Douglass Allison
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Douglass L. Allison (1846 - 1916)

Douglass L. Allison
Born in Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United Statesmap
Husband of — married [date unknown] [location unknown]
Died at age 70 in Washington City, District of Columbia, United Statesmap
Problems/Questions Profile managers: DK Clews private message [send private message] and Robert Snow private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 13 Feb 2016
This page has been accessed 880 times.

Contents

Biography

Notables Project
Douglass Allison is Notable.
Pvt Douglass Allison served in the United States Civil War.
Side: USA
Regiment(s): 192nd Regiment, Pennsylvania Infantry

Doug Allison was one of the first professional baseball players in the United States. He played the position of catcher. He was the first player to wear gloves to protect his hands during the game. He also is one of the first catchers to position himself directly behind the batter rather than the usual 20 feet back.

Birth

Douglass Allison was born in Manayunk, a suburb in the northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the eighth of nine children, only six of whom survived to adulthood. He was born 12 July 1946 to John Shaw Allison and his wife Elizabeth Clark. [1]

Death

Doug died 19 December 1916 in Washington, D.C. [1] He was found on the sidewalk near his home as he walked to work. The official cause was acute cardiac dilatation. [1] He is buried in Rock Creek Cemetery, 201 Allison Street NW, Washington, District of Columbia, Plot: Section O, Lot 024. [1]

Marriage

Douglass Allison was married in 1872 to Catherine Hoffman of Ohio. They had one daughter:

  • Blanch E. Allison (1875-1939)

Military

During the Civil War, Doug served as a private in Company L, 192nd Pennsylvania Infantry. [1][2] [3] He enlisted with his brother, Albert Clark Allison.

Career

Douglass was a stone cutter in his hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before 1868.

Catcher: [1]

  • 1868-1870 - Cincinnati Red Stockings
  • 1871 - Washington Olympics
  • 1872 - Troy Haymakers
  • 1872 - Brooklyn Eckfords
  • 1873 - Elizabeth Resolutes
  • 1873-1874 - New York Mutuals
  • 1875-1877 - Hartford Dark Blues
  • 1878-1879 - Providence Grays
  • 1883 - Baltimore Orioles

Manager: [1]

  • 1873 - Elizabeth Resolutes

Douglass was a fireman in Washington, DC after his baseball career. [4] (1890, Washington DC)

After that he had an appointment to the Dead Letter Office of the United States Postal Service. [5] [6]

In 1870, Doug Allison was the first baseball player to wear protective gloves. Previously, catchers were just supposed to stop they ball any way they could so that it could quickly be brought back into play. Catchers wound up with hands that were broken in many places. This is why players rotated positions, but Doug was a catching specialist. Protecting his hands meant he would miss less games due to injury.

Doug Allison's hands

More notes on baseball life:

The Cincinnati census of 1870, ward 5, showed Douglas Allison living in the same hotel as a couple teammates of the Cincinnati Red Stockings, ANDY LEONARD and CAL McVEY. The report has Douglas listed as a stone cutter, Andy as a hatter, and Calvert as a piano maker(see picture attached). Andrew Jackson "Andy" Leonard was born in Ireland, and would become a hero there due to his baseball career in the U.S.. The Cincinnati Red Stockings had been organized by HARRY WRIGHT in 1869, and the team went 65-0 that year.

When the Red Stockings broke up after 1870 due to financial issues, Douglas Allison and four of his teammates would go on to play for the Washington Olympics in 1871: Andy Leonard, ASA BRAINARD, CHARLIE SWEASY, and FRED WATERMAN.

In that year, Douglas and the four mates just mentioned were pictured in a now antique baseball card(see pic attached) known as a cabinet card. This showed the top 11 players for the Washington Olympics. Wikipedia has a page for the WASHINGTON OLYMPICS and more details on the team. Two of the teammates were DAVY FORCE and HENRY BERTHRONG of New York. Henry Berthrong had also served in the Civil War.

Sources are attached to DOUGLAS L. ALLISON's FamilySearch profile.

Wikipedia tells more of his time in baseball, showing he played for about a half dozen teams up to and including the 1883 Baltimore Orioles (see link below).
Notables Project
Douglass Allison is Notable.
  • Professional Baseball player - specialist, catcher; earliest known to wear baseball glove[7]; NABBP, NA, MLB
  • s/o John Shaw Allison & Elizabeth Clark[8]
    • Bro/o Art Alliuson[7]
  • m. Catherine Hoffman[8]
  • Buried at Rock Creek Cemetery[7][8]
  • Private, Company L, 192nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, US Civil War
  • Professional Baseball Player, MLB
    • 1868 Catcher, Cincinnati Red Stockings
    • 1871 Washington Olympics
    • 1872 Troy Haymakers
    • 1872 Brooklyn Eckfords
    • 1873 Elizabeth Resolutes
    • 1873 New York Mutuals
    • 1875 Hartford Dark Blues
    • 1878 Providence Grays
    • 1883 Baltimore Orioles

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Find A Grave: Memorial #47063991 (accessed 14 Feb 2016). Cit. Date: 14 Feb 2016
  2. Ancestry.com, Pennsylvania, Civil War Muster Rolls, 1860-1869 [database online], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data: Pennsylvania (State). Civil War Muster Rolls and Related Records, 1861–1866. Records of the Department of Military and Veterans' Affairs, Record Group 19, Series 19.11 (153 cartons). Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
  3. National Archives and Records Administration, U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 ([online database], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2000)
  4. Ancestry.com, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database online]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
  5. Ancestry.com, 1910 United States Federal Census [database online], Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2006, Year: 1910; Census Place: Precinct 10, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: T624_155; Page: 21B; Enumeration District: 0209; FHL microfilm: 1374168. Cit. Date: 13 Feb 2016
  6. Ancestry.com, U.S., Register of Civil, Military, and Naval Service, 1863-1959 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Department of Commerce and Labor, Bureau of the Census. Official Register of the United States, Containing a List of the Officers and Employees in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service. Digitized books (77 volumes). Oregon State Library, Salem, Oregon
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Wikipedia:Doug Allison, accessed 2 Aug 2021.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Find A Grave: Memorial #47063991, stone photo, accessed 2 Aug 2021.
  • Field of Dreams
  • Wikipedia
  • Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette, eds. The Baseball Encyclopedia, New York: Barnes and Noble, 2004.
  • The Baseball Encyclopedia,, 9th ed. New York: Macmillan, 1993.
  • Stephen D. Guschov, The Red Stockings of Cincinnati. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1998, 30.
  • John Thorn, Baseball in the Garden of Eden, New York: Simon and Schuster, 2011, 144.

See also:

  • 1872 Ohio marriage record
  • 1880 census Ohio
  • 1900 census Washington, DC
  • 1910 census Washington, DC
  • Findagrave 47063991
  • FamilySearch profile 9MJ3-T6L




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Comments: 2

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Allison-7446 and Allison-2640 appear to represent the same person because: The original did not come up when I did a search - nor did it come up in the suggested matches as I was entering the information. I only found it when I started to enter information for his father.
posted by DK Clews
Allison-2950 and Allison-2640 appear to represent the same person because: Clear Duplicate