Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-06-09

be said that q ball of such size could
not be batted far in the air, though
1T had a persistent way of bounding
and rolling: and, being soft, of the ''pud-
ding variety, it took, when struck on
edge. and egg shape which was irresist.
IDLY comic.
! Between the two wickets. say sixty
{ feet apart, was the "alley'-on the
village green section of the highway
well watered and rolled, but, in field.
! 4 crease cut through the turf and of
the breadth of the wicket In the
matches, very common between towns.
the stake was dinner at the tavern,
which the losing side paid for. The
rules of the play itself We're extremely
simple. The bowler tried to knock
down the batsmans wicket, the bats
man to hit the ball away and make
runs. The latter was out when his
wicket went down or when caught ON
fly ball. AS in cricket, he could bat
in any direction and run if the ball
was but tipped" by the bat
The only limitation on the bowler WAS
that the ball must touch the ground
three times before reaching the bats
man-otherwise mo bowl" and the
bowler could pitch, throw, or under
| throw the ball ut will. From fifteen
to thirty players took part on each
side. and here, in matches between
| towns, came in another bit Of tiucsse.
For one town might contain twenty
skilled players and beyond that dead
wood, while its rival might have thirty
good wicketers. The fixing of the num-
Der on side thus gave large range
for ural diplomacy and forensics. AS
III cricket, two innings were played. n
game usually lasting all day, and thus
there had to be from GO to 12O outs
before the game ended, unless wor,
in Il single inning by the better club.
batsman, but long and brisk fun for
This made dull work for the poorer
the steady hitters and on the whole
lit encouraged genius.
Tested by the precision and nice play
'of the latter day ballticld, that old wick
ct appears crude and rough. The broad
wicket, the big ball and tablespoon bat
seem anything but the credentials of
scientific ballplaying. Yet many old
ballplaying died with wicket. Certainly
the game, besides its breeziness and ALI
round SAVIOR, brought no little genuine
skill The hugs ball hugging the alley
and thrown hot from the hand OF II
strong rural bowler had rare power to
form curve. The place of short
catch,' filled by Il quick player, who
stood almost fronting the batSnlan
and six feet away, trained up some
human wonders in the art of snap
catching. The batting, too, which seems
so easy, was checked 10y the size OF
the ball, and the crowd of fielders kept
down scores remarkably. Finally tho
game was brisk to Il degree far exceed
ing cricket or baseball, and the interest
of the spectators never had time to
Slacken, saying nothing Of the intcnsiticS
of local feeling which the sport aroused
Many and diverse We're its humorS.
The impacts and curves of the big hall
ON the players We're frequent and pic
turcsque. The drafts which had to DO
made on young men and Old, on fat
men and lean, on players of all shapes,
Sizes cOlors, and conditions in order to
| fill out Il wicket team of twenty-five or
thirty players in ii small country-toWn,
gave rise often to the funniest vagarics
of persons and of their play. A single
episode Of half Il century ago as related
to the writer may hit off the game.
In New England state are two towns
few miles apart which in the heyday
of the sport were bitter rivals ut the
IIyi cl, N of a
insisted upon the legality of so-callcd
''shams' and cultivated them as n
strong feature fo its play. The "sham'
was when player dropped on his knees
before the wicket and, failing to hit
the ball, blocked it with his thighs:
1t wasn't an attitude that allowed
hard hitting, but it tired out the best
bOwlers This plan drove the opponents
OF the sham team to their wits end
until they hit on the following antidote.
They had one bowler famed through
the whole country for the pace of his
balls. At the next match with the
sham" team they furnished ball of
double weight with n large buckshot
in the center. A few hot balls from
their crack bowler ended quickly the
sham business for that match and
subsequently new rule, three shams
out" broke up practice which, il
continued, would have wrecked the
sport.
For a game so universally pIlyed,
and which held so long its high place
in the sportive annals of yankeedom,
it is singular how completely the record
of wicket has been lost 1t has no niche
in literature. 1t never lights up the New
England novel, which has it's whole
chapters for the sewing society, the s.ng-
ing school and the husking bee. Yet ii
died not earlier than the later fifties,
under the onset Of baseball and from
that mercurial American temper which
ever seeks the new. Perhaps if it had
been better systematiZed, if it's teams
had worn uniforms, adopted prnted
score books, been reported in the news
papers and held conventions, it might
have survived longer, or, at least, have
bequeathed a more detailed history and
a larger name.
GaudillOts play lie Prefet De Chateau