Once again we diverge from our primary interest of football to
delve into other early sports memorabilia, which we pick up occasionally when
it crosses our path and offers us a chance to do some research. In this case we post two American CDVs, taken in 1868, as it turns out the only year the photographer was located at the address stamped on
the back of the photographs. Pictured are a portion of the “picked twenty-two”
American cricket players that played the visiting “All England Eleven”. We know of no less than 26 American players,
inclusive of substitutes available to play the English at Riverside Trotting Park
in Allston (Boston), in late September of
1868. Only two players are identified, William Franklin Davis (played Harvard
baseball in 1865 (class of ’67)) and Harry Wright, a well-known professional
baseball player- both circled. Two members (George and Charles) of the Newhall clan of
American cricket players, of which I believe there were eleven, and George
Wright, Harry’s brother are listed on the roster and are likely also in the photos, however not being
baseball researchers per se, we would have difficulty making a definitive identification of George Wright.
These photos appear to be taken off Essex Street in Salem, in back of a rooming
house where “rooms open every evening”. Each CDV measures 3 7/8" x 2 3/8".
Early (1860s) American cricket team photographs are scarce.
