The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1875-09-03
The DEMON BAT.
a Thrilling Legend Of the Base hall
Arena.

Our town had the baseball fever
- had |.
OF course we had nine. Not pro
fessional nine-we had not come 10 thai
vet but an amateur nine that used q
visit the neighboring towns and village,
on Saturdays. and there engage i'm play
with an equal number of maniacs SINH
larly affected, beating and being beaten
The members of the Excelsior Club
all amateur clubs are called either
: sExeelsiorsn or .sUnions'-were
proud of their record. proud Of their
uniform. proud of their village, and
their village was proud of them. In
deed think that when one of our num-
Der had put on his white flannels and
.solored stockings and star-bedecked
cap, and had slung bat carelessly over
his shoulder, what with the admiring
chances of the women and the audible
enthusiasm of the awe-smitten small
BOYS, the heart that throbbed under
the biz + on his breast, throbbed so
proud, that he would not have ex-
changed his position-say at second
base-for that of Chief Marshal Of the
Fourth OF July procession or Alderman
-tIlu ally NlAt WIN AAtAr tftl lAfta III ~
country town knows what that means
saw ssof our number" because | was
a member Of the club, at times Of the
nine-an unworthy member, though
never brilliant player, and AT all criti-
cal stages of close games nervous one !.
If | were playing base | was sure TO
muff ball at the wrong moment; if
fielding my performance was hailed
by a derisive roar of sbutter-hngers, -
and on the score-sheet my record gen.
orally looked like this:
EXCELSIOR.
10. r. %. T.P. A. y.
Names - -
At home ! never was trusted to play
but often better players could not afford
The time or money TO visit other places,
and so /, who had both leisure and
funds, was frequently enabled to graft
fy the darling ambition of all the young
men of Wapanseh, and figure in the
miner
The Fourth of July had almost been
reached, and we were engaged 10 play
match at the town Of Somerville, some
hundred and twenty miles away. SOM
-erville boasted its club, of course, for
there is not town or village in the
country that has not its baseball club
and literary society. 1t was famous
club, and players spoke almost with
awe of It's members, who had graduated
into professional mines and were win
ning-and selling-historic games daily
in sight Of all men. And had it not
been recorded even in the World that
once the Actiyes, of Somerville, had de-
fested the mighty Mutuals by three to
two? We had often played with this
club, but never defeated il, though
once or twice victory had barely cluded
our grasp at the supreme moment
thanks 10 me, whom the irate Excelsiors
would certainly have lynched had not
their disgust been too excessive for deeds
as well as words.
II.
The eve Of the great match had ar
rived, and was sitting gloomily in my
bedroom. The door was locked, for
it was nearly midnight, and was about
retire. A heavy thunderstorm, with
iitful flashes OF rain, was raging with
out. was meditating, need hardly
say, Of next days game. "Just my
luck, Of course | said, half-aloud
1.-THE biggest match we ever played in .
and ] have no chance Of playing. But, 2
continued, bitterly, sswhat difference
does that make. after alp II played
4 should only play badly. Upon my
word, think I'd give my soul to be 4
crack PLAYER inst for ono vear ,,