https://protoball.org/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Larry&feedformat=atomProtoball - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T13:22:51ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.39.5https://protoball.org/index.php?title=Elle&diff=2191586Elle2023-12-01T22:12:23Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Game<br />
|Term=Elle<br />
|Game Family=Baseball<br />
|Location=Sri Lanka<br />
|Game Regions=Rest of World<br />
|Game Eras=Contemporary, Post-1900<br />
|Invented Game=No<br />
|Description=<p>A lusty baserunning game, Elle, is played in Sri Lanka.</p><br />
<p>As of August 2020, Wikipedia has this general description of Elle:</p><br />
<p>"Elle&nbsp;is a very popular Sri Lankan&nbsp;bat-and-ball game, often played in rural villages and urban areas. It involves a hitter, a pitcher and fielders. The hitter is given three chances to hit the ball pitched at him or her. Once the hitter hits the ball with the bat &ndash; often a sturdy&nbsp;bamboo&nbsp;stick &ndash; the hitter has to complete a round or run which includes four possible "stoppings" spaced 55 metres [~180&nbsp;ft] apart. A strikeout happens if the hitter's ball is caught by the fielding side or if the fielding side is able to hit the hitter with the ball while he or she is in the course of completing a run. The hitter can stop only at one of the three stoppings in the round thereby paving the way for another member of his team to come and become the hitter. The side that gets the highest number of (complete) runs wins the match."</p><br />
<p>See:&nbsp;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_(sport)#:~:text=Elle%20is%20a%20popular%20bat,the%20most%20similarities%20with%20softball.</p><br />
<p><span>The article cites a source with the claim that the game has a 2000-year history, but notes that this has not been documented, and suggests that it may date from the 1900s. It is reportedly played by males and females, and town vs town matches have been common.</span></p><br />
<p><span>12 to 16 players comprise a team. In today's game, tennis balls are commonly used.&nbsp; The batsman strikes a ball tossed softly by a teammate.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>A 3-minute 2020 Youtube introduction to elle in English was reached on 12/8/2022 via a search of "elle sri lanka traditional sport".&nbsp; </span></p><br />
<p>The essence of this boisterous game is perhaps conveyed in Youtube clips: in Summer 2020, a Youtube search for &lt;elle match sri lanka&gt; returned about 20 such displays.&nbsp; One unique feature is that a batter does not run bases;instead, a (usually barefoot?) teammate with a head start sprints around a circular path when a ball is struck.&nbsp; Caught flies are outs, and runners reportedly can be retired if hit between stopping points.&nbsp;</p><br />
<p><span>Ceylon was a British colony, and it is tempting to suppose that elle evolved from a rounders-like game, but Protoball has not seem such speculation.</span></p><br />
<p><span>Further information is welcomed.&nbsp; A large Facebook presence reflects the idea that elle should be embraced as Sri Lanka's national game.</span></p><br />
<p><span>A 3-minute 2020 Youtube introduction to Elle was reached on 12/8/2022 via a search of "elle sri lanka traditional sport".&nbsp; We have seen other foreign-language elle videos on Youtube.</span></p><br />
<p><span><strong><em>Query:</em></strong> </span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>-- Can we find a written history of elle?&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>-- Are uniform playing rules printed available?</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span><em><strong>Allardice Score: 8 or 9?</strong></em><br /></span></p><br />
<p><span>From inspecting its several very watchable YouTube videos, Elle may score the maximum score of 9: we cannot yet confirm that foul ground is used, that total runs scored determines the winner, or that uniform written rules are found.&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>In Elle, the pitcher acts as a server, and is on the batter's team.&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>======</span></p><br />
<p><em>Draft 1.5 of the story of Elle, drafted 12/1/2023 -- To be updated over time.&nbsp; Comments and supplements are welcome.</em></p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>Getting to Know Elle -- A Progress Report on Sri Lanka's Flashy Baserunning Variant</strong></span><span><strong><br /></strong></span></div><br />
<div class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>&nbsp;</strong></span></div><br />
<div class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>[</strong>Note: This short overview was drafted as a possible submission to SABR's&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>Origins Newsletter,&nbsp;</em>but it was impossible to complete without better data.</span></div><br />
<div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>&nbsp;</strong></span></div><br />
<div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>&nbsp;</strong></span></div><br />
<div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><br />
<div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><br />
<div><span>Someone informed Protoball.org about an unusual baserunning game known as being played in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) in south Asia, and we were interested in learning how that might have happened.&nbsp; Sources in English appear to be limited at this point, but several YouTube videos reflect a joyous and generally familiar pastime.&nbsp; &nbsp;We'd like to know a lot more about how it has evolved.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>When I first tuned into a video of <strong>elle</strong>,&nbsp; this lusty game seemed to resemble someone's attempt to mimic MLB's annual 'Home Run Derby',-- as transplanted,&nbsp; for some reason,&nbsp; to an island nation just south of India. I saw a pitcher lofting a baseball-sized orb to a burly teammate, who slammed it hard with a 'well-seasoned' bamboo bat, sending it into a large, well-manned outfield, often beyond camera range.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>But . . . Whoa!&nbsp; . . .&nbsp; in the next instant, a barefoot teammate sped past the batsman at full speed , immediately in front of the batting area, and then traced a curved loop that took him around to the area we baseballers might think of as third base . . . pay dirt, in this exotic game.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>Well, welcome to Elle ( say '<em>elleh'</em>&nbsp;), Sri Lanka's unique baserunning game! The batsman stood and watched the play unfold.&nbsp; In this game, his job was not to be a runner/scorer.&nbsp; He just can focus on being a good hitter.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>Reportedly, a hundred or more Sri Lankan elle clubs are now active, and the collection of YouTube bits are indicative of its nature (try a simple YouTube search for 'elle sri lanka').&nbsp; One site even lists 10 elle clubs at play in Italy-- a country perhaps has less intrigued by baserunning games than most of the world's cultures are.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>Watching a few such videos may prove entertaining but won't at this point provide a solid understanding of the game's rules to a Western reader.&nbsp; One website lists 80 different elle rules but doesn't give us full explanatory detail.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Game on the Field</span></span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>In general: The game features teams of 16 players trying to score via big hits during innings limited by the number of pitches delivered or by reaching a specified timer period. Runners (sometimes referred to as 'assistant runners') try to complete a circuit of four 'stopping points.'&nbsp; Retirements come from hit balls caught on the fly and runners hit by thrown balls,&nbsp; or from tagging between stopping points, which serve as safe havens.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>I have not yet seen an account of the history and evolution of elle.&nbsp; On the videos, the ball appeared to be spherical, and behaved like a tennis ball would. I have not come across any discussions&nbsp; of how the elle has changed during or since colonial times.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>Most videos appear to take place on large fields conducive to long hits.&nbsp; Another source recommends (post-harvest?) paddy fields and shorelines as suitable for the game.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">About The Origin and Evolution of Elle</span></span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>Sri Lanka gained independence from Britain in 1948, after 133 years as a British colony.&nbsp; &nbsp;It still takes pride in its international cricket successes, but elle doesn't appear to resemble cricket closely beyond its hitting and fielding.&nbsp; I have seen no claim that t he has game evolved from cricket.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>One might ask if elle might have evolved, at least in part,&nbsp; from rounders, or,&nbsp; possibly, from earlier forms of English base ball.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span>There is reportedly newspaper documentation of elle being played (with its players wearing "European clothes") in 1911, but current videos do not point to an English origin for elle.&nbsp; They do include some as-yet undocumented conjecture that the game was played on the island many centuries ago.