Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1905-05-18
THE origin OF BASE BALL.
TFrom the Providence sunday Journal


So Morgan G.. Bulkeley, Of Connecticut;
Arthur Pue German, Of Maryland; A. G.
Mills, of New York; Nick Young, of
Washington; Alfred j. Reech, Of Phila-
delphia, and George Wright Of Boston,
are to make an investigation to discover
the origin of base ball A thankless, never
ending, indecisive task compared with
which the labors of Hercules were punny.
Who can discover the origin of that which
is an outgrowth from no one thing, but is
an adoption from many sources Like
Topsy, base ball Just growed. +" And how
is this committee, eminent as its members
have been in the world Of base ballot
professional base ball, for the world of the
game itself is limited only by the travels of
Americans to the borders OF the earth--how
IS this committee to satisfy the adherents
of A. G. Spalding, whose name isa house
hold word wherever base ball is played, or
OF Henry Chadwick, the Grand Old Man
Of the game, who played it when it was
unsettled and undeyeloped, with fly
called out when caught on the bound
Mr.. Spalding. who named these base ball
commissioners, asserts that base ball origi
mated in the old game Of ''oue-old-cat, " or
in the New England and Philadelphia
game of town ball. Mr. Chadwick,
who came from merry England many,
many years ago, is sure that base ball
originated from the English game OF
FOUNDERS. y Philadelphia says that her
Olympic Club played what was practically
base ball from 1888 to 1850; New York
contends that the Washington Club organ
lied in 1912, flss played the real game of
base ball; and the assertion is made that
the Knickerbocker Club, of New York,
which played on the Elysian Fields, where
Hoboken stands, was certainly the first to
establish code of rules The Knicker-
bockers were unquestionably the first club
to play under the present rule of calling
the batsman out on fair catch only when
the ball is caught on the fly. This game
was played at Hoboken June so, 1858, and
was won by the Excelsiors by the score of
26 to %. The fly rule, which did away
with the practice Of calling the batter out
when the ball was caught on the first
bound, was adopted through the efforts of
Henry Chadwick some six years later
Base ball became national game with the
union of the clubs in New York and vicinity
into the National Association of Base Ball
players in 1858.
In the introduction to rare and inter-
esting book, "The Game of Baseball; How
to Learn It, How to Play It and How to
Teach It, by Henry Chadwick, published
in 1868, its author traces the game back to
1910, about the time that is was known in
New England as the s'New York Game,
in distinction from the Massachusetts
game, y in which the variation from town
balln consisted mostly in the fact that the
ball was changed in size and weight, and
was thrown to the bat instead of being
pitched or tossed. For several years this
game prevented the introduction into New
England of the New York game, = or what
was then baseball. Mr.. Chadwick stoutly
maintained, even in 1868 that baseball
came from s'rounders,n y in which a hole
was dug in the ground for the home posi-
ton, four stones were set in circle and
the players chose sides. When the ball
tosser or feeder, as he was called, sent
ball to the bat, and it was hit into the field,
be player running the bases became the
target of the felders, who endeayored by
hltting him with the ball to put him out.
Failing to do this, they tried to toss the
ball into the hole at home, provided
there was no one TO take the bat and if
they were successful, the side at bat had TO
retire. When all of the players on one side
were out, each man retiring flom play as he
was put out, the field side took the bat, and
so the game went on until q certain NUM-
Der Of runs, mutually agreed upon, had
been reached, the first scoring that number
winning the game. Town balP' had
more regularity in its rules, but was the
same in principle as FOUNDERS" posts
being used as bases and regular positions
being appointed in the field. The Mass
achusetts game was material improve
ment on town ball.
It is a most interesting controversy, with
much to be said on either side and with
much justice in both arguments. But what
a task the commission have before it