Sewell, Arthur E. Baseball Scrapbook and Photographs, 1909-1915

This collection contains the baseball scrapbook and photographs of Arthur E. Sewell.

Born in 1885, Arthur E. Sewell, a native of Huntley, Illinois, played catcher for several minor league baseball teams between 1909 and 1915. He began his minor league career in 1909 with the Galena Speed Boys (Galena, Illinois). The following year he played for the Lincoln Abes (Lincoln, Illinois) in the Class D Illinois-Missouri League and compiled the highest batting average of his career (.234). At the end of the 1910 season, he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs but was released after a week. In 1911, Sewell caught for the Lexington Colts (Lexington, Kentucky) of the Class D Blue Grass League, and in 1913-1914, he played for the Rockford Wolves (Rockford, Illinois) in the Wisconsin-Illinois League. He closed out his baseball career in 1915 with a Freeport, Illinois, team. The 1920 census indicates that Sewell was then working as a station agent in McHenry County, Illinois.

The scrapbook documents Sewell's baseball career. It includes newspaper clippings, scorecards, and other materials from 1909 to 1915. The collection also includes 14 photographs of Sewell and other players on the Galena, Lincoln, and Lexington clubs.

The collection was donated to the Library in 2009 by Daniel B. Potochniak with the assistance of Richard J. La Susa.