« Exhibits Home
Current exhibit: Online Exhibit: Play Ball!
Previous display: 03. 1890s
Next display: 05. 1910s

04. 1900s

Lambeth Field, by all accounts a splendid place to play baseball and, despite its hard benches, a good place to watch it, was opened in 1902. Close to the streetcar terminus and to Fayerweather Gymnasium, and accommodating large crowds, it would remain a principal venue for local baseball until 1972.

U.Va. and it rivals would play at Lambeth Field, but so would community-based teams and visiting professionals. Commencement at the University in 1908 included a contest between students and faculty. One feature of the game was the umpiring of Professor William H. Echols. In a close decision he tossed a coin to see whether or not a man was safe. The faculty won both the toss and the game.

Local teams played at a number of fields, including the Wine Cellar diamond (now the site of the Albemarle County Office building) and a downtown field described by the local newspaper as “on the site formerly occupied by the Walter and Vandegrift shop.”

Company-sponsored teams played each other. For a game in 1906, which cost 15 cents to attend, the Daily Progress announced “Dr. Rea and Jones will do the twirling for the Michie Company team while Dr. Rogers will be in the box for the Businessmen.”

The Charlottesville Base Ball Association, Inc. was formed in 1908 to promote play by the city team against the best opponents in Virginia and nearby states. The association’s officers included James B. Wood, R.W. Holsinger, R.T. Martin and J.H. Montague.