New-York tribune., 1918-02-24
Cincinnati Reds
Set the Fashion
of Short Pants
1t Happened Way Back in
l868-Browns Cot First
Shutout
BY Louis Lee Arms


If man goes into the matter of
baseball records seriously he should
cover the thing from every angle, and
that is precisely what George Moreland
has done. Baseball has no secrets from
Mr.. Moreland. He recalls the game
that was played between the Knicker-
bockers and the New Yorks on June 10.
1S46, and with equal ease he sets forth
the fact that in 1868 the Cincinnati
Reds were the first team to wear short
pants.
The New Yorks, by the way, won that
game by the satisfactory score Of Fl
TO l. In 1846 team had only to score
twenty-one runs to bring tho game to
close. The Knickerbockers had been
blowing around Forty-second Street
and Broadway what great team they
were, but the New Yorks trimmed 'em
in four innings.
Up tc that June day in 1846 a pop
ular method of putting a base runner
out was to heave the ball at him. If
the ball hit the runner on the wing
the said runner was out, though the
historian fails to say for how long.
Rule Is Abolished
In the game between the Knickcr-
bockcrs and the New Yorks this rule
was abolished. The practice has been
generally out of favor since, though
If the occasion is important enough a
member of the New York Yankees in
field may be trusted to hit some player
on the bean with the ball, allowing
all hands to score as the sphere car
roms toward the grandstand.
Speaking of peculiar games, on July
a, 1886, game between the Leadville
and st. Joseph clubs at Leadville,
Colo. was stopped because of heavy
snowstorm. Many contests during q
regular league season are visited by
horrible frosts, but SO far as we are
aware none of them is stopped.
Leadville, it seems, may lay claim to
being the only city to have ball game
stopped on July a by snowstorm. It's
peculiar that the Leadville Chamber of
Horrors or the Board Of Talk doesn't
incorporate this spicy fact in their
municipal advertising. AS boost for
summer resort what better induce
ment could be offered?
The first shut-out in professional
ball was made at St. Louis on May 12,
1875, when the Chicago White Stock
ings defeated the St. Louis Browns by
a score of l to 0.
Says our historian: "The first game
ever to be played on ice was between
the Atlantics and Charter Oak clubs,
OF Brooklyn, on February 4, 1861, on q
pond in that part of the city which is
now known as Prospect Park"
Slipping and Sliding
There was a great deal of slipping
aid sliding in that game, but not by
half the amount there was some wears
later-in 1916, to be eXact--when the
Trolley Dodgers met the Red Sox in a
world series. While the world series ri
in 1916 was not played on ice, by half
closing his eyes and watching the
Brooklyn club the spectator might have
thought so.
The catcher is the only member Of a
team, SO far as we are aware, who ever
has had the distinction of having an
assistant. In 1875 there were ten men
on a side, the tenth man being used in
utility role. When the catcher came
up close behind the bat the tenth man
dropped back to catch the foul flies.
That was an interesting season. The
catcher would be standing behind the
plate when, suddenly, the batter would
foul one into the air. Turning quickly
to the assistant catcher, the catcher
would say:
Brooks, old boy, if / am not mis-
taken one of our customers has just
popped foul ball high into the air.
Would you be kind enough to look into
the matter? l see no reason why we
should extend this person further
credit, and perhaps you would be so
kind as to close our account with him.
Whereat the first assistant catcher
as many assistants do, and if he was
lucky the foul fly didn't bean him.