1868 BASEBALL MEDALLION ISSUED TO F.H. SUMNER OF BOSTON LOWELLS (NABBP)

Featured here is an 1868 Baseball Medallion that was issued to F.H. Sumner of the Boston Lowells Base Ball Club, associated with the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP). This medallion was created in a very unique time during America’s history, just three years past the violence of the American Civil War and still a year before the official beginning of professional baseball, providing an interesting track of history for this item.

The 1868 medallion is in a category of its own as it stands as one of the earliest known awards given to a baseball player. The front of the medallion depicts two crossed baseball bats behind a baseball as the centerpiece. The rear side is engraved with “Won by F.H. Sumner, June 17, 1868.” There is speculation that the Lowells had made an arrangement to play Brown University on the date engraved on the medallion, but played the university’s Junior Varsity team instead. The Lowells still fell short in the game to the university’s less talented team. Because of this, it is believed that the medallion may have been awarded to Sumner for a separate competition on the same day.

The medallion consists of 14K gold and weighs in at around 10 grams. It measures around 1.5” on both sides to appear as a symmetrical square. This artifact features no clasp on the rear side, so it may have been originally attached with a ribbon when Sumner first obtained it. This medallion has been through a lot of baseball history and remains in excellent condition one-hundred and fifty years later.