Charles Harvey Gould, nicknamed "The Bushel Basket", was an American Major League Baseball player during the 1860s and 1870s. He was the first baseman for the original Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869 and 1870, the first team consisting entirely of professional players. He was the only native Cincinnatian on the club.
Charlie Gould
Image: Charlie Gould
The Cincinnati Red Stockings of 1869 were baseball's first all-professional team, with ten salaried players. The Cincinnati Base Ball Club formed in 1866 and fielded competitive teams in the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) 1867–1870, a time of a transition that ambitious Cincinnati businessmen and ballplayer Harry Wright shaped as much as anyone. Major League Baseball recognized those events officially by sponsoring a centennial of professional baseball in 1969.
The Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1868, one year before they turned professional.
Harpers Weekly representation of the Cincinnati Red Stockings, based on the team photo
Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1869.
Presentation of a champion bat to the Red Stockings upon return in 1869.