Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1933-10-04
BY ELMO SCOTT WATSON.

~ d colonel of infantry In the United
States army In 1867. retired In 1873
and died In 1893.
Cooperstown Is a quaint old village at the foot
Of Otsego lake In 0tsego county, New York.
famed as the home of James Fenlmore Cooper
who made his bid for immortality with his
Misunderstanding Tales"
The facts contained In the two foregoing para.
graphs probably wouldn't add up to a single
item Of interest to the average dyed-in- the wool
baseball fan but the fact remains that through
the association of the names of Abner Double
day and Cooperstown, NJ. Y, there came about
the chain of events which makes 1t possible for
him TO reach the high point of his feverish In.
terest In the national game along about the first
week In October. IT'S world series time. Need
any more be said?
Early Ia the Nineteenth century the youth of
America was playing a game with a bat and ball,
which resembied and yet differed from the an
Client English game of FOUNDERS" This game
was generally known as town ball, although the
New Englanders called 1t round ball or Massa-
ehusetts baseball. Played on q square field.
whose sides were 80 feet long, there was no re-
~striction on the number of players who took
part and the rules of the game varied In differ.
ent localities
This c~rowding OF players within a limited
space OF play and confusion as to rules suggested
to one young man that 1t was time to formulate
q new set OF regulations and speed up the play
by making the field acknowledged Instead Of
square. He was Abner Doubleday, a student at
Green's school In Cooperstown, N. T. who began
working on the idea In 1893. But 1t was NOT un-
til the next gear that be took active steps to i'm.
prove the game.
In l84O q great crowd gathered In Coopers
aA-- g. . ~x--4- --I fA4 -~-Af-- A--a--
the famous Harrison log-cabin. hard-cider cam.
paign.
When the boys assembled that afternoon Dou.
bleday gathered them around and explained as
we'll as he could. the points OF the new game.
He decided that there mus, be four bases 80
feet apart. and the boys Immediately began to
refer to the game as baseball" The name stuck.
Ii provided for eleven men on a side, using four
outfelders, five infielders, pitcher and catcher.
Doubleday ruled a runner not on base might be
put ont by touching him with the ball. This
system of one player throwing to another devel-
eped into fast double plays.
The rules made by Doubleday specified that
the ball should be made of rubber and yarn and
covered with leather. IT must weigh about Eve
ounces and must not be more than nine Inches
In circumference. The weight of the ball and the
size OF the hand were taken into consideration
In determining these measurements The bat
was to be of round wood, and to be used with
both hands In town ball the bat was frequently
used with one hand.
The next thing for the inventor was to deter.
mine the distance between the bases. After sew.
eral experiments II vas found that a man would
nave to hustle to run AZ t~walking) PAGES or
about w feet before a ball OF those dimensions
could be returned after having been driven to
The ontfield. Thus II was that 90 feet was fixed
as the distance between the bases.
Of the development OF the new game the vol.
uine. Annals of American Sport" In the Yale
University. Press series. Chronicles of Amer.
lea" Is the authority for the following:
The changes introduced by Doubleday lnaug
urated a new era for those interested In town
ball and round ball Although there were no or.
ganized teams playing regular schedules to pop
uIarize the new rules, the diamond began TO su
persede the square field In the eastern states
10 lS45. a group OF New York gentlemen. who
had been enjoying practice games together for
several years. organized the Knickerbocker Base
ball club. the first association of baseball play
ers In the country. Under the leadership OF AL
exander } Cartwright they drafted q code OF
rules based upon the Doubleday system of play
with a team OF nine men as constituted at the
present time. AS a result of the publication OF
their rules and regulations, the Knickerbockers
soon had competition In the New York district"
During the decade after 1850 numerous base
ball clubs we're formed n New York, Brooklyn
Philadelphia. Baltimore and other smaller towns