Long before synthetic turf graced Red Rolfe Field at Biondi Park, outfielders dove for pop flies on the Green. There were no dugouts or batting cages. Spectators arrived by horse and buggy.

America’s pastime came to Dartmouth in autumn of 1865 with the creation of a 30-member College association that organized teams of nine based upon class years and instituted class contests. The Aegis reported the sport was a welcome addition, given “the lack of interest displayed in the foot-ball game.”

By spring of 1866 the College fielded a varsity nine to compete against other schools, winning the state championship in their inaugural season. 

The Aegis observed, “Our national game, base-ball, is a manifold blessing to our college. It has performed an important mission in bringing about the change of sentiment which has brought the classes to a better feeling toward each other.”

Men had played amateur baseball since the 1840s, and soldiers organized games as a respite from fighting during the Civil War. Dartmouth’s early baseball years created a pipeline of talent. Through the next century and beyond the College has sent dozens of players on to the pros, including, most recently, Ben Rice ’22.

Photos courtesy Dartmouth College Library

The 1869 Dartmouth nine

Ralph Glaze, class of 1906 (right), pitched a no-hitter against Columbia. He went on to play for the Boston Americans, the team later known as the Boston Red Sox.

“The very symbol, the outward and visible expression of the drive, and push, and rush and struggle of the raging, tearing, booming nineteenth century!”

—Mark Twain, April 1889, describing the grand old game

Clockwise from top left

1884: Baseball team, with manager in top hat, played 18 games. This was the first year pitchers were allowed to throw overhand.

1906: Bertram Beckett, class of 1908, pitched for Dartmouth from 1905 to 1907, but was later disqualified for playing professionally.

1892: A procession escorted the Dartmouths, baseball champions of the Triangular League for 1892, after the last game with Amherst.

1893: Dartmouth alumni paid to build an athletic field called the Alumni Oval, where baseball and football were played—later renamed Memorial Field.

1884: The popularity of baseball grew after the Civil War and was reflected in small towns such as Hanover that formed teams and played other towns. Undergraduates played on the Hanover Town Baseball Club. On floor, far right, is Leon Viau, class of 1888, who pitched in the major leagues from 1888 to 1892.

Clockwise from top left

Circa 1900: A hard-hit ball in a game played on the Green in front of McNutt Hall

1889: The varsity baseball team included Fred Wayland Woodcock, class of 1891 (bottom row, second from left), who pitched in the major leagues for the 1892 Pittsburgh Pirates. After his one season in the majors, he played in the New England league and in the Texas-Southern league.

1866: The inaugural Dartmouth varsity baseball team reorganized that fall and began wearing uniforms. Baseball became the first sport to represent the College in intercollegiate athletic competition. 

Circa 1900: Lawrence Varney, class of 1902 (left), takes practice. He pitched professionally for the Cleveland Blues during the 1902 season.