New Ulm review., 1922-05-17
THAT NINETEENTH ROUGH
DIAMOND.

Take eighteen rough diamonds
young and vigorous, turn then. loose
on a nineteenth rough diamond; ado
a ball, a bat, a catcher's mask, and
a Every congregational lynch-laU
sound punctuated with yclls OF "Slide
Kelly, slide! or "Kill that umpire!'
and 10, you have our national ga me
almost anywhere. On the village
green, for instance, if your village al
fords green. On the Sand lots
Or out yonder at the edge OF the city,
where the pound used to be, and a
dump still is, and where billboards
make a capital backstop.
Just this ease of marking off dla-
mond almost anywhere is what event
ually lines Babe Ruth's pockets with
gold and gives Judge Lands salary
like a film stars. For the throngs
who pay to watch professional ball
game are onlookers but not outsiders.
When we whoop "Ee-yay!" from
grandstand or bleacher, it is because
we ourselves have "been there"
Even mere verbal snapshots OF a
ball-game set our blood tingling fol
example, this: "The ring of a bat, fly
ing forms that fling themselves feet
first along the ground in clouds Of
dust, other forms with heads thrown
back and faces upturned, one horror
striken figure moving across the lar,
far background, his posture that OF
anguish, hoping against hope-and
victory is ours! We howl" No
wonder! In our rough-diamond days
we, too, knew the Joy of triumph,
Also, we knew the pang OF being wal
loped by the Cedarvilles" and stink
ing supperless to bed.
But, whenever you find eighteen
rough diamonds playing ball on
nineteenth as rough, you suspect that
somewhere behind the scenes lurk
some enterprising citizens who have
found that there is no way OF main
'taining cordial relations with growing
boys which quite equals the diplomacy
of giving them a chance to play ball.
b Community Service, 315 4th Ave-,
IN. Y. City, is an organization which
occupies itself with preparing plans
for better use of the play time OF the
youth of America. They have sent
this article to the ReuieU in the hope
that it will reach parents and induce
them to take an Intelligent interest in
their sons amusements. They tell us
this week just how to mark out a
baseball diamond and do it right.
Pick level field, preferably two
hundred and thirty-fve feet square.
Mark off diamond measuring nine
ty feet along each side. If possible,
let the sides run oblique to the outer
boundaries. Get fve-sided home
plate, made properly Of whitened rub
Der, and plant it SO that two OF it's
sides will extend twelveinches along the
lines of the diamond from the angle.
Opposite the point run a line seven
teen inches long and connected with
the ends of the twelve-inch sides by
lines eight and half inches long. On
both sides of the home plate, place the
batters' boxes, six inches away from
it. They must measure six feet one
way by four the other, with the longer
side facing the home plate. Immedi-
ately behind the home plate, provide
the catcher's place on a gradually
isloping mound not more than fifteen
inches higher and within a triangle
made by extending the sides Of the
diamond and connecting them by a
line ten feet from the point Of the
plate.
Now draw coacher's line at right
angles to the side of the diamond, fif-
teen feet from first base measuring a
long the line from the home plate to
first base. Draw another at. right
angles to this and parallel to the side
of the diamond and extending out a
little beyond the base. At third base,
provide a similar coacher's line. FL
Enally, mark foul lines on the fence
that is, unless you prefer to use foul
flags and there you are, gentlemen,
with, a diamond worthy Of the game
and Of yourselves.
But others, too, are there -or will
be- and it remains to control the
Give them simple
bench two hundred feet long, parallel
to the base and foul lines and at least
thirty feet away, on each side Of the
diamond, starting near the backstop
and ending in the outfeld. Or per-
Ehaps you can afford a grandstand. II
lso, have space Of at least thirty feet
between it and the home plate.
b Mrs. G. w. Miller, who was elected
llay delegate of the First Congregations
jol Th,,,oL of 80 1. =