This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 12/10/2004.
The New York Gothams are the second oldest baseball team in history behind the Knickerbockers. Their home games were played at St. George Cricket Club in Staten Island. The first ever box score from a baseball game was in 1853 from the St. George Cricket club. The game was played between the Gothams and the Knickerbockers. Word got out and many other teams in the area started to form. This game that they called baseball began as a gentle game. You would show up on a Sunday afternoon with only your best attire, and most proper etiquette. As the game grew, so did the players and the teams. Some teams started to pay their best players. The Gothams could not keep up in the league, and were forced to fold their team in the late 1860s. They were reborn in the late 1870s with more dedicated management and stronger players. Buck Ewing was one of baseball's original greats and by far the best catcher of his time. William Ewing was the first major league player in history to hit over ten home runs in a single season in 1883. He was a lifetime .311 hitter, and scored a total of 1,129 runs in 1,315 games. Ewing had a rifle for an arm and was famous for throwing out base runners from his knees without rising from his crouched catching position. Buck was the first catcher ever elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. On the front tail of the jersey is "Ewing" hand stitched. Across the front of the jersey is "NY" done in blue felt. The original buttons have been changed and somewhere over the last century the jersey appears to have been laundered and now has a pinkish hue. All of the fabric on the jersey, except for the replaced buttons and thread, are consistent with its era. Featured with the lot is a picture of the 1884 Gothams with Ewing wearing this exact style jersey. The jersey shows light game use, and except for the above mentioned changes appears to have no alterations of any kind.