&nbsp; Initial web searches for rounders or baseball in Ceylon and/or Sri Lanka are not productive.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>While elle doesn't have much in common with cricket, some traces of past rounders play are seen in today's elle.&nbsp; Games are typically played to two 'innings', which are defined by the number of pitches made or elapsed time, and outs are called when hit balls are caught on the fly and when baserunners are hit with thrown balls while not at one of the four designated "stopping points." on the running routes&nbsp; Thus, the four stopping points (bases) serve as 'safe havens' for runners, as is found in rounders and base ball. A batsman is accorded only three good balls to hit or is retired, as in some past versions of rounders, although current rounders rules allow only one Good Ball to be received by a batsman.&nbsp; Team scores likely mak what baseballers would think of as long (multibase) hits.</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>I have not yet seen an account of the history and evolution of elle. The rules permit the use of a tennis ball as the batted object, but also allow a dried sea mango (that is&nbsp;<em>cerbera mangha</em>, to all you botanists) as an alternative, and it seems plausible that this fruit served as the ball in the past.&nbsp; I have not otherwise&nbsp; come across accounts of how the game may have changed over time.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Modern Elle and the 1856 Rounders Rules</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>It may interest readers to compare today's elle rules to an 1856 summary of rounders in the&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Manual of English Sports,</span>&nbsp;by "'Stonehenge":</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<ol start="1" data-listchain="__List_Chain_240"><br />
<li><span>The batting stick resembles a common rolling pin (did that favor two-handed batting?)</span></li><br />
<li><span>Bases are arranged in a regular pentagon (there are five bases, not four}</span></li><br />
<li><span>10 to 30 players can be involved</span></li><br />
<li><span>Balls are 'tossed, not thrown', to the batsman</span></li><br />
<li><span>Fielders are arranged outside the pentagon of bases</span></li><br />
<li><span>Batsmen are put out by three failures to connect with a 'good ball,' by hitting a ball foul, a fly out or a bound out</span></li><br />
<li><span>Runners are put out if hit by the ball when not on a base</span></li><br />
<li><span>A score is awarded for each base a runner attains</span></li><br />
<li><span>A feeder can feign a pitch&nbsp; &nbsp;</span></li><br />
</ol><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>Items 4, 5, 6,&nbsp; and 7 appear to apply to elle as now played.&nbsp; This in itself does not mean that elle evolved from rounders -- and the separation of hitters' and runners' functions, the bamboo bat,&nbsp; balls fed by teammates, and other elle features were unlikely parts of early rounders in England.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Current Popularity of Elle</span></span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>It is mentioned, on one site, that elle was named the "Sri Lanka National Sport" in the 70's.&nbsp; (Another Sri Lanka site calls&nbsp;<em>volleyball</em>&nbsp;"the national sport.")&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Another first impression</span></span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>[] I was surprised to note how many fielders were in active motion&nbsp;<em>before</em>&nbsp;the batsman actually hit the ball, possibly because they anticipated by setup motion revealing which field&nbsp; the batsman was hoping to send the ball to</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A Long-shot Plea for Help from Newsletter readers</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>If you know a Sinhala or Tamil speaker, we could use a little help here interpreting online accounts of elle.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Some Introductory Sources</span></span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>We will update our glossary entry as more is learned:&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div>&nbsp;</div><br />
<div><span>Wikipedia has an introduction of elle at&nbsp;<a id="OWAcd26ad9f-432d-e649-268e-9c8785b74433" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_OWAAutoLink" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_(sport)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="1">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_(sport)</a></span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>A good general introduction is at https://royalcollege.lk/sports/elle/description/</span></div><br />
<div>&nbsp;</div><br />
<div><span>My favorite Sri Lankan source is&nbsp;<a id="OWAbcd62409-6fbb-3f11-6cc9-0e84a502e65e" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_OWAAutoLink" href="https://www.srilankaelle.com/Histry.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="2">https://www.srilankaelle.com/Histry.html</a></span></div><br />
</div><br />
<p><em>&nbsp;</em></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
|Sources=<p>Introduction to the sport in English, cited above.</p><br />
<p>Wikipedia article [search for "elle (sport)"], which cites as a source&nbsp;https://www.srilankaelle.com/Histry.html</p><br />
<p>Numerous YouTube videos, viewed 2021-2023.&nbsp; See key resources, above.</p><br />
|Comment=<p>The Chicago Inter Ocean, March 10, 1889, reporting on the Spalding Baseball world tour, says that in Colombo, Ceylon, they encountered natives playing a bat-ball game that involved soaking the runner, and looked very much like the old "town ball." The report speculates that this form of bat-ball is native to Ceylon, and predates baseball. Was this "elle?" And did this encounter prompt Spalding's later comment that throughout the tour he met with local bat-ball games, suggesting that forms of baseball evolved in many lands.</p><br />
<p>Elle is sometimes referred to in Ceylon as poor man's cricket.</p><br />
<p>John Thorn's "Our Game" blog, Jan. 30, 2023, mentions "elle" and has a old photo of what is probably a game of elle. See&nbsp;https://ourgame.mlblogs.com/whodunit-a-detective-story-302465f5d3cc&nbsp;</p><br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Elle&diff=2191585Elle2023-12-01T22:01:16Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Game<br />
|Term=Elle<br />
|Game Family=Baseball<br />
|Location=Sri Lanka<br />
|Game Regions=Rest of World<br />
|Game Eras=Contemporary, Post-1900<br />
|Invented Game=No<br />
|Description=<p>A lusty baserunning game, Elle, is played in Sri Lanka.</p><br />
<p>As of August 2020, Wikipedia has this general description of Elle:</p><br />
<p>"Elle&nbsp;is a very popular Sri Lankan&nbsp;bat-and-ball game, often played in rural villages and urban areas. It involves a hitter, a pitcher and fielders. The hitter is given three chances to hit the ball pitched at him or her. Once the hitter hits the ball with the bat &ndash; often a sturdy&nbsp;bamboo&nbsp;stick &ndash; the hitter has to complete a round or run which includes four possible "stoppings" spaced 55 metres [~180&nbsp;ft] apart. A strikeout happens if the hitter's ball is caught by the fielding side or if the fielding side is able to hit the hitter with the ball while he or she is in the course of completing a run. The hitter can stop only at one of the three stoppings in the round thereby paving the way for another member of his team to come and become the hitter. The side that gets the highest number of (complete) runs wins the match."</p><br />
<p>See:&nbsp;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_(sport)#:~:text=Elle%20is%20a%20popular%20bat,the%20most%20similarities%20with%20softball.</p><br />
<p><span>The article cites a source with the claim that the game has a 2000-year history, but notes that this has not been documented, and suggests that it may date from the 1900s. It is reportedly played by males and females, and town vs town matches have been common.</span></p><br />
<p><span>12 to 16 players comprise a team. In today's game, tennis balls are commonly used.&nbsp; The batsman strikes a ball tossed softly by a teammate.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>A 3-minute 2020 Youtube introduction to elle in English was reached on 12/8/2022 via a search of "elle sri lanka traditional sport".&nbsp; </span></p><br />
<p>The essence of this boisterous game is perhaps conveyed in Youtube clips: in Summer 2020, a Youtube search for &lt;elle match sri lanka&gt; returned about 20 such displays.&nbsp; One unique feature is that a batter does not run bases;instead, a (usually barefoot?) teammate with a head start sprints around a circular path when a ball is struck.&nbsp; Caught flies are outs, and runners reportedly can be retired if hit between stopping points.&nbsp;</p><br />
<p><span>Ceylon was a British colony, and it is tempting to suppose that elle evolved from a rounders-like game, but Protoball has not seem such speculation.</span></p><br />
<p><span>Further information is welcomed.&nbsp; A large Facebook presence reflects the idea that elle should be embraced as Sri Lanka's national game.</span></p><br />
<p><span>A 3-minute 2020 Youtube introduction to Elle was reached on 12/8/2022 via a search of "elle sri lanka traditional sport".&nbsp; We have seen other foreign-language elle videos on Youtube.</span></p><br />
