Lehigh Baseball

Baseball may be most commonly associated with the professional major leagues, but the sport has always fostered a fervent amateur community. This amateur play is found in its highest level in NCAA college athletics, which prohibits players from receiving compensation outside of educational scholarships. Baseball at Lehigh began in 1885, forty years after the creation of the Knickerbocker rules and less than ten years after the start of the professional National League. Over the past 133 years, Lehigh’s baseball team has accrued a record of 1,369 wins, 1,750 losses, and 26 ties. Thirty-two former Lehigh players have played professional baseball, while recently Craig Anderson, Paul Hartzell, and Matt McBride have seen Major League action. On display are photographs and memorabilia representative of Lehigh University’s baseball program, from the material culture to the individual players. These items are from Lehigh’s archival collections, donated by alumni, and the Department of Athletics, courtesy of Robert Kaufman (’68).