Los Angeles herald., 1905-02-06
TED SULLIVAN
ION BASEBALL
STORY OF BEGINNING OF Ma
Tl0NAL GAME
Purely an American Sport and Did
Not Spring from English Round-
ers-Diseovery Of Curve
Ball


trihe better, when 1t comes to review
ing the history of diamond doings of
the hoary past. His memory goes back
to the year one of baseball, and his
story of the origin Of the game makes
a good bit Of fan literature for the off
season.
The origin Of baseball may be the
evolution Of townball, barnball, two
old-cat, or yet it may be the sugges-
tion of the three named, says Ted. AT
any rate, the game is the product of
American genius and temperament,
and not an offshoot of English round
ers as our English cousins would have
us believe. OF the many times | have
been in England the subject of baseball
came up, one Englishman would say
to the other: why, that blooming
American game they call baseball is
nothing but our old game of FOUNDERS,
you know" l have nothing but the
highest regard for an Englishmans
love of sport--for it is inherent in a
Briton, from the present king down,
and should an Englishman have only
his last sixpence, and should the alter
native arise whether he should eat or
see a field sport-he would undoubt-
edly decide in favor of the latter
must totally disagree, however, with
my British cousins that their primitive
and plebian game of FOUNDERS is the
mother of our national game oh. no.
dear cousins; chase that idea out of
your heads.
Americans as Investors
America is today the inventive torch
of the world, and has been for the last
fifty years. The first seed of Americas
inventive genius took root in Robert
Fulton's brain when he advocated
steam as motive power. The next in
line was Prof. Morses advocacy of the
use of the telegraph wire as trans
mitter of sound. This invention was
followed by the sewing machine that
relieved the weary housemaid of her
burden On its heels came Cyrus Nc
Cormick with his farming implements
that taught the world how to reap its
with a fraction of the labor of former
days. The last and greatest of Amer
ica's inventive thinkers is Tom Edison,
the wizard of electricity, who has cleo
trified and Illuminated the world by
his inventions-and makes his native
country the electric light of the inven-
tive world. This may be a depression
from the theme in hand, but l wish to
show the originality of the American
ia the line of invention-whether it be
a pastime or a beneficiary to the COM
ineroial world To return to the origin
cf the game, the sons of Albion must
let up on this rounder business being
the groundwork of our national game,
or we will tell them that they took our
noble and democratic game of Skinny"
to England and brought it back dis
guised in a dress suit and christened
golf. To say FOUNDERS is baseball would
be the same as claiming that palace
was a hut because it had a door, or
wheelbarrow a carriage because it had
a wheel. No, my dear English friends,
baseball is not FOUNDERS, but it is an
American invention, suited to the tenn
permanent and genius of the American
people.
Changes in the Rules
From the time that the game was
regularly played by the Knicker
bockers of New York until it became
g profession change after change has
been made in the rules, to make the
game as perfect as possible in its ma
chinery. The game is about fifty years
of age, that is to say, before il became
national it was played in New York
not reach the limits of our country
until 1866 and 1866. The most import
ant changes in the rules after the
structure of the game was put up was
first eliminating a put out on the first
bound by an outflelder. Foul bound
was in vogue up to 1885, but the most
intricate and perpleXing rule Of all
for years was the regulation of the
pitching department. The pitcher at
first was compelled to deliver the ball
at the batsman with the arm swinging
perpendicular. Very little speed was
impaired to the ball so delivered, and
r such manner but the great pitch
ers of that time namely Creighton,
Dick, Mcbride, Al Spaldlng, Tom Pratt,
George Zeitlein and Walters, disguised
those required movements so nicely
that they got a great deal OF speed TO
the ball, and that by a simple snap of
the wrist. Those mentioned were the
premier pitchers of those days. They
were men also OF the highest order of
Intelligence. which added a great deal
10 their pitching ability.
The pitching rule was modified about
the years 1870 or 1871 by allowing the
pitcher to deliver the ball below the
shoulder, which was termed "a side
arm swing" This amendment to the
pitching rule caused no little trouble
for pitchers, when they got a chance,
would deliberately throw a ball over
hand TO the batter. The penalty was
balk-then commenced the debate on
the distinction of the height of the