3c Rose (65). Vertical pair, tied by three clear strikes of Crossed Baseball Bats, 3 Diamonds and Baseball fancy cancel (Rohloff O02), three strikes of "Waterbury Con. Sep. 8 '67" double-circle datestamp on cover to Canaan Conn., barely reduced at right, top stamp slightly affected from placement near edge of cover

VERY FINE STRIKES OF THE FAMOUS BATS, BASEBALL AND DIAMONDS FANCY CANCELLATION OF WATERBURY CONNECTICUT. A MAGNIFICENT COVER, AND ONE OF THE EARLIEST BASEBALL-RELATED DESIGNS. ONLY SIX COVERS ARE KNOWN, AND THIS IS THE ONLY ONE KNOWN TO US WITH MORE THAN ONE STRIKE.

This fancy cancel was created by postmaster John W. Hill to commemorate the Waterbury Excelsior's victory over the Naugatuck Valley Nine, on July 24, 1867. In his comprehensive census of Waterbury cancels, William T. Crowe records six covers, used between Sep. 2 and 10, 1867.

According to The Baseball Archive available at http://baseball1.com: "the exact origins of baseball are unknown. Most historians agree that it is based on the English game of rounders. It began to become quite popular in this country in the early 19th century. Although popular legend says that the game was invented by Abner Doubleday, baseball's true father was Alexander Cartwright. The first recorded baseball contest took place in 1846. Cartwright's Knickerbockers lost to the New York Baseball Club. The early 1860s were a time of great turmoil in the United States. In those years of the Civil War, the number of baseball clubs dropped dramatically, but interest in baseball was carried to other parts of the country by Union soldiers, and when the war ended there were more people playing baseball than ever before."

With 2014 P.F. certificate

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