<p><span><strong><em>Query:</em></strong> </span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>-- Can we find a written history of elle?&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>-- Are uniform playing rules printed available?</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span><em><strong>Allardice Score: 8 or 9?</strong></em><br /></span></p><br />
<p><span>From inspecting its several very watchable YouTube videos, Elle may score the maximum score of 9: we cannot yet confirm that foul ground is used, that total runs scored determines the winner, or that uniform written rules are found.&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>In Elle, the pitcher acts as a server, and is on the batter's team.&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>======</span></p><br />
<p><em>Draft 1.5 of the story of Elle, drafted 12/1/2023 -- To be updated over time.&nbsp; Comments and supplements are welcome.</em></p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>Getting to Know Elle -- A Progress Report on Sri Lanka's Flashy Baserunning Variant</strong></span><span><strong><br /></strong></span></div><br />
<div class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>&nbsp;</strong></span></div><br />
<div class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>[</strong>Note: This short overview was drafted as a possible submission to SABR's&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>Origins Newsletter,&nbsp;</em>but it was impossible to complete without better data.</span></div><br />
<div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>&nbsp;</strong></span></div><br />
<div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>&nbsp;</strong></span></div><br />
<div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><br />
<div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><br />
<div><span>Someone informed Protoball.org about an unusual baserunning game known as being played in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) in south Asia, and we were interested in learning how that might have happened.&nbsp; Sources in English appear to be limited at this point, but several YouTube videos reflect a joyous and generally familiar pastime.&nbsp; &nbsp;We'd like to know a lot more about how it has evolved.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>When I first tuned into a video of <strong>elle</strong>,&nbsp; this lusty game seemed to resemble someone's attempt to mimic MLB's annual 'Home Run Derby',-- as transplanted,&nbsp; for some reason,&nbsp; to an island nation just south of India. I saw a pitcher lofting a baseball-sized orb to a burly teammate, who slammed it hard with a 'well-seasoned' bamboo bat, sending it into a large, well-manned outfield, often beyond camera range.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>But . . . Whoa!&nbsp; . . .&nbsp; in the next instant, a barefoot teammate sped past the batsman at full speed , immediately in front of the batting area, and then traced a curved loop that took him around to the area we baseballers might think of as third base . . . pay dirt, in this exotic game.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>Well, welcome to Elle ( say '<em>elleh'</em>&nbsp;), Sri Lanka's unique baserunning game! The batsman stood and watched the play unfold.&nbsp; In this game, his job was not to be a runner/scorer.&nbsp; He just can focus on being a good hitter.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>Reportedly, a hundred or more Sri Lankan elle clubs are now active, and the collection of YouTube bits are indicative of its nature (try a simple YouTube search for 'elle sri lanka').&nbsp; One site even lists 10 elle clubs at play in Italy-- a country perhaps has less intrigued by baserunning games than most of the world's cultures are.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>Watching a few such videos may prove entertaining but won't at this point provide a solid understanding of the game's rules to a Western reader.&nbsp; One website lists 80 different elle rules but doesn't give us full explanatory detail.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Game on the Field</span></span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>In general: The game features teams of 16 players trying to score via big hits during innings limited by the number of pitches delivered or by reaching a specified timer period. Runners (sometimes referred to as 'assistant runners') try to complete a circuit of four 'stopping points.'&nbsp; Retirements come from hit balls caught on the fly and runners hit by thrown balls,&nbsp; or from tagging between stopping points, which serve as safe havens.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>I have not yet seen an account of the history and evolution of elle.&nbsp; On the videos, the ball appeared to be spherical, and behaved like a tennis ball would. I have not come across any discussions&nbsp; of how the elle has changed during or since colonial times.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>Most videos appear to take place on large fields conducive to long hits.&nbsp; Another source recommends (post-harvest?) paddy fields and shorelines as suitable for the game.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">About The Origin and Evolution of Elle</span></span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>Sri Lanka gained independence from Britain in 1948, after 133 years as a British colony.&nbsp; &nbsp;It still takes pride in its international cricket successes, but elle doesn't appear to resemble cricket closely beyond its hitting and fielding.&nbsp; I have seen no claim that t he has game evolved from cricket.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>One might ask if elle might have evolved, at least in part,&nbsp; from rounders, or,&nbsp; possibly, from earlier forms of English base ball.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span>There is reportedly newspaper documentation of elle being played (with its players wearing "European clothes") in 1911, but current videos do not point to an English origin for elle.&nbsp; They do include some as-yet undocumented conjecture that the game was played on the island many centuries ago.&nbsp; Initial web searches for rounders or baseball in Ceylon and/or Sri Lanka are not productive.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>While elle doesn't have much in common with cricket, some traces of past rounders play are seen in today's elle.&nbsp; Games are typically played to two 'innings', which are defined by the number of pitches made or elapsed time, and outs are called when hit balls are caught on the fly and when baserunners are hit with thrown balls while not at one of the four designated "stopping points." on the running routes&nbsp; Thus, the four stopping points (bases) serve as 'safe havens' for runners, as is found in rounders and base ball. A batsman is accorded only three good balls to hit or is retired, as in some past versions of rounders, although current rounders rules allow only one Good Ball to be received by a batsman.&nbsp; Team scores likely mak what baseballers would think of as long (multibase) hits.</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>I have not yet seen an account of the history and evolution of elle. The rules permit the use of a tennis ball as the batted object, but also allow a dried sea mango (that is&nbsp;<em>cerbera mangha</em>, to all you botanists) as an alternative, and it seems plausible that this fruit served as the ball in the past.&nbsp; I have not otherwise&nbsp; come across accounts of how the game may have changed over time.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Modern Elle and the 1856 Rounders Rules</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>It may interest readers to compare today's elle rules to an 1856 summary of rounders in the&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Manual of English Sports,</span>&nbsp;by "'Stonehenge":</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<ol start="1" data-listchain="__List_Chain_240"><br />
<li><span>The batting stick resembles a common rolling pin (did that favor two-handed batting?)</span></li><br />
<li><span>Bases are arranged in a regular pentagon (there are five bases, not four}</span></li><br />
<li><span>10 to 30 players can be involved</span></li><br />
<li><span>Balls are 'tossed, not thrown', to the batsman</span></li><br />
<li><span>Fielders are arranged outside the pentagon of bases</span></li><br />
<li><span>Batsmen are put out by three failures to connect with a 'good ball,' by hitting a ball foul, a fly out or a bound out</span></li><br />
<li><span>Runners are put out if hit by the ball when not on a base</span></li><br />
<li><span>A score is awarded for each base a runner attains</span></li><br />
<li><span>A feeder can feign a pitch&nbsp; &nbsp;</span></li><br />
</ol><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>Items 4, 5, 6,&nbsp; and 7 appear to apply to elle as now played.&nbsp; This in itself does not mean that elle evolved from rounders -- and the separation of hitters' and runners' functions, the bamboo bat,&nbsp; balls fed by teammates, and other elle features were unlikely parts of early rounders in England.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Current Popularity of Elle</span></span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>It is mentioned, on one site, that elle was named the "Sri Lanka National Sport" in the 70's.&nbsp; (Another Sri Lanka site calls&nbsp;<em>volleyball</em>&nbsp;"the national sport.")&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Another first impression</span></span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>[] I was surprised to note how many fielders were in active motion&nbsp;<em>before</em>&nbsp;the batsman actually hit the ball, possibly because they anticipated by setup motion revealing which field&nbsp; the batsman was hoping to send the ball to</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A Long-shot Plea for Help from Newsletter readers</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>If you know a Sinhala or Tamil speaker, we could use a little help here interpreting online accounts of elle.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Some Introductory Sources</span></span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>We will update our glossary entry as more is learned:&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div>&nbsp;</div><br />
