Huggins & Scott Auctions currently has this fascinating vintage Dodger memorabilia piece for sale. It is a
1883 scorecard from a game between the Brooklyn Polka Dots and the Wilmington Quicksteps of the Interstate Association. This is the summer before the official start of the Dodger franchise, but considering the players noted here it undoubtedly was the seed that spawned the team. I'll let the auction description tell you more.
The offered scorecard details the September 20, 1883 Interstate Association contest between the host Brooklyn Polka Dots and Wilmington Quicksteps. This diamond heirloom is, with high probability, the earliest “Dodgers” artifact in existence. Printed on thick stock, the item has a vertical center fold with a vintage colorful baseball image on the front and a Brooklyn-based clothier ad on the back. The inner portion is home to the real treasure: a scorecard with pre-printed lineups of that Thursday afternoon’s combatants. The Brooklyn lineup includes Charlie Householder, Bill Greenwood, Oscar Walker, Adonis Terry and Billy Greer, each of whom was to play for the Brooklyn “Atlantics” the following season in what is officially recognized as the debut of the Dodgers franchise. But make no mistake, in the summer before jumping to the American Association, these “predecessors” were not just a skeleton of the franchise, but rather a sizable foundation readily embraced at Brooklyn’s Washington Park.
That would be cool to own.
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