With the immortal line, “I shall probably take our team South for several weeks practice in the Spring, starting, say, the last week of February, and would be pleased to learn if we could arrange to locate at St. Augustine” spring training in Florida was born! This letter, written on December 11, 1889, by baseball pioneer and Philadelphia Phillies manager Harry Wright to O.D. Seavey, Esq., expresses his interest in the Florida town for not just his team but for Brooklyn as well. Wright inquiries about playing games in Jacksonville as well as St. Augustine, opining that it “could be made very interesting.” Up until this time, most teams had some sort of spring training regimen, barnstorming around the warmer states until opening day, but Harry Wright’s Phillies were one of, if not the first, to make a single town its home base for preseason training.
The two-page letter is written in black fountain pen(6-7/10) on Philadelphia Ball Club letterhead. There are several horizontal folds from mailing along with edge wear and tearing. The top section of the letterhead has come loose and then secured with adhesive tape, the routine of which can be made out. There are some water stains visible and the letter has overall toning, none of which affects the legibility of the content nor Harry Wright’s flourishing signature on the second page. A true piece of baseball history penned by an important Hall of Fame contributor to our National Pastime that introduced a yearly ritual as American and beloved as the 4th of July barbecue and the Rose Bowl Parade. The letter comes with an LOA from PSA/DNA.