New-York tribune., 1867-10-04
THE NATIONAL GAME.


great deal of valuable time and useful
muscle have been devoted, within the past
three or four years, to building up and extend
ing what is known as the National Game, the
which game is simply the old schooi-boy
baseball. Why it should be called National,
in preference to billiards, or ten-pns, OF keno,
ar poker, it would he hard TO say. Perhaps 1t
is because the newspapers have paid 80 nuch
attention TO it; and here let lis say that had 1t
not been for the minute and extended reports
of base ball games in the leading Journals, 1t
would never have reached anything like Its
present popularity. But let lis "accept the
"situation- and set down baseball ut its friends
high claim as the National Game What we
have to saw. then, is that the game is rapidly
getting bad reputation. and it behOoyes Its
friends to look into the matter. Within short
time there has been a passion for match
games (hc romantic boys who play
in them say tournaments and companies
travel at great expense and waste OF time from
city to city, and State to State, to compete Tor
q champion ball, or a champion bat. But there
is a wide spread suspicion that in many IN
stances these affairs are what the police de-
tectiycs call "put up jobs" that the game is
secretly sold ont before it is begun; that Clubs
are hired by spectators to so here and there,
and do thus and So according to prearfanged
bargain the main object being TO put money
into the rockets of certain shrewd ones IN the
secret. and draw custom to certain favored
hotel-Leepers. We know it is very natural
(and very foolisl) for beaten party in the
fairest of games TO cry foul, cheat, and so on !;
- 4 l.., Il n.nt. hoe
for championship at base ball, the rumors are
too general to come from beaten parties only.
As a specimen of the ground for such
complaints, take the report in our paper of
Tuesday of the affair between the very promi-
nent Atlantic and Athletic Clubs. These lead
ing spirits of the National Game were TO meet
for final contest for this years championship,
and one of the Atlantic's players having been
disabled they notified the Athletics that they
would not play The Athletics might, in cour-
tesy, have postponed the match; but, when
they insisted upon appearing on the ground,
il was the duty of the Atlantics, under the
recognized rules of the game, to be there also
The Atantics did go to the ground, but they
announced their intention of so misplaying
as To prevent a conclusion of the game, and
10y this inglorious iinessing they hold the
champion ball. The result was that
no game was played, and the multitude
who had paid money to see match
game were swindled, and that too, in a
manner that, if we understand the affair
showed an entire contempt for the rights OF
et-holders. Usually, when any unforeseen
accident pOstpOnes or defeats an exhibition,
the admission fee is returned promptly, and
the getters-up stand the loss; but we do not
hear that in this instance any strenuous efforts
were made to restore the small change, nor do
we hear that any one got his money back
again. In short, the public were asked TO
come out and see grand game of the National
sort the public went out and paid TO see the
game no game was played, and the public
were in that particular defrauded-for which
one or the other or both clubs are blama-
ble-a point which they may settle among
themselves.
We have n high regard for athletic games rs
Il means of physical development although it
would seem that in these days when skilled
artisans time is worth from fifty cents to
dollar an hour at his business, the devOting of
one day in week, beside now and then n
trip of two weeks to other cities, just to knock
a ball few times and run after one few
times, is tolerably expensive enjoyment Yet
that is the business of the players, and we
need not protest. We do, however, insist that
the game which the newspapers rather than
the players have made "National" shall be
in the hands of upright men, and that its record
shall not be slamed by even the suspicion of
gambling. Ii games are to be sold out, and
winners arranged in advance, and matches
thrown up without just cause, 10 the disap-
pointment of ticket holders, the baseball
champions might as well sell their bats for
keno-tables, and 20 into business in lcgiti-
matcly- -ilegitimate Iway
Every Republican of Pennsylvania should
remember how much depends upon victory