Chapter V: Part 5

In their ragged regimentals,
Stood the old Continentals,
Yielding not,
While the grenadiers were lunging,
And like hail fell the plunging
Cannon-shot!
When the files
Of the isles,
From the smoky night encampment, bore the banner of the rampant
Unicorn;
And grummer, grummer, grummer, rolled the roll of the drummer
Through the morn!

Then with eyes to the front all,
And with guns horizontal,
Stood our sires;
While the balls whistled deadly,
And in streams flashing redly
Blazed the fires:
As the roar
On the shore
Swept the strong battle-breakers o'er the green-sodded acres
Of the plain;
And louder, louder, louder, cracked the black gunpowder,
Cracking amain!

Now like smiths at their forges
Worked the red St. George's
Cannoneers,
And the villainous saltpetre
Rang a fierce discordant metre
Round their ears
As the swift
Storm-drift,
With hot sweeping anger, came the horseguards' clangor
On our flanks,
Then higher, higher, higher, burned the old-fashioned fire
Through the ranks!

Then the bare-headed colonel
Galloped through the white infernal
Powder-cloud;
And his broad sword was swinging,
And his brazen throat was ringing
Trumpet-loud;
Then the blue
Bullets flew.
And the trooper-jackets redden at the touch of the leaden
Rifle-breath;
And rounder, rounder, rounder, roared the iron six-pounder,
Hurling death!

WHEN THE PATRIOTS WAVERED.

Dr. John Witherspoon's Stirring Words, Which Brought the Continental
Congress to the Point of Decision on the Eventful Fourth of July, 1776.

On the morning of the Fourth of July, 1776, the members of the Continental Congress, in session at Philadelphia, were deliberating on the proposed Declaration of Independence. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, composing the committee appointed for the purpose, had reported several days before the document that is now familiar to every American schoolboy, but action had been delayed, and on this eventful morning, when the Congress began its final consideration, the vital character of the Declaration was recognized with the growing hesitancy of an awed responsibility.

The patriots now saw that they were at the edge of an action by which all chance of retreat would be cut off; that they were preparing to expose themselves, their families, and their estates to harsh reprisals if their revolution failed. At this crisis of painful silence a patriot arose--a man not very old in years, but showing signs of approaching age in his frosted locks. In vehement tones he said:

There is a tide in the affairs of men, a nick of time. We
perceive it now before us. That noble instrument upon your
table, which insures immortality to its author, should be
subscribed this very morning, by every pen in the house. He
who will not respond to its accents, and strain every nerve
to carry into effect its provisions, is unworthy the name of
a freeman. Although these gray hairs must soon descend into
the sepulcher, I would infinitely rather they would descend
thither by the hand of the public executioner, than desert
at this crisis the sacred cause of my country.

The speaker ceased. Confidence and determination returned to that assembly, and forthwith the Declaration of Independence was adopted. It was signed that day by John Hancock, President of the Congress. On August 2d, the engrossed copy was signed by the fifty-three members then present, and subsequently three others affixed their names.

The man whose words brought the Continental Congress to action was John Witherspoon, of New Jersey, the President of Princeton College. He was born in Gifford, Haddingtonshire, Scotland, February 5, 1722, and died near Princeton, N.J., September 15, 1794. A graduate of Edinburgh University, he became a prominent Calvinistic pastor, essayist, and educator. He declined the presidency of Princeton in 1766, but accepted a second invitation, and was inaugurated in 1768.

Dr. Witherspoon was a most devoted patriot. Throughout the War of Independence his energies were given freely to the service of the Colonies.

The Story of Baseball.

BY GEORGE V. TUOHEY.[A]

How the National Game of the United States Was Evolved From
English "Rounders," Which, in Turn, Had Its Genesis in Games
Played in Ancient Greece and Rome--United States Senator
Arthur Pue Gorman Was President of the National Association
in 1866--M.H. Bulkeley, Since Governor of Connecticut, Was
National League's First Chief.

_An original article written for_ THE SCRAP BOOK.

Whether baseball, our great national game, is a development of "rounders" or of "town ball" will ever be a question. Its genesis, however, is to be found in a pastime that dates beyond the Christian era, for the Greeks practised playing with a ball as tending to give grace and elasticity to the figure, and they erected a statue to Aristonicus for his proficiency in it.

"Rounders," from which modern baseball is generally believed to have derived its origin, was a very simple game--so simple, in fact, that girls could play it. It was played with a ball and bats and was practised in this country as early as 1825. An English work on outdoor sports describes "rounders" as follows:

"Rounders" Described.

"A hole is first made about a foot across and half a foot deep. Four other stations are marked with pegs stuck into the ground, topped with a piece of paper, so as to be readily seen. Sides are then chosen, one of which goes in. There may be five or more players on each side. Suppose that there are five.

"One player on the side that is out stands in the middle of the five-sided space, and pitches the ball toward the middle of the hole. He is called the feeder. The batsman hits it off, if he can; in which case he drops the stick and runs to the nearest station, thence to the third and all around if the hit has been a far one.

"The other side are scouting and trying to put him out, either by hitting the batsman as he is running, or by sending the ball into the hole, which is called 'grounding.'

"The player at the hole may decline to strike the ball, but if he hits at it and misses twice running he is out. When a player makes the round of the stations back to the hole, his side counts one toward the game. When all the players are out, either by hitting or the ball being grounded, the other side gets their innings.

[Footnote A: GEORGE V. TUOHEY was born in New York City about forty years ago, and has always been identified with athletics in some form. He began playing baseball with the Monarch amateur team, of New York, in 1879, as catcher and second baseman. He continued with that team for the next five years, after which he played with independent nines around New York and in the West. Subsequently he became a sporting news writer on various Eastern newspapers, and while thus engaged he has served on newspaper baseball teams.

