Alfred T. Goshorn
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Alfred Traber Goshorn (July 15, 1833 – 1902) was a
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businessman and booster who served as Director-General of the 1876
Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...
in
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. That was the first
world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
in the
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and so resounding a success that Queen Victoria knighted Goshorn and the leaders of Europe presented him with numerous accolades.


Biography

Goshorn was born circa 1833 on the family homestead in Cincinnati. He graduated from
Marietta College Marietta College (MC) is a private liberal arts college in Marietta, Ohio. It offers more than 50 undergraduate majors across the arts, sciences, and engineering, as well as Physician Assistant, Psychology, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, a ...
in 1854 and earned a law degree three years later. During the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
he enlisted in Company F,
137th Ohio Infantry The 137th Ohio Infantry Regiment, sometimes 137th Ohio Volunteer Infantry (or 137th OVI) was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 137th Ohio Infantry was organized at Camp Dennison near Cincinnati, Oh ...
, a 100 days service regiment, serving as captain. He never saw combat, having served as an officer at a Union prisoner of war camp, near Baltimore, Maryland. After the Civil War, he owned a paint company and led the Cincinnati City Council for two years.


Baseball

"New York style" baseball boomed in the United States after the end of the Civil War. Scattered clubs from as far away as
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perma ...
sent delegates to the meeting of the game's national association in December 1865, roughly tripling membership from 30 to 90. The "Queen City of the West," Cincinnati was not represented, but at least two baseball clubs were formally constituted that season and one established ballclub officially adopted the New York game. Alfred Goshorn was the first president of the Cincinnati Base Ball Club, established July 23, 1866. The Cincinnati club would rise to the pinnacle as parent of the first professional baseball team, the 1869
Cincinnati Red Stockings The Cincinnati Red Stockings of 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†...
. Goshorn served until that April, just before the opening of the famous season, presiding over three years of evolution from strictly amateur local membership and noncommercial play, ending in full professionalism. Affiliating with the Union Cricket Club before its second season, the club thereby arranged to share playing grounds and the services of "club pro"
Harry Wright William Henry "Harry" Wright (January 10, 1835 – October 3, 1895) was an English-born American professional baseball player, manager, and developer. He assembled, managed, and played center field for baseball's first fully professional team, t ...
. The two built a grandstand and modern enclosure, putting competitive matches on a commercial basis and making Union Grounds the physical center of cricket and baseball in Cincinnati (Ellard 908.


Expositions and civic leadership

For two decades beginning in 1870, Goshorn organized the Cincinnati Industrial Expositions, public exhibitions of the arts and industry of Cincinnati people and companies. These local exhibitions grew to regional and occasionally national scope. "Goshorn became world famous for the expositions" according to the Ohio Historical Society (2005). When planning for the
Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...
began in 1873, Goshorn was appointed delegate from Ohio. Recognizing his achievement with the Cincinnati expos, the other delegates elected him Director-General. The
World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
was a great success, attracting ten million visitors including thousands from Europe. Dignitaries celebrated the Director-General and Philadelphia presented him with hundreds of books, pamphlets, and photographs that had been on display, which now compose ''Goshorn's Centennial Collection'' at the Cincinnati Historical Society (Tolzmann n.d.). "General Goshorn" returned to Cincinnati life as a civic leader, thereafter organizing the Cincinnati Art Museum as well as continuing the Cincinnati Expositions. He died in 1902 and his bequest to Marietta College financed A. T. Goshorn Gymnasium, opened in 1903.


See also


References

*Ellard, Harry ( 9082004). ''Base Ball in Cincinnati: A History''. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. *Marietta College (n.d.)
"Alfred T. Goshorn"
''Alumni Hall of Honor''. Retrieved 2006-09-01. *Ohio Historical Society (2005)
"Alfred Traber Goshorn"
''Ohio History Central''. Retrieved 2006-09-01. *Tolzmann, Don Heinrich (n.d.)

University of Cincinnati. Retrieved 2006-09-01. {{DEFAULTSORT:Goshorn, Alfred T. Union Army officers People of Ohio in the American Civil War 1833 births 1902 deaths Businesspeople from Cincinnati Centennial Exposition 19th-century American businesspeople Directors of the Cincinnati Art Museum