The Alaska daily empire., 1915-11-01
BASE BALL lN
 OLDfN DAYS
 WAS DIFFERENT

Back as fur as the ihir.ies oi the last ry-probably even .uriher back certain localities called ihe grand old game of today. baseball by the namo as we do nov. The rules Of Che pasllme whose 1915 season wlli end with the comng worlds series, have undergone many changes, ai- though some oi the rules today are the same as those in ti,e first set got up by che Knickerbockei' Club in ls45. Fourteen rules comprised tbe first act, as compared to the hundreds or more Of today Go say nothing of the many sections Of tho different rules.
 The following is a description of Massachusetts Baseball7 as played on the Boston Common tn the earlier shistiea
 The number Of players on side might vary from six to twenty but eight was Che regulation number. The field was an Irregular polygon. There were really five bases for the home baae snd the bater's base were not coiucident The ball was made of any soft and elastic material, such as wound yarn. surgeons nose. and later hollow rubber The pitcher known as ,he "thrower" or "giver'- sloody midway Of the poygon. The catcher stood up close behind the bat but he had a "scout" to assist him, since this game. like cricket, made no distinction between fair and foul balls-anything off the bat was O bit. There were no basemen. for runner off bases was put out-iust as in rounders-by being hit with the ball. Five scouts assisted in fielding balls and soaking" the runner Hence the soft ball A bail caught off tho bat or the first bound was out Even af- ter real baseball came this game had long survived.
 Then st.orward there came hn evo' lutlon oi baseball in New York. One. o.cat two-o-cat, end three.o-cat were the most popular kinds of baseball ndulged in by the New York boys un- tn 1S4O. when one-o-cat became the fad. One summer afternoon in lS42, as The boys were playlnnaround the famous Murray Hil grounds in New York City Alex J. Cartwright hap pened along and told tae youngsters he had a better game than ihe one-o- eat affair The boys were willing to find out what the new contest was and at once proceeded to ask Mir. Cart wright about it
 Mir. Cartwright scratched off the dia- mond in the Murray Hil dust with a stick and the boys watched with open eyes and listened with open ears as he laid off Che diamond using stones for the bases and home plate He set a player at each base and three scouts as they were called then in the out field. So with eight players on a side no shortstop. the New York lads be- gan playing their first real game of baseball
 z. was a matter of 10 years after ward before "Dickey' pearce made the position of shortstop @ regular place on @ ball team Pearce's ability to- get infield grounders and his throw ing arm giving him the honor The yarn ball then gave place Go a heavier and larger ball than the one used 1c. day The ball at that time cost S2 The pill" was covered with sheep skin. the cover being sewed on in four sections by the village shoemak- er The Knickerbocker Club was the first ball club to be formed ard held the honor of being Che only one Of its kind until the Gothams put in their appearance
 The following Is Che sc, of baseball rules. and they were made by the Knlckerbockers in 1845.
 Section l. The bases shall be from nome" to second base. forty-two pac- es from first to thirty forty-two pac- es eQuidistant
 Section 9. The game to consist of 21 counts or aces. but at the conclus- ion an equal number of hands must be played
 Section 8. The ball must be pitched and not thrown for the bat
 Section {. A ball knocked outside the range Of the first or third base is foul
 Section 9. Three balls being struck at and missed and the last one caught is hand out; if not caught is con- sidered fair, and the striker bound to run
 Section 6. A ball being struck or tipped. and caught either flying or on the first bound. is @ hand out
 Section 2. A player. running the bases. shall be out 1T the ball is in the hands of am adversary on the base or the runner is touched for 1t before he makes his base-it being unoer- stood. however. that in no instance is ball to be thrown at him.
 Section g. A player running who shall prevent an adversary from catch ing or getting the ball before making his base is a hand out
 Section g. If two hands are al- ready out. a player running home at tbe time a ball is struck cannot make an ace # the strikers is caught out.
 Section DO. Three hands out all out
 Section H. Players must take their strike in regular turn.
 Section 12.-No ace or base can be made on foul strike.
 Section 13. A runner cannot be put out in making one base when balk is made by the pitcher
 Section IA But one base allowed .,.t,.,, tb, h,u hovrao onf of fha flolf