Mr. Tuohey has written a "History of the America's Cup"; "The History of Baseball"; and a volume of "Ring Records." He was formerly sporting editor of the Boston _Post_, and is now sporting editor of the Worcester (Massachusetts) _Evening Gazette._]

"When there are only two players left, a chance is given of prolonging the innings by one of them getting three balls from the feeder; and if he can give such a hit as to enable him to run the whole round, all his side come in again, and the counting is resumed. The feeder is generally the best player on his side, much depending on his skill and art. The scouts should seldom aim at the runners from a distance, but throw the ball up to the feeder or some one near, who will try to hit or to ground, as seems the most advisable. A caught ball also puts the striker out."

Rounders was popular between 1825 and 1840, but meantime there had been many other forms of ball playing, one called "town ball," which was played as early as 1833 by the Olympic Club of Philadelphia, the first organization of its kind in America.

In New England a game called the "New England," in contrast with the "New York" game, was played. The "New England" was played with a small and light ball, thrown overhand to the bat, while in the "New York" a large and elastic ball was used.

Threw Balls at Player.

Before baseball, as recognized as the game of to-day, came into vogue, the rules allowed a man to be declared out if he were struck by a thrown ball. This schoolboy rule was soon abolished, and it was required that a runner had to be touched to be ruled out. This was the first departure from the primitive rules.

At this period, too, the game was won by the club making the largest number of "aces" or runs in a given time. Then was substituted the idea of team innings, the club scoring the largest number of runs in nine innings was pronounced the winner in a match.

The rudimentary character of the game in its infancy can, moreover, be seen from the fact that under the first code of rules the pitcher could deliver the ball as wildly as he chose, for there was no penalty for poor pitching. The batsman, on the other hand, could offer at the ball when he felt so disposed.

In 1845 baseball had become a recognized sport. It had passed the period when it was looked upon merely as a schoolboy's game, for in September of that year the Knickerbocker Club, of New York, was formed. At the same time a code of rules was adopted, and these form the basis of the elaborate laws of the game to-day.

This first code was as follows:

"Section 1--The bases from 'home' to second base, forty-two paces; from first to third base, forty-two paces, equidistant.

"Sec. 2--The game to consist of twenty-one counts or aces, but at the conclusion an equal number of hands must be played.

"Sec. 3--The ball must be pitched and thrown for the bat.

"Sec. 4--A ball knocked outside the range of the first or the third base is a foul.

"Sec. 5--Three balls being struck at and being missed, and the last one caught, is a hand out; if not caught is considered fair, and the striker is bound to run.

"Sec. 6--A ball being struck or tipped and caught either flying or on the first bound, is a hand out.

"Sec. 7--A player running the bases shall be out--if the ball is in the hands of an adversary on the base, as the runner is touched by it before he makes his base; it being understood, however, that in no instance is a ball to be thrown at him.

"Sec. 8--A player running who shall prevent an adversary from catching or getting the ball before making his base is a hand out.

"Sec. 9--If two hands are already out, a player running home at the time the ball is struck cannot make an ace if the striker is caught out.

"Sec. 10--Three hands out, all out.

"Sec. 11--Players must take their strike in regular turn.

"Sec. 12--No ace or base can be made on a foul strike.

"Sec. 13--A runner cannot be put out in making one base when a balk is made by the pitcher.

"Sec. 14--But one base allowed when the ball bounds out of the field when struck."

The Pioneer Baseball Club.

The pioneer club to play under the rules was the Knickerbockers. On June 19, 1846, the first match game ever played took place at Hoboken, New Jersey. It consisted of four innings, the rule being that the club that first made twenty-one runs should be awarded the game.

The sport prospered and the organization of the Knickerbockers was followed by the Gothams in 1850, and then by such familiar names to oldtimers as the Eckfords, of Greenpoint, and Unions, of Morrisania, in 1855.

The club idea spread eastward. In 1854 the Olympic Club was formed in Boston, and for a year this was the only one in the field in New England. The coming of 1855, however, found the Elm Trees ready to dispute the Olympics' claims of superiority, and the first match game of baseball ever played in New England was that in which these teams met. In 1856 the Green Mountain Club was formed, and several exciting games were played between that club and the Olympics on Boston Common.

The "New York" game had become so popular that clubs were formed in every locality. It was seen then, that in order to give solidity to it, a controlling body was necessary. This was done in May, 1857, in New York City, when a convention of players was held and rules for the season adopted. That year the Trimountains of Boston was organized and was the first of the New England clubs to play the New York game.

In 1858 another convention was held in New York, and here the National Association of Baseball Players came into existence. The first annual meeting was held in Cooper Institute, March 9, 1859, when many practical suggestions and a revision of the rules were effected.

In New England there was the "Massachusetts Association of Baseball Players," which met at Dedham, Massachusetts, May 13, 1858, when a set of rules was adopted differing somewhat from those in vogue in the "New York" game.

The rules required that the ball was not to weigh less than two nor more than two and three-quarter ounces, nor measure less than six and one-half nor more than eight and one-half inches in circumference. It was composed of woolen yarn and strips of rubber wound tightly and covered with buck or calf skin. The bat was round--not more than two and one-half inches in diameter--and could be of any length to suit the striker.

There was no diamond marked out. The infield was a square, each side being sixty feet long. The thrower, as the pitcher was called, stood in the center of the square, facing the batsman, who stood in a space four feet in diameter, equidistant from the first to the fourth corners of the square.

Positions of the Players.

The players on the outside were stationed as follows: One at each base, a catcher, one or two to assist the latter, and several fielders according to the number of players, from ten to fourteen, that participated in a match.

The bases were wooden stakes projecting from the ground four inches. The batsman was out if the third strike aimed at and missed by him was caught; or if he ticked the ball and it was caught; if he was caught out on a fly ball.

As early as this date, the referees or umpires had the power, after warning a batsman, to call strikes on good balls if he refused to "offer" at them. If the player, while running between the bases, was hit by a ball thrown by one of the opposing side, he was out.

