made to secure it.
The game will commence at 11 o'clock, upon the new grounds of the club, beyond the breastworks, on Crawford Street. Our citizens, both ladies and gentlemen, are cordially invited to visit the grounds and witness the match game. The match will be closely contested, and we envy the lucky member who carries off the prize. (Vicksburg Daily Herald, November 24, 1864)
The two teams, or "nines" as they were called, that played in the match game were both made of of members of the Mississippi Valley Base Ball Club, one led by J.H. Towne Junior, the other by Julian A. Wentz. The Vicksburg Herald carried a detailed account of the game in their November 26, 1864, edition:
The play of the Mississippi Valley Base Ball Club by the prize nines, came off at their play grounds, in the valley near the east extremity of Crawford Street, at 11 o'clock a.m., on Thursday, the 24th instant, and continued for two hours, with great interest, both to spectators and players. There was quite a number of ladies present to witness the play. The location of the ground is quite handsome, and surrounded as the valley is, by high hills easy of ascent, they form a kind of amphitheatre. The valley was made perfectly level during the previous week, and is as fine and convenient a place for the plays of the Club as can be found in the 'Hill City.'
The prize nines were dressed in the uniform of the club, which consists of black pants and white flannel over shirts trimmed with blue. As they appeared upon the ground, they presented quite as fine and lively a body of young men as we have seen assembled together for such a purpose since the days we were want to gather with ball and bat on the 'Village Green.'
The Captains of the nines were Mr. J.H. Towne, Jr., of Adams' Express Company and Mr. Jule Wentz, of the U.S. Treasury Department of this city. The play was exceedingly well conducted by both parties in the best spirit of emulation, and many of the players called forth the applause of the spectators. The Umpire, Mr. A.A. Dewey, of the U.S. Treasury Department, performed his duty in a most admirable manner, and to the entire satisfaction of all concerned.
When the play was over, the 'runs' were as follows, Captain Towne's nines had made 18, and Captain Wentz's 6. Mr. Alex McAllister, of Adams' Express, on the winning side made four runs and was declared the Champion, much to his surprise, and carried off the Pin.
The Mississippi Valley Base Ball Club continued their games as the new year of 1865 dawned, and they announced that the third Champion Match Game would be played on January 7. (Vicksburg Daily Herald, January 5, 1865) This means there must have been a second Champion Match Game, but I have been unable to uncover any information about this event. The 3rd Champion Match Game had to be postponed until the following Monday, because of rain. I have checked the Vicksburg newspaper, but have been unable to find any information on the makeup game, and at this time I am not certain that it was ever played. (Vicksburg Daily Herald, January 7, 1865)
With the end of the Civil War in the spring of 1865, it was safe for the Vicksburg club to start playing away games. In April they boarded a train in Vicksburg and traveled east to the Big Black River, where they put on an exhibition for the public. A member of the club, identified only as "H," wrote this account of the trip under the banner headline "Excursion of the M.V.B.B.C:"
Dear Herald: I had the pleasure yesterday of participating in the innocent and manly sport of the game of base ball, with the members of the club, near Big Black River, and cannot let the opportunity pass without expressing my gratification at having been permitted to be present on that joyful occasion. Agreeably to previous announcement we left the depot at half-past one o'clock in the afternoon, with three well-filled cars, consisting of officers and citizens, the members of the club, and a large and select company of the beauty and fashion of the city, whose sweet smiles and merry laughter formed no inconsiderable incentive to the enjoyment and festivity.
Arriving at our destination, the members of the club, in full costume, commenced their game, which was continued without interruption for several hours - not a rebel or fierce guerrilla being present...to mar the enjoyment, while the invited guests, ranged around on seats provided for that purpose, manifested their appreciation by frequently applauding the skill displayed by every player, or were convulsed with laughter at the mishaps and awkwardness of others.
The excursion, and uniform courtesy of the members of the club, will be long remembered by all present - and my earnest wish is, that such occasions may be frequently repeated. (Vicksburg Daily Herald, April 29, 1865)
In July 1865, the Mississippi Valley Base Ball Club was rocked by the death of one of its founding members, Ira A.
Batterton, who was killed on July 15 in an accidental discharge at a shooting gallery in Vicksburg. (The Times Picayune, July 18, 1865) The club published a tribute of respect in which they "Resolved, That we deeply deplore the unfortunate circumstance which has deprived our Association of a worthy member, society of a bright ornament, and the community at large of a worthy and estimable citizen." (Vicksburg Daily Herald, July 18, 1865)
On September 21, 1865, the Mississippi Valley Base Ball Club announced that their new season was starting the next week. In late October the first match game of the season was played, with the team led by Julian A. Wentz beating the team of William E. Selleck by a score of 28 - 20. The Vicksburg Daily Herald, November 7, 1865, gave their readers a detailed account of the game:
Yesterday the Mississippi Valley Base Ball Club played the first match game of the season. A gilded ball, with appropriate inscription, was decided at a recent meeting to be the prize to be given to the one making the greatest number of runs. The game was quite exciting, and the large concourse of people who witnessed it were delighted with the skill displayed by some of the members. This club is fast becoming the Club of the Mississippi Valley, and we would like to see a match game between them and another club either in the city or elsewhere. They are anxiously waiting to receive a challenge. Will some other club relieve their anxiety?
