The record-union., 1899-05-22

snare OF MS fatnelf : 1I;llliuliS, i'e y" iiS
racing stable of twenty-five horses
kept at Somerset Stock Farm. in Sem
erset County, N. j., and has steam
yacht to add TO his enjoyment, but WIN
these and other means or pleasure
within the reach Of men OF means, ne
finds baseball better than all.
Men who will walk miles to see
baseball game are plentiful, but few
have reached a stage Wnefe tney
maintain a team and heW g. oaH Erouno
from a mountain Sinc just To ada to
their summers pleasure. Mr.. tlcisch-
mann has done this, and more, fo1
since his nine began Playing, a few
years ago, baseball Gas become the
rage in every town in Delaware Coun-
ty within twenty miles and more OF
| Fleischmann'S Mr.. Elelschnlann
whose winter home is at -Avondale, a
suburb of Cincinnati. was at the Wal
dorf-Astoria last week, and there II
was he told me of the baseball pros
poets for the coming year at Flelsch-
mann'S. He mOdestly admitt2d that he
played, but the 1act that he plays q
rafting good game 1 had to learn from
another source.
| When games are played by his team
| all business in the village is suspend
! ed and farmers for mites around find
excuses to get 20 town. The games
draw better than any circus, and rustic
natives of the rough mountain sides,
as well as summer people from the
city, cheer the players from the mo-
ment the umpire cries play ball.
When the village far back in the
| mountains on the snakelike hill rail-
road that picks it's way around hills
and follows the winding streams west
ward from Kingston was known as
plain Griffin's Corners, not many years
ago, baseball as a scientific game play
ed by railroad men, many of them pro-
| fessionals, had not thrilled the hearts
of the honest rustic disciples of Rip
Van Winkle Charles Fleischmann in
troduced the game to the admiring viii
| layers who welcomed him in their
midst, and soon games were played on
the mountain side, where a half way
hit in the right direction meant home
run every time. Baseball was then in
it's infancy. Now it is a full grown in
stitution, with as fine a Skin" dia-
mond as there is in the country
Baseball was a go. Church deacons,
farmers country sports ard summer
sports al became wild about it. So
Charles Fleischmann looked about and
finally found a four-acre tract that did
not have more than a dozen hills and
valleys on it and purchased it for his
sons. Many thousands of dollars were
spent in leveling this ground and blast
ing out the powders so that IL the
summer of 1895 the team had a real
ball ground to play upon. Further i'm
prOvementS have been made, SO that
the dirt diamond is now as smooth as a
billiard table and the rest of the field
is covered with a lawn level and perfect
for the game. This ground is enclosed
by a high wire fence with thousands
of loopholes for the village youth to
peep through, and the grand stand
with comfortable seats, accommodates
800 persons. And when a game is on
this grand stand is crowded with men
and smiling summer girls, all in the
gayest of summer gowns.
Players who come to try their skill
against the Mountain Athletic Baseball
Club, as Fleischmann's team is known,
find luxury awaiting them under the
grand stand, for Mr.. Fleischmann has
fitted the three dressing rooms with
plunge and shower baths, and a man
in attendance looks after the comfort
of the men. Do not doubt that the
members of the Mountain Athletic
Baseball Club get plenty of enjoyment
out of their. seasons work, in addition
to the salaries they draw ami the COM
Portable living Mr. Fleischmann pur-
chases for them at a summer hotel.
This years team will be made up of
twelve players, including the Fleisch-
man brothers.
Games have already been arrange
with the Cuban Giants and other well
known teams, and the season will be-
gin about July 1st. Among the players
signed are Peter Cragin and Frank
Palen, pitchers; Granville Whitaker
and Winters, Kingston men, all of
whom formerly played in the Hudson
River League before it became defunct
New York Herald.