Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1914-07-15
PLAYING BALL IN ANCIENT AMERICA There Were Professionals in Yucatan Thousands of
 Years Ago.
MONKEYS STARTED IT
Now Believed That Simian Inhabitants of the Americas Were First tO Find Sport in Tossing Spheres, Using
 COcOanuts.


 COcOanuts.
 "Plaa-a-y Baw-aw-aw-l '" is not as new an expression of popular inn patience to have some one start something" as some people may think. Neither is playing ball for a living a strictly modern invention. In fact thousands of years ago, wal down in 4ucatan, impatient crowds sat around in ball parks, yelled themselves hoarse, beat one another in the back, and threw their feather head-gear in to the arena in the enthusiasm of the moment, just as we are doing today. Also there doubtless were Ty Cobbs whose skill in batting" and fielding was such that they could afford to hold up the management occasionally for few more hundred jaguar skins year by threats to quit professional ball and go to farming.
 Of course the game was not exactly baseball. But the point is that it was a ball game, that theye were regular ball parks-or courts-and that there were professionals who played the game for what there was "in it" to them. Mayhap the medium of ex- change took the form of jaguar skins, pounds of cacao, fancy feathers, or what not, but it was money all the same, and they could buy with it at the club, or in the market place as the case might be. They had their peculiar systems of slang" too, at least in some parts of the Americas. which, translated into English, means about as much to us as ours would to them; all of which is brought out by MT. Franklin Adams in his story, Indigenous Games in Latin Ameri- ca" in the July number of the Month ly Bulletin of the Pan American Un- ion, Washington, D. c. That the ball game is an aancient institution in the Americas may be gathered from the following:
 ''rhe ball game is indigenous to the Americas. Perhaps the first simian inhabitants found true sport in catch ing the cocoanuts tossed from the tall palms-certain it is that several thousand years ago the ball game had reached high state of development in the 70 cities scattered throughout Yucatan. On clearing away the mat ted forests enveloping these marvel ous ruins, ball courts were disclosed near the most sacred temples, and from the elaborate hieroglyphics and photographs ornamenting the walls much was learned of the complicated character of the sport. Centuries af- ter the passing of these ancient May ans, came the first Spanish eXplor- CTS who found that a younger race in contiguous territory, the Aztecs had revived the ol dpastime into a national game" with stone God of Sport" beamin@ on every court.
 "The peculiarity of these early games was that the ball, when in play, was not thrown with the hand but struck by the hip, around which the player wore protecting pad of leather. At each end of the court was a great stone disk with hole in the center, and through this orifice the ball was driven before a point was scored. Very naturally a lively ball was used, since rubber trees dom- mated the forests.
 ''Old chroniclers marvel at the skill and endurance of the players, for a game was seldom won under four hours of constant play. Such exhaust ing contests, with dozen partici- pants in almost constant action, signi, flying "ball," came the word mollon' qui, "one who plays ball for. living.
 Another form of ball game is play ed by the Indian tribes of the Curu' iary river region in the wilds of Bra gil. A carefully leveled field lies ir front of the malokas, or large com munal houses, and daily, at } o'clock the men returning from the days fishing or hunting, indulge in the sport-not complicated game likt that of the early Mexicans, but ont calling for a high degree of skill a' two ballls are used by the players who drive them with the hands to- ward their opponents. Yellow tai feathers of the Yapoo bird are af fixed to the rubber balls TOT accuracy
 The Araucanian Indians of Southern Chile play an ancient game with wood en balls driven by wooden clubs. II clearing, 300 byy 75 yards, incloset by cut branches of trees, these In dians play chueca, which greatly re sembles la crosse or field hockey. Th' game is played from childhood ant the players acquire great skill and thu | matches draw large crowds. Tn game calls for great endurance ant while generally played in 2 or
 hour periods, several days have beel known to pass before decision wa reached. During the play it is no unusual to hear a player cry, Am | not real oak tree?" or "Is he no a lions leg?" after brilliant stroke Such is Araucanian slang.