April 15, 2023 | Reposted from facebook.com/katemitasbooks
It may not look like much, but this somewhat battered tintype is one of the few surviving images of a player for the Seneca Stars, and the earliest I’ve been able to find. The Stars were a baseball team made up entirely of American Indians, primarily those from the Seneca Nation of Indians. Although the Seneca Stars Baseball Club was formed in 1882, the team doesn’t seem to have competed outside of Seneca lands until 1896, when then-Chief Shank reorganized the club. By 1897, according to the April 10 issue of Sporting Life that year, over 40 players tried out for the team, with the tryouts including javelin-throwing contests and foot races, as well as more traditional baseball activities. The team began regularly placing advertisements in newspapers for challengers, and traveled throughout New York, Ontario, Michigan, and Ohio, and likely more areas, for games.
Notably, the Seneca Stars also appear to have dabbled in football, playing at least one game that was reported in the newspapers — against Columbia College (now part of Columbia University) in late November, 1899. The pants worn by the player here may in fact be football pants, although it’s hard to know for sure.
Edited: This stunning photograph is now on hold — but still stop by booth E18 at the New York Fair and say hi! #americanindian #baseball #sportshistory #nyiabf
