East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1921-07-27
EARLY DAYS OF GAME
DESCRIBED IN TIMES
GWEN BY SPAULDING
Guide Books Back to 1858 Are
Included in Lot Presented
to Big New York Library.

NEW YORK, July 27.--U. \. S)-l
The Spalding Baseball Collection is a
notable edition to the reference works
of the New York Library. 1t was pre-
scented by the widow of the late Albert
G. Spalding and was received from
California only a few days ago The
collection is so bulky and of such var
led material that at least two months
will be required to catalogue it for
public inspection.
Included in the collection which
will be found most valuable for refer
ence purposes. are complete sets of all
baseball guides--some of them dating
lack to the Civil War-old files of
sporting periodicals, the diaries. scrap
books, manuals. score books and other
data gathered by the late Henry Chad
wick, the Father of BASEBALL: the
baseball correspondence of Harry
Wright, Chadwick and Spalding; an
cient and modern handbooks on the
game by scores of authors and large
rumber Of team and individual photo
graphs dating back to tintype days
Hereafter baseball fans are advised
70 save the postage they may other
wise waste on baseball experts. They
can settle those bets and pursue their
researches by consulting the authori-
ties at the public library
Random Selections
Here are .a few Of the things we
noted in two-hour ramble among the
dusty volumes recently
a photograph of Sam Crane in all
his pristine glory, including a waxed
| handle-bar mustache Series of 1871.
| An explanation Of the curve when it
was called Giving a bias 70 the ball"
one of Cy Seymour's early press no.
tices. beginning as follows Seymour
| pitched whole game for the Giants
/ Yesterday and won it, This Is a big
| event in the history of the Giants"
The discovery in a guide Of 1868 OF
slang term We thought belonged to a
later era. In writing of Charley Mills
a catcher on one Of the New York pro-
fessional teams, the scribe concludes:
/ When sure of his man on the bases
! Charley throws a wicked ball"
| The Importance of the scorer in the
cid days. His position was marked on
the diagram Of the playing field. and
he had to pass a more rigid eXamina-
/ tion that the umpire.
The Chin Whiskcrs Era
The Spalding collection not only EN-
braces every phase of baseball and
/ completely outlines the history of the
same but it covers many other branch
ea Of amateur and professional sports.
There is complete set Of the spal-
ding Athletic Library, which was
started by james f. Sullivan many
years ago. Many volumes are devoted
to cricket, these being part of the
Chadwick collection. The Father of
Basebail' was cricket player as a
boy, and his untiring efforts in the de-
HeIopment Of the old game of FOUNDERS
was the greatest factor in building up
the modern game of baseball
The pictures are no less interesting
than the records. From the Civil War
to about twenty-five years ago the ball
players hid their features behind flow
ing chin whiskers. There were no fast.
action cameras in those days, so when
young man wanted to preserve his
athletic prowess for postcrity he ram
bled into a photograph gallery. donned
his uniform and took position. with
outstretched hands reaching toward
tho ball suspended from the ceiling by
a string.