Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1884-08-29

as Formerly PIayed-S0me
me 's ,t,e lannon's MatcAe&s

- snodifed the Oiu -o'"N m 80
Z cate new game TO whies they gave
y ' ,'anc Of baseball On September %
' f.t .','' Gear these gentlemen formally or
q w.. the KnickerbockGS Baseball
gl5 N. and adopted aseries Of plaYipg rules.
. .. 60 tsij a sort of crude baseball had
NV aiaycd under various relies, but it
~ lttIc more than a school boys di-
- The Olympic clubs 81 Phila-
5.obia had been organized y 1898, but
rlaved nothing but town: ball until
,se0 when baseball was adopted in its
stead
fl New England, about thirty years
90 there was a game called. the 81 New
r,gl,nd Game, which was k2ayed with
mall light bail which Was, thrown
1roebaud 10 the bat, whiles she New
york game OF baseball, as then played
- the Knickerboker, Eagse, Gotham
ssd Empire clubs, a large elastic
ball was pitched to the bats
The original rules Of the game were
,e,g yaqnc and incomplete The ball
ras much too large and heavy, being al
lowed circumference Of ten{an1 half
;retcs and weight Of six ami q quarter
0tnccs. lust IN inch in size ADJ an ounce
= vcight greater than the psesent limit
There was no limitation 10 tie length of
,be bat. In the wear 1863 twA important
neW rules were made, one recurring the
uifeher to stand in space six feet by
three, and the other requiring the um.
nire to call balls and give tue batsman
liz first base after three had been called.
Until December H.. 1864, 3air ball, if
caught on the first BOUNCE, put the
striker out. but on the abose date the
National Association of Baseball Players
did away with the bound catch. except
for foul balls, and finally adopted the fly
game. Forty-fve feet was tae distance
from the pitchers position To the home
plate until 1881, when it was moved five
farther back.
On June 10, 1916, in HobQken. N. j.,
there took place, between tee Knicker-
booker and New York cltsbs,. the first
match game ever played. Il consisted
Of only four innings. the rul: then being
that the club first makingt tsenty-onc
runs in even innings was 5he winner
The first match game that e$ersoccurred
IN Philadelphia was played lsg the Equity
and Winona clubs on June "a. 1860. and
the first game in San Fraacisco took
place February %, of the saSac gear.
The baseball championship was first
contested in 1853. A rivalry had sprung
up between the New York CUBS already
mentioned and the Atlaugic. club, of
Brooklyn, the result being flai series
Of championship games was Arranged be-
tween picked mines of the two stiles, the
New Workers winning two Is the latter's
one. There was no more important con-
tests for the championship tilg October,
1861, when picked mines % New York
and Brooklyn again contet dc!l for SUI
prcmacy, Brooklyn Winning, In the
following year the Eckfotd club, of
Brooklyn, wrested the title Of champion
from the Atlantic and held it; through
out the succeeding season sof 1868, in
which year they did not lpsg a single
game, a feat that has never. been dupli-
Gated but once, and then bvStha Cincin-
natl club in 1869, under the: enlargement
Of Harry Wright. The Atlansie4 regained
a. 2
the title in 1864 and held il tfot period
Of three years, their most T5w4rful rival
during that time being the 1thietic club.
Of this city, which had developed into an
Tganization of wonderful saetgth.
In 1866, though the Athletes, encount-
cred the best clubs in exStehce, they
were defeated only twice, ;onhe by the
Altlantics, of Brooklyn, auds once by the
Union club, of Morrisania, sN Y. The
Telling with regard to the respective
merits of the Athletics and Ghe Allan
ucs ran very high between this city and
New York and when they snet here on
october |, 1866, to play theif long-talked
q game for the championship the num-
oef OF people present, including those
outside as we'll as inside of 4he enclosed
ground, was estimated at fossy thousand.
i eela1g, beyond all question:. the largest
attendance ever gathered together at
Any sporting event in this c.,uatrv. The
0,o"u was so dense anG racked so
Closely inside the enc!osus shat after
oae inning had been played h Nas found
utterly impossible to continsie The game.
anu after a futile attemptstoi clear the
, ,a,,.a on the field, postps,nement was
, ,... made to Octolsr %, on the
s'uie grounds, in this city. sos that oc-
gs'on, to preclude thes obstruction of
IS neid by crowd the prSee sof admis
sou was placed at one dollaH tAe largest
s.l ever charged for adAistlon to a
- NJ oal match, yet two thousand peo-
PIC Cheerfullv na;1 = - g. -
,5,o;s;a more viewed ths game from
S'llng emlnences. Wha ;the Ath-
~ s,V = mad rolled up thirty enc to twelve
b.s sneir opponents, and sevNn innings
NAL, mar Seen played, the umpire was com
s s,,.u oy RAIN and darknek, 60 call the
s.srs A dispute over the g5te money
Ss.n eu'eu another and decisive match |
-e-MeNn Tho nlt,l... IL - a -