In match games, seventy tallies constituted the game and one out disposed of the side.

There were three referees, one from each club and one from a neutral club. A peculiar rule was that which compelled the catcher to remain on his feet in all cases when catching the ball. Another was that when two players occupied a base, the one was entitled to it who arrived last.

From these rules it can be seen that the game resembled baseball much less than it did the game of "rounders."

The first code which led to the adoption of the above was framed by the Olympic Club, of Boston, and these rules were amended at a meeting of the association held in Boston on April 7, 1860, when the name was changed to that of "The New England Association of Baseball Players" with the following officers: President, E. Nelson, Excelsior Club, Upton; vice-president, M.P. Berry, Warren Club, Roxbury; secretary, C.H. Bingham, Bay State Club, Boston; treasurer, A.D. Nutting, Haverhill.

Clubs from Ashland, South Dedham, East Douglas, Mansfield, Boston, Charlestown, Westboro, Upton, East Cambridge, South Walpole, North Weymouth, Marlboro, Medway, Bolton, Roxbury, Randolph, Natick, Holliston, and Milford constituted the members of the association. The fee for admission was one dollar. The Boston clubs represented were the Olympics, Bay States, and Pythians.

The Diamond Supplants the Square.

The "New England" game passed quickly out of existence, and was supplanted by the "New York" game, so-called, the introduction of which marked the beginning of modern baseball. The diamond supplanted the square; canvas bags supplanted stakes, a pitched ball took the place of the thrown ball; nine innings, and not a certain number of runs, constituted a game; three men, and not one man, put out the side; nine players constituted a side; the base runner could not be put out on a thrown ball. These facts are gleaned from a copy of rules adopted in New York, March 1, 1860.

At this time, however, a catch of a fair bound or a foul bound disposed of the batsman. Otherwise, as to-day, the base runner could not run three feet out of the line of base; he could not score from third after two men were out, if the batter had not reached first base safely; in case of rain, at least five innings constituted a game, and the distances between bases were ninety feet.

The following were the officers of the National Association in 1860: President, Dr. Jones, Excelsior Club, Brooklyn, New York; vice-president, Thomas Dakin, Putnam Club, Brooklyn, New York; N. Shrever, Excelsior Club, Brooklyn; recording secretary, J.R. Portley, Manhattan Club, New York; coresponding secretary, J.F. Jackson, Putnam Club, Brooklyn; treasurer, E. H. Brown, Metropolitan Club, New York.

The association then numbered sixty clubs, of which twenty-three belonged in New York City, and sixteen to Brooklyn. Boston, Albany, Detroit, Baltimore, Newark, Newburgh, Jersey City, Poughkeepsie, Washington, New Haven, and Troy were also represented.

The first series of games for what might be termed a championship took place in the years 1857-1859. At that time the Elysian Fields, in Hoboken, New Jersey, were the great center of ball playing, and here the Knickerbocker, Eagle, Gotham, and Empire clubs showed their superiority.

The Atlantics, of Brooklyn, soon became worthy rivals, though it took many exciting and hard-fought battles before their supremacy was assured. Their success led to a series of three games between picked teams of the New York and Brooklyn clubs in 1858, known as the "Fashion Course" games.

New York won two games out of the three, by the scores of 22 to 13, and 29 to 18, while Brooklyn won, 29 to 8.

The New York nine in the first game consisted of DeBost, catcher; Van Cott, pitcher; Wadsworth, Pinkney, Bixby, basemen; Gelston, short-stop; Hoyt, Benson, and Harry Wright, fielders. Brooklyn played Leggett, catcher; M. O'Brien, pitcher; Price, Holder, Masten, basemen; Pidgeon, short-stop; P. O'Brien, Greene, Burr, fielders. Players were changed in each game.

A Noteworthy Series.

In 1860 there was a noteworthy series arranged between the Excelsiors and Atlantics, the former being determined to win from the latter, which, though not holding any official championship, was regarded as the crack team of that time.

The clubs met for the first game at the foot of Court Street, South Brooklyn, in the summer of 1860. The Excelsiors, which had been victorious in all their games, won by a score of 23 to 4. The second game, at Bedford, was won by the Atlantics, 15 to 4.

The decisive game took place on the grounds of the Putnam Club, and was declared a draw, the Excelsiors refusing to continue playing owing to the partisan actions of the crowd. The score stood 8 to 6 in favor of the Excelsiors in five innings. The clubs never met again.

That year the Excelsiors played throughout New York State, as well as in Philadelphia and Baltimore, and greatly popularized the game. It would have spread much faster had it not been for the outbreak of the Rebellion, which caused a lull in the sport for several years.

At Hoboken, October 21, 1861, representative nines of New York and Brooklyn played before 15,000 people. The New York team, on which Harry Wright played third base, was composed of the crack players of the Knickerbocker, Eagle, Gotham, Empire, and Mutual clubs, while Brooklyn had the strongest players of the Excelsiors, Atlantics, and Eckfords.

At this period the Athletics, of Philadelphia, showed themselves to be very strong, and gave promise of great things in the future.

Amendments to the rules now began to have an important effect upon the game and to make it more modern. The rules for base running did not permit the runner to leave his base after a fly until the ball had been in the pitcher's hands and had been once pitched to the bat. This rule prevailed until 1859, when the present rule was adopted.

Efforts were made in 1860 at two conventions to abolish the "out" on a fair fly, but it was twice defeated. Fly games were allowed, however, by mutual consent.

In 1861 an attempt was made, similar to the one in 1858, to give the game to the club having the most runs in an uncompleted inning, thus not compelling the leading club to go to the bat in the last half of the ninth inning.

"Fly Game" Voted Down.

