The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1904-05-12
OLD TIM 3 BASEBALL.
TWAS NOT SCIENTIFIC AND FEW.
RULES WERE OBSERVED.

RULES WE'RE OBSERVED.
The Batter Was Known ns the Pad
dle1xnn, and the Pitchers Object
Was to Throw Ball That Could Be
Hit-"Br1nEinE In the Side"
Time will not turn back in it's flight,
but the mind can travel back to the
DAYS before baseball or at least to the
DAYS before baseball was so well
known and before it had become SO
scientific. There were ball games IN
those days in town and country, ana
the country ball game was an event
There We're no clubs. The country BOY
of those days was not SrcSarlous. re
preferred focking by himself and re-
manning independent. On Sunday aft
ernoor,s the neighborhood boys met On
some well crossed pasture, and. wheth-
or ten or forty. every one was to take
part in the game. Self appointed lead
ers divided the boys into two cornpa-
mics by alternately picking one until
the supply was exha listed. The bat
which was no round stick. such as is
now used, but u stout paddle Wild
blade two inches thick and four inches
wide with q convenient handle dressed
on to it, was the chosen arblter one
of the leaders spat on the side OF this
bat, which was honestly called tine
paddle" and asked the leader OF the
opposition forces, Wet or dry: Inc
| paddle was then sent whirllnS up ID
the air, and when it came down which
| ever side won went to the bat, Wh1Ie
the others scattered over the field.
The ball was not what would be
called a National league balf' 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 ana
wound round a bullet. handful or
strips cut from a rubber overshoe,
| piece Of cork or almost anything OF
| 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 4 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
| oughIy scwed with a large needle ana
| thread to prevent it from unwindlnS
| when n thread was cut. The diamond
| was not arbitrarily marked off as now
| Sometimes there we're four bases ana
| sometimes six or Seven- Ihey were not
| equidi slant. but were marked by any
/ fortutous 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 chlcanery, no"
called .theadwork'' The strapping
toof.hnIS nraSl-
dents and premiers were too honest for
this The pitcher was the one who
could throw a ball over the den and
| few could do this. His object was to
| throw Il ball that could be hit.
The p:,ddleman'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 we'll
back. tried to catch it after it had lost
its momentum by striking the earth
once aud bounding in the alr-''on the
| first bounce it was called-and II ne
succeeded the paddleman was dead
| and another took his place. II 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 ,vranglinS. There was no effort
to pounce upon 4 base runner ana
| touch him with the ball. Any one haT-
! ing It could throw it at him, and If 1t
| hit him he was "dead-almost LITERAL
| ly sometimes. If he lodged the ball, be
| kent on running until the den was
reached. Some of the players became
proficient in "duckin lodging and
| side stepping. and others learned to
| throw the ball with the accuracy of Il
! rifle bullet.
| No matter how many players were
| on a side each and every one had to be
| nut out, and if the last one made three
| successive home runs he drought in
| the side and the outfieldcrs. pitchers
| and catcher had to do all their work
over again. The boy who could "brinG
I in his side" was Il hero. No victorious
! general was ever prouder or more
! lauded- IIoratius at the bridge was
! small potatoes in comparison. He was
| the uncrowned king. There were no
! foul hits If q ball touched the paddle
! ever 50 lightly, it was Il tick, and three
! ticks made Il compulsory run. The
! score was kept by some one cutting
notcheS in Il stick, and the runs dur
ing an afternoon ran into the hun
dreds. If the ball was lost in the grass