Lot # 2348: 1896 Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Giants Program - Willie Keeler Cover

Extremely rare baseball program dating from the glory years of the legendary 1890s Baltimore Orioles and one in a series of programs issued that season by the Orioles featuring a player photo on the cover. The colorful cover features a sepia portrait of Baltimore right fielder and Hall of Famer Willie Keeler surrounded by an illustrated game-in-progress scene and advertising for a number of local Baltimore establishments. A Pepsin Gum advertisement appears on the back cover. The four-page program, which is not scored, was issued for a game against the New York Giants. The interior preprinted lineups include Kelley, Keeler, and Jennings for Baltimore, and G. Davis, Van Haltren, and Tiernan for New York. Baltimore captured its third consecutive National League pennant in 1896 and then continued its success in the postseason by sweeping the Cleveland Spiders in four games in the Temple Cup. (The Temple Cup matched the National League's first-and-second place finishers in a best-of-seven postseason series to determine the World Champions.) The program (6 x 9 inches) displays a number of light creases and minor edge tears. In Fair to Good condition overall.