The Phillies may have the worst record in baseball this season, but there was a time in Riverton when the hometown team was quite formidable.
The month of July has been linked with the game of baseball since Riverton’s early days, as the account at right from 1881 attests.
The Riverton Ball Club mentioned in it was founded June 19th, 1865, a respectable two months after the end of the Civil War. Riverton Yacht Club followed suit almost two weeks later on July 1.
Over the years, the ball club utilized various loaned or leased lots in town, but found a permanent home on land purchased that is today bordered by South Broad Street, and Lippincott and Thomas Avenues. (1890 Bird’s-Eye View of Riverton)
The Union League Club in Philadelphia presented the Riverton Nine an award in 1890 as the best amateur baseball team in the area.
As participation in the game diminished, and the bicycling craze grew, the cycling club leased the land in 1894. (Read more details about the amateur Riverton ball team in the Sept. 2009 Gaslight News.)
Over the years, hundreds of Riverton children and adults have marked their participation in America’s National Pastime by posing for a team photo.
Let us add your Riverton/Palmyra baseball mementos to this gallery. Include a caption and identify players, if you can.
