The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-10-01
The Base Ball Epidemic,

WE all know that at irregular intervals dan
gerous epidemics sweep over countries, affect
ing more or less all the people. The East
tells us of thousands infected, and it requires
no historical knowledge to see it in our own
land. As with physical maladies, so also
with moral contagious. Philosophers say that
crime is infectious, and that one example of
mighty ofense against law causes othecs.
And it is moral epidemic which is now
raging in our land. Good, quiet people may
smile, but there is a fever which is in the
brains and affecting the minds of thousands of
American citizens. Strange to say, this
disease is principally limited to the male sex,
and seldom attacks those who have attained
the age of thirty.
The prevailing mania is known as "base-
ball, /" and never was there Juggernaut with
more devoted followers than this god of phy-
sical sport. There seems to be a reckless
abandon exhibited by its devotees, which
savors Of the mad ecstacy which the Pythoness
continually lived in. All of the leading
players have had their fingers broken, and
some have every finger broken twice. The
loss OF tooth or an eye is received with such
slight interest that we might suppose that the
member had offended, and been "plucked
out" The number of these reckless de-
vOtees is legion. Every boy who has attained
the mature age of six feels qualified to belong
to "club," and all the adjectives in the Ian
guage are applied as titles to the organiza-
tions. The "Invulnerables," the "Invincibles."
or the ''Inwhatable," as Toodles has it,
are all composed Of young Americans
whose lives have not witnessed decade.
Then, also, is mythology laid under con-
tribution, and Olympic" brought down to
the level of plain. The venerable GENTLE
man who rushed out of his bath without
making toilet has delicate compliment
paid to his memory, and the Eureka" an
pears on the baseball board, "The youth
who bore mid snow and ice" is not forgotten.
and Excelsior" is inscribed on the banner Of
another. AS to all the American statesmen.
the patriotism OF the players compels some
recognition Of their merits, and washington.
"Franklin," Hamilton" and all the signers
and all the Presidents are remembered. The
fact is, the organizers of new clubs are driven
to desperation to secure names, and if the
fever continues much longer, they must resort
to the expedient of the unfortunate fathers
who, having exhausted their vocabulary, de-
vised the scheme of duplicating names We
will have the washington Washington" and
the Eureka Eureka" But we are in hopes
that before this dreadful pass is reached, the
fever will have commenced to abate, and that
ere long it will be reduced to control.
In 1854 the excitement over cricket first
began to assume formidable dimensions, and
in 1857 it was at its height. We all remem-
Der the way in which it took off small BOYS
from school, and enlisted even men in its
ranks as victims. 1t oVerdid the game. The
excitement rose in an hour, and utterly SUBJ
sided; and instead of being rational amount
OF healthy exercise, it was either a mania or
none at all. Within two years after the visit
of the English eleven, there was not found
dozen cricket clubs in the whole country
Two years ago, baseball commenced, and
the course of the epidemic is the same as that
OF its predecessor. 1t is to-day being carried
to such an excess, that unless there is some
thing like reason in the exercise, the whole
game will completely disappear. What was
originally healthy sport has grown to be a
positive dissipation, We hear complaints
from all our business men, because of the
continual absence of young men in order
that they may engage in the game. If it
were once week, it would be an excellent
thing. 1t would give vigor to the frame,
bouyancy to the spirits, and make the time
lost to them compensated for by the addi-