Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1876-05-24
The Mysteries Of Flies, Fouls, Daisy
Cutters and GrOundsEs Investl-
gated by a POnderOuS Lot
Of Gentlemen on the
Green Sward.
" Base Is the Slave that Plsys"-A
ShAkspearean Quotation Some.
what "Mixed."

On Washington street, between Main and
Second. All nature was stirring, the
winds and the dust moved out in the
direction of Olympic Park, and human
ity, both great and small, followed the
example in order to witness the great
base ball contest between the fat "Ethe-
and "Phantoms," composed Of
boys who weighed over two hundred
each.
At the Park nearly two thousand peo-
pie assembled. Buggies, carriages and
hacks surrounded the base ball field, and
the stand was crowded with ladies. Male
humanity had to stand up or sit down
upon the plowed or grassy ground, owing
to the lack of recommendation thing
hat should be remedied as 1901 as pos
sible by those controlling affairs in that
locality.
The Phantoms appeared in straw hats,
white knee breeches and blue stockings,
while their opponents, the Ethereals,
were adorned with the same kind of hats,
blue knee breeches and white stockings,
When the corpulent boys appeared in
the ring such a shout went up that
Bayou Gsyoso trembled underneath
her banks to bear the replication of such
sounds made in her concave shores.
A whole company of Falstaffs, of the
most rotund appearance, sharply promi.
nent in front, greeted the laughing and
cheering multitude. From the lot Of
heavy weights, eleven from each side
were picked and placed respectively
under Captains Moody King and John
Peters.
TO THE BAT no THE FIELD
Slowly but steadily the twenty two
combattsnts moved to their respective
positions and the game commenced
The bat or paddle was broad enough Il
hit anything, provided it was held up il
mid.air, and the ball, q painted india
rubber globe, was lively and light, an
as it danced away between the legs O
the fat men and bounced out of reach
appeared to mock the immense boys b
presenting before them, in itself, q speci
men Of size and alacrity truly alarming
1t was evident that the solid men ha
played town-ball in early youth, iudgin
from the way they spat on the paddl
and tossed it up for first choice, and froI
their style of throwing a ball at a bas'
runner as if it was the intention not onl
to put him out, but also to knock tb
wind out OF him by way Of a reminder
Mr.. Ed. Worsham, the umpire, and
small man of l40 pounds, stood beneatl
an immense straw hat and in the mid
/ of the twenty-five without giving sigr
of fear or trembling. He was a needl
in a haystack-an infant in danger
e being blotted out Of existence should
= heavy man fall upon him or should h
get jammed between two colliding bodit
between bases. Mr.. Frazier Hoist, ii
r scorer, sat at a table beneath an immenI
umbrella, in open field, and was So
rounded by that professional base-balle
General Brooks, of the Appeal, TIL
noted pitcher and catcher, Colonel @
d trou, Of the Avalanche, and u own 7
If porter, who knows all about the minuti
a of the game quite as well as be know
IT the rules of the game playedby the ant
% deluvian or pre-Adamite races. To t.
st the truth, we do not believe there was
st newspaper man on the ground that knt
,r a thing about the game, except that
N was played by twenty-five fat men, oil
with a bat and ball.
LIVELY PLAYING ALL AROUND.
lie Through courtesy when a fat mi
If passed around the four bases it W
~ called o run" but it should be called
If walk or a"gaddle," if correctness
of description or any regard for truth q
q desirable in this baseball world Of on
The l~iveliest players appeared to
al Messrs. KiRg, Podesta, Pettigrew, Stc
derd and Dowdy, of the Ethereals. G
Pettigrew made a fine catcher, althOu
Oh the ball occasionally got away with hi
CT and rolled around and between his lie
&c and arms with astonishing yet annoyi
pertinacity. There was a lack Of "
aud snap in the playing Of the Ethere'
that told against them and defeat
them.
/, The lively men Of the Phantoms We
~ Captain Peters, Eugene Leidy, o che
ful fielder; Bun Price, a rafting catch
when a ball came straight at him a
On impinged upon his solid front; Sam Ga
as mon, whose sole ambition seemed to
p' to reach the arst base and there REM
until his side was caught out; Colonel
T, Leath, who as q base.runner inspi
as the ladies with admiration; Joe Trab
ar q solid, steady player, who every
ut minutes wanted to know who '
ey, ahead" DR.. R W. Mitchell, a very e
sic batter, provided he took care to bit
ball occasionally; DR.. D. D. Saunders
fine stealer of bases and q runner
ability, who came down the
home stretch in q rafting st
''S' under a full head Of step
G. Quentel would make a pretty fair
B ter, provided he refrained from striki