Pre-professional Baseball
Born 1847 in Cincinnati, Ohio, Gould began his organized baseball career for the local Buckeye club in 1863 as their regular first baseman, and was still in that role when the club joined the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) in 1866. During the off-season, he worked as a bookkeeper for his father's butter and eggs business. His lanky frame and long arms were physical traits that assisted him in becoming a well-regarded fielder, and he was known to rarely make errors.
He stayed with the Buckeyes through the 1866 season, then he joined the cross-town rivals, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, for the 1867 season. The Red Stockings, bolstered by players imported from the east coast, defeated the Buckeyes and other regional rivals that summer and fared well against all but the strongest teams on a tour from Washington to Albany to Cleveland in the fall. In September 1867, at the locally held Great Baseball Tournament, he won the prizes for "farthest throw" 302 ft 3 in (92.13 m) and "best second base".
Known as a hard-working, affable man, and one of the best humored men in the game, he played every game in 1868, and all but one 1869. He fielding prowess was so well known that fellow players began calling him 'the bushel-basket'.
Read more about this topic: Charlie Gould
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