The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-09-10
LOOKING FOR BIC CAME
'Rickaby ."d Dove Challenge Hanaball
Champion Casey and Partner.
MAY PLAY FOX $1,000 A SIDE
Casey Gives Assurance That the Challc nGe
Will he Acccptcd-Win Play
lOOA Aces Here and 100
In brooklyn.

The sporting fraternity was set on
| edge last night by the announcement
| that John Ricaby and Thomas Dove,
the two Scranton men who recently de-
feated Jim and Joe Corbett In hand
ball contest in this city. had issued a
challenge to Phil Casey, on Brooklyn.
| the handball champion, and James
Dunn. jr.. or any other partner that
Casey may select.
Martin Flynn, of Short & Flynn, the
Lackawanna avenue tobacconistS. was
| in Brooklyn last Thursday and then Sc
| cured Casey's assurance that the for
mai challenge, which was mailed at
noon yesterday. would be accepted.
| The challenge contains the following
provisions: That the games shall be
| for $1,000 a side; that 100 aces shall be
played in Scranton and 100 aces on
Caseys Brooklyn court: that the stake
shall go to the pair making the best
score out of the 200 aces: that the
Scranton gate receipts shall so to
Rickaby and Dove and the Brooklyn
receipts to Casey and partner. or that
the receipts shall be bumped and equal
| ly divided. or that the winners shall
take all: that soft ball shall be used
| in the Scranton games and that the
regulation hard ball shall be used on
Casey's court. The matter of referee,
dates, forfeit money and other details
were II uentioneu III the cHdicnse'
but will be speedily arranged when
Caseys reply Is received,
Scranton Fair Confident.
Rickaby and Dove will themselves
furnish the greater portion of their
stake, and the remainder will be sup
piled by friends who are anxious for
slice of the money and who firmly be-
lieve the Scranton men will win.
Whatever may be the ability of the
| Scranton pair and their proficiency
| with a soft ball they will be seriously
handicapped on the regulation court in
| Brooklyn, which is completely enclosed
and on which the small hard ball will
| be used. They recognize this feature of
| the match, but believe they can win by
| sufficient margin in this city to offset
the advantage Casey and his partner
will have at their style Of play N
Brooklyn.
Casey's court is sixty feet long and
| completely enclosed The head wall is
| of solid marble slabs for a distance
Of twenty feet from the floor. the upper
| portion of the wall being built of cut
stone. The side walls are of cemented
| brick while the rear wall Is built of
heavy pls snking. The floor Is of heavy.
| narrow matched boards. A glass dome
| covers the whole enclosure and admits
plenty of light during the day, and at
night the light is furnished by several
| large electric and gas chandeliers.
Casey has become 80 proficient on his
own court that he can stand near the
| wooden back wall. serve the ball so
| that 1t will return from the head wall
with one bound to the back wall, dis
| tance Of sixty feet, and as the ball
| bounds back toward the court the
| champion will send 1t again the whole
sixty feet with such accuracy and
| force that II strikes the head wall not
over three inches from the floor. This
| feat he will repeat twenty times with
out miss.
New York sun Rules TO Govern.
The challenge provides that the New
York Sun rules shall govern the
Brooklyn play. The most important
feature of these rules as far as the
present match Is concerned, Is that the
ball shall be served from a point be-
tween the ace line, which is thirty
feet from each of. the two end walls.
and the serving line, which is four feet
from the ace line toward the head wall.
The conditions mentioned in the chal-
lenge We're each discussed by Mr.. Flynn
and Champion Casey last week and all
were informally agreed upon. So it
only remains for Casey to send his for
| NAL acceptance. This will probably
be done tomorrow and then representa-
tives of the parties 10 the match will
sign the detailed articles of agreement
| which will likely stipulate that the
Scranton games shall be played first
and that the games shall ne played be-
| fore Oct. /.