Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-10-01
THE DISPATCH WILL GIVE PRACTICE
GAME ON THE MAGNETIC PLAYER
BOARD TODAY AT 3::3OP.M.

The giant magnetic player board
which the Douglas Daily Dispatch has
installed on the balcony in front Of the
Dispatch office in readiness for the
opening of the worlds series between
the Cardinals and Yanks will be chris
tened this afternoon at 8 o'clock, when
a five-inning practice game will be
played for the benefit of the local fans
who may wish to familiarize them
selves with the boards operation.
The board, known as the Standard
Magnetic Player Board, is the most
highly perfected mechanical reproducer
of the game of baseball which can be
procured, and the model installed at
the Dispatch office is duplicate of
the models which will be used this year
by the leading metropolitan newspa-
pers of the country.
With the players lineups on either
side of the diamond, and with facilities
for maintaining a complete, progressive
box score throughout the game, an
even clearer understanding of the
games details is offered by the board
than would be had by the average spec
tator were he seated in the grandstand
at the eastern field.
The most remarkable feature of the
magnetic board is the fact that the
ball is actually seen in action at all
times throughout the game. The play
ing diamond is of heavy zinc and
through the medium of movable,
high powered electromagnetic in the
rear of the diamond the ball can be,
moved in any direction about the YER
tical diamond.
A small bat, operated by solenoid,
swings when the batsman makes a
strike or hit. In the case of a hit, the
ball is seen to leave the pitchers box,
be struck by the bat and directed to
whatever part of the field desired in
order to accurately reproduce the play
being furnished the operators by di-
rect wire from the eastern diamonds.
All putouts, double plays, errors and
other plays will be clearly seen by the
spectators, for the routine through
which the ball on the magnetic board
is put out, the ball will be seen to tag
the play which has taken place but a
few seconds earlier on the other side
of the continent
Base runners move about the board
in perfect synchronism with the move
ment of the ball, hence when a runner
is put out. the bill will be seen to tag
the runner and the runner will be re-
moved from the board.
The board will be operated by staff
of three operators, all thoroughly fa-
niiliar with baseball plays, and even
when the bases are loaded the ball and
the four base runners will be seen toi
move in the exact order as dictated by
the Associated Press, sports writer
seated in the press box at the eastern
field.
Because of the clarity of the manner
in which plays are made on the mag |
netic board, no announcements are nee
essary, but megaphone will be used
to announce any flashes dealing with
special incidents of the big games.
When it BECAME known that many
Of the new magnetic player board are
to be used throughout the country this !
year, the Associated Press announced
that their regular running. descriptive
story of the game, play by play, would
be augmented with every minute detail
Of the plays in order that they may be
the more clearly presented to the hum
lreds of thousands of fans who can
1nly "see" the game by way of player
boards.