{{short description|Defunct baseball team in New York}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}} {{Infobox football club |clubname = Excelsior of Brooklyn |fullname = Excelsior Base Ball Club of Brooklyn |image = Brooklyn-excelsiors-1860.jpg |caption = The 1860 Brooklyn Excelsior Base Ball Club |nickname = Jolly Young Bachelor Base Ball Club <ref name="Peverelly 1866 400">{{cite book |last= Peverelly |first=Charles |title=the Book of American Pastimes: Containing a History of the Principal Base-ball, Cricket, Rowing, and Yachting Clubs of the United States |year=1866 |publisher=New York Public Library |location= New York City |page=400 }}</ref><br /> |founded = December 8, 1854 at Florence's Hotel, Broadway and Howards Streets in NY <ref name="Peverelly 1866 400"/> |ground = Carroll Park (1854-1859)<br />South End of Court Street Red Hook (1859-1870)<br /> '''Presidents'''<br />Jeremiah Nelson Tappan (1854-1857)<br />Dr. Joseph Bainbridge Jones (1857-1865)<br />Richard K. Cooke (1865-1866)<br /> Dr. Joseph Bainbridge Jones (1866-1870) <ref>{{cite book |last= Peverelly |first=Charles |title=the Book of American Pastimes: Containing a History of the Principal Base-ball, Cricket, Rowing, and Yachting Clubs of the United States |year=1866 |publisher=New York Public Library |location= New York City |pages=400–405}}</ref> |league = NABBP<br /> }} The '''Brooklyn Excelsiors''' (a.k.a. Excelsior Base Ball Club of Brooklyn) were an amateur baseball team that played in Brooklyn, New York. Formed in 1854, the club featured future pitching stars Jim Creighton, Asa Brainard, and Candy Cummings.<ref name="Gilbert">Gilbert, Thomas W., ''Death in the Strike Zone: The Mystery of America's First Baseball Hero'' (Godine, 2026)</ref>

The team is known for originating the "Brooklyn-style" baseball cap, precursor to the modern cap.<ref>[http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/2006-07-25-cap_x.htm "Baseball cap has endured generations as the all-American hat], ''USA Today'', April 26, 2014</ref><ref name="clair">{{cite web |last1=Clair |first1=Michael |title=The history of the baseball cap: The long, strange history of the baseball cap |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/featured/baseball-cap-history-and-timeline |website=MLB.com |publisher=Major League Baseball |access-date=24 June 2023 |date=9 May 2023}}</ref> They also were the first baseball club to undertake a long-distance tour to compete against clubs based outside their home region.<ref name="Gilbert"/>

Their uniform consisted of bow ties, black Baseball caps with white brims, dark pants, white shirts with a button-on shield sporting a large black 'E', and a belt with "Excelsior" written in Blackletter.

The club motto was "Ever Onward!"<ref>{{cite book |last=Sullivan |first=Dean |title=Early Innings |url=https://archive.org/details/earlyinningsdocu00sull |url-access=registration |year=1997 |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |location=Lincoln |isbn=0-8032-9244-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/earlyinningsdocu00sull/page/30 30–31] }}</ref>

==1860 Championship Season== thumb|Grand base ball match for the championship, between the ''Excelsior'' and ''Atlantic'' clubs, of Brooklyn, at the Excelsior Grounds, South Brooklyn, on Thursday, July 19, 1860 In 1860, the Excelsior club made a now-famous tour around New York and large cities in surrounding states. They defeated the Champion Club of Albany, the Victory Club of Troy, the Buffalo Niagaras, and the powerful Brooklyn Atlantics.<ref name="Gilbert"/> Besides establishing the tradition of ball clubs traveling long distances to compete with other clubs, the tour helped advance the New York rules-based game's popularity outside the New York region.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ryczek|first=William|date=|title=The Brooklyn Excelsiors: Baseball's First Road Gang {{!}} The National Pastime Museum|url=https://www.thenationalpastimemuseum.com/article/brooklyn-excelsiors-baseballs-first-road-gang|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320051947/https://www.thenationalpastimemuseum.com/article/brooklyn-excelsiors-baseballs-first-road-gang|archive-date=2015-03-20|access-date=2021-04-30}}</ref>

In 1860 the Excelsiors compiled a record of 19 wins and two losses, and were champions of the National Association of Base Ball Players, finishing in a draw with the Brooklyn Atlantics Club. However, the Atlantics were the accepted champions.

During the 1860 season, the Excelsiors began wearing an ancestor of the modern, snug-fitting baseball cap, including a long visor and button top.<ref>[http://www.strictlyfitteds.com/blog/2008/07/baseball-cap-history/ "19th Century Baseball Cap History,"] StrictlyFitted.com, July 28, 2008</ref> The cap, which became popular by the 1900s, was known as "Brooklyn-style", and was the predominant baseball cap until the 1940s.<ref name="clair"/>

==The Club After 1860==

In 1861, due to the departure of many young club members who went to fight the Civil War, the Excelsior played only one game, against the Eureka Club of Newark, NJ, in August. (The exact date and outcome are unknown.)<ref name="Gilbert"/><ref>[http://www.protoball.org/Excelsior_Club_of_Brooklyn Excelsior of Brooklyn game log at Protoball.org]</ref>

The Excelior played more games in 1862, and remained a competitive team. Following the tragic death of their 21-year-old star pitcher Jim Creighton<ref name="Gilbert"/> in October of that year, the club became less dominant. Although the club remained active through 1870, they eventually drifted into irrelevance and failed to compete against increasingly powerful opponents in the pre-professional era.

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *[http://www.19cbaseball.com/champions-2.html 19th Century Baseball Champions 1860–1869] {{Authority control}}

Category:Defunct baseball teams in New York City Category:1854 establishments in New York (state) Category:Sports in Brooklyn Category:Baseball teams established in 1854 Category:National Association of Base Ball Players teams Category:Amateur baseball teams in New York (state) Category:Defunct baseball teams in New York (state) Category:Baseball teams disestablished in 1870 Category:1870 disestablishments in New York (state)