Offered here is one of the most fascinating and important 19th Century baseball manuscripts ever discovered. The well traveled 3 ¼” by 6” leather bound volume is a personal diary kept by Hall of Fame legend Willie Keeler while he was with Baltimore in 1896, the year before he set his 44-game mark. It is written in a neat, slanted hand - pretty good for a youth who quit school at 15 to become a ballplayer. Keeler placed his graceful “W. Keeler Sept. 1896” signature on the first free end page in sepia ink (8-9 out of 10). An additional identifier in Keeler’s hand, appearing on the back of the same page reads, “Wm. H. Keeler 376 Pulasko St. Brooklyn N.Y.” (9/10). The ensuing pages include approx. 70 dated entries in Keeler’s own hand from September to December of 1896, with the earliest entries covering the 1896 Temple Cup series between Keeler’s Baltimore Orioles and the Cleveland Spiders. The Temple Cup was a forerunner of the World Series, with the first and second place teams in the National League meeting in a best-of-seven playoff. Baltimore defeated Cleveland in four straight games. Following are some excerpts:
Sept. 27, 1896:”Played Newark and was almost ate up by the mosquitoes. Never knew mosquitoes to bite like those did today. We won 5 to 3.”
Sept. 28, 1896: “Played Scranton before a large crowd and beat them 4 to 2. Hughey was presented with a diamond pin from his Scranton admirers.” The reference is to Hughey Jennings, the Baltimore HOF shortstop who was Keeler’s best friend.
Oct. 1, 1896: “Was to have played Cleveland in first game for Temple Cup. But the game was postponed because the Cleveland team was delayed by a wreck on the road.”
Oct. 3, 1896: “Second Temple Cup game Joe Corbett pitched he pitched very good ball he will be a star pitcher in a very short time. Look out for him.”
Oct. 4, 1896: “Third game Hoffer pitched he won nothing can be said about him everyone knows he is one of the true stars of the League.”
Oct. 5, 1896: “Went out to the Ball Grounds and practiced most of the day we leave for Cleveland at 3 o’clock tomorrow evening to play the last three Temple Cup games.”
Oct. 6, 1896: “On our way to Cleveland to finish Temple Cup games we expect to win it the first day.”
Oct. 7, 1896: “Was to play Cleveland weather was to cold postponed until Thursday.”
Oct. 8, 1896: “Fourth game Joe Corbett pitched and shut the Cleveland team out 5 to 0 it was one of the most exciting games I ever played in. Afterward, the Temple Cup was filled three times with champagne. It takes 7 bottles to fill it.”
Oct. 9, 1896: “Arrived in Balt from Cleveland was met at the depot by an immense throng and was divert to Ganghorns where an elegant repast was served in our honor. The three time Champions and Temple Cup winners.”
In the entry space dated Oct. 2, 1896, Keeler kept a running account of each Temple Cup game result as follows:
“Played first Temple Cup game, won 7 to 1.”
“Second game 7 to 2.”
“Third Game 6 to 2.”
“Fourth game 5 to 0 Winning it in four straight games.”
Oct. 10, 1896: “We accepted an invitation by the In. A.C. to see their games. Jim Wofers was to try and lower the record for 100 yards, but he could only equal his own time of 9 4/5 seconds, the fastest time made.”
On Oct. 13, 1896, Keeler apparently participated in an amateur track meet. Under the heading Field Day Events, he wrote, “Won base running, 15 S. Dead heat in the 100-year dash. Kelley and I 10¼ S.”
We take this to mean that Keeler, perhaps the fastest man in baseball in his time, circled the bases in 15 seconds and ran the century in 10.25 seconds.”
The diary then leaves sports and goes on to talk about a trip in Europe that Keeler took with Jennings, John McGraw, Joe Kelly, and Arlington Pond, all Baltimore teammates. He writes that a cannon salute was fired in their honor when they began their voyage. The diary has some charming passages about Keeler’s feelings when touring the site of the battle of Waterloo and upon seeing Ireland, “the home of our parents.” All in all, Keeler comes across as a likable, objective guy who enjoyed the company of his fellows. Another personal entry stated that Keeler was unmarried and that he lived with his parents in Brooklyn. Several pages were removed from the front and back sections of the diary at some unknown point. Willie Keeler died in Brooklyn on New Years Day, 1923, at the early age of 59.
The diary appears in about VG condition, typical of its age and nature. All writing remains quite bold and legible consistently rendered in dark sepia colored ink. There are not enough superlatives to convey the rarity and historical aura of a piece like this. To hold this in your hands – as Keeler himself did in the throes of competition for 19th century baseball’s ultimate prize – is an extraordinary experience for any aficionado of early baseball lore. Includes a letter of provenance from Keeler’s descendant.