At the convention in 1863 the committee on rules again reported in favor of the fly game, and it was again voted down. An important move, however, was made in regard to the pitcher. This compelled him to stand perfectly still while delivering the ball, without taking a step forward, in a space twelve by three feet. For the first time, call balls were introduced to punish the pitcher for wildness, just as the striker had been penalized, previously, for not striking at good balls. Base runners, heretofore permitted to go around or near bases in a circuit, had to touch them.

In the convention of 1864 the catch of a fair ball on the ground no longer put a man out, as the fly game was adopted by a vote of 32 to 19. In 1865 the rule dividing professionals from amateurs was adopted by a nearly unanimous vote of the representatives of almost two hundred clubs.

In 1867 the batter was prevented from taking a forward or backward step in striking at the ball upon the penalty of "no strike." This was a very confusing feature of the play of the previous season, it being attempted to help base running. The pitcher now stood in a space six feet square. The batter could take two steps forward, provided he had one foot back of the line of his position when he struck at the ball.

The rule relating to compensation described as professionals all who were paid for their services either by "money, place, or emolument."

Arthur Pue Gorman, afterward United States Senator from Maryland, was elected president of the National Association at a meeting held in Clinton Hall, New York, December 12, 1866, when there were more than two hundred clubs represented.

Baseball Invades the West.

Meanwhile, baseball had made its way West as far back as 1857. Chicago had a crack team called the Excelsiors, which went to Rockford, Illinois, in 1864, and won glory by defeating the Forest Citys of that place. The Atlantics was another Chicago club that played on the North Side, but did not have the prestige of the Excelsiors. Baseball got a great boom in that region from the tournaments held there. The Excelsiors were victorious in those held in Bloomington, Illinois, in 1866, and in Rockford, in 1867.

To return to the East. In 1862 the Eckfords, of Brooklyn, won the supremacy from the Atlantics, and held it through the season of 1863, during which they did not lose a single game--a feat since duplicated only by Harry Wright's Cincinnati Reds in 1869. The Atlantics regained their lost honors, however, in 1864, and held them for three years. Their chief competitors were the Athletics, of Philadelphia, and the Mutuals, of New York. The Atlantics did not lose a game in 1864 and 1865--a feat that has never been equaled.

The Athletics, of Philadelphia, gained renown by going through the season of 1866 with only two defeats--those at the hands of the Atlantics, of Brooklyn, and the Unions, of Morrisania, then a suburb of New York City.

The feeling between the Brooklyn and the Philadelphia boys ran so high that when they met in Philadelphia, October 1, 1866, it was estimated that the contest was witnessed by more than forty thousand persons, the largest crowd ever known to have gathered to see a ball contest. The crush was so great that after one inning had been played it was found impossible to continue, and the game was postponed until October 22.

To prevent a repetition of the crowding, an admission of one dollar was charged, the largest up to that time asked for a ball game, yet more than two thousand persons passed through the gates, while several thousand remained outside. The Athletics rolled up 31 runs to 12 of their opponents in seven innings, when the umpire called the game on account of darkness. A dispute about the gate money prevented the clubs from playing any more that season.

Baltimore became a great center of baseball in the very early days of the game. The Excelsiors were in the field in 1857, the Waverlys in 1858, and the Baltimores in 1859. Another club disputed the latter's right to the title, and in a game played for the name the first formed club won. As early as 1861 the Pastimes, of Baltimore, defeated the Nationals, of Washington.

Enthusiasm in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts had become a hotbed of baseball, but the feeling had not grown so intense and so partisan as in New York. There was no professional baseball at all in Massachusetts, until a professional association was started, as previously stated. This was not so elsewhere toward the close of the sixties.

A good example of baseball of the old days is a game at Medway played under the old Massachusetts rules. This lasted two days, occupying eleven hours. Eighty innings were played, there being only one out to an inning, and the final score was 100 to 56 in favor of the Excelsiors. It was thought wonderful because sixteen consecutive innings were played without a run on the second day.

The Trimountains, the crack club of the day, was organized in Boston in 1858. It played one match game that year, defeating the Portlands on September 8, the score being 47 to 42. The Atwaters, of Westfield, were in the field that season, with Reuben Noble as one of the players.

In 1859 the Trimountains beat the Portlands two games, and were beaten by the Bowdoins, a new club of Boston, 32 to 26. The famous Lowells, of Boston, named after John A. Lowell, were organized as a junior club, March 18, 1861. Their only match game that year was with the Medfords, whom they beat, 17 to 10. Among the players were "Foxy" Wilder, catcher, and Jimmy Lovett, short-stop.

Games in those days were mostly scrub affairs between the members of the same club or by such players as were found on the Common, where the games were usually played. The youngsters had the ground early in the afternoon, and the young men afterward. The catcher stood near the Beacon Street mall.

The contests were watched by large and interesting crowds. In 1862 the Excelsiors, of Brooklyn, visited Boston and defeated the Bowdoins, 41 to 15, and the Trimountain-Lowell nine, consolidated for the occasion, 39 to 13.

The Famous Silver Ball Series.

The Lowells gained a signal victory in 1863 in their first match game with the Trimountains, winning 37-1. The famous silver ball series was inaugurated in 1864. On July 9 of that year the Lowells beat the Harvard College nine, 55-25. The Lowells made their first trip this season, and in Brooklyn were defeated, July 19, by the Resolutes, 33-14; July 20, by the Atlantics, 45-17, and July 21 by the Excelsiors, 39-31. This was considered a very good showing for the New Englanders.

In the fall the Atlantics, of Brooklyn, visited Boston and defeated the Lowells, September 25, 30-10; September 26, the Trimountains, 107-16; September 27, the Harvards, 58-22.

In the silver ball series, in 1865, the Trimountains beat the Osceolas, 33-18; the Lowells beat the Trimountains, 33-18, and the Hampshires, of Northampton, 84 to 10.

Tremendous excitement was caused in 1865 by the games between the Lowells and the Harvards. These clubs always had attracted immense crowds, and the games were well contested and exciting. Harvard won two games out of three in this year, 28-17 and 73-37, while the Lowells won 40 to 37.

