The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-01-08
From the New York Herald.

NNa. JOHN W. OLIVER of YOnk- n HkQA CTS, and in his 91st year. has achieved the browning triumph of his long and eventful life as printer, publisher, orator, editor and reformer. Though an Engllshman by birth he has saved American baseball. Experts have long declared the game identical with the old English game of ''rounders."
 MT. Henry Chadwick, also of English birth, but called the father of American baseball takes the English view of the game. In his famous controversy with MT. A. G. spalding, another high author ity, he says:
 "An amusing incident connected with the question occurred during our inter- view Just as we were arguing the point the veteran sport-Andrew Peck, late or the sporting goods house of Peck & Shy der-entered the office, and MT. Spaulding asked Andrew, When did you begin to, play baseball7' and the reply to the query was, Tn the latter part of the forties; about 1s47 or 1S4S. What was the game called thenT asked MT. Spaulding. Why. rounders said Andrew We couldn't help laughing as Albert said to Andrew, What did you come in just now for? l was get ting the better of the old man on his rcunder theory
 Mir. Chadwick adds: "The fact Is there is but one field game, now in vogue in this country, which is strictly American in it's origin, and that one is the old aborig- inal game of lacrosse, known as the Cana dian national American game. Baseball of the existing period is undoubtedly an American game, but 1t originated from the old English schoolboy game of round CTS, as is plainly shown by the fact that the basic principle of both games is the use of a bat a ball and bases"
 In response to this MT. Spaulding chal- lenges anyone to prove that the game de- rived it's origin from rounders, and he suggested the appointing of a commission of veteran baseball experts to settle the question. Finally MT. Chadwick himself, MT. Charles Mcdonald of New York and MT. Samuel winslow of Worcester, Mass, were appointed as such a commission. Among others they visited MT. John w. Oliver, the veteran editor of the Yonk- CTS Statesman.
 Result-An old-time baseball love feast held in MT. Oliver's home Rose Cottage, in the Fifth avenue of Yonkers MT. Oli- yer gace "reminiscences of baseball as it was played eighty years ago, but the of ficial report of the same has not yet ap- peared.
 To get the truth I called on Mr. Oliver, and he gave me an interesting narrative of American baseball as he played 1t in Baltimore between the years 1922 and 1sS4 MT. Oliver said 'I was 2 years old when my parents brought me to this country from Cornwall, where I,~was born, but was so young that I've always considered myself a full-fedged American.
 Baseball was the game the boys played when I was years old in Baltimore. All though that was more than three-quar- ters of a century ago, I remember it well, and can say that the name 'rounders' was never applied to the game. It was base ball, pure and simple. And a very inno- cent game 1t was then-a boys game For example: dozen or more of us would get together In an old field for game.
 "A couple of the leaders were selected to handle the bat. It was thrown from one boy tsr the other. Hand over hand they went up the handle of the bat, and the man whose hand reached the extreme top of the handle first got first choice to bat.
 '''rhen the leaders selected their favorte players out of the crowd and the game began There were four bases, the same as in the game of the present day, but there was no pitcher. The man at the bat tossed the ball into the air and hit it, and the man running from base to base was put out of the game If hit with the ball between bases. In those days the boys always used a paddle instead of the round heavy modern bat. The ball was the old-fashioned ball. of our fathers, a light yarn ball made by winding yarn travelled from old stockings and covered with buckskin. It was a very light affair and 1t was impossible for any player to be injured by it.
 Il was first newsboy, and when not more than years old my father having died, leaving motier with four children.