Evening star., 1924-01-10
I ARTICLE II-Eariy League Basket Ball In District.

Early IN 1894 representatives OF
Carroll Institute. which had put the
city's first team on the floor: the
Washington Light Infantry Corps.
that had its armory under Albangh.s
Theater: Columbia Athletic Club, that
was housed in the building at pres
ent occupied by the boys department
of the Y. M. G. Az and Washington
tion. met in the Columbia Athletic
Club quarters and launched the first
league.
1t elected. as officers. president, Os
car Y. Schmidt; vice president, r. J.
now president OF the National Base
Ball League, and treasurer, James A.
Martin. Joseph Burkhart and Ernest
SchafhiTt with Beall were on the
three games aweek. while to ~. A..
Joyce of Carroll Institute and II. S.
Flynn Of Columbia was assigned the
task Of formulating playing rules.
Nine men played on the team in
those days and the game was some-
what helter- SIX elter, so Il was up to
the league to make It's own laws for
competition. Add to this list OF
names that of Sam Shreve and one
has mentioned the fathers or basket
ball In Washington.
Infantry Team Powerful.
first attracted the attention Of the
general public to the game. Contests
were keen and ferceiy fought and
at the end OF the strenuous season
the city championship was In the
hands OF Columbia Athletic Club: But
the game did not take so well at
Columbia and the next year-1895-t
was not represented In the league,
Royce Hough, now prominent in the
automobile business here. and Jim
McQuade-today, Sergt. James Nc
Quade of the metropolitan police: X
you please-along with some other
men who had been prominent FACTORS
in Columbia's success enlisted In the
Washington Light Infantry, the elite
of the District soldiery in those days.
and became members OF team that
scared to great heights i'll the court
sport.
1895 things began to hum in the
league. A few more teams were
added to its roster and the game was
reduced to q more sclentinc OASIS;
But mono OF the other teams could
fantry that breezed to the circuit
championship. Nor did the Infantry
men stop with that season. So much
better were they than the other ag-
gregations IN the league that they
continued to lead the procession un-
til 1900. capturing five titles In as
many years.
Old Came Was Rugged.
They we're a husky lot, those IN
fantrymen. The squad at different
times included such sterling athletes
as Percy Kendall. one-time star base
ball player at Georgetown; Arthur
Devlin, later third sacker for the
Giants; y. a. Lanky) Burnett. sheri-
dan Lee. Harry Lee. Ernie Schafhirt.
Jesse Schafh!rt Harry McCabe, Sam
Shreve. Jim Mcouade. Tom Hughes.
Royce Hough. Claude Given. Rob Roy
MasSey Brigham Tor TatsGS: Hss5Ss- Shorty shorty
Bevans, Wally McCathran. Jimmie
Lotus, Bill IIolmead. Buck Taylor
and Burgess.
Basket ball was q rugged game
when the Infantry was in Its heyday,
Of the District Leagues early official
scorers. He finds scoring a woman's
duckpin league much easier now.
Bakers opinion Of the early game is
supported by the following cotem-
the old District League contests:
short arm joits and uppercuts
were almost as frequent as goals
from the field in the basket ball game
at Washington Light Infantry armory
supporters of the team saw the Wash
ington Light Infantry defeat the
Eastern Athletic Club in game re-
plete with impromptu lighting.
Slugging was q regular feature, and
on one occasion Joseph Mangan, one
Of the umpires. was knocked to the
floor by 6 blow on the point Of the
jaw as he rushed in between a couple
Of belligerent players who were
landing corkscrew punches upon one
another"
They trained hard and they played
hard. although neither training nor
playing rules were SO strict then.