In 1866 the Lowells defeated Harvard, 37-27; King Philips, 75-17, and the Granites, 47-11. In 1867 the excitement was greater than ever, and over twenty-five thousand people witnessed the three games with Harvard. Lowell won the first at Boston, 37-28; lost the second at Jarvis Field, 26-32, and lost the third at Medford, 28-39. E. Hicks Hayburst was summoned from Philadelphia to umpire those games.

During vacation a quarrel over the disposal of the silver ball won by Harvard led to its return to the Lowells.

In the fall the Trimountains beat the Lowells, losing the first game, 16-20, but winning the next two, 40-35 and 42-22. The silver ball series then came to an end on account of the trophy being melted down. There were fifteen games for its possession. Lowell won eight, lost six; Harvard won four, lost three; Trimountains won three, lost two.

Harvard's Great Baseball Nine.

The Harvard University nine was famous at a very early date as one of the strongest nines in the country. The games were played in Cambridge, on the Delta, where Memorial Hall now stands. As early as 1866 the Harvards played the Atlantics, Eurekas, Excelsiors, and Actives, in New York, and were beaten, 37-15, 42-39, 46-28, 54-15--a plucky showing, considering that Catcher Flagg's hands were in bad condition.

On the Fourth of July the Charter Oak nine, which had thrice beaten the Yales, was vanquished, 16-14. The Beacons were beaten, 77-11 and 56-20. The Williams nine won the championship from Harvard, 39-37. Flagg, Abercrombie, and Hunnewell were regarded as the great men of the Harvard team. Hunnewell made twelve runs in one game.

The Harvards were beaten 14-9 by the Forest Citys, of Cleveland, 18-7 by the Olympics, of Washington, 22-15 by the Mutuals, 27-9 by the Athletics, 13-4 by the Atlantics, and 20-17 by the Cincinnati Red Stockings. In the latter game Harvard had the game well in hand when Cincinnati made eight runs in the last inning, blanked Harvard, and won.

Harvard beat Niagara at Lockport, New York, 62-4 in five innings, making thirty-six runs in the third inning. In the Harvard nine were Bush, catcher; Goodwin, pitcher; Perrin, White, and Reynolds, basemen; Austin, short-stop; Thorpe, Wells, and Eustis, fielders.

In 1871 Harvard beat Tufts, 32-9; Brown, 42-10, 34-15; Yale, 22-19; Haymakers, of Troy, a strong professional club, 15-8; Lowell, 14-9; was beaten by Boston, 13-4; Athletics, of Philadelphia, 14-6; Olympic, of Washington, 17-5; Chicago, 12-2; Eckfords, of Williamsburg, 15-9. This shows what the caliber and mettle of the college teams were in those days.

During the season of 1867 the National club, of Washington, made the most extensive trip ever taken by a club up to that time. The team, which was composed of government clerks, left Washington on July 11, and won its first game in Columbus, Ohio, defeating the Capitol club 90-10. At Cincinnati they defeated Harry Wright's Cincinnati Reds, 53-10. They next whipped the Buckeyes, rivals of the Cincinnatis, 88-12. At Louisville the Nationals won, 82-21; at Indianapolis the score was 106-21; at St. Louis, with the thermometer 104 degrees in the shade, they beat the Union club, the score being 113-26. The Empires, of St. Louis, were next beaten, 53-26.

The eventful games of the trip were those at Chicago and Rockford, Illinois. Previous to the arrival of the Nationals, the Excelsiors, of Chicago, had beaten the Forest Citys, of Rockford, 45-41, in Chicago, and 28-25 in Rockford. The Nationals were, therefore, awaited with intense interest. The result made the Chicagoans groan. The Forest Citys had given the Nationals the only defeat of the tour, winning 29-23. This made the Excelsiors confident of victory, but they were beaten 49-4, this being a death-blow to them. They never got over it.

The Beginning of Professionalism.

Up to 1868 the laws of the game forbade remuneration for players, but so great had become the rivalry that professionalism worked its way in, and the rule became a dead letter. At the convention of 1868 the district classes were made, and in 1869 the first regular professional nine, the famous Cincinnati Red Stockings, was organized, and signalized their appearance by playing clubs from Maine and California without a defeat. They won fifty-six games, tied one, and scored 2,389 runs to 574.

The personnel of the team was as follows: Douglas Allison, catcher; Asa Brainard, pitcher; Gould, first base; Sweazy, second base; Waterman, third base; George Wright, short-stop; Andy Leonard, left field; Harry Wright, center field; McVey, right field. First defeating the prominent Western clubs, they whipped the Forest Citys, of Cleveland, 25-6; the Haymakers, of Troy, one of the first Eastern professional clubs, 38-31; the Harvard College nine, 30-11; Mutuals, of New York, 4-2, a phenomenal game for this period; Atlantics, of Brooklyn, 32-10; Eckfords, of Brooklyn, 24-5; Irvingtons, 20-4; Athletics, of Philadelphia, 27-18; Nationals, of Washington, 24-8; Forest Citys, of Rockford, 34-13.

These were the strongest clubs of the country, and it will be noticed that they held their strong opponents down remarkably well for the days of large scores. The Cincinnatis went to St. Louis and then to San Francisco, and upon their return defeated the Athletics again, 17-12, and Mutuals 17-8. In this season the Cincinnatis defeated the famous Forest Citys, of Rockford, 15-14, making three runs in the ninth inning.

In 1870 the Atlantics, of Brooklyn, were the first to shatter the prestige of the Cincinnati Reds, defeating them June 14, on the Capitoline grounds, Brooklyn, 8-7; losing, September 2, at Cincinnati, 14-3; and winning the decisive game, October 26, in Philadelphia, 11-7.

