The Washington herald., 1910-12-04

The first code OF rules drawn up to
govern the game of baseball was that of
the old Knickerboeker Club. of Hoboken.
in 1S45. Prior 10 this date the game had
been one OF recreation and exercise, IN
which men of mature age used TO take
paft after business hours. The game re-
NAMED amateur, or professedly so, until
about 1863. when the Cincinnati Red
Stockings was the first regularly salarled
club. Even under these conditions there
developed a great deal of rivalry be-
tween the numerous clubs that sprang
into existence in the early days, The
rules Of 1915, and such slight amend
ments as were made even as late as the
hrst convention of 1851 were extremely
simple IN their nature. consisting Of
twenty short sentences that might well
he printed in thirty lines But these
contained al OF the fundamental prin-
clples of the game as we know IL to-day
and all but three of these rules, under
modification, are in force In 1910. The
present-day rules, of course. supply some
OF the omissions OF the first code, but the
great bulk of the matter is in eXplana-
tion Of ambiguous points and in the i'm
position of penalties
First Code of Rules.
The aeld was laid of in a very simple
way in those early days. After home
had been located. a distance of forty
two PAGES was stepped on and the PAGER
arrived AT third base. Through the mid
Ole OF this line and at right angles 10
81 line OF equal length was paced OF,
and the positions Of first and third bases
were determined. The first bases used
were posts driven into the ground. but
Il was only a very short time until
sacks took their places. Fouls were pro-
vided for, and the foul bounds were
Identical with those of to-day. Balks.
too, were known, and the pitcher was
penaliZed for making one on the same
terms as now. But balls" were I'M
known. as were called STRIKES. so that
a pitcher might be as wild as he chose
and a batter might be as particular about
the kind of BAH he hit at as he wished
10 be- So the game was often made
tedious from this cause, for on one Oc-
Casion fifty balls were pitched 10 bat
ter before he made any attempt to hit
at one, and no one was penaliZed for It.
The runs were called ''aces." and the
game consisted IN awarding the victory
10 the side that first made tWenty-one
runs or "aces" AT the end of even In
nings IT, IN evening up the innings. the
score went over twenty-one the victory
was gained by the club having the high
est score at the end. They had a regu-
lar batting order. and each of the play
ers was called a hand" So one rule
reads: Three hands out, all out" Play
ers running to base had 20 be touched
with the ban at every base, including
nrst base. Flies and fouls caught on the
first bound was an out
The Bali and Bat.
Imagine a homemade ball of yarn and
strips Of old rubber shoes that might
measure up to II circumference of eleven
inches and weigh as high as six ounces!
There appears 10 have been no limit 10
tho size OF the bat IN the early days
But In 1857. when the convention met on
Broadway. near Ninth street New York.
20 form the first association. the diameter
OF the bat was limited 10 2lA inches
maximum In 1863 tho balls began to be
factory made The ball was at first
furnished by the visiting team. Later it
was supplied by the home team, and
after the game II went 10 the winning
team 10 be kept as a trophy.
But IL was not long until it was found
that this would not work, for there was
in vogue for many years a practice Of
'jockeying'' the ball. as it was called.
This was done by the team supplying
the ball. II the opposing team batted
better than it, the bail was mashed and
pounded TO a soft mass. so as 10 render
it dead and soggy: but II the team sup
plying the ball hatted better than their
opponents the ball was rendered unnat-
urally lively by baking il TO drive of
all moisture and TO give Il the needed
residence. So a regulation ball was de-
cided upon. and upon the formation Of
the league the ball was supplied by the
secretary OF the league in sealed pack
age. with the ball wrapped in tnsel. the
seal 10 be broken by the umpire at the
beginning of the game.
The length of the bat was limited by
the rules of 1871 10 forty-two inches. the
length that obtains now. The greatest
diameter was at the outer end, except In
one style Of bat that George Wright
put out i'm which there was taper to-
ward both ends But the great freak
bat was the one that the league allowed
q team 10 use at discretion I'm 1881 This
was square bat of regulation diameter.
that its inventor claimed confidently
would do away with the fouls that were
0ueucy. But one year proved that Il in
no wise accomplished what was claimed
Tor it. The weight of the bat has never
been a subject OF limitation
Bases and Base Running.
In 1854 il was decreed that the first
basenan need not touch the runner To
put him out; possession Of the ball and
touching The base first by the baseman
being sufficient, but all other bases were
not so provided for The runner might
overrun first by the rules of 1871 If a
base runner interfered with a fielder the
player was cut under the earliest rules.
Bases on called balls" are provided
for in the rules of 1871 and thereafter.
At first the number was three, but in
1850 the league allowed a base on seven
called balls" and this remained the
rule in the league until 1884, when the
number was reduced to six. although the
American Association Of that year re-
tanned seven.
The Batter.
From the earliest times il was the priv
ilege Of the batter 10 get the kind Of bah
he liked best either by waiting indeh-
nitely for it, under the earliest rules. or
by calling for a high" ball or a low
"a ha HffcI1 A Ill