Loading...
 

Tolly Feild

Image Silas Talbot "Tolly" Feild, born December 27th, 1854 in Little Rock, AR, was an amateur baseball player for various Little Rock clubs during the 1870s, most notably the Accidentals. See the Feild Family.

Biography

Tolly was the oldest of twelve children born to Silas Flournoy Feild, a Tennessee-born merchant and farmer. Tolly began playing baseball about 1869 at age 14 and became very good. Eventually, his younger brothers Arthur and Ormand, as well as his cousin William, joined him and together they created an unmatched family of baseball enthusiast.

In 1875, Tolly joined the Accidental Base Ball club, perhaps the best baseball team in Little Rock during the 1870s. On June 9th, 1875, Tolly was playing with the Accidentals in Hot Springs. There, a man from New York saw Tolly play and offered him a chance to go north and play for a professional club. However, Tolly refused.

Later that day, a player for Hot Springs claimed Feild could hit a baseball over a nearby house. The man from New York came forward and bet a good sum of money that Feild could indeed do so. When Feild successfully completed the feat by hitting the baseball over the house, the New Yorker presented him with the earnings, but Tolly opted to give the money to charity instead.

In September, Feild and the Accidentals joined the Foul Flag Association and won the championship. As the best team in Little Rock, the Accidentals decided to test their luck and play the St. Louis Red Stockings in a series of two exhibition games. The Accidentals lost both games, but Tolly and his brother Arthur were offered a chance to play with the Red Stockings professionally. Again, however, it seems they must have refused.

Feild lived in Little Rock his entire life. On May 8th, 1878, he married Annie Rose Terry and they had two sons. "Tolly" was likely greatest Arkansas baseball player of the 1870s. Feild seemingly played baseball all the way to his early death on 15th, 1883 at only 28.

Sources