A reader of our blog post on Acton's early baseball kindly sent us a studio picture of another local baseball team. One of the players is identified; the man seated at the far right is Jim O’Neil, born in Acton in 1878. The picture was estimated to have been taken sometime around 1898.
It is possible that the photograph may have been an East Acton baseball team. We found a July, 1897 article that listed the team at that time:
M. Hayes, catcher
F. O’Neil, pitcher
S. D. Taylor, shortstop
H. Holt, 2nd base
S. Guilford, Left field
C. Smith, 1st base
J. O’Neal, centerfield
F. Davis, right field
T. Hayes, 3rd base
Players moved around, so it is also possible that Jim O'Neil played for another team. Trying to research the 1897 East Acton team's players, we found players M. Hayes and T. Hayes on a Concord Junction team in 1902.
Can anyone help us to identify this team or any of its players? Please contact us.
M. Hayes, catcher
F. O’Neil, pitcher
S. D. Taylor, shortstop
H. Holt, 2nd base
S. Guilford, Left field
C. Smith, 1st base
J. O’Neal, centerfield
F. Davis, right field
T. Hayes, 3rd base
Players moved around, so it is also possible that Jim O'Neil played for another team. Trying to research the 1897 East Acton team's players, we found players M. Hayes and T. Hayes on a Concord Junction team in 1902.
Can anyone help us to identify this team or any of its players? Please contact us.