Baseball pioneer James Whyte Davis gets his last wish—117 years later

Under a tree at a Brooklyn cemetery, there is now a monument recognizing one of Major League Baseball's pioneers: James Whyte Davis. 

Mr. Davis was a member of  the New York Knickerbockers for 30 years, starting in 1850. The Knickerbockers were one of the very first organized baseball teams. The club was formed out of a fire hall in the 1800s by Alexander Cartwright, who some credit with developing the rules on which the modern game is based.

The monument is part of a project attempting to pay tribute to American baseball's historical figures. 

It's an effort spearheaded by John Thorn, the official historian for Major League Baseball.

Mr. Davis was "a good player, but not a great player,"  Mr. Thorn tells As it Happens host, Carol Off.

 "I think his contribution to baseball was not statistical and not for his playing prowess but for his enthusiasm and support for what at that time was a nascent game."

Thorn suggested raising money for a Davis gravestone in an article published in 2005, but received little support at the time. After he proposed the idea to the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR) two years ago, his plan started to gain traction.

His enthusiasm … for the game was very influential in his day and it's a very sad story.- John Thorn, official historian for Major League Baseball

SABR set up a committee to raise money for gravestones for early baseball pioneers to give them recognition. First on their list was Davis.

"They (Knickerbockers) endured longer than their rivals and they left a remarkable record of club books, game books, meeting minutes, all of which were entrusted to Davis … and are still actively researched today," says Thorn

After he stopped playing, Davis became the club's president and keeper of their records after the team folded. 

"The records of the earliest baseball clubs, survive thanks to him," says Thorn. "His enthusiasm … for the game was very influential in his day and it's a very sad story."

Five years before his death, Davis, who was penniless, wrote a letter to the owner of the New York Giants, which was published in the newspaper. In it, he detailed his last wishes and he asked that current baseball players each donate a dime to fund a marker for his grave, shaped as a home plate. But it had been decades since he had last played a game, and the new generation of players had forgotten him. 

"No baseball player could be persuaded to give him a dime," says Thorn, adding "He died penniless, if not friendless—alone."

Davis died in 1899 and per his wishes, was buried in his baseball uniform, wrapped in the original pennant of the Knickerbockers, which he had designed.. His grave stood unmarked. The man whose nickname was "Too Late" because he was tardy for the start times of baseball games would have to wait 117 years for his final wish to be honoured.

On Saturday, a grave marker was unveiled  at Davis' final resting place in Brooklyn. "It is a home plate shaped, black stone with the incised words precisely as Davis had requested them" says Thorn.

Wrapped in the original flag of the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of N.Y.

Here lies the body of James Whyte Davis

A member for thirty years

He was not "Too Late"

Reaching the "Home Plate"