Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-17

First Local Team to Stop VIC
torious Career of Old Cham
pionS of the South.

The old National base ball club held full
| sway in the early days of the game: that
is, during the years 1865, 1885, 1887 and
| part of 1S6S-and they were widely known
| as the champions of the south
| During these days the other local organ
| izations were the Unions, Jeffersons. Con-
| tinentals and Interiors. In 1868 a new
| club came forth styled the Olympics. and
\ 1t proved to be the only local nine able to
| stop the onward march of the old Ma
| tionals.
This Olympic outfit at first was made UP
| Of former soldiers. privates and officers.
who at the close of the war decided to
| make Washington their home. Their in
| itfai appearance was made In the summer
| Of 1865 at their own grounds at l4th and r
streets.
1t was not. however. until the following
year that they became power This they
did with a rush. They made Mr.. A. G..
Mills president and Mr.. N. E. Young its
| Observation-Disclosures that shortly afterward
| were ineradicably inscribed upon the his
| tory of base ball. In those days Uncle
! regarded as one Of the fastest felders in
this section. while as a scientific fair FOUL
| hitter he had no equal. 1t was but few
| years later that Mr.. Mills became the first
| Mr.. Young its secretary and treasurer.
Mr.. Young afterward succeeded to the
| presidents chair, which he filled so credit
| ably for nearly score of years.
1t Is no wonder, then. that the Olympics,
under such able management. steadily
| forged to the front and rlvaled the prestige
| of the Nationals. The rivalry soon be-
came so intense that the whole city took
sides and every citizen was fan of the
| first water. Nor Is 1t surprising that the
championship contests between these two
were eagerly looked forward to by all.
Prior to the first regular match two ex-
hibition games were run off, in which the
newer team showed up much the more
| promising. whereupon the general impress
sion prevailed that the downfall of the
older club would be accomplished that year.
The first game was set for Saturday. May
70. and the grounds at 10th and streets
were, to use an expression from local
paper of the next day, packed with AN
| other gathering of humanity" The report
also said that the people without the in
closure were as numerous again as the
thousands that packed witain it. and that
ON the State Department building, at 14th
and s streets. three blocks away. all the
clerks followed the game with field glasses.
The Olympics depended on 'Fergy' Ma
| lone. the crack catcher they had brought
on from the north, to hold the speedy de-
livery of DR.. Edward Leetch, and they
had also placed much trust In Ar Reach,
the regular second baseman of the Ath-
letics of Philadelphia. Woods, a New York
| find, was, as well. considered among the
! heavy hitters that were looked upon to bat
the old Nationals out of their time-honored
/ place southern champions.
The Ma tiOnalS were handicapped by the
| non-appearance of their regular twirler-
| Pabor. formerly of the New York Mutuals-
so they had to call upon Billie Lee. an
understudy, to pitch. The rest of the team
undaunted. pledged themselves to bat out
| a victory if he would pitch even fair ar
| ticle of BAH. The Olympics had little trou-
| BILE with his delivery. however. and batted
| him out in three innings. Catcher Birdsal
then went in and surprised every one by his
| excellent style.
The game proved somewhat of a disap-
pointment in the way OF FORM and The
| Star on the following day said it. was an
exhibition unworthy of the contestants.
| The Nationals came out victorious in what
proved to be their last championship game.
and the Olympics purses were emptied.
One of the curious incidents Of the game
was the demand made by the collector of
Internal revenue for fee of so for sane
| tioning the game. and also the payment OF
| 2 per cent of the gross receipts into the
United States treasury. That was the law
at that time. and the two teams agreed to
pay rather than have wrangle over it.
| This law was repealed in 1870, so they
were not bothered much longer. The