History beckons with this rare program from the first season the Chicago Cubs were known as the Cubs. Prior to 1903, the Chicago National League franchise was known as the White Stockings from 1876-1889, the Colts from 1890-1897, and the Orphans from 1898-1902. This ancient game day souvenir is as handsome as it rare. Headed by the legend “Official Score Card Chicago 1903”, over an illustration of a game in progress, this fantastic program is crisp, clean, and vibrant, with distinct graphics, supple pages, and a tight spine. As for wear, the staples are moderately oxidized, there's a small corner crease on the back cover, and a horizontal fold at center, which limits the technical grade to (VG+), though otherwise it presents several grades better.



The participating teams are the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Beaneaters, who are now the Atlanta Braves, and the location was Chicago’s West Side Park, pre-dating the opening of venerable Wrigley Field by more than a decade. Neat pencil recordings on the scoring grids note a 9-4 Cubs win, and a check of their 1903 schedule indicates the game took place on July 15th. Listed in the lineups are stars Frank Chance, Johnny Evers, and Johnny Kling for the Cubs; and Charlie Dexter, Duff Cooley, Pat Moran, and “Togie” Pittinger for the Beaneaters. Opening Bid $250.