During the summer of 1870 the Harvard College nine visited Cincinnati, and nearly scored a victory. They led the professionals 17-11 in seven innings, the Cincinnatis having their strongest nine in the field. In the ninth inning Pitcher Goodwin was hit by a hot liner and was injured. This resulted in the scoring of eight runs by the professionals, who won the game 20-17, the Cincinnatis making seven runs after two men were out.

The success of the Cincinnatis placed professional ball on a sure footing.

Among the clubs in the field in 1870 were the Cincinnatis, Athletics, Atlantics, with such well-known players as Ferguson, Zettlein, Start, Pike, Pearce, Chapman, and George Hall; Chicago, with Wood, Meyerle, Tracey, Cuthbert; Forest Citys, of Rockford; A.G. Spaulding, Anson, and Barnes; Forest Citys, of Cleveland, with James White, catcher; Pratt, pitcher; Sutton, third base, and Allinson, center field; the Haymakers, of Troy, with McGeary, catcher; McMullen, pitcher; Fisher, first base, and York, center field; the Mutuals, with Charles Mills, catcher; E. Mills, pitcher; Jack Nelson, third base; John Hatfield, short-stop; Eggler, center field; Marylands, with Bobby Matthews, pitcher, and Carey, short-stop; Nationals, with Hicks, catcher; Glenn, left field; Hollingshead, second base; Olympics, with Davy Force, short-stop, and Harry Berthrong, right field; Unions, with Birdsall, catcher; Pabor, pitcher; Hingham, second base; Holdsworth, third base, and Gedney, left field. The Athletics, Cincinnatis, Chicagos, Clevelands, Haymakers, Mutuals, and Marylands were paid regular salaries; the others were cooperative nines, who played for gate money.

Birth of the National Association.

On March 17, 1871, the first convention of delegates from representative professional clubs was held in Collier's saloon, corner of Broadway and Thirteenth Street, New York, when the National Association was formed. A series of the best three out of five games was arranged. The contesting nines were the Athletics, of Philadelphia; Chicago; Boston; Mutuals, of New York; Olympics, of Washington; Haymakers, of Troy; Kekionigas, of Fort Wayne, Ind.; Cleveland, and Rockford.

The championship was won by the Athletics, which won twenty-two games and lost seven; Boston was second, with twenty-two victories and ten defeats. Two victories of the Rockfords over the Athletics were adjudged forfeited for the reason that a Rockford player was ineligible; yet a game won by the Olympics from the Bostons was adjudged legal, though the same point was raised.

In 1872 eleven clubs entered the lists. These were Boston, Baltimore, Mutual, Athletics, Troy, Atlantic, Cleveland, Mansfield, Connecticut; Eckfords, of Brooklyn; Olympic, and National, of Washington. The series now consisted of five games. Boston had McVey, catcher; Spalding, pitcher; Gould, Barnes, Shafer, basemen; George Wright, short-stop; Leonard H. Wright, Rogers, fielders; Birdsall, substitute.

The Bostons, with thirty-nine victories and eight defeats, won easily in this campaign, as indeed they did in every season up to the forming of the National League in 1876.

In August, 1872, the Bostons took a Michigan and Canadian trip, defeating the Ypsilantis, Empires, of Detroit; Athletics, of London; Maple Leafs, of Guelph; Dauntless, of Toronto; Independents, of Dundas; Ottawas, Montreals, and Pastimes at Ogdensburg, New York.

One of the most important amendments to the rules in 1872 was that doing away with the prohibition of delivering the ball to the bat by an underhand throw, which had long been a dead letter. Creighton, one of the Excelsiors, of Brooklyn, introduced this kind of delivery.

The Bostons again won the championship in 1873, with a record of forty-three victories and sixteen defeats. The contesting clubs were the Bostons, Philadelphias, Baltimores, Mutuals, Athletics, Atlantics, Washingtons, Resolutes, and Marylands. They finished the season in that order. Each club had to play nine games for a full series, and four had to be played with every club before they could be counted.

The season was one of surprises in the many sharply and extra-inning contests. On May 14 it took thirteen innings for the Philadelphias to beat the Athletics, 5-4. June 3, Boston beat the Mutuals at Brooklyn, 6-5 in twelve innings. July 21, the Baltimores beat the Athletics, 12-11, in a thirteen-inning game. But the best and longest professional game up to that time was played at Brooklyn, September 12, when the Philadelphias beat the Athletics 3-2 in fourteen innings. Zettlein pitched for Philadelphia and Brett for the Atlantics.

The Eventful Season of 1874.

In 1874 the Bostons again won the pennant, their success being due to team work. They won fifty-two games, lost eighteen, and played one tie. The Mutuals were second, with forty-two victories and twenty-three defeats. The other clubs participating were the Athletics, Philadelphias, Chicagos, Atlantics, Hartfords, and Baltimores. The series of games was increased to ten, with five in a quota necessary to count. The Hartfords made their first appearance, and did well, but lacked in organization.

The year was memorable in baseball by the trip of the Boston and Athletic clubs to England. The clubs left Philadelphia on the steamship Ohio, July 16. In the Athletic party were thirty-eight persons, including the following players: McBride, Clapp, Anson, McGeary, Sutton, Battin, Gedney, McMullen, and Murnane, Fisler, and Sensendorfer. Al Reach was unable to go on account of business engagements.

Boston sent Harry Wright, George Wright, Al Spalding, Roscoe Barnes, Ira Shafer, Cal McVey, Andy Leonard, Jim O'Rourke, Hall, Beals, Kent, and Sam Wright. Kent, first baseman of the Harvards, replaced James White.

The tourists arrived in Liverpool on July 27. Fourteen games were played at Liverpool, Manchester, London, Sheffield, and Dublin, the Bostons winning eight and the Athletics six. The Englishmen were not a little astonished at the wonderful celerity displayed by the baseballists in fielding. The scores in most of the games were large, owing to the speedy grounds upon which the contestants played.

