The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1894-08-28


took place at Hoboken, n. J., on
June J. 1919. There is lack OF def
mite fnfor ration, but it may pretty
safely be stated that Captain Arson
was there aud playing. The game
OF base ball had originated nearly
nine months before. 1t had grad
ually grown GU of the old English
schoolboy game OF FOUNDERS Like
man, base ball is the result of evOlu-
zion. Founders evoluted into s'town-
ball" In the latter sport instead of
bases there wee corners" These
were unattended, and runners were
put out b being h With the ball
thrown directly at them by the field
5. The ball WAS much softe than
the modern base ball, and was COM
posed wholly OF rubber. In the early
tOrties a arty OF New Yo kers as
sem bled every Wednesday and Satu :
day on a vacant lot then a long way
out OF town, and now covered hy the
Madison Square Garden, to play
ownbaIl- After me some of
them felt that the sport might be
greatly imp owed 1t was finally de-
cided to substitute s'bases" for scOr-
uers. " to use a all with a hard rub
Der center. wound with yarn and
covered wi leather. to place men TO
qua d the bases, and to change the
name town balI' to "base ball"
On Septem Der %, IS45, these gentle
men organi ed the first base ball
club and called it the Kni kerboc6er.
Thus our national game was born
There were soon a number Of base
ball clubs in and around New York,
and the first match game was be-
tween the KnicKerhOcker and New
YORK clubs. It comprised only four
4trc Vr1f0 than haiptr "a IN
club first making twenty one runs
ia even innings was the winner.
GROWTH OF THE GAME.
The growth of base ball in other
parts OF the country was very slow.
Town ball continued to be played,
and Is votarieS did not take to base
ball ase ball was not played in
Philadel phia-Only nj ETY. miles from
New York-unt | 1850. fifteen yea
after its b rth in this city In that
year the Olympic TownOal Club Of
that CITY, Organi ed in 1888, decided
to PLAY ba~e halI instead thereafter.
The first base ball match in Phila
del ph1a took place June IL, 1890, be-
tween the Equity and Winona clubs.
san / rancisco's nrst match took
place on February p, 1860 Base
ball was not played in the New Eng
land States until five or six yea s
a ter its birth, and then only in
such a mod ned form that it was
called 1.-The New / ngland game" in
cont adistlEcJiOn to ''Lhe New Ork
game" The OriginatOrs of Ouf ma
tlonaI game were gentlemen who
played base bail merely for recrea-
ton, and we e anxious that it should
remain gentlemen's game AS
clubs multiplied througho It the
lish some &c .eral Orga IiZatiOn, with
authority to control and egulate the
interests OF the sport and its play
ing ules.
Accordingly there was 70 med the
National Association of Base Ball
Ilaye.s $, in which any club was en-
titled to membership. with the privi-
le4e Of send ing delegates to the an
nuaI meeting The playing rules
adopted this organization were
the standard ones 70 the game aud
were o5serxed by all clubs. Almost
the first rule made by this National
Association positively debarred from
membership any club in which there
was a man who played base ball for
hire or emolument OF any kind. Con-
Sc uently base ball d urished between
the years $50 and 1871 as never be-
fore or since. There were hosts OF
clubs, and in every large city many
matches were played daily. usually
upon S me vacant lot, the attendance
frequently mum bering from 10, 900 to
%, QUO people.
In the city of Allegheny. Pa,
alone there we five different base
ball grounds w thin a stones throw
or each other. and on almost every
day during the base ball season there
was match on each of these grounds
and the same IS true of other large
cities at that time
The intrOdu ton of professional
players was grad uaL The rivalry be-
TWEEN clubs became so great that in
order to strengthen itself and win
victory over some rival each would
le.ve nothing undone to secure the
best players Thus induce ments
were held out to men who had
shown an unusual aptitude for the
game to in iuence them to kIaY only
with particular club. A wealthy
gentleman, or instance. desiring to
see his club in the font rank would
offer some young man of rare hail
playing ability a position in his bust
ness or countI-<< house, with a pri-
vUte understanding that his COM
mercial duties were merely nominal,
while his real ones were to play ball
Thus there were numerous clubs ia
the country which were virtually
professional long before professional
playing was openly permitted, and
while the stringent law against it
was still IN fore in the code OF the
American Association This was no
tally the case with those famous old
& me opponents. the A tlantic Club OF