New Hampshire's Robert "Red" Rolfe, with New York Yankees teammates Frankie Crosetti, Tony Lazzeri, and Lou Gehrig, circa 1935. Rolfe, a Penacook, N.H., native, signed with the Yankees in 1931. In his nine-year career, he hit over .300 four times and played in six World Series. He was voted the Yankee's all-time best third baseman and later managed the Detroit Tigers.

 

Some Kind of Game!

New Hampshire Plays Baseball

CONCORD, N.H. - The Museum of New Hampshire History in Concord is exhibiting "Some Kind of Game! New Hampshire Plays Baseball," exploring the state's many contributions to America's favorite pastime. The show remains on display through December 6.

The exhibition includes the stories of school teams, youth leagues, town teams, industrial leagues, minor leagues, and profiles of the more than four dozen Granite Staters who made it to the major leagues. The state's once prominent role in the manufacture of baseball equipment is also featured.

The exhibition's title is derived from game six of the 1975 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds. Charlestown, N.H.'s Carlton Fisk hit the game-winning home run in the twelfth inning, probably the best-known and most dramatic moment ever experienced by a New Hampshire player in a major league game. In the tenth inning, Cincinnati's Pete Rose, sensing the drama, exclaimed to Fisk, "This is some kind of game...!"

New Hampshire has made many significant contributions to the sport of baseball. Less than two decades after Alexander Cartwright codified baseball's rules in 1845, games were covered extensively in the state's newspapers. New Hampshire is home to the nation's oldest Sunset League, founded in 1907, and the state has supported several minor league teams, including the 1905 New England League champions. Dating as far back as the 1870s, Concord, Dover, Epping, Fremont, Kingston, Nashua, Newington, and Portsmouth have all fielded professional teams. Today's Nashua Pride carries on this tradition.

Another Nashua minor league team, the 1946 Dodgers, was one of the first integrated teams in organized baseball, its key players being Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe. As Jackie Robinson broke in that very same year with Montreal in the Dodger farm system, Campanella and Newcombe led Nashua to a New England League championship.

New Hampshire has been home to more than four dozen major league players. Carlton Fisk, Mike Flanagan, Mike LaValliere, Steve Balboni, and Bob Tewksbury are all familiar major league names. How many recognize the St Louis Browns' Arlie Latham of the 1880s, Fred Brown of the 1901 National League Boston Beaneaters, or Ted Lewis who also played with Boston from 1896 to 1900? These are not household baseball names, perhaps, but Brown would eventually become governor of New Hampshire while Lewis would become president of the University of New Hampshire.

Among the notable New Hampshire major leagues are Robert "Red" Rolfe and Birdie Tebbetts. Tebbetts had a successful career not only as a catcher, but as a manager. Rolfe, a Penacook native, attended Phillips Exeter Academy and graduated from Dartmouth College before signing with the New York Yankees in 1931. In his distinguished nine-year career, he hit over .300 four times and played in six World Series. He was voted the Yankees' all-time best third baseman. Later, Red managed the Detroit Tigers and then finished his career as athletic director at Dartmouth College.

New Hampshire made significant contributions as well to the manufacture of baseball equipment. Plymouth's Draper-Maynard Company was a pioneer baseball glove manufacturer and produced superior balls and bats for use in the major leagues. Babe Ruth and his fellow Red Sox players would travel to Plymouth to select their gloves personally.

The museum, at The Hamel Center, 6 Eagle Square, is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30 am to 5 pm; Thursday and Friday, 5 to 8:30 pm; and Sundays, noon to 5 pm. The museum is also open Mondays, 9:30 am to 5 pm from July 1 through October 15 and in December. Admission is $5.