The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-06-21
EARLY DAYS
OF BASEBALL
How the First Game Was
Reported---Notable
Scores.

OF a DaSeDall game the nrS1 neWSpa-
per report that I remember reading
was an account of a game played at
Hoboken, n. J., in 1859. It appeared
in an Illustrated weekly, and was such
novel and interesting event that the
weekly gave 4adouble page illustration.
There We're no baseball schedules in
those days, and nobody lay. awake
nights Matching up reasons why Har-
ward should not play Princeton and
why Yale should play Pennsylvania.
All that was needed was an occasion
such as a Fourth of July celebration,
a country fair, a house-raising or some
other event of that nature. The occa-
sion for this particular game was the
entertainment given to a team of Eng
try, and defeating United States
twenty-twos' with commendable reg
uIarity. We had evolved a game from
the old English FOUNDERS" which we
called baseball, and we wanted to show
our cousins what a high old game it
was.
1t may have been the ''humors of
the day. editor who wrote the report,
which was as follows:
Baseball differs from cricket, espe-
cially in there being no wickets. The
bat is held high in the air. When the
ball has been struck, the outs try to
catch it, in which case the striker is
out or, if they cannot do this, to strike
the striker with it when he is running,
which likewise puts him out
Instead of wickets, there are, at this
game, four or five marks called bases,
one of which being the one at which the
striker stands, is called home
LAS at cricket, the point of the game
is to make the most runs between
bases; the party which counts the most
runs wins the day
The fact that the reporter thought
it necessary to explain how the game
was played indicates the extent of the
pubIic's knowledge of baseball at that |
time, and even he wasn't quite sure
there were four bases or five. |
When he says a baserunner may be |
put out by hitting him with the ball
he makes no mistake, for that was an |
actual fact, and it was considered a |
good play on the part of a base runner
usually the runner would dodge the |
throw and gambol around the bases,
while the felders We're hurrying after
he ball. This rule was abolished as
soon as the game became popular, for
| baseman, instead of touching run
Ter with a ball, would often soak
lin at short range, which generally
forth unprintable remarks from
he soakee.
The artist in illustrating this game
vas not far behind the reporter. The
picture shows us several hundred spec
ators, and, with the exception of a few
aides and gentlemen seated in car
iages, the only person sitting down in
he entire assemblage is the umpire;
I
utility of his mind and his contempt
or foul tips, he leans gracefully back
n his chair with his legs crossed. The
asemen. instead of playing off" are
landing, each with one foot on his
ase, and a base runner is glued to
bird although the pitcher is about
D deliver the ball. In short. the gen
raj aspect of the field is enough TO
i've modern baseball captain nervous !
rostration.
The year 1870 saw baseball well es-
,blished and deserving its title of ma
ona1 game. OF the amateur clubs,
lie Harvard University team was one {
the strongest, virtually defeating the \
lmous Red Stockings in one game.
he score stood Il to u in Haryard's
lvor at the beginning of the ninth