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Commercial ledger book. Folio (8½" x 14"). Contemporary dark red half leather and black cloth over boards. "Y.U.B.B.A." [Yale University Base Ball Association] ink stamp on front free endpaper, signed underneath in ink: "John McDonnell, Ass t Mgr, 1910". Leather backstrip is perished with back cover detached, leather corners are chipped, first two leaves excised, else near fine, with interior pages clean and bright. Contains 31 pages of neatly written manuscript account entries, all presumably in the hand of John McDonnell, including three Yale Financial Union (YFU) payments made to Yale s famous football coach and sports writer Walter Camp. An informative ledger book that documents deposits, income, and the various expenses incurred by Yale s baseball team when the team was playing on the road and at home (listing Hotels, meals, transportation, printing of tickets, gate receipts, various supplies, etc.). John McDonnell s neat detailed record of income and expenses from 1909-10 are divided into four sections: "National Tradesmen s Bank"; "Cash Account"; "City Bank of New Haven"; and "Bills sent to Yale Financial Union". All four sections provide a running record of the games and trips (and the expenses associated with each), and of the names of teams played: "Vermont game; Bucknell game; West Point trip; Brown trip; South trip, Hartford League game; NY Nationals game; etc., and of course, all the numerous games with Princeton and Harvard are recorded. The ledger also includes three payments (reimbursements?) made to Walter Camp in July, 1910. The first two are recorded in the first section under the National Tradesmen s Bank account: "July 5 / YFU by check to Walter Camp on acc t ($11,000); "July 7 / YFU by check to Walter Camp on acc t ($1,650.84)". The third is recorded under the City Bank of New Haven account: "July 6 / YFU by check to Walter Camp, Treas. ($1,638.02)". Walter Camp (1859-25) attended Yale College, where he played and coached football in the 1880s and 90s. A prolific sports writer, his influence on the development of football earned him the appellation "Father of American Football". He later received a small salary as treasurer of the Yale Financial Union, overseeing all of the school s athletics. After more than a decade in that position the YFU had accumulated $100,000, which helped fund construction of the Yale Bowl, where the school still plays its home games. A member of Skull & Bones and graduate of the Class of 1911, John McDonnell served as manager of Yale s baseball team and later pursued a career in banking. A rare primary source ledger book that sheds light on the management of Yale s baseball team during the Walter Camp era. Seller Inventory # 552592
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