<div><span>Wikipedia has an introduction of elle at&nbsp;<a id="OWAcd26ad9f-432d-e649-268e-9c8785b74433" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_OWAAutoLink" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_(sport)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="1">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_(sport)</a></span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>A basic introduction is found at&nbsp;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJPupfahEms</span></div><br />
<div>&nbsp;</div><br />
<div><span>My favorite Sri Lankan source is&nbsp;<a id="OWAbcd62409-6fbb-3f11-6cc9-0e84a502e65e" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_OWAAutoLink" href="https://www.srilankaelle.com/Histry.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="2">https://www.srilankaelle.com/Histry.html</a></span></div><br />
</div><br />
<p><em>&nbsp;</em></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
|Sources=<p>Introduction to the sport in English, cited above.</p><br />
<p>Wikipedia article [search for "elle (sport)"], which cites as a source&nbsp;https://www.srilankaelle.com/Histry.html</p><br />
<p>Numerous YouTube videos, viewed 2021-2023.&nbsp; See key resources, above.</p><br />
|Comment=<p>The Chicago Inter Ocean, March 10, 1889, reporting on the Spalding Baseball world tour, says that in Colombo, Ceylon, they encountered natives playing a bat-ball game that involved soaking the runner, and looked very much like the old "town ball." The report speculates that this form of bat-ball is native to Ceylon, and predates baseball. Was this "elle?" And did this encounter prompt Spalding's later comment that throughout the tour he met with local bat-ball games, suggesting that forms of baseball evolved in many lands.</p><br />
<p>Elle is sometimes referred to in Ceylon as poor man's cricket.</p><br />
<p>John Thorn's "Our Game" blog, Jan. 30, 2023, mentions "elle" and has a old photo of what is probably a game of elle. See&nbsp;https://ourgame.mlblogs.com/whodunit-a-detective-story-302465f5d3cc&nbsp;</p><br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Elle&diff=2191584Elle2023-12-01T21:33:16Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Game<br />
|Term=Elle<br />
|Game Family=Baseball<br />
|Location=Sri Lanka<br />
|Game Regions=Rest of World<br />
|Game Eras=Contemporary, Post-1900<br />
|Invented Game=No<br />
|Description=<p>A lusty baserunning game, Elle, is played in Sri Lanka.</p><br />
<p>As of August 2020, Wikipedia has this general description of Elle:</p><br />
<p>"Elle&nbsp;is a very popular Sri Lankan&nbsp;bat-and-ball game, often played in rural villages and urban areas. It involves a hitter, a pitcher and fielders. The hitter is given three chances to hit the ball pitched at him or her. Once the hitter hits the ball with the bat &ndash; often a sturdy&nbsp;bamboo&nbsp;stick &ndash; the hitter has to complete a round or run which includes four possible "stoppings" spaced 55 metres [~180&nbsp;ft] apart. A strikeout happens if the hitter's ball is caught by the fielding side or if the fielding side is able to hit the hitter with the ball while he or she is in the course of completing a run. The hitter can stop only at one of the three stoppings in the round thereby paving the way for another member of his team to come and become the hitter. The side that gets the highest number of (complete) runs wins the match."</p><br />
<p>See:&nbsp;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_(sport)#:~:text=Elle%20is%20a%20popular%20bat,the%20most%20similarities%20with%20softball.</p><br />
<p><span>The article cites a source with the claim that the game has a 2000-year history, but notes that this has not been documented, and suggests that it may date from the 1900s. It is reportedly played by males and females, and town vs town matches have been common.</span></p><br />
<p><span>12 to 16 players comprise a team. In today's game, tennis balls are commonly used.&nbsp; The batsman strikes a ball tossed softly by a teammate.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>A 3-minute 2020 Youtube introduction to elle in English was reached on 12/8/2022 via a search of "elle sri lanka traditional sport".&nbsp; </span></p><br />
<p>The essence of this boisterous game is perhaps conveyed in Youtube clips: in Summer 2020, a Youtube search for &lt;elle match sri lanka&gt; returned about 20 such displays.&nbsp; One unique feature is that a batter does not run bases;instead, a (usually barefoot?) teammate with a head start sprints around a circular path when a ball is struck.&nbsp; Caught flies are outs, and runners reportedly can be retired if hit between stopping points.&nbsp;</p><br />
<p><span>Ceylon was a British colony, and it is tempting to suppose that elle evolved from a rounders-like game, but Protoball has not seem such speculation.</span></p><br />
<p><span>Further information is welcomed.&nbsp; A large Facebook presence reflects the idea that elle should be embraced as Sri Lanka's national game.</span></p><br />
<p><span>A 3-minute 2020 Youtube introduction to Elle was reached on 12/8/2022 via a search of "elle sri lanka traditional sport".&nbsp; We have seen other foreign-language elle videos on Youtube.</span></p><br />
<p><span><strong><em>Query:</em></strong> </span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>-- Can we find a written history of elle? [see wiki source, below [ba]]</span></p><br />
<p><span>-- Are uniform playing rules printed available?</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span><em><strong>Allardice Score: 8 or 9?</strong></em><br /></span></p><br />
<p><span>From inspecting its several very watchable YouTube videos, Elle may score the maximum score of 9: we cannot yet confirm that foul ground is used, that total runs scored determines the winner, or that uniform written rules are found.&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>In Elle, the pitcher acts as a server, and is on the batter's team.&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>======</span></p><br />
<p><em>Draft 1.5 of the story of Elle, drafted 12/1/2023 -- To be updated over time.&nbsp; Comments and supplements are welcome.</em></p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>Getting to Know Elle -- A Progress Report on Sri Lanka's Flashy Baserunning Variant</strong></span><span><strong><br /></strong></span></div><br />
<div class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>&nbsp;</strong></span></div><br />
<div class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>[</strong>Note: This short overview was drafted as a possible submission to SABR's&nbsp;&nbsp;<em>Origins Newsletter,&nbsp;</em>but it was impossible to complete without better data.</span></div><br />
<div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>&nbsp;</strong></span></div><br />
<div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>&nbsp;</strong></span></div><br />
<div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><br />
<div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><br />
<div><span>Someone informed Protoball.org about an unusual baserunning game known as being played in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) in south Asia, and we were interested in learning how that might have happened.&nbsp; Sources in English appear to be limited at this point, but several YouTube videos reflect a joyous and generally familiar pastime.&nbsp; &nbsp;We'd like to know a lot more about how it has evolved.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>When I first tuned into a video of <strong>elle</strong>,&nbsp; this lusty game seemed to resemble someone's attempt to mimic MLB's annual 'Home Run Derby',-- as transplanted,&nbsp; for some reason,&nbsp; to an island nation just south of India. I saw a pitcher lofting a baseball-sized orb to a burly teammate, who slammed it hard with a 'well-seasoned' bamboo bat, sending it into a large, well-manned outfield, often beyond camera range.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>But . . . Whoa!&nbsp; . . .&nbsp; in the next instant, a barefoot teammate sped past the batsman at full speed , immediately in front of the batting area, and then traced a curved loop that took him around to the area we baseballers might think of as third base . . . pay dirt, in this exotic game.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>Well, welcome to Elle ( say '<em>elleh'</em>&nbsp;), Sri Lanka's unique baserunning game! The batsman stood and watched the play unfold.&nbsp; In this game, his job was not to be a runner/scorer.&nbsp; He just can focus on being a good hitter.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>Reportedly, a hundred or more Sri Lankan elle clubs are now active, and the collection of YouTube bits are indicative of its nature (try a simple YouTube search for 'elle sri lanka').