The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-12-19
FIRST SHUT0UT
GAME Was IN 1875
Chicago Defeats St. Louis, l
to 0-Zettlein and Blong
the Opposing Pitchers.

Nowadays a / to 0 pitchers battle,
even an extra -inning game. in which
only one tally is scored. auses only
passing comment. but thirty-eight
years ago such a thing had V heen
heard OF between teams of recognized
professional standing. Not until 1875.
the last year of the Inflated National
Professional association, was such a
pitched battle recorded. In that year
there were two OF them IN the ASSOC
citation, only a little over a month
apart in the schedule. and the second
one lasted eleven innings. Roth were
they we're.
Those were the days when winning
scores Of 20 runs We're not unusual.
and It was not considered an over
whelmtns defeat until tho score ran
mp to 40 or Whereabouts. That was
long before pitchers were allowed any
thing like their present freedom liz
delivering thc hall t." the bat. They
Werc literally what tho name implies
pitchers. not throwcrs. In a gener
al way pitchers Of thut time We're re-
strictcd nor closely than is the case
in modern indoor baseball.
Used Stdc.arm MOVEMENT.
Perhaps a better idea of the difficult
ty of holding a team down tn no runs
nr INC run can be gained from the
rule governing tho style Of pitching In
1875. IT cad aS follows:
The hall must he delivered to the
hat with the arm swinging nearly
perpendicularly at the side Of the body
and the hand in passing forward must
not be raised higher than the hip"
Imagine what would happen today
if our slabmen were compelled to pitch
that way. The bats were bigger in
those days. but the pitching distance
was shorter. There was no spitball
then, and 40 fadeaway. There was
only one admitted curve ball pitcher
in the land, and the great majority of
people doubted the possibility OF curry.
ing a baseball at all. Arthur Cum
mings. who finally demonstrated to the
satisfaction Of scientists that the ball
did curve. was lin the box" in one Of
he was on the losing side.
The National association of that
year was made up of thirteen teams.
but only eleven Of them finished the
season. These we're, in the order in
which they stood at the finish: Ros-
ton, Athletics. Hartford, st. Louis.
Philadelphia. Chicago. Mutuals. New
Haven. Red Stockings, Washington.
and Centennials.
SCdECt5 III ScCONu InOlvlg.
The Chicago team, which even then
and the Red Stockings of st. Louis
perpctrated the first l to 0 game he
tween professional teams. 1t was
played on May 2, 1875. in st. Louis,
and the Chicago team was victor. The
lone tally was scored in the second in
ming. Zettlein pitched for the White
Stockings and Blong for the Red
Stockings. st. Louis made only four
safe hits off Zcttlein. while Blong held
the Chtcagoans to five satellites. Aside
from the pitchers the two teams were
made up as follows:
Chicago-Higham G. Devlin lib.
Keerl 2b. Warren 3b. Peters SIS. Glenn
IL, Bielaski Of. Hastings ri.
Red Stockings-Flint G. ILoutz Id.
Sweasy Oh. McSorley 3b. Redmond IS,
Croft If. Morgan CT, Orrin RI.
Less than six weeks later tho Chi
cago White Stockings were hooked up
in another l to 0 game, and this went
I. eleven innings. 1t was on June 10,
team was the Dark Blues from Hart
ford. Conn. with the ''younR phenom'
Cummings III the box. Again Chicago
was the winner. but it required an cr-
ror to overthrow Cummings.
Run That Decides Contest.
For ten innings not Il run was scor-
ed on either side, but in the eleventh
Burdock. Hartford's second baseman,
made a wild throw to first, allowing
Devlin Of the White Stockings. to get
around to third base. Hines brought
him home with a single. From the
20 score it is apparent the home team
was in the habit of batting first in
those. days. or that It was necessary
to complete All inning even after the
winning run vas scored, for Hartford
liz credited with tho full number OF
33 put-outs in that affair.
Chicago could get only six hits of
the curves Of Cummings. which the
Scribcs Of hat time referred to i'm
their writc-ups as "a peculiar dcliv-
cry" The Dark Blues made eight hits
of Zettlein Of the White Stockings,
but Burdock's error offset the small
margin of hits. Mills made three OF
llartford's hits. Peters Of Chicago
grabbed two off Cummings.
The Chicago team was slightly
changed in the period between the /
to 0 game in st. Louis and this battle
in Chicago: Hines was In enter in
place Of Biclaski. and Miller played
C in Keerl's place. The game
was umpired by tho then veteran
pugilist. Billy Mclean Of Philadelphia,
and was finished in Two hours. which
would hardly he tho case in an eleven
inning battle Of today.
National League Is Organized.
The National Professional assoria.
ton went I" the wall at the end nf
that season. because tho geography of
its circuit WAS out az proportion. and
also because the gambling fraternity