Harry Wright's personal 1885 scorebook page, 6.5” x 4,” removed from his own book, and fully handwritten and signed by Wright with his initials "H.W." in the scorer box. William Henry "Harry" Wright (January 10, 1835 – October 3, 1895) was an English-born American professional baseball player, manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball's first fully professional team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings. He is credited with introducing innovations such as backing up infield plays from the outfield and shifting defensive alignments based on hitters' tendencies. For his contributions as a manager and developer of the game, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953 by the Veterans Committee. Wright was also the first to make baseball into a business by paying his players up to seven times the pay of the average working man.
Offered is a single page from Wright's personal scoring book, filled out entirely in the early Hall of Famer's hand and signed with his initials "H.W." Wright captures the events of two games with one side featuring the Philadelphia Athletics and the verso featuring Philadelphia Phillies from two separate games. The page was originally torn out of Wright's scorebook, a book which scored many games consecutively; therefore, this page has the Beaneaters lineup from the May 8th game with the Phillies lineup from the May 9th game on its verso. This scarce piece of baseball history offers an intriguing look into the 19th-century game!
Names on the batting line-ups are as follows:
1885 Philadelphia Athletics Lineup
Sadie Houck (0 Runs, 0 Hits)
Harry Stovey (1 Run, 1 Hit) )
Lon Knight (0 Runs, 1 Hit)
John Coleman (0 Runs, 0 Hits)
Fred Corey (0 Runs, 0 Hits) )
Henry Larkin (0 Runs, 3 Hits) )
John Milligan (0 Runs, 0 Hits)
Billy Taylor (0 Runs, 0 Hits)
Cub Stricker (1 Run, 1 Hit)
1885 Philadelphia Phillies Lineup)
Tom Lynch (1 Run, 0 Hits)
Ed Daily (1 Run, 2 Hits)
Al Myers (1 Run, 3 Hits)
Jim Fogarty (0 Runs, 1 Hits)
Joe Mulvey (0 Runs, 2 Hits)
Charlie Bastian (0 Runs, 0 Hits)
Sid Farrar (2 Runs, 0 Hits)
Charlie Ferguson (0 Runs, 1 Hit)
Charlie Ganzel (0 Runs, 1 Hit)
All pencil writing by Wright is as bold as the day it was applied in 1885. The sheet measures 6.5" x 4” and is slabbed by PSA/DNA in a holder which measures 10.5” x 6.75." Wright's passing in 1895 makes him one of the most difficult of all Hall of Fame autographs to obtain.
The page itself remains in wonderful condition, near flawless and virtually pristine with only a single uneven edge from where it was originally torn out of the full score book. Authenticated and slabbed by PSA/DNA. PSA/DNA notes "Authentic Handwriting" on the slab. In the PSA/DNA online database under Certification #84466867 they make an additional notation that the piece is also signed noting, "This item was initialed by Harry Wright." A remarkable piece of baseball history!