New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1918-03-11
EXTENSIVE PLANS
MADE FOR BASEBALL
Army and Navy Training Camps
to Have Representative Teams

Washington, March 11.-BasebaIl
will be played on an extensive scale
in the Army and Navy training camps
100000 men under military training
in the country today, and the com
missions on training camp activities
of the War and Navy Departments
which have the supervision OF sports
in the army cantonments and naval
stations want every single one of these
men to play baseball. And it is likely
every one will, for what average
American can resist the call of the
diamond? This means that more
baseball will be played this summer
than ever before.
The season is already under way in
most of the camps. The soldiers and
sailors waited for no official Inaugural
ton, and the snow had barely left the
ground before games were in progress
on camp athletic fields and parade
grounds. In fact in places favored
with mild climate the men have
played throughout the winter. {
Plans for the organization of camp
teams and camp leagues are being
formulated by DR.. Joseph A. Raycroft,
general director of athletics in the
camps, under the supervision Of tho
training camp commission. Before an
other month passes the soldiers will
have their company, regimental and
divisional teams. and these teams in
turn will form Company and regiment
| al leagues. No divisional leagues are
contemplated because of the scattered
locations of most of the environments,
| but where travelling conditions per-
nit inter-ca games will be ara
| ranged.
Similar Plans for Navy.
Similar plans for the naval stations
are being made by Walter Camp, who
| is general director of naval athletics.
| Each station will have a representa-
| tive team, which will be selected by
! elimination, and will play out sched-
| ules that are being drawn up with
| amateur, professional and college
| mines from adjacent cities. It is also
| possible that the sailors may play
! teams from nearby army camps and
engage in inter-station contests, as the
stations are much nearer one anotheS
than the army environments.
| 1t is estimated that approximately
! $4,000 balls will be used up Officially
| in the camp games in the course of the
! season. This figure is arrived at by
| estimating that there are more than
| 1000 companies in training in the var
| ious camps and multiplying this num-
| Der by twelve, which is the num- r of
! baseballs the training camp commits
sion is planning to furnish each unit,
in addition to gloves and bats. Many
| more, of course. will be supplied by
| the men themselves and these will
bring the number nearer 10000, it is
believed.
When the soldiers began arriving In
the camps last summer they turned at
! once to baseball as the first means 81
! amusement. Lack of equipment was
no deterrent; in fact, the men seemed
to take keener enjoyment in playing
{ under the conditions of years back,
when the only player who wore a
| glove was the catcher. In due time,
however, the game was put on an Or
! ganized basis. At one Western camp
sixteen diamonds were laid out, and
contests in simultaneous progress On
! each have not. been infrequent. BY
multiplying the enthusiasm of single
| game by sixteen it can be readily seen
| what a tremendous moral effect alone
| the national pastime is having in the
! camps.