Elizabeth Adolph Collection of Early 20th Century New Orleans Sports Memorabilia

Crescent City Jockey Club The Crescent City Jockey Club was established in 1892 at what is now the New Orleans Fair Grounds. For 16 years, the club ran a winter racing season from mid-December until early April. However, in 1908 Louisiana passed a state law which halted horse racing in New Orleans for a time. While the club held on to their lease at the fair grounds for several years hoping that racing would be allowed to return, they eventually had to liquidate their assets in the spring of 1913. Parker-Blake Baseball Team The Parker-Blake Baseball Team was a commercial baseball team in New Orleans at the turn of the last century. These men were druggists from the ParkerBlake Company which was established in New Orleans on January 1, 1903. The company was headed by Arthur D. Parker, brother to Louisiana governor John M. Parker (1920-1924) and Thomas N. Blake, both of New Orleans. In 1904, the company formed a baseball team which took over for another commercial team known as the Baldwins. The team played regularly at both Ferran and Eddy parks in the city. The 1908 team was the leader of their independent, semi-professional league. The company was purchased by the Mckesson and Robbins pharmaceutical distribution company in 1929. Kittums was a stray black cat who became the company, and subsequently the team’s, mascot, until his death in 1909.

Note written by Rivet, Katherine Kuhl