&nbsp; One site even lists 10 elle clubs at play in Italy-- a country perhaps has less intrigued by baserunning games than most of the world's cultures are.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>Watching a few such videos may prove entertaining but won't at this point provide a solid understanding of the game's rules to a Western reader.&nbsp; One website lists 80 different elle rules but doesn't give us full explanatory detail.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Game on the Field</span></span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>In general: The game features teams of 16 players trying to score via big hits during innings limited by the number of pitches delivered or by reaching a specified timer period. Runners (sometimes referred to as 'assistant runners') try to complete a circuit of four 'stopping points.'&nbsp; Retirements come from hit balls caught on the fly and runners hit by thrown balls,&nbsp; or from tagging between stopping points, which serve as safe havens.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>I have not yet seen an account of the history and evolution of elle.&nbsp; On the videos, the ball appeared to be spherical, and behaved like a tennis ball would. I have not come across any discussions&nbsp; of how the elle has changed during or since colonial times.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>Most videos appear to take place on large fields conducive to long hits.&nbsp; Another source recommends (post-harvest?) paddy fields and shorelines as suitable for the game.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">About The Origin and Evolution of Elle</span></span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>Sri Lanka gained independence from Britain in 1948, after 133 years as a British colony.&nbsp; &nbsp;It still takes pride in its international cricket successes, but elle doesn't appear to resemble cricket closely beyond its hitting and fielding.&nbsp; I have seen no claim that t he has game evolved from cricket.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>One might ask if elle might have evolved, at least in part,&nbsp; from rounders, or,&nbsp; possibly, from earlier forms of English base ball.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span>There is reportedly newspaper documentation of elle being played (with its players wearing "European clothes") in 1911, but current videos do not point to an English origin for elle.&nbsp; They do include some as-yet undocumented conjecture that the game was played on the island many centuries ago.&nbsp; Initial web searches for rounders or baseball in Ceylon and/or Sri Lanka are not productive.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>While elle doesn't have much in common with cricket, some traces of past rounders play are seen in today's elle.&nbsp; Games are typically played to two 'innings', which are defined by the number of pitches made or elapsed time, and outs are called when hit balls are caught on the fly and when baserunners are hit with thrown balls while not at one of the four designated "stopping points." on the running routes&nbsp; Thus, the four stopping points (bases) serve as 'safe havens' for runners, as is found in rounders and base ball. A batsman is accorded only three good balls to hit or is retired, as in some past versions of rounders, although current rounders rules allow only one Good Ball to be received by a batsman.&nbsp; Team scores likely mak what baseballers would think of as long (multibase) hits.</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>I have not yet seen an account of the history and evolution of elle. The rules permit the use of a tennis ball as the batted object, but also allow a dried sea mango (that is&nbsp;<em>cerbera mangha</em>, to all you botanists) as an alternative, and it seems plausible that this fruit served as the ball in the past.&nbsp; I have not otherwise&nbsp; come across accounts of how the game may have changed over time.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Modern Elle and the 1856 Rounders Rules</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>It may interest readers to compare today's elle rules to an 1856 summary of rounders in the&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Manual of English Sports,</span>&nbsp;by "'Stonehenge":</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<ol start="1" data-listchain="__List_Chain_240"><br />
<li><span>The batting stick resembles a common rolling pin (did that favor two-handed batting?)</span></li><br />
<li><span>Bases are arranged in a regular pentagon (there are five bases, not four}</span></li><br />
<li><span>10 to 30 players can be involved</span></li><br />
<li><span>Balls are 'tossed, not thrown', to the batsman</span></li><br />
<li><span>Fielders are arranged outside the pentagon of bases</span></li><br />
<li><span>Batsmen are put out by three failures to connect with a 'good ball,' by hitting a ball foul, a fly out or a bound out</span></li><br />
<li><span>Runners are put out if hit by the ball when not on a base</span></li><br />
<li><span>A score is awarded for each base a runner attains</span></li><br />
<li><span>A feeder can feign a pitch&nbsp; &nbsp;</span></li><br />
</ol><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>Items 4, 5, 6,&nbsp; and 7 appear to apply to elle as now played.&nbsp; This in itself does not mean that elle evolved from rounders -- and the separation of hitters' and runners' functions, the bamboo bat,&nbsp; balls fed by teammates, and other elle features were unlikely parts of early rounders in England.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Current Popularity of Elle</span></span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>It is mentioned, on one site, that elle was named the "Sri Lanka National Sport" in the 70's.&nbsp; (Another Sri Lanka site calls&nbsp;<em>volleyball</em>&nbsp;"the national sport.")&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Another first impression</span></span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>[] I was surprised to note how many fielders were in active motion&nbsp;<em>before</em>&nbsp;the batsman actually hit the ball, possibly because they anticipated by setup motion revealing which field&nbsp; the batsman was hoping to send the ball to</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A Long-shot Plea for Help from Newsletter readers</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span>If you know a Sinhala or Tamil speaker, we could use a little help here interpreting online accounts of elle.</span></div><br />
<div><span>&nbsp;</span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Some Introductory Sources</span></span></div><br />
<div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span></span></div><br />
<div><span>We will update our glossary entry as more is learned:&nbsp; the 2023 entry is at&nbsp;<a id="OWAd5762d70-0a4e-fd89-bd67-b26b0f76b31c" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_OWAAutoLink" href="Elle" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">https://protoball.org/Elle</a></span></div><br />
<div>&nbsp;</div><br />
<div><span>Wikipedia has an introduction of elle at&nbsp;<a id="OWAcd26ad9f-432d-e649-268e-9c8785b74433" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_OWAAutoLink" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_(sport)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="1">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_(sport)</a></span></div><br />
<div>&nbsp;</div><br />
<div><span>My favorite Sri Lankan source is&nbsp;<a id="OWAbcd62409-6fbb-3f11-6cc9-0e84a502e65e" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_OWAAutoLink" href="https://www.srilankaelle.com/Histry.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="2">https://www.srilankaelle.com/Histry.html</a></span></div><br />
</div><br />
<p><em>&nbsp;</em></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
|Sources=<p>Introduction to the sport in English, cited above.</p><br />
<p>Wikipedia article [search for "elle (sport)"], which cites as a source&nbsp;https://www.srilankaelle.com/Histry.html</p><br />
<p>Numerous YouTube videos, viewed 2021-2023.&nbsp; See key resources, above.</p><br />
|Comment=<p>The Chicago Inter Ocean, March 10, 1889, reporting on the Spalding Baseball world tour, says that in Colombo, Ceylon, they encountered natives playing a bat-ball game that involved soaking the runner, and looked very much like the old "town ball." The report speculates that this form of bat-ball is native to Ceylon, and predates baseball. Was this "elle?" And did this encounter prompt Spalding's later comment that throughout the tour he met with local bat-ball games, suggesting that forms of baseball evolved in many lands.</p><br />
<p>Elle is sometimes referred to in Ceylon as poor man's cricket.</p><br />
<p>John Thorn's "Our Game" blog, Jan. 30, 2023, mentions "elle" and has a old photo of what is probably a game of elle. See&nbsp;https://ourgame.mlblogs.com/whodunit-a-detective-story-302465f5d3cc&nbsp;</p><br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1867.30&diff=21915731867.302023-11-21T15:20:57Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1867<br />
|Year Number=30<br />
|Headline=First Patented Baseball Object<br />
|Salience=2<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|State=NY<br />
|City=New York<br />
|Text=<p>"I believe this is the first patented baseball game or toy: Isaac P. Tice's "Toy Ball-Player" of 1867. &ldquo;Base-Ball Table&rdquo; was patented by William Buckley of New York on August 20, 1867 but this came along one month earlier."</p><br />
