The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-05-17
132 TO 5 INNINGS RECORD
 ONS SIDED GAME


 While the grand-o1d-d dope of the diamond contains records of many weird and one-sided contests, there are few that can compare with the game played by the Atlantics and Forest Citys forty<fiv years ago today, May. 1T 1870 Nowadays, when a team ac- cumulates a dozen funs in the course. of nine innings the feat is considered something of a swatfest, but in the pastinae referred to the Forest Citys defeated the Atlantics blythe lop-sided score of 1S2=to I. and that, too, in five innings TIzis was an. n.average of over trzenty-sfx runs to the inning for the Forest Catys Nor is it to be consid- cred that the sc1uhs engaged were ssbushers. 2 saaasThe Forest City aggrega- ffon Of Rcckfords ILL, had in it's line sRoss's Barnes, three of the most illus trious names in baseball. The Allan tics Of Brooklyn ranked among the kop-notchers Of the diamonds of that period, and had several famous play CTS. Later in 4lae5 txne year the At 5a4atics vvesrss- fs1sf first tu sfaaffer the re- putatfon ofeths Cincinnati Red Stock ings The Cincinnati clubs in 1859 travelled from Maine to ,Californla and to Canada and played fifty seven games w1thout being defeated The Red Skockings had their closest call in
 
 Cikys up othe ninth inning the For est Cftys held the lead, but in the final chapter the Red Stockings got three runs across the plate and won the game by score of to A. Ine1S70, <1e Atlantdcs who had made such a miserable showing against the Forest Cztya, broke the winning streak of the Cincinnati clubs, winning by score of to on the Cap1toline grounds in Brooklyn
 The Rockford club was charteH unamber of the National Association. the first baseball league and parent body of the National. League which was launched in 1871. Baseball made strange Bed-fellovTs in those days, for small cities as we'll as large were in- cIudede in the circuit. Those who scoffed at the major league preten- sfpns of sthe Federal League because t included Indianapolis. Kansas City. BuffzIo and Baltimore ought to derive a lot of amuseneht from the list of towns in the first National circuit: New York RGutuals, Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago, Boston, Cleveland. Washing toni O17rnpics, Troy. N. YSs Haymakers. Fort Wayne. Ind. Kekionigas, and Rockford Forest Gitys. Hartford. Conn, Worcester, Mass, Syracuse, N. F. Kepkuk, Ia.s and other compara- lively small cities were at a, later per fod represented in the oldest major league
 In the years preceding the inaugura- ton of professional baseball, and for some time thereafter, large scores were the rule rather than the excep- tion. Contests 7IsuaIly coxn1nenced early in the netimes sven in the morning ng-andg continued unt1I dark In 1869. at Buha1o, the sNiagaras defeated the CoIunnbias by a score Of 20S to 19, which stands as 8 record for number of runs although not quite Sd one-sfded as the Atlantic forest City contest In 1875 the base ball fans were startled by the repori or a game in St Louis in which Chi cago defeated the home club by the amazing score of to O. At first the fans did not lake kindly to that sort of game and hungered for more ac. ton. With the authorization of over. hand pitching in 1884 and the conse duenf Improvement in twirIng ths day of big scores passed, ands base ba1l began to assume it's present form