By The Grafton Historical Society History and Research Committee – George Carroll, Mary O’Hara, John LaPoint
Among the important research projects the Grafton Historical Society has compiled was information about a mid to late 1800’s facility known simply as the “Base Ball Grounds.” The “Grounds” were located in Grafton Center, to the southeast of the Common, behind the Baptist Church and adjacent to the Grafton and Upton Railroad Station. The grounds were reached by a road that connected to the rear of family lots on South Street. The location of the Grafton baseball grounds is shown on an 1898 Worcester County Atlas. Of particular interest in 2011, the Grafton baseball grounds were located on what is now known as the Perreault property that was purchased by the town of Grafton.
Image from 1899 Atlas – Click on Image to enlarge map
The Historical Society’s History and Research Committee has compiled information about the Grafton Baseball Grounds, how long the facility was in use, and what teams played there. In the 1985 publication “Grafton at 250,” there is a brief mention of an annual Red Sox exhibition game being played in Grafton around the turn of the century at a “field on Upton Street back of the coal company yard,” and “on the day of the game it was not uncommon to have 5,000 people congregate, many seated on open bleachers, along with horses and buggies everywhere.”
Initial research of Worcester newspapers from 1897-1899 found mentions of a “Hassanamisco Park” and games being played by an amateur baseball team called the “Graftons.” One newspaper article noted that a particular contest at the ball grounds was expected to be so well attended that advance tickets were sold at the Grafton center post office. The newspaper accounts of that time are sketchy at best, but a Grafton baseball club was holding regular meetings at the Grafton Inn. No mention of the baseball grounds appears in any of the Grafton town reports of the later 1800’s and no photographs of the Grafton baseball grounds have been found.
The committee was aware of major league baseball records showing several Grafton born players, most notably Hugh Bradley, a utility infielder for the 1912 Boston Red Sox who hit the first home run in Fenway Park, and William Warren “Hick” Carpenter, a left-handed throwing third baseman for Cincinnati’s major league teams of the 1880’s. After additional newspaper research the committee found game accounts of a Grafton baseball team playing in 1874 and 1875, playing some games at the grounds in Grafton Center and others at the Agricultural Fairgrounds in Worcester. The Grafton team won the Massachusetts amateur baseball championship in 1875. A picture of the 1875 team, discovered in the Historical Society’s photo archives, shows five players, including Grafton residents Asa Stratton, George Adams, and William Carpenter, all of whom went on to play at least one game of major league baseball in the 1880’s.
Grafton Baseball Club 1875
Further research, now assisted by members of the 19th century committee of the Society of American Baseball Research, have documented that baseball was played on the Grafton baseball grounds as early as August 31 of 1860. This pre civil war time period is consistent with documentation of an 1859 championship team playing in Upton known as the “Excelsiors.”
For further information on Grafton’s many baseball teams from the 1800’s forward check our newest book, “The History of Baseball in Grafton”, by Joe Kuras.
The Grafton Historical Society is a private organization that collects, preserves and interprets objects related to the history of Grafton, Massachusetts. The office and museum are located at 71 Main Street, South Grafton, MA. The Historical Society is managed by a volunteer board of directors, along with a core of dedicated volunteer museum docents. Educational programs are often held monthly, September through May. For additional information, contact Historical Society President Kristen Remilllard at 508-839-0000 or email at graftonmahistory@gmail.com or 1-774-287-8424.
- Download Grafton News Article PDF June 8, 2011, Page 21
