The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1901-03-23
y PELOTA IN CUBA.
An Expensive Home for the Nationa
Spanish Game Has Been Built in Ha-

An Expensive Home for the Nationa
Spanish Game Has Been Built in Ha-
vana.
The news that ''fronton," or court
for the playing of the national bal.
game of Spain has been built in Havar
at cost Of 100000, and formally bless
ed by the bishop, does not indicate that
| the Cubans are In any near danger OF
| losing their racial identity with the Ibe-
rian peninsula. To most Americans, on
the other hand, 1t will be something OF
a surprise that such a thing as Span
| ish national ball game exists, and with
! the surprise there may be some little
disappointment here and there over the
vanished possibility OF Americanizing
| Cuba through the kindly influence of
American baseball.
| The game of "peota" Is not more
purely Spanish, in fact, than baseball
is purely American. AS the latter can
be traced to remote English ancestry
somewhere in the thirteenth or four
teenth century SO Is the former evil
IDENTIFY only a variant OF that French
lieu de paume'' from which building
In Paris, famous for a game of tremen-
deus historical Importance, took its
name, and the "jeu de paume," again,
is related to both the English game of
fives, the Irish handball and the casual
American boys game of houseball. Still,
pelota has it's own peculiarities, and,
with these differentiating characteris-
tics, has existed for many centuries In
Spain. In the Basque province of Guiz-
puzoca pelota has been played, as ira
dition has it, since the days of Adam
and Eve. From San Sebastion, In that
province, it was introduced In Madrid,
where it has long been popular and
where, some years ago at least, large
crowds of Madrileno "rooters" used to
gather to witness the games, to bet and
to behave themselves with the abandon
ed demonstrativeness Of their kind. 1t
is noticeable, as showing the persistence
of the old tradition, that the exhibition
game last Sunday in the new fronton of
Havana is said to have been played by
Basque professionals elotaris," TO
give them their right name.
The dimensions of the Havana court,
as given in dispatches, appear to be
greater than those usual
in Spain, the latter being only about 80
by 200 feet, but this may be an effect
Of the policy Of expansion which has
had so much influence upon the recent
history of Cuba. The walls against
which the ball is played are those which
form the two lesser sides of a rectangle.
A longer wall closes the third side, and
the fourth is left open for spectat tors, in
and out Of the grand stand. Upon the
shorter walls two horizontal iron strips, |
four and thirty-four feet !
rom the ground, mark the limits Of |
play. The balls used are small, elastic |
ana exceedingly hard. But What gives |
he Basque game it's peculiar character
S the racquet, or substitute for that
Implement, which 1t employs. This con-
lists of a curious spoonlike affair of
curved at one end like a
,irds beak, and tightly fastened to the
land by means of a glove Another
regularity is that the game is opened
~ a pelotari propelling the ball with a
backward swing from the hollow of his
wicker spoon, turning his back to the
vail at which he aims. The rest of the
anne is much like fives or tennis; every
allure of one side or the other to catch
he ball on the rebound and return 1t to
he wall, making it strike between the
pper and the lower lines, counts as one