|Sources=<p>John&nbsp; Thorn, FB Posting, 11/21/2023</p><br />
|Warning=<p>7</p><br />
|Source Image=Patented Baseball Toy 1867.jpg<br />
|Submitted by=John Thorn<br />
|Submission Note=FB posting, 11/21/2023<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1867.30&diff=21915721867.302023-11-21T15:20:10Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1867<br />
|Year Number=30<br />
|Headline=First Patented Baseball Game<br />
|Salience=2<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|State=NY<br />
|City=New York<br />
|Text=<p>"I believe this is the first patented baseball game or toy: Isaac P. Tice's "Toy Ball-Player" of 1867. &ldquo;Base-Ball Table&rdquo; was patented by William Buckley of New York on August 20, 1867 but this came along one month earlier."</p><br />
|Sources=<p>John&nbsp; Thorn, FB Posting, 11/21/2023</p><br />
|Warning=<p>7</p><br />
|Source Image=Patented Baseball Toy 1867.jpg<br />
|Submitted by=John Thorn<br />
|Submission Note=FB posting, 11/21/2023<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1867.30&diff=21915711867.302023-11-21T15:17:44Z<p>Larry: Edited automatically from page 1867.30.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1867<br />
|Year Number=30<br />
|Headline=First Patented Baseball Game<br />
|Salience=2<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|State=NY<br />
|City=New York<br />
|Text=I believe this is the first patented baseball game or toy: Isaac P. Tice's "Toy Ball-Player" of 1867. “Base-Ball Table” was patented by William Buckley of New York on August 20, 1867 but this came along one month earlier.<br />
|Sources=John&nbsp; Thorn, FB Posting, 11/21/2023<br />
|Warning=7<br />
|Source Image=Patented Baseball Toy 1867.jpg<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1867.30&diff=21915701867.302023-11-21T15:17:29Z<p>Larry: Created page with "{{Chronology Entry |Year=1867 |Year Number=30 |Headline=First Patented Baseball Game |Salience=2 |Country=United States |State=NY |City=New York |Text=I believe this is the first patented baseball game or toy: Isaac P. Tice's "Toy Ball-Player" of 1867. “Base-Ball Table” was patented by William Buckley of New York on August 20, 1867 but this came along one month earlier. |Sources=John&nbsp; Thorn, FB Posting, 11/21/2023 |Warning=7 |Source Image=Patented Baseball Toy 1..."</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1867<br />
|Year Number=30<br />
|Headline=First Patented Baseball Game<br />
|Salience=2<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|State=NY<br />
|City=New York<br />
|Text=I believe this is the first patented baseball game or toy: Isaac P. Tice's "Toy Ball-Player" of 1867. “Base-Ball Table” was patented by William Buckley of New York on August 20, 1867 but this came along one month earlier.<br />
|Sources=John&nbsp; Thorn, FB Posting, 11/21/2023<br />
|Warning=7<br />
|Source Image=Patented Baseball Toy 1867.jpg<br />
|Reviewed=No<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=File:Patented_Baseball_Toy_1867.jpg&diff=2191569File:Patented Baseball Toy 1867.jpg2023-11-21T15:17:07Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div></div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=19C_Clippings&diff=219023819C Clippings2023-09-26T22:11:50Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Clipping Box}}<br />
<br />
__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__<br />
{{#ask: [[Category:Clippings]] | format=count }} 19th century newspaper clippings.<br />
== Welcome to Protoball's Nineteenth Century Clippings Database ==<br />
<br />
<br />
This extensive data base, which we think of as "Richard's 19C Nuggets," includes over 9000 selected clippings from Nineteenth Century news sources. Systematic searches can now be performed on Protoball's "Enhanced Search" page.<br />
<br />
The heart of this data base was contributed in early 2020 by Richard Hershberger, as a very happy side-product of his years-long march through 1800s news sources (he's now up to the year 1890). In his systematic search for items that reveal something about the early evolution of baseball, Richard's long trek has so far produced several published papers, and write-ups found on the "Original Analytics" collections on protoball.org.<br />
<br />
Richard, long known as a discerning contributor to SABR's 19CBB list-serve, also actively posts about the history of baseball on Facebook. He has rapidly moved to the first ranks of researchers on the evolution of baseball through the Origins Era and beyond. His pathbreaking book '''Strike Four: The Evolution of Baseball''' (Rowman and Little) is a fresh and canny history of the key rules of base ball.<br />
<br />
At Richard's suggestion, Protoball will gladly accept additional clippings from other researchers. Many others will found is game entries provided by the late Craig Waff in his bedrock ''Games Tab'' at [[The_Craig_B._Waff_Games_Tabulation]]. If you run into 19C news coverage that sparkles and/or reflects the major and minor currents in baseball's evolution, please add them to Richard's brilliant collection. <br />
<br />
You will find that Protoball's Enhanced Search page gives you the option of including 19C news Clippings in your PBall site searches. <br />
<br />
== Clipping by Special Topic ==<br />
{{#arraydefine: tags<br />
| {{#ask: [[Clipping Tags::+]] | mainlabel =- | headers = hide |? Clipping Tags | limit = 10000 | link=none }}<br />
| , | sort=asc, unique<br />
}}<br />
{{#arrayprint: tags|,<nowiki> </nowiki>|@|[[Clipping:Tag @|@]] ({{#ask:[[Clipping Tags::@]]|format=count}})}}<br />
{{#if:{{{tags|}}}||}}<br />
<br />
== Clippings ==<br />
{{#ask: [[Category:Clipping Pages]]<br />
| ?Description<br />
| format=template<br />
| template=Display List<br />
| sort=Sort Order<br />
| limit=1000<br />
| link=none<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Bruce_Allardice&diff=2190230Bruce Allardice2023-09-26T15:20:15Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Digger<br />
|First Name=Bruce<br />
|Last Name=Allardice<br />
|Location=Chicago<br />
|Regional Focus=Chicago; US South; Illinois<br />
|Thematic Focus=Civil War era<br />
|Type of Digger=Human<br />
|Active=Yes<br />
|Description=Bruce S. Allardice is a Professor of History at South Suburban College, near Chicago. His article on “The Spread of Baseball in the South Prior to 1870” received the McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award in 2013.<br />
|Contributions=<p>Bruce has made over 11,000 entries to Protoball as of 2023.. These entries include newly discovered first games or clubs in Mexico, Scotland and Alaska, the first interracial baseball game (Hawaii, 1866), the first black-white interracial match game (Cadiz, Ohio, 1867), and the first African American MLB baseball player.</p><p>Attempted to make US pre-1861, Civil War, IL pre-1871 complete as far as clubs are concerned.</p><p>Researched and input entries for 175 foreign countries, including first in Great Britain.</p><p>Made over 1800 changes and correx to GNYC entries.</p><p>Written several analytical articles.</p><br />
|Email=bsa1861@att.net<br />
|Special Interest=Civil War Era<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Bruce_Allardice&diff=2190229Bruce Allardice2023-09-26T15:17:39Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Digger<br />
|First Name=Bruce<br />
|Last Name=Allardice<br />
|Location=Chicago<br />
|Regional Focus=Chicago; US South; Illinois<br />
|Thematic Focus=Civil War era<br />
|Type of Digger=Human<br />
|Active=Yes<br />
|Description=Bruce S. Allardice is a Professor of History at South Suburban College, near Chicago. His article on “The Spread of Baseball in the South Prior to 1870” received the McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award in 2013.<br />
|Contributions=<p>Have made over 10,000 entries. These entries include newly discovered first games or clubs in Mexico, Scotland and Alaska, the first interracial baseball game (Hawaii, 1866), the first black-white interracial match game (Cadiz, Ohio, 1867), and the first African American MLB baseball player.</p><p>Attempted to make US pre-1861, Civil War, IL pre-1871 complete as far as clubs are concerned.</p><p>Researched and input entries for 175 foreign countries, including first in Great Britain.</p><p>Made over 1800 changes and correx to GNYC entries.</p><p>Written several analytical articles.</p><br />
|Email=bsa1861@att.net<br />
|Special Interest=Civil War Era<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Bruce_Allardice&diff=2190228Bruce Allardice2023-09-26T15:14:56Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Digger<br />
|First Name=Bruce<br />
|Last Name=Allardice<br />
|Location=Chicago<br />
|Regional Focus=Chicago; US South; Illinois<br />
|Thematic Focus=Civil War era<br />
|Type of Digger=Human<br />
|Active=Yes<br />
|Description=Bruce S. Allardice is a Professor of History at South Suburban College, near Chicago, and has authored numerous articles on the Black Sox, along with biographies of the Black Sox gamblers for the SABR BioProject. His article on “The Spread of Baseball in the South Prior to 1870” received the McFarland-SABR Baseball Research Award in 2013.<br />
|Contributions=<p>Have made over 10,000 entries. These entries include newly discovered first games or clubs in Mexico, Scotland and Alaska, the first interracial baseball game (Hawaii, 1866), the first black-white interracial match game (Cadiz, Ohio, 1867), and the first African American MLB baseball player.</p><p>Attempted to make US pre-1861, Civil War, IL pre-1871 complete as far as clubs are concerned.</p><p>Researched and input entries for 175 foreign countries, including first in Great Britain.</p><p>Made over 1800 changes and correx to GNYC entries.</p><p>Written several analytical articles.</p><br />
