Exceptionally rare and striking 1866 trophy ball from a match between the Unions of Morrisania (a neighborhood in the Bronx) and the St George team of Hoboken, New Jersey. The baseball is well-worn, with significant cracking and flaking to the gold paint, though the text is largely legible. The detail reads: "1866 - Nov. 7 - Union/St. George Hoboken - 52-2(last number has flaked away). The game was actually a 52-28 victory for the Unions. The belt-style baseball remains in fair to good condition, though the flaking should give one pause when handling.

The St. George Cricket and Base Ball Club is an important one, because George and Harry Wright both played in early matches there. The team played its games on the grounds of Elysian Fields in Hoboken, just across the Hudson River from New York City. Though George had moved to the Unions club in 1866, he played for St. Georges in this particular game, scoring four runs in the loss.  

The Unions club was, of course, one of the most powerful clubs in the country, and certainly one of the most important teams in New York.  The team included catcher Dave Birdsall and second baseman/outfielder Al Martin, both of whom went on to play professional baseball with some of the earliest teams. Despite many of its players leaving the team with Harry Wright in 1866, defecting to the Cincinnati Base Ball Club, it remained a powerhouse, winning the league championship in 1867. Given the tradition of using the game ball to make the trophy ball, it is reasonable to assume that George Wright, Dave Birdsall and Al Martin all played with - and hit - this very ball, making it a direct connection to the founders of the game.

The ball itself, a belt-style ball stitched together with a one-piece cover, was almost certainly made by John Van Horn, a master craftsman and the first great early maker of baseballs. Van Horn was an early member of the Unions and owned a boot and shoe shop in New York City. Van Horn, along with Harvey Ross of Brooklyn, made the best baseballs of the era and were responsible for the balls used in nearly all the matches played in the 1860s and early 1870s.

As noted, the ball exhibits significant wear, surface abrasions and chips, along with a mounting hole at the bottom, a common issue with Unions baseballs from this era. The Unions displayed their trophy balls in a case that was disassembled in the 1930s or 1940s, with many of the surviving balls making their way to the Baseball Hall of Fame. The few that remain are among the most highly coveted collectibles of the early game, with this example carrying remarkable importance due to its connection to George Wright, a Hall of Famer and founding father of the game, as well as to one of the most significant baseball teams of the day.