Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-10-08
IN THE EARLY
DAYS OF BASEBALL
When the Grand Old Game Was
Young the Sphinx Was in It's
Infancy - From Stone
Age to the Golden
By ROBERT HILDRETH

age, of women; Of professionals and ANA
teurs, Of players and fans; Of America and
the Orient, aye, and of war and peace-the
Grand Old Camel A game of venerable an
tiquity beyond question. In the days of the
Pharaohs the Egyptians played ball. The
pastime Of toss and catch" is sculptured on
many a monument and temple Of the an
clients who hobnobbed with that same Sphinx
that not so long ago looked down on the
modern" game, and among the archaeology
cal treasures OF the British Museum reposes
a leather-covered ball used by the players
in the valley of the Nile 40 centuries back
in history Look into Pope's translation OF
the odyssey of Homer and you will find the
famous description of Nausicaa and her
maidens at their favorite diversion;
Ger the green mead the sportive virgins play
Their shining wells unbound-aong the skies,
Tos't and retos't the ball alternate hies.
Along the Skies" forsooth! Not much like
one of Gavvy's "homers," but yet-forgive
the atrocity-Homeric
From Ball to Baseball
The ball, according to the scientists, is al
most the oldest utility in the world "The
ball." they say, was to the primitive man
not an implement Of sport, but an absolute
necessity of existence" Today 1t is both.
Here, in little, we have the whole history
OF civilization. As the scientists learnedly
remark The Staying of Goliath by David
will Immediately come to mind as an instance
in which the stone ball from the brook was
used as a weapon Of offense." Then after
the stone age came the softer period, when
the Romans practiced ball playing in con-
nection with their baths, using the "pila,"
handball stuffed with hair and warranted
not TO hurt And now return to first prin-
ciples. Baseball, repeat" says Spalding
in Americas National Came" sis war"
The genetcs of baseball are better exem-
plified in the life Of the individual, for the
child is father to the man and the true
father of baseball, and in his development
there is time when q stone will serve II
nothing else is available.
A ball. of course is different from base
ball. The first has been introduced into the
educational curriculum and the second is a
vital part of a boys education outside of
school. Historically the transition from the
ball to the baseball is not so easy to trace.
commission appointed for that purpose,
however, reported unanimously that "base-
ball had its origin in the United States" 1t
found that in 1889 a young man in Coopers-
town, N. Y, named Abner Doubleday, made
the first known diagram OF the diamond,
and on it indicated the proper positions OF
the players. In his scheme the players were
limited to eleven on side. -Four bases had
already been established by the game of four
old cat. The standardizing of the game was
vastly promoted by the Knickerbockers,
the earliest of all baseball clubs. The or
ganization was perfected in 1S45.
The members were good substantial cIti-
zens of New York's business and professional
life. They modified Doubeday's playing
scheme and adopted set of rules, according
to which "side" should consist of nine mem
bers. Their uniforms consisted OF blue
trousers drawn in at the bottom, white
shirts and straw hats. Their first game out
side their own club was with a team calling
itself "the New York Nine" The Knicker-
bockers were defeated to the tune of 20
to l, their opponents securing the requisite
number OF runs (21 in four innings). That
was in the days when the batter was out
II the ball he hit was caught the first
bounce and baserunner was out II he were
struck by ball thrown at him by a MEM
Der Of the opposing team.
The first intercollegiate contest was played
by Amherst and Williams In 1859. After 20
innings, with no intermission, Amherst was
declared the winner by the score of 66 to S2.
In War and Peace
That score was beaten when the Athletics
in 1867 defeated Boston, 115 to "A. The Ath-
letics knocked out II home runs. But the
batsman in those good old times had the
privilege Of saying where he wanted the
ball. at the knee, waist or shoulder, and IL
the pitcher failed to deliver the goods the
umpire disciplined him by the simple expe-
dent Of calling ball"
Just when the glove was invented or when
it was admitted into the game does not ap-
fraw. L. 49,
Rockford, ILL.,. declares that the story of it's
debut is as follows:
about 1s67-6s baseball team came to
Rockford to play our nine They called
themselves the 'Unconquered Clippers OF IL
linois,' and plastered our town with big
posters. We made up our minds to give them
a drubbing, and at the end OF the game
the score was Rockford. 76 Clippers, o.
There was a little chap playing third
base who grabbed everything that came
near him, and held II, too. / noticed that
he wore a kind Of glove. When the game
was over ! went 10 him and asked what Il
was that he wore on his hand. He told me
that he was a machinist and had got his
hand badly hurt the week before, and he
showed me the wound in his palm He said
the boys did not want him to play In that
game, but he got a piece of thin sheet steel
ana mace IL shghuy concaVe, Dut so that II
did not quite touch the sore place. He then
made a short glove to cover all the hand ex-
cepting the first joints OF the fingers and
doubled the leather In the palm 80 that he
could slip the plate between,
Lincoln at the Bat
Il asked him II Il hurt. and he said IL did
not and that he could take hot one and
hold it better with the glove than without It,
That is the whole story"