|Email=bsa1861@att.net<br />
|Special Interest=Civil War Era<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=-2000000c.2&diff=2189976-2000000c.22023-09-16T18:47:46Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=-2000000<br />
|Year Suffix=c<br />
|Year Number=2<br />
|Headline=Humans Evolve as Runners<br />
|Salience=1<br />
|Location=Africa<br />
|Immediacy of Report=Retrospective<br />
|Age of Players=Adult<br />
|Text=<p>"We are very confidence that strong selection for running" &lt;occurred some two million years ago&gt;</p><br />
|Sources=<p>D. Bramble and D. Lieberman,&nbsp;"XXX,"&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Nature,</span> November 18, 2018.&nbsp;</p><br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Chronologies&diff=2189974Chronologies2023-09-16T18:39:45Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Box}}<br />
<br />
__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__<br />
{{#ask: [[Salience::<3]] | format=count }} noteworthy milestones tracing the evolution of ballgames toward modern baseball. <br />
<br />
'''The Protoball Chronology is [[Tom Altherr Dedication|Dedicated to Tom Altherr]] in appreciation of his work on early American ballplaying'''<br />
<br />
== [[A Few Dozen Most Prominent Baseball Milestones|See Just A Few Dozen of Baseball's Most Prominent Milestones]] ==<br />
{{#show:100 Prominent Chronology Entries|?Description}}<br />
<br />
== Chronology by Special Topic (suggest a new topic!) ==<br />
{{#arraydefine:exclusions|Comma Separated Values,Alabama,Brooklyn,CA,Connecticut,CT,England,Europe,France,Indiana,Hawaii,Kentucky,MA,Maine,Massachusetts,Michigan,NY,NYC,New Jersey,New York,New York City,New York State,Northern Virginia,Pennsylvania,Ohio,San Francisco,South Carolina, Texas, US, VA, Wisconsin, Baltimore}}<br />
{{#arraydefine:in_development|Music, Ball in the Culture, Base Ball Strategems, Baseball Professionalism, Championship Games, Statistics, Interscholastic, Equipment, Business of Baseball}}<br />
{{#arraydefine: tags_all<br />
| {{#ask: [[Tags::+]] | mainlabel =- | headers = hide |? Tags | limit = 10000 | link=none }}<br />
| , | sort=asc, unique<br />
}}<br />
{{#arraydiff:tags|tags_all|exclusions|in_development}}<br />
{{#arrayprint: tags|,<nowiki> </nowiki>|@|[[Chronology:@|@]] ({{#ask:[[Tags::@]]|format=count}})}}<br />
== Chronology by Location of Play ==<br />
{{#arraydefine: locations_all<br />
| {{#ask: [[Category:Chronology]][[Location::+]] | mainlabel =- | headers = hide |? Location | limit = 10000 | link=none }}<br />
| , | sort=asc, unique<br />
}}<br />
{{#arraydiff:locations|locations_all|exclusions|in_development}}<br />
{{#arrayprint: locations|,<nowiki> </nowiki>|@|[[Chronology:@|@]] ({{#ask:[[Category:Chronology]][[Location::@]]|format=count}})}}<br />
{{#show:100 Prominent Chronology Entries|?Description}}{{#arraydefine:exclusions|Comma Separated Values,Alabama,Brooklyn,CA,Connecticut,CT,England,Europe,France,Greenland, Indiana,Hawaii,Kentucky,MA,Maine,Massachusetts,Michigan,NY,NYC,New Jersey,New York,New York City,New York State,Northern Virginia,Pennsylvania,Ohio,San Francisco, SC, South Carolina, Texas, US, VA, Wisconsin, Baltimore}}{{#arraydefine:in_development|Music, Ball in the Culture, Base Ball Stratagems, Baseball Professionalism, Championship Games, Statistics, Interscholastic, Equipment, Business of Baseball}}<br />
== Chronology by Reported Name of Game Played ==<br />
{{#arraydefine: games_all<br />
| {{#ask: [[Category:Chronology]][[Game::+]] | mainlabel =- | headers = hide |? Game | limit = 10000 | link=none }}<br />
| , | sort=asc, unique<br />
}}<br />
{{#arraydiff:games|games_all|exclusions|in_development}}<br />
{{#arrayprint: games|,<nowiki> </nowiki>|@|[[Chronology:@|@]] ({{#ask:[[Category:Chronology]][[Game::@]]|format=count}})}}<br />
== Chronology Entries by Age of Player ==<br />
{{#arraydefine: ages_all<br />
| {{#ask: [[Age of Players::+]] | mainlabel =- | headers = hide |? Age of Players | limit = 10000 | link=none }}<br />
| , | sort=asc, unique<br />
}}<br />
{{#arraydiff:ages|ages_all|exclusions|in_development}}<br />
{{#arrayprint: ages|,<nowiki> </nowiki>|@|[[Chronology:@|@]] ({{#ask:[[Age of Players::@]]|format=count}})}}<br />
== Baseball in Civil War Camps ==<br />
The [[Chronology:Civil War|Civil War Chronology]] has a related essay: [[Ballplaying in Civil War Camps]]<br />
<br />
== Subtopics That Might Also Be Interesting ==<br />
{{#arrayprint: in_development|,<nowiki> </nowiki>|@|[[Chronology:@|@]]}}<br />
<br />
== The Main Chronology ==<br />
{{#ask: [[Category:Chronology Pages]]<br />
| ?Description<br />
| format=template<br />
| template=Display Dictionary<br />
| sort=Sort Order<br />
| limit=1000<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=About_the_Pre-Pro_Data_Base&diff=2189972About the Pre-Pro Data Base2023-09-16T18:31:51Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div><br />
Protoball's "Pre-Pro" data base serves as a reservoir for information on games, clubs, and other information on the evolution of base ball, almost all of it occurring&nbsp; prior to the first professional league formed in 1871.<br />
This data base originated in a suggestion from Craig B. Waff that he systematically scour archived sources to compile a 'Games Tabulation' for modern base ball prior to the Civil War. Craig ultimately listed nearly 1700 early games, drawn from more than 3300 published accounts, in version 1.0 of his "Games Tab." The portal for this initial version, uploaded in 2008, is at http://protoball.org/The_Craig_B._Waff_Games_Tabulation.<br />
<br />
<br />
Sadly, we lost Craig to a heart attack in 2012. His family estimates that he had by then collected 800 additional games.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
<br />
SABR's Origins Committee launched its ''Spread of Base Ball'' project shortly thereafter. The idea was to record, in one place, data on the earliest known base ball games, and clubs, across the United States and around the world. 'SABRpedia' data on early games and clubs were transferred to Protoball.org.<br />
<br />
<br />
A primary mover in creating the Pre-Pro data base has been [[Bruce Allardice]], who has single-handedly contributed over 11,000 new entries to the data base. [[Richard Hershberger]] is another major contributor; he has tabulated about 750 early clubs and shared them with Protoball.<br />
<br />
<br />
As of the fall of 2020, the data base included data on nearly 9000 clubs and over 4000 individual games. Some of them, of cource are incomplete. Most of the data pertains to base ball prior to the establishment of the first professional league in 1871, but where the local origin of the game came later, it has been added. Protoball users are encouraged to help correct and extend data in the data base. The data base includes some games played by rules other than those of "modern" (Knickerbocker) rules.<br />
<br />
<br />
-- Larry McCray</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=About_the_Pre-Pro_Data_Base&diff=2189970About the Pre-Pro Data Base2023-09-16T18:28:15Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div><br />
Protoball's "Pre-Pro" data base serves as a reservoir for information on games, clubs, and other information on the evolution of base ball, almost all of it occurring&nbsp; prior to the first professional league formed in 1871.<br />
This data base originated in a suggestion from Craig B. Waff that he systematically scour archived sources to compile a 'Games Tabulation' for modern base ball prior to the Civil War. Craig ultimately listed nearly 1700 early games, drawn from more than 3300 published accounts, in version 1.0 of his "Games Tab." The portal for this initial version, uploaded in 2008, is at http://protoball.org/The_Craig_B._Waff_Games_Tabulation.<br />
<br />
<br />
Sadly, we lost Craig to a heart attack in 2012. His family estimates that he had by then collected 800 additional games.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
<br />
SABR's Origins Committee launched its ''Spread of Base Ball'' project shortly thereafter. The idea was to record, in one place, data on the earliest known base ball games, and clubs, across the United States and around the world. 'SABRpedia' data on early games and clubs were transferred to Protoball.org.<br />
<br />
<br />
A primary mover in creating the Pre-Pro data base has been [[Bruce Allardice]], who has single-handedly contributed over 11,000 new entries to the data base. [[Richard Hershberger]] is another major contributor; he has tabulated about 750 early clubs and shared them with Protoball.<br />
<br />
<br />
As of the fall of 2020, the data base includes data on over 8900 clubs and over 4000 individual games. Some of them, of source are incomplete. Most of the data pertains to base ball prior to the establishment of the first profession league in 1871, but where the local origin of the game came later, it has been added. Protoball users are encouraged to help correct and extend data in the data base. At present, the data base includes some games played by rules other than those of "modern" (Knickerbocker) rules.<br />
<br />
<br />
-- Larry McCray</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Chronologies&diff=2189969Chronologies2023-09-16T18:11:57Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Box}} __NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__<br />
