Elizabeth Resolutes

Team history

The Resolutes began as an amateur club in the mid-1860s, assembling a strong roster by recruiting the best local players, particularly from the nearby Irvington Athletic Club. Their amateur success culminated in winning the New Jersey state championship in 1870. After nearly a decade as an amateur team, they paid $10 to join the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, becoming the first professional team in the state. The 1873 season proved disastrous: the club played only 23 games, winning two and losing 21, and lost all eight home games. They would have finished last in the National Association had the Baltimore Marylands not played only six games and lost all of them. Poor attendance was partly attributed to a failure to properly advertise games. Across their 23 games, the Resolutes allowed an average of 13 runs per game while scoring just over 4 runs per game. They participated in the first professional baseball doubleheader on July 4, 1873, against the Boston Red Stockings, winning the first game 11-2 and losing the second 32-3. Their final game was an August 7 loss to the New York Mutuals, 20-3, ending their season nearly four months before the NA's last game of 1873. Leading hitter Art Allison batted a career-high .320 while playing all 23 games, mostly in the outfield. Hugh Campbell was the pitcher of record for both wins and 16 losses, also playing first base and outfield. After the Resolutes, Art Allison played 31 games with the Louisville Grays in the National League's inaugural season; his brother Doug Allison, the team's primary catcher, played nearly 100 National League games. Hugh Campbell never played professional baseball again. The Resolutes and the 1915 Newark Peppers of the Federal League are the only major league teams to have been based in New Jersey.