The Mississippi Valley Base Ball Club did receive a challenge from a team in another city in December 1866. The team traveled to New Orleans to play games against the Southern Base Ball Club and the Lone Star Base Ball Club. On December 21, they played against the Southern Team, and were badly beaten by a score of 59 - 19. The New Orleans press did say that the Mississippi team, "playing towards the end of the game, when they had gained more confidence, exhibited considerable brilliancy. The fly catches on both sides were very flattering." (The Daily Picayune, December 22, 1866)
The next day the Mississippi club met the Lone Star team on the playing field, and again suffered a crushing defeat, losing by a score of 82 - 11. The New Orleans press was again kind to the Mississippi team, and wrote of the game:
Though a second time unfortunate, the visiting club has the satisfaction of knowing that they have had to contest for the championship with boys who know what a 'bat' is, as well as they understand how to appreciate true merit and gentility in an antagonist. Throughout the entire game the utmost good feeling prevailed, and after the umpire's decision, both clubs adjourned to the Louisiana Hotel, where the Vicksburg became the guests of the Lone Star, and where with the good cheer, the fine wine and mutual expressions of friendship and esteem, they had the jolliest of jolly good times. (The Daily Picayune, December 23, 1866)
The Mississippi team had been decisively beaten, but they were playing against well established teams from a much larger city. Baseball had come to New Orleans before the Civil War, and the Southern Base Ball Club had been playing since at least 1859, and the Lone Star Base Ball Club had been in existence since at least 1864. (The New Orleans Crescent, August 29, 1859 and The Times Picayune, October 2, 1864.
In 1867, the Hill City saw the creation of a new team, made up of regular United States Army soldiers on occupation duty. The 24th United States Infantry Base Ball Club set out to make a splash in the local sports scene by challenging the Mississippi Valley Base Ball Club to a championship match game on February 7 at the regiment's parade ground. The Mississippi Club responded with a one sentence statement: "Your challenge of to-day received and accepted, with all the conditions." (Vicksburg Daily Herald, February 6, 1867)
The Vicksburg Daily Herald played up the rivalry and wrote of the upcoming championship:
"The match game of base ball which has been exciting considerable interest for several days past in our community, will come off at the parade ground of the Regulars, beyond the termination of Cherry Street, across from the railroad. Provision has been made, by Gen. Dudley, to seat all the ladies who may be in attendance. The game is well matched on each side, and as many of the players are experts, fine playing may be expected." (Vicksburg Daily Herald, February 7, 1867)
The championship game lived up to the hype, with the Mississippi Valley Base Ball Club winning a close contest by a score of 33 - 30. The newspaper noted that there were "a large number of our citizens present" to witness the victory of their hometown team. (Vicksburg Daily Herald, February 8, 1867)
The Mississippi Valley Base Ball Club continued playing into the 1870's, but as Reconstruction came to a close near the end of the decade, the organization slowly faded away as the Federal soldiers and civilian government workers returned to their homes in the North. But the game that they had introduced to Vicksburg would live on long after they were gone. The March 20, 1867, edition of the Vicksburg Daily Herald noted that there was a new, civilian base ball club in the town:
The Crusaders is the name of a new base ball club just organized. We learn that a match game between the above club, and the 24th U.S.I.B.B., on Thursday next, at half-past one o'clock. The Crusaders lost in their match to the 24th U.S. Infantry team, but they made a good game of it; the score was 35 - 16. One of the players listed on the roster for the Crusaders was left-fielder John B. Clarke, the young man from New Orleans who made a home in Vicksburg because of his love for base ball. In time Clarke became a prominent businessman in Vicksburg, owning "Clarke & Co.," a book and stationary store. Among the goods he advertised as being for sale in his shop were baseballs and baseball bats.
Even in his old age, John B. Clarke never lost his love for the game of baseball. When he was interviewed for an article in the Vicksburg Evening Post in 1925, a reporter wrote of Clarke,
As marks of his playing he bears a number of battered finger joints. And the passage of the years has not dulled Mr. Clarke's interest in the game. He goes out every now and then to see the Vicksburg Cotton Staters play, and Mr. Clarke is thoroughly familiar with the modern game. (Vicksburg Evening Post, August 1, 1999)
When John B. Clarke died in 1931, the obituary made note of his early association with the game of baseball in Vicksburg:
A Southerner, who as a boy, played the first game of baseball here as a member of a federal soldiers' team, died
here yesterday. He was James B. Clarke, veteran newspaper and book man. Clarke was pressed into service as the ninth member of the Federal team, which was stationed here following the siege of Vicksburg. He was a native of New Orleans, and 80 years old at his death. (Monroe News Star, December 23, 1931)
In Cedar Hill Cemetery at Vicksburg, lies the grave of John B. Clarke. He has a very simple tombstone, with only his name and the years of his birth and death. There is nothing to indicate that it is the grave of one of Mississippi's baseball pioneers.