Baseball: A Distinquished Chapter of Danbury’s History

Baseball was so popular in Danbury back in the 1870s, it made front page news almost every day. 

One of the earliest town directories in the Danbury Historical Society's collection is from 1874, and includes a complete listing of the lineup for the Aetna Base Ball Club. A little known fact was that Danbury native son, Charles Ives -- when he wasn't playing the piano -- pitched for The Alerts in an amateur baseball league.

According to connecticuthistory.org, there were many Danbury ball players in the late 1800s who went on to play in the minor and major leagues, like Edward Jaykill Phelps, who played for Danbury in 1896 and went on to play for 11 seasons in the big leagues for the Cincinnati Reds, the Cardinals, and the Brooklyn Dodgers. In the 1903 World Series, Phelps was catching for the Pittsburgh Pirates and managed to get a base hit off the legendary Red Sox pitcher, Cy Young.

A New York Times article from 2003 says that in 1876, the Hartford Dark Blues became the first major league team in Connecticut, and, in fact, was the founding club of the National League. During those first few years of major league baseball, no fielders wore gloves except the catcher. The Blues only played two seasons in Hartford before they moved to Brooklyn, where they were named the Brooklyn Hartfords.

The entire history of baseball in Danbury can be found at the Danbury Museum and Historical Society located at 43 Main Street in Danbury or navigate to danburymuseum.org. Batter Up!