Baseball Centennial - 1939

June 12, 1939 Cooperstown, NY

The US Postal Service issued a 3c stamp to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the formation of the rule of baseball. The Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce issued a resolution in 1937 requesting the US Post Office Department issue a stamp in commemoration of the baseball anniversary. This request was probably bolstered by the fact that President F. Roosevelt was an avid stamp collector, Ford Frick, president of the National League was an avid stamp collector and Postmaster General Jame Farley was an avid baseball fan and first baseman.

At Roosevelt's request Farley drew a proposed sketch of boys playing in a field, to which Roosevelt suggested the church in the background. Bureau of Engraving artist William Roach provided the final design of the stamp, which featured boys playing a sandlot game of baseball based on a site in Milford, Delaware. The engravers of the stamp were Charles A. Brooks (vignette) and James T. Vail (lettering and frame).

The first cachet to mention the baseball centennial

A-241 - Leatherstocking Stamp Club  - 855-60a

The Leatherstocking stamp was formed in 1934 with the purpose of promoting baseball and obtaining a commemorative stamp for the 1939 centennial anniversary of formation of official rules of baseball (as thought at that time). Credit was given to Abner Doubleday for the rules, since Doubleday was born in Ballston Spa, served in the Civil War as a General, and played his baseball in a pasture in Cooperstown, NY..

Since National Air-Mail Week was a huge event in 1938, the Leatherstocking Stamp club created a cachet to be used for this event, but to also promote the upcoming baseball centennial. The Air-Mail cachet was designed by Alfred Cobbett

Cobbett also designed several cachets to be used as the official Leatherstocking design. The seal was intended to be used on the reverse of envelopes, parcels, etc.. and were available in local stores.

Small boy covers - It was President Roosevelt's wish that every boy (girls were not excluded) be able to obtain a first day cover of the baseball issue. Any boy sending a self-addressed envelope and 3-cents to their postmaster, would have their envelope forwarded to Cooperstown to obtain a first day cover. This created problems for the Cooperstown staff as the volume of mail was greater than expected and not every child followed the instructions specifically. Cooperstown Postmaster Bundy took on the additional costs required. When their supply of envelopes ran out, Bundy contacted the Leatherstocking Stamp Club and obtained some of their envelopes 9which had the words first day of issue overprinted to complete the orders..

Possible Small-boy cover (with additional autographs from Ed Kranepool and Joe Peptone)

Small-boy replacement cachet (scan from Baseball Centennial - First Days)*

A-242 - 855-60b

Leatherstocking Stamp Club

1939 Baseball
*Baseball Centennial 1839-1939, Robert D Barron, First Days Journal October 1983
Baseball...Stamps...Autographs, Elten F Schiller, Hentzell Publications, San Diego 1982 (A-#)
Plant's Encyclopedia of Cacheted F.D.C.s, Vol IX, Mike Mellone, FDC Publishing Co, Stewartsville, NJ 1983 (p855-#)