In cricket, the Americans met with success, defeating the Marylebone, Prince's and Surrey clubs, in London, the Sheffield club, Manchester club, and the All-Irelands in Dublin. The Richmond game was drawn on account of rain. It was not exactly as if green cricketers had visited the old country, for Harry, George, and Sam Wright were first-class players. The first two were excellent bowlers, while McBride also showed up well as a bowler.

George Wright bore the palm for the largest score in a match, rolling up fifty runs at Manchester. The trip was a financial failure, yet both clubs were successful enough in the games at home to show a balance in the treasury at the close of the season. The ball-tossers left the other side on August 27 on the steamship Abbotsford, and arrived in Philadelphia, September 9.

Thirteen clubs fought for the championship in 1875--Boston, Athletics, Hartford, St. Louis, Philadelphia, Chicago, Mutual, New Haven, Red Stockings, of St. Louis; Washington, Centennial, of Philadelphia; Atlantic, and Western, of Keokuk, Iowa. The Westerns, Centennials, and New Havens did not live long. Ten games constituted a series, with six as a quota. At the close of the season only seven clubs had played the quota.

The Bostons won with greater ease than ever, and made a record unequaled in any championship season, with seventy-one victories and eight defeats. The most noteworthy contest up to that time was played June 19 at Chicago, when Chicago defeated the Mutuals 1-0 in ten innings. This was the first time that club had failed to score in nine innings.

Formation of the National League.

This was the closing year of the National Association, and brings us up to that point in the history of the national game where the solid foundation was laid for the present splendid superstructure. The work of the founders of this league was no small task. They were confronted with many obstacles, principally the gambling element, but all were successfully surmounted.

The National League was formed in New York City February 2, with M.H. Bulkeley, since governor of Connecticut, as president, and N.E. Young, secretary. The league consisted of Chicago, Hartford, St. Louis, Boston, Louisville, Mutual, Athletic, of Philadelphia, and Cincinnati clubs, which finished in the order named. Boston this year lost four of its best players--Barnes McVey, Spalding, and White--who joined the Chicagos. The Athletics and Mutuals were expelled that fall for failure to keep their agreement.

The league was reduced to five clubs in 1877, Cincinnati dropping out. Hartford and Boston were the Eastern clubs, with St. Louis, Chicago, and Louisville in the West. The Hartfords were transferred to Brooklyn and played its games on the old Union grounds in the Williamsburg district. Boston won the pennant.

On February 20 the International Association was formed at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with the following clubs: Alleghanys, of Pittsburgh; Buckeyes, Columbus, Ohio; Live Oak, Lynn, Massachusetts; Rochester, New York; Manchester, New Hampshire; Tecumsehs, London, Ontario; Maple Leafs, Guelph, Ontario. Tecumseh won the championship. The league alliance was also formed with many clubs in different parts of the country.

In 1878 the National League was increased to six clubs. Hartford, Louisville, and St. Louis retired. Providence replaced Hartford, and Cincinnati returned after a year's absence. Indianapolis and Milwaukee were added. Boston again captured the championship. The International Association consisted of twelve clubs. The Maple Leafs, Buckeyes, and Live Oaks retired. Buffalo, Binghamton, Hornellsville, Syracuse, and Utica, New York; Springfield and Lowell, Massachusetts, and Hartford, Connecticut, were added. Buffalo was awarded the championship.

Eight clubs--four in the East and a like number in the West--formed the National League circuit in 1879. The Eastern teams were Boston, Providence, Syracuse, and Troy. The West was represented by Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Indianapolis and Milwaukee dropped out. Providence won the championship.

The National Association, formed at a meeting on February 19, 1879, succeeded the International, and had a circuit consisting of Albany, Utica, Holyoke, Manchester, New Bedford, Springfield, Worcester, and Washington, the teams finishing in the order named. The Northwestern League was organized January 2, 1879, at Rockville and Dubuque, Iowa; Omaha, Nebraska, and Rockford, Illinois. Dubuque won the premiership with a roster of players which included Ted Sullivan, Tom Loftus, Charley Comiskey, then a pitcher, and Charley Radbourne, that marvel of twirling skill.

By 1880 the National League had earned its place as the premier baseball organization in the country. Its policy had become settled, and changes in its circuit were less frequent. In that year Worcester replaced Syracuse. The pennant went to Chicago. In the National Association Washington finished first.

Cincinnati retired from the league in 1881, Detroit being admitted. Chicago again won the championship. This year marked the advent of modern professional baseball in New York City. The Eastern Association was formed April 11, with the Metropolitan, New Yorks, Athletics, of Philadelphia; Quick Steps, Atlantics, of Brooklyn, and Nationals, of Washington. The American Association, a formidable rival of the National League, was organized at a meeting held in Cincinnati on November 2, and started the following season with the Athletics, of Philadelphia, and Baltimore in the East; Alleghany, of Pittsburgh; Cincinnati, Eclipse, of Louisville, and St. Louis in the West.

There were no changes in the make-up of the National League in 1882, but in 1883 Troy and Worcester dropped out, and New York and Philadelphia were admitted. With the advent of the National League in New York, the Metropolitans joined the American Association. Brooklyn signalized its first year in the Interstate League by winning the championship of the organization.

The season of 1884 proved a memorable one in the history of the National game, inasmuch as the Union Association was organized in opposition to the National Agreement. The league's rival placed clubs in Altoona, Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington in the East; and Chicago, Cincinnati, and St. Louis in the West. Only five of the original clubs finished the season. Altoona disbanded, and was replaced by Kansas City. Later Milwaukee and St. Paul helped finish the schedule.

The season, which had opened so bright, was one of the most disastrous, financially, in the game's history. Club after club and league after league suspended. Players became panic-stricken at the outlook, and for a time the popularity of the game was threatened. It weathered the storm, however, and then followed a period of unexampled prosperity that lasted until the outbreak of the Brotherhood trouble, which resulted in the war of 1890, the hardest fight the National League ever had.

