May 30, 1904 New York Highlanders (vs. Philadelphia Athletics) Program with Keeler and Griffith on Cover - Rube Waddell Registers a Shutout

Rare and extremely early New York Highlanders program, issued for a game against the Philadelphia Athletics, dating from the club's second season in the newly formed American League. The colorful cover features portrait images of team manager Clark Griffith and star outfielder "Wee Willie" Keeler, as well as the year ("1904") and advertising for a local New York jeweler. The 8-page program includes a large photo of American League president Ban Johnson surrounded by portrait photos of Keeler, Deacon McGuire, Jimmy Williams, and Barney Wolfe. The preprinted lineups include Keeler, Williams, Conroy, and Ganzel for New York, and Waddell, Hartsel, L. Cross, Murphy, and Hoffman for Philadelphia. Neatly scored in pencil to record a 1-0 Philadelphia victory. Future Hall of Famer Rube Waddell limited the Highlanders to seven hits (two by Keeler) and struck out 8 in his complete-game victory over Highlanders pitcher Tom Hughes. Research indicates that this game was the second game of a doubleheader held on Monday, May 30th. New York won the first game 7-4. The is one of only 3 1904 New York Highlanders programs we can recall having seen at auction, making it an exceedingly rare souvenir from the Highlanders (who would be known as the Yankees in 1913) second season in franchise history. The program (5.5 x 8 inches) is in Fair condition overall, with a number of small tears throughout, tape repair to the exterior spin, tape repair to the detached score sheet, a bookseller's stamp on the back cover, and both the year and opponent's name written on the cover in pencil. Despite the obvious flaws, the program still presents well and is ideal for display.