Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1918-10-15
HOW BASEBALL
REACHED FRANCE
The Man Who Really Introduced
The Great American Game
Into Tri-color Nation
POPULAR WITH THE MEN

creditable an account of himself as the
American of the same age. there viii
lie wild rush TO claim credit for HAY
ing introduced the American national
game in the land of the Tricolor Doz-
ems of men will doubtless hob up and
assert that they are the only genuine,
Northumberland pioneers in this
field Among those who clamor for
recognition will be some who undoubt-
edly have done much 10 promote the
game in France. Many have aided in
making the game popular among the
French Y. NJ c. A. workers of all
kinds, Knights of Columbus secretar-
les, Salvation Army men and workers
for the Jewish Welfare Board have en-
couraged its spread.
But the voice of the one fellow 10
whom the credit of being the first TO
show the French soldier how to play
ball, honestly belongs, if it can be
given TO any individual, will not be
heard He is not that kind of a man.
III it were not for the praise that his
friends bestow upon him, he never
would have achieved even the small
recognition that this article can be-
stow.
James A. Nelson, of Granite City,
ILL.,, high school teacher. is the man
who really introduced the game of
baseball to the French army in such
way that the 'poilus" had a chance
to get we'll enough acquainted with it
to adopt it seriously. He has paid for
the honor of being the original base
ball man. with his health. Several
months of unceasing labor as Y. NJ.
c. A. secretary in one of the 'Foyers
du Soldatp in a big French rest camp
put him in such condition that he had
to go back to America on a six
months leave of absence. He hopes
to return TO France in the spring and
take up baseball and other sports
where he left off in August. Over
work was the diagnosis and Nelson
was in such bad shape that he had to
be assisted to board the steamer home
ward bound. But though his legs have
given out, his courage is undaunted
and he is determined to try it again.
Baseball had been played to some
extent in France before Nelson ever
landed there. But it had been in a
desultory way and most of the games
had been put on by Americans. The
Frenchman after trying it politely
usually had given it up as hopeless
because there was no one to teach him
to play. The game is one that cannot
be learned from books; it has to be
demonstrated and explained by some
one who had infinite patience and tact.
Such a fellow is Nelson. When he
was assigned to the rest camp with
the French army, he found the men
hungry for all kinds of sport They
had practically none Of their own and
eagerly adopted the games that the
American Y. M. c. A. man brought
them.
Chief among these was baseball.
The job of teaching the Yankee pas
time to men that never had seen IL be-
fore was one that would have stopped
anyone who was the least bit afraid of
work and who had anything but an
unlimited stock of patience. Just put
yourself in Nelson's place, Mr.. Fan.
You go out to the games fairly often
and you understand most of the finer
points of the sport but do you think
that you could start at the bottom and
seen a bat or ball before?
The French were so eager to learn
and are by nature intelligent and en-
ergetic that Nelson soon began to get
results. First he explained the theory
of the game as simply as possible and
then he diagrammed the play as on a
blackboard. After that he took his
squad out on the field and gave prac-
teal demonstrations of throwing,
catching, stopping grounders and bat
ting An American who sees a bunch
of Frenchmen trying to throw a ball
might make the hasty decision that
they never would learn the proper
way. But he would be wrong. The
reason the ''poilus" peg" like girls is
because they never have had anyone
teach them to use their arms in the
correct way. They have just as much
muscle as anybody and when it comes
to brains are equal, class for class,
with any people in the world. Before
they have had a chance to learn how
to throw. they do it exactly as any
other man would do it il he had not
been trained.
In the course of few weeks, Nelson
not only taught large number of men
to throw like Americans but he de-
veloped a couple of pitchers who had
real stuff" Neither of these men has
Walter Johnson's speed, nor George
Dauss's curve, nor Red Faber's spit
ter" nor Mathewson's control. But
the better of the two can get 'em
over" and he has a fairly good curve
Considering the short time that he has
been practicing, he is doing wonder
full work.
One of the hardest things Nelson
had to contend with was the French
custom of using feet to stop a ball.
Many of the Frenchmen are expert
soccer players and when they first
see a baseball rolling toward them.
the natura impulse is to use the
dogs" Nelso explained very care
fully that the ball must be handled
and not kicked and that one of the
most useful words in American base
ball slang is boot which means a
faux pas in which the player, instead
of picking up a grounder drop kicks
it. The idea finally registered and
now the men that this American has