In the summer of 1860, the New York style of “base ball” rose to prominence in Hartford, Connecticut. One of the first teams to organize was the Independent Base Ball Club. Local merchants, W. O. Sherman and Charles A. Griswold served as President and Vice President. The Independents were most likely the forerunner of the Charter Oak Base Ball Club, founded in 1862 at Bushnell Park.

The Charter Oak Base Ball Club was named after an unusually large White Oak tree called the Charter Oak – a symbol of American freedom that fell during a storm in 1856. Club membership was limited to 40 men. Game days were Monday, Wednesday and Friday. According to the Hartford Courant in 1862, the team’s mission was to, “…establish on a scientific basis the health-giving and scientific game of base ball, and to promote good fellowship among its players.”

The Charter Oaks were founded by Gershom B. Hubbell, originally a native of Bridgeport. He was a telegrapher at the American Telegraph on Main Street, Hartford and later, superintendent of Western Union’s Hartford office. Hubbell was President of the Charter Oaks.

Other elected officers included: James B. Burbank, Vice President; Charles A. Jewell, Secretary and Treasurer; Thomas Hollister, G. F. Hills and E. H. Lane, Directors. James Burbank was a clerk; Charles Jewell, was a clerk at his father’s hide and leather business, Pliny Jewell & Sons; Enos A. Lane, 20, was also a clerk at George S. Lincoln Company, iron founders of Hartford; George F. Hills, aged 25, a teller at the State Bank; and Thomas A. Hollister, aged 30, who returned from New York as an apprentice bookbinder. All of the founders, except Burbank, made Hartford their permanent home.

The Charter Oaks actually field three teams: a “first nine,” a “second nine” and a “muffin team” for older players. Practices and friendly intersquad games were held at Bushnell Park. Their uniforms consisted of blue pants, a white shirt and a white hat. On July 17, 1862 the club chose its first nine. They were the Bunce twins—Frederick and Henry Lee (both of whom became banking executives), Henry Yergason, Dickinson, Burbank, Branch, Hills, Hollister and Gershom Hubbell. In 1863, the team disbanded due to the start of the American Civil War and the ensuing military draft.

The Charter Oaks reorganized in the summer of 1864 and performed better than ever before. The club defeated Trinity College, the Hartford Mechanics and nines from Middletown, Norwich, Collinsville, and Waterbury. The Oaks recruited a Trinity student, Cy Blackwell to take over pitching duties. In the fall of 1864, Blackwell and the Charter Oaks out-dueled New Haven’s Yale College by a score of 44-32. A rematch was later cancelled due to snowy weather.

By 1865, “base ball” soared in popularity as soldiers returned home from the Civil War. Thousands of spectators witnessed the Oaks win a majority of their games along the banks of Park River in Hartford’s Bushnell Park. In addition to local teams, the Oaks “first nine” competed against the game’s first professional clubs in an era when there was no official difference between professional and amateur. The Philadelphia Athletics, the Atlantics of Brooklyn, the Unions of Morrisania, the Eons of Portland, Maine, the Lowells of Lowell, Massachusetts, the Eurekas of Newark, New Jersey, were among the top challengers to visit Hartford.

The Charter Oak Base Ball Club also scheduled away games, otherwise known as “base ball excursions.” In Worcester, Massachusetts, on July 31, 1865, the Oaks were thoroughly defeated by Harvard, 35-13. Nevertheless, the Oaks earned a winning record against in-state rivals that season. As a result, they were honored as champions of Connecticut and given a miniature wooden bat with inscribed silver emblems by a supporter of the club, J. G. Belden. The bat was claimed to be made from the original Charter Oak tree.

In 1866, the Charter Oaks retained the state championship in a three-game series against the Norwich Chesters. A final game took place at Hamilton Park (later known as Howard Avenue Grounds) in New Haven, Connecticut. The Oaks dominated the Norwich club, winning 39-22. A second consecutive state championship padded their well-regarded reputation.

When the season was through, Hubbell represented the Charter Oaks at an annual “National Base Ball Convention” in New York City. Connecticut had 20 clubs represented. The game, its rules and its clubs made efforts to standardize and coordinate base ball operations. The following season the Pequots of New London managed to win the state title from the Charter Oaks. Up to this point, Hubbell and the Bunce twins appeared in every Oaks game.

The following season the Pequots of New London managed to win the state title back from the Charter Oaks. Up to this point, Hubbell and the Bunce twins appeared in every Oaks game. Hubbell and his players stayed active in the off-season too. He hosted Connecticut’s first base ball convention in Hartford at Central Hall on Central Row.

In attendance were representatives from each of the state’s base ball clubs of 1867. The meeting formed the Connecticut Base Ball Players Association headed by Gershom Hubbell. He held two more base ball conventions in Hartford. By the 1870 meeting, the Charter Oaks were disbanded, but they had already put Hartford on the base ball map. The Charter Oaks and Hubbell led the early development of base ball in Hartford and greater things were to come.

Four years after the Oaks disbanded, Hartford’s first professional team was established: The Hartford Base Ball Club. Hubbell was selected as the new club’s President. The Hartford Base Ball Club became known as the Dark Blues, and they were inaugural members of the National League. Hartford’s own Morgan G. Bulkeley was selected to be the National League’s first President. At the time, Bulkeley was a City Councilor and a Board Member of Aetna Insurance.

Gershom Hubbell might have been overshadowed by the presence of Morgan Bulkeley, but his contributions were in the grassroots. In addition to pioneering the game, Hubbell was also a three-term City Council member of Hartford’s 7th Ward, an expert electrician and a championship pool player. He is credited with introducing the first telephones to Bell Telephone Company and with starting Hartford’s first telephone exchange. Hubbell owned a billiards hall on Pearl Street during the late 1860’s called Charter Oak Billiard Hall.

Hubbell’s billiards hall was undoubtedly a gathering point for the Charter Oaks Base Ball Club. Their camaraderie led to the historic formation of Hartford’s first professional team. They were a critical link in the chain of organized base ball in Connecticut, and Nutmeggers have been big fans of the game ever since.

Sources

1. Hartford Courant database on Newspapers.com

2. Synopsis of the Charter Oak Base Ball Club by Gary “Pops” O’Maxfield –https://hartford.omaxfield.com/citycenter/cobbc.html