The Mercur miner. [volume] (Mercur, Utah) 1895-1913, 1907-10-02
0LD-TI BASEBALL
GREAT GAME PLAYED AT AN
NAPoLls IN 'ee.
When the Jeffersons Met the Monitor
and Had 10 Work to Win---Doings
OF Men Who Are Since
Famous.

In the early days of baseball II was
a wonderful thing for our local teams
to make visits to other towns and
cities. and our embryo tourists regard
ed the trip down to Annapolis. where
they met the future rulers of the sea.
as a top notcher," said old Musty Rec
ord as he scanned the copy at the
sporting editors desk. according to
the Washington Star
1T was a pretty long trip In those
times. You had TO get up with the
sun IL you wanted TO reach Annapolis
the same day, as the then fast going
Baltimore & Ohio only had one train
out that connected with that air line
that worked it's way from the juno
tons and stopped at every signal, like
our oldtime horse cars
The first team 20 visit Annapolis
from Washington. and, indeed, per-
haps the first from any place. was
that lively bunch OF amateurs called
the Jeffersons, who we're Just coming
to the front in 1865 as the leading ex.
ponents of their class of ball tossers.
This visit took place on Thanksgiving
day, so you can see here also that on
that national holiday baseball was the
real thing. though at this progressive
period it is football. In honor of the
visit great preparations were made by
our gallant naval officers to make the
affair notable.
The naval academy chaps called
themselves the Monitors, in honor,
perhaps, of the then new craft the
navy had made historic. and their uni
form consisted of white flannel shirts
and knickerbockers trimmed with
blue, and blue stockings, quite a sur
prise for the visitors, as the Jeffer-
sons at that time, as most of the clubs
elsewhere, except the famous Red
Stockings, were still wearing long
trousers as a part of their uniform.
"The game was exceptionally bril-.
liant for those days. Some of the
fielding catches of the midshipmen
would reflect credit on the best pro.
fessionals now before the public and
would warrant extra space in to-day's
writeups as phenomenal.
Midshipman Calhoun. afterward Ad-
miral Calhoun, played his position like
Lajoie, as he went after and cap.
tured everything that came his way
with the ease and elegance of sea.
soned player while the backstop work
OF Dillingham; was as good as Dug AL.
lison showed with the famous Red
Legs of Cincinnati Wainwright, at
left field. was the admiration OF the
large crowd, his excellent work bring.
ing out applause from the Jeffersons
"The Jeffersons won the game on
their merits, but II required the best
individual and collective work of the
team to surpass that OF the middies
Their clean-cut work made them best
of friends. even among the young
ladies' present, and every one knows
how hard It is for civilians to make
an impression on the fair sex when
brass buttons are around.
This opening event In athletics at
the academy was soon followed by
visits from the other organizations OF
Baltimore and Washington. in which
not only h"' ali played an important
part, but races and other sports
were inclu' 1. These have been main
tanned these many years, and II Is re-
markable tn 80 per cent. OF the mid.
shipmen who have figured in the an
nails Of athletics have also filled inches
in the history OF our country and be
come famous In war and the develop
ment OF the service"