The War of League and Brotherhood.

The reserve clause in contracts was the direct cause of that struggle. A majority of the players who had been reserved by the clubs of the National League for the season of 1890 held meetings during the winter and with a number of capitalists formed the Players' League, with clubs paralleling the National circuit.

Then followed a bitter and relentless war, in which the National League was not the only sufferer, but several American Association and minor league clubs as well. The National, to strengthen itself, admitted Brooklyn and Cincinnati to replace Washington and Indianapolis. The majority of the latter team was transferred to New York, among them being Amos Rusie, the wonderful pitcher.

The fight was carried on at a tremendous financial sacrifice, but that winter the differences between the National and Players' Leagues was satisfactorily adjusted by the consolidation of a number of clubs. In the distribution of players, however, the claims of the American Association were ignored and that organization continued the war another year, invading the National League territory at Boston and Cincinnati. The latter club disbanded in midseason, Milwaukee taking its place.

The differences were finally adjusted on December 17, when the Athletics, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, and Milwaukee clubs resigned from the American Association, and the four remaining teams were admitted to the National League, which became a twelve-club body, with a circuit consisting of Boston, Brooklyn, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Washington, Chicago, St. Louis, New York, Louisville, and Baltimore. This arrangement continued in effect until 1899, when Baltimore, Cleveland, Washington, and Louisville were dropped. Baltimore was consolidated with Brooklyn, while Cleveland was transferred to St. Louis.

The players of the other clubs were either released or distributed throughout the circuit. The Western League, under the able management of Ban Johnson, at a meeting held in Chicago in 1899, changed its name to the American League. It entered Chicago that spring with a team under the management of Charles Comiskey, thus inserting the wedge that enabled it to become a major league in the fullest sense of the term.

The American League's circuit in 1900 was Chicago, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Detroit, Kansas City, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Minneapolis, the teams finishing in that order.

The Two Leagues of To-day.

At the end of the season of 1900 the American League announced that it would no longer be a party to the National Agreement, and that it would place clubs in Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, and Cleveland, with a twenty-five-cent tariff. Then began an effort that brought to the American League many of the star players of the country. Contract-jumping was frequent, and the players were practically able to dictate their own terms.

The liberal policy of the Americans enabled them thus to secure seventy-seven of the National's best and most popular players, and the success of the young organization was assured.

At the beginning of the playing season of 1902 the Milwaukee team was transferred to St. Louis, many of the National League team of the latter city swinging over to the American. New York was added to the circuit at the beginning of 1903, replacing Baltimore.

The seasons of 1904 and 1905 were the most prosperous in the entire history of the national game. The attendance figures surpassed those of any previous year by more than 1,000,000.

The official figures of the American and National Leagues for 1905 give a total paid attendance of 5,855,062, as against 5,769,260 in 1904. It is difficult to even estimate the attendance at minor league, semi-professional, and other games; but it can easily be set at 15,000,000 more.

This fact alone establishes the strong hold the game has on the American people. It has gained a foothold in our Far Eastern possessions, and in the Philippines there are several leagues playing regularly scheduled games.

The same is true of Hawaii and Cuba. Even in Japan the game has advanced to a point where a splendid organization has been formed on the lines of our parent bodies. The visit of the Japanese team to the Pacific coast a year ago showed the progress baseball has made among the "Yankees of the East." In Australia there are various leagues, while in England there is an eight-club organization playing regularly for an annual championship trophy.

Just how much money is invested in baseball it is impossible to estimate, even approximately. The major leagues alone have playing plants valued at millions of dollars. So have the minor bodies, the amateurs, and the independent teams in the country towns.

In the matter of salaries paid to the players of the larger leagues, it is estimated that they amounted last year to $2,577,000. Besides this item, $2,500,000 is spent on other salaries and the maintenance of grounds. Railroad fares cost another $800,000, training expenses $125,000, and there is required possibly $500,000 additional for incidentals.

When it is remembered that there are upward of thirty-five other leagues working under the National Agreement, as well as many independent organizations, and that the figures given are for the major leagues alone, it will be seen that baseball in America is a tremendous institution.

ALL KINDS OF THINGS.

A New Side-Light on the Problem of Flight--The Legal Aspect
of a Woman's Tongue--A Town That is Chess-Mad--Revolutionary
Heroes in the Scales--Daredevil Days of Steamboating on the
Mississippi--Whittier's First and Last Love-Affair--With
Other Interesting Items Drawn From Various Sources.

_Compiled and edited for_ THE SCRAP BOOK.

STUDYING FLIGHT LAWS IN THE LABORATORY.

DR. ZAHM'S EXPERIMENTAL TUNNEL

Method Employed in Washington to Discover
Effects of Air Friction on
Flying Models.

Scientific study of flight has been conducted with gratifying success at the Catholic University, Washington, District of Columbia. Dr. Albert F. Zahm has for two years been experimenting with a tunnel six feet square and forty feet long, through which air can be forced by a five-foot fan at one end. Models placed in this air-current encounter the same conditions as if they were flying in the free air, and they can be advantageously observed at leisure. The air resistance of different models is accurately determined.

B.R. Winslow tells in the _Technical World_ of a revolutionary discovery made in this tunnel:

One of the first things that the experiments in the tunnel
did was to upset a long-cherished belief among aeronauts
that skin friction of the air on a body passing through it
was practically a negligible quantity. As a matter of fact,
the action of air was proved to be almost identical with
that of water, roughly speaking, being in direct proportion
to the density of the two elements.

The current theory had been that the sharper the cylinder
the easier it would cut through the air, and nothing was
thought of the skin friction. It was found by experiment in
the wind tunnel that as the sphere was reduced to a
sharp-pointed cylinder, the air resistance rapidly
diminished to a certain point. Then it rose again as the
length of the cylinder was increased. Twelve to one as the
proportion between length and diameter was found to be the
shape of least resistance.