Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1904-03-19
OLD TIME BASEBALL.
1T WAS NOT SCIENTIFIC AND FEW
RULES WERE OBSERVED.

The Batter Was known as the Pad
dleman, and the Pitchers Object
Was to Throw a Ball That Could Be
Hit-"BrinSing In the Side.'
Time will not turn back in it's fight,
but the mind can travel back to the
days before baseball or at least to the
days before baseball was so we'll
known and before it had become so
scientific. There were ball games in
those days in town and country, and
the country ball game was an event.
There were no clubs. The country boy
of those days was not gregarious. lie
preferred fiOcking by himself and re-
naming independent. On Sunday aft
ernoons the neighborhood boys met on
some we'll crossed pasture, and, wheth-
er ten or forty. every one was to take
part in the game. Self appointed lead
erS divided the boys into two cOmpa-
MES by alternately picking one until
the supply was exhausted. The bat,
now used, but a stout paddle with
blade two inches thick and four inches
wide with a convenient handle dressed
on to it, was the chosen arbiter. One
Of the leaders spat on the side Of this
bat, which was honestly called ''the
paddle" and asked the leader of the
opposition forces, "Wet or dry?" The
paddle was then sent whirling up in
the air, and when it came down which
ever side won went to the bat, while
the others scattered over the field.
The ball was not what would be
called a National league balp' nova
days, but it served every purpose. 1t
was usually made on the spot by some
boy offering up his wooden socks as an
oblation, and these were raveled and
wound round a bullet, handful of
strips cut from a rubber overshoe,
piece of cork or almost anything or
nothing, when anything was not avail
able. The winding Of this ball was an
art, and whoever could excel in this
art was looked upon as superior be-
ing. The ball must be perfect sphere
and the threads as regularly laid as
the wire on the helix of a magnetic
armature. When the winding was COM
plete the surface Of the ball was thor
oughly sewed with large needle and
thread to prevent it from unwinding
when a thread was cut. The diamond
was not arbitrarily marked off as now.
Sometimes there were four bases and
sometimes six or seven. They were not
equidistant, but were marked by any
fortuitous rock or shrub or depression
in the ground where the steers were
wont to below and paw up the earth.
One of these tellurial cavities was al
most sure to be selected as 1.-THE den,"
now called the home plate. There were
no masks or mitts or protectors. There
was no science or chicanery, now
called "headwork" The strapping
young OATS, embryonic teachers, presi-
dents and premiers were too honest for
this. The pitcher was the one who
could throw ball over the "den," and
few could do this. His object was to
throw a ball that could be hit.
The paddleman's object was to hit
the ball, and if he struck at (which
he need not do unless he chose-and
missed it the catcher, standing well
back tried to catch it after it had lost
it's momentum by striking the earth
once and bounding in the air-"on the
first bounce" it was called-and if he
succeeded the paddleman was dead"
and another took his place. If he
struck it and it was not caught in the
field or elsewhere in the air or ION the
bounce" he could strike twice more,
but the third time he was compelled to
run. There was no umpire and very
little wrangling There was no effort
to pOunce upon base runner and
touch him with the ball. Any one hav-
ing it could throw it at him, and if it
hit him he was "dead'-almost literal
ly sometimes. If he lodged the ball, he
kept on running until the "den'' was
reached. Some of the players became
proficient in "ducking, lodging and
side stepping, and others learned to
throw the ball with the accuracy of
rife bullet.
No matter how many players were
on a side each and every one had to be
put out, and if the last one made three
successive home runs he drought in
the SIDE" and the outfielders, pitchers
and catcher had to do all their work
over again. The boy who could "bring
in his side" was a hero. No victorious
general was ever prouder or more
lauded. Horatius at the bridge was
small potatoes in comparison. He was
the uncrowned king. There were no
foul hits. If ball touched the paddle
ever 50 lightly, it was tick and three
ticks made compulsory run. The
score was kept by some one cutting
notches in a stick, and the runs dur
ing an afternoon ran into the hun
dreds. If the ball was lost in the grass
or rolled under a Scotch thistle, the
Dry Lost ball!' was raised and the
game stopped until it was found.-Cin-