Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1925-07-02

the summer of 1867, it was pretty
well organized, and going at full
blast.
Much of the credit for this is due
to George Dodd, for it was mainly
through his efforts and enthusiasm
that the game was established here,
and the fact is, so to speak, that
George was the father of it.
Mr.. Dodd had learned to play the
game in the east and had recently
come to Baraboo with the other
members of the Dodd family. He
was a good and energetic player,
but his outstanding qualification
was as a always keen to
place the men to the best advant-
age, and quick to see a weak spot
and to remedy it, The foremost
idea with George, first last and all
the time, was to win the game.
His playing was not particularly in
tended for the benefiC of the grand
astand, and the applause apparent
ly meant nothing to him. He al
ways insisted on the boys getting
what was right, and there is no
doubt but what they usually got all
that was coming to them, maybe
Just little bit more. While he
stayed in the game he always act
ed as captain and did the catching
The men associated with him
were also deserving Of much cred
1T for their cooperation, and the
parts they played in the game. AS
/ recall a few of their names, there
were the Blachly brothers, Jim
and Boyd, James Cowles, lie Grand
Lippitt, Jim BriscOe, Henry Mould,
the LanPdon boys, Henry and Court,
MAR Pofrton, and few others who
took a hand occasionally. A few
years later, others gradually came
in. viii Dodd took his brothers
place, and there was Ira Harris, the
most effective pitcher of those days
Charlie Lott, Oscar Brandenburg,
Rollie Noyes, Frank Cowles and
many others.
In speaking of the grandstand,
/, OF course, use the term figuratiVe-
ly, as there was no such thing at
that time, or for many years to
come, mother earth serving for
that purpose just as we'll with the
added advantage that there was no
danger Of its collapsing.
The main features of the game
were the same then as now, the
changes that have taken place be-
ing mostly in minor details. There
were the nine positions and the
nine players on each side, the same
as now, and the diamond was laid
out the same, with the bases ninety
feet apart; but the pitchers posi-
ton, which was forty feet from the
home plate, has gradually been eX-
tended to sixty feet. The pitcher
at that time, in delivering the ball,
was required to swing his arm in a
perpendicular position at his side;
consequently it was a physical i'm
possibility to get any perceptible
speed to the ball, but gradually the
rules were changed in regard to
this. The first change that was
made allowed him to throw the
ball, provided his hand did not pass
above the knee, and this was
Known as underhand throwing.
Later on he was allowed the heigh-
tn of his hip, still later the heighth
of his shoulder, and in later years
he was allowed to throw as he saw
fit. and each change kept increas-
ing the speed. The curved ball
did not appear until the early eigh-
ball a whirling motion when thrown
and it was possible to cause the ball
to curve in or out, up or down, just
as the pitcher saw fit to do so, and
by this time the pitching and catch
ing had become almost a profession
even among amateur clubs. The
old time pitcher had the privilege
of making a bluff at delivering the
ball, but could fail to do so, in an
attempt to catch a base runner !;
and often they would spend five or
ten minutes in an effort of this
kind, much to the displeasure of
the spectators.
The Ball and Bat
The ball used at that time was
highly elastic, being composed
largely of rubber, and was known
as a live BALI, consequently there
were some marvellous exhibitions
of batting, home-runs being more
common than base hits of today
This situation put the three out
tfelders in the position of star &C.
tors in the game and they were
depended on for at least three
fourths of the put-outs. The re-
suit was that a game consisted