{{#ask: [[Salience::<3]] | format=count }} noteworthy milestones tracing the evolution of ballgames toward modern baseball. <br />
<br />
'''The Protoball Chronology is [[Tom Altherr Dedication|Dedicated to Tom Altherr]] in appreciation of his work on early American ballplaying'''<br />
<br />
==[[A Few Dozen Most Prominent Baseball Milestones|See Just A Few Dozen of Baseball's Most Prominent Milestones]]==<br />
{{#show:100 Prominent Chronology Entries|?Description}}<br />
<br />
== Chronology by Special Topic (suggest a new topic!)==<br />
{{#arraydefine:exclusions|Comma Separated Values,Alabama,Brooklyn,CA,Connecticut,CT,England,Europe,France,Indiana,Hawaii,Kentucky,MA,Maine,Massachusetts,Michigan,NY,NYC,New Jersey,New York,New York City,New York State,Northern Virginia,Pennsylvania,Ohio,San Francisco,South Carolina, Texas, US, VA, Wisconsin, Baltimore}}<br />
{{#arraydefine:in_development|Music, Ball in the Culture, Base Ball Strategems, Baseball Professionalism, Championship Games, Statistics, Interscholastic, Equipment, Business of Baseball}}<br />
{{#arraydefine: tags_all<br />
| {{#ask: [[Tags::+]] | mainlabel =- | headers = hide |? Tags | limit = 10000 | link=none }}<br />
| , | sort=asc, unique<br />
}}<br />
{{#arraydiff:tags|tags_all|exclusions|in_development}}<br />
{{#arrayprint: tags|,<nowiki> </nowiki>|@|[[Chronology:@|@]] ({{#ask:[[Tags::@]]|format=count}})}}<br />
== Chronology by Location of Play ==<br />
{{#arraydefine: locations_all<br />
| {{#ask: [[Category:Chronology]][[Location::+]] | mainlabel =- | headers = hide |? Location | limit = 10000 | link=none }}<br />
| , | sort=asc, unique<br />
}}<br />
{{#arraydiff:locations|locations_all|exclusions|in_development}}<br />
{{#arrayprint: locations|,<nowiki> </nowiki>|@|[[Chronology:@|@]] ({{#ask:[[Category:Chronology]][[Location::@]]|format=count}})}}<br />
{{#show:100 Prominent Chronology Entries|?Description}}{{#arraydefine:exclusions|Comma Separated Values,Alabama,Brooklyn,CA,Connecticut,CT,England,Europe,France,Greenland, Indiana,Hawaii,Kentucky,MA,Maine,Massachusetts,Michigan,NY,NYC,New Jersey,New York,New York City,New York State,Northern Virginia,Pennsylvania,Ohio,San Francisco, SC, South Carolina, Texas, US, VA, Wisconsin, Baltimore}}{{#arraydefine:in_development|Music, Ball in the Culture, Base Ball Stratagems, Baseball Professionalism, Championship Games, Statistics, Interscholastic, Equipment, Business of Baseball}}<br />
== Chronology by Game that was Played ==<br />
{{#arraydefine: games_all<br />
| {{#ask: [[Category:Chronology]][[Game::+]] | mainlabel =- | headers = hide |? Game | limit = 10000 | link=none }}<br />
| , | sort=asc, unique<br />
}}<br />
{{#arraydiff:games|games_all|exclusions|in_development}}<br />
{{#arrayprint: games|,<nowiki> </nowiki>|@|[[Chronology:@|@]] ({{#ask:[[Category:Chronology]][[Game::@]]|format=count}})}}<br />
== Chronology Entries by Age of Player (under construction) ==<br />
{{#arraydefine: ages_all<br />
| {{#ask: [[Age of Players::+]] | mainlabel =- | headers = hide |? Age of Players | limit = 10000 | link=none }}<br />
| , | sort=asc, unique<br />
}}<br />
{{#arraydiff:ages|ages_all|exclusions|in_development}}<br />
{{#arrayprint: ages|,<nowiki> </nowiki>|@|[[Chronology:@|@]] ({{#ask:[[Age of Players::@]]|format=count}})}}<br />
== Civil War ==<br />
The [[Chronology:Civil War|Civil War Chronology]] has a related essay: [[Ballplaying in Civil War Camps]]<br />
<br />
== Subtopics That Might Also Be Interesting ==<br />
{{#arrayprint: in_development|,<nowiki> </nowiki>|@|[[Chronology:@|@]]}}<br />
<br />
== The Main Chronology ==<br />
{{#ask: [[Category:Chronology Pages]]<br />
| ?Description<br />
| format=template<br />
| template=Display Dictionary<br />
| sort=Sort Order<br />
| limit=1000<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Feeder&diff=2188854Feeder2023-08-14T15:37:08Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Game<br />
|Term=Feeder<br />
|Game Family=Scrub<br />
|Game Eras=Predecessor<br />
|Invented Game=No<br />
|Description=<p>per &ldquo;The Boy&rsquo;s Own Book.&rdquo; A non-team form of rounders using three bases in which a player who is put out then takes on the role of feeder [pitcher]. An 1859 handbook describes feeder as a game with four or five stones or marks for bases. Plugging is permitted.</p><br />
<p>As of 2023, the Protoball chronology has 10 items of the game of feeder.</p><br />
<p>One, found at [[1841.1]], refers to clockwise baserunning.&nbsp; David Block's&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Baseball before We Knew It,</span> cites the game at pages 24,138-9, 153, 205,, 207, 284-5.</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
|Sources=<p><em>The Boy's Own Book</em><span>,&nbsp;</span>(London: D. Bogue, 1852)<span>, page 29. See also Elliott, <em>The Playground and the Parlour</em> (1868), p. 53.</span></p><br />
|Comment=<p>See also&nbsp;[[Feeder_and_Rounders,_1841]], contributed by Bill Hicklin.</p><br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1841.1&diff=21888521841.12023-08-14T15:06:05Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1841<br />
|Year Number=1<br />
|Headline=Compendium Describes [Pentagonal] 5-Base Rounders, Feeder<br />
|Salience=2<br />
|Game=Rounders<br />
|Text=<p>Williams, J. L., <span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Every Boy's Book, a Compendium of All the Sports and Recreations of Youth</span> [London, Dean and Munday], per David Block, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Baseball Before We Knew It</span>, page 205. This big book covered hundreds of children's pastimes, including feeder, the German game "ball-stock" (ball-stick), and a version of rounders that, unlike the 1828 <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Boy's Own Book</span> (see 1828 entry above) is played with five bases laid out in a pentagon instead of four in a diamond, and counter-clockwise running.</p><br />
<p><strong>For Text:</strong> David Block carries two long paragraphs and a field diagram of feeder, and a two-paragraph description of rounders, in Appendix 7, pages 284-286, of <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Baseball Before We Knew It.</span></p><br />
|Comment=<p>The Savannah Morning News, Nov. 23, 1902, has a long article (with illustration) on what it calls "English Town ball." This game features 5 bases and clockwise running of the bases, and appears to be re-named as "5 base rounders."</p><br />
|Source Image=Savannah Morning News Sun Nov 23 1902 .jpg<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Kickball&diff=2187685Kickball2023-07-11T17:53:08Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Game<br />
|Term=Kickball<br />
|Game Family=Kickball<br />
|Game Regions=US<br />
|Game Eras=Derivative, Post-1900<br />
|Invented Game=No<br />
|Description=<p>A traditional school recess game in the U.S., Kickball has lately grown in popularity as a co-ed adult game. Kickball strongly resembles Baseball, but the large rubber ball is put in play by bowled delivery and struck by a kicker-runner, who then runs from base to base. Plugging below the neck retires a runner who not at a base. The rules of the World Adult Kickball Association, with 25,000 registered members, specifies 11 players per team, 60-foot basepaths, and a strike zone about 30 inches wide and one foot high.</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>On kickball history:&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>"Kickball, originally called "Kicking Baseball" was claimed to have been invented as early as 1910 by Dr.&nbsp;<a title="Emmett Dunn Angell" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmett_Dunn_Angell">Emmett Dunn Angell</a>&nbsp;in his noted book&nbsp;<em>Play: Comprising Games for the Kindergarten, Playground, Schoolroom and College&nbsp;: How to Coach and Play Girls' Basket-ball, Etc</em>&nbsp;(1910). His description and field illustration in this book is both the closest and earliest known precursor to the modern game of kickball. He also notes that "The game seems to afford equal enjoyment to the children and it gives a better understanding of the national game (Baseball), and at the same time affords them an exercise that is not too violent and is full of fun.".<sup id="cite_ref-Play_1-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kickball#cite_note-Play-1">[1]</a></sup></p><br />
<p>A later documented inventor claim, as early as 1917, was by Nicholas C Seuss, Supervisor of Cincinnati Park Playgrounds in&nbsp;<a title="Cincinnati" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cincinnati">Cincinnati</a>,&nbsp;<a title="Ohio" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio">Ohio</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-ThePlayground1917_2-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kickball#cite_note-ThePlayground1917-2">[2]</a></sup>&nbsp;Seuss submitted his first documented overview of the game which included 12 rules and a field diagram in&nbsp;<em>The Playground Book</em>, published in 1917. Kickball is referred to as "Kick Base Ball" and "Kick Baseball" in this book."<sup id="cite_ref-ThePlaygroundBook_3-0" class="reference"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kickball#cite_note-ThePlaygroundBook-3"><br /></a></sup></p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>Source:&nbsp;https://www.rookieroad.com/kickball/history/</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>According to another source, "The game [of matball] is a derivative of kickball and in most situations follows similar basics.&nbsp; According to history (site not provided), kickball Also known as kick baseball was invested [sic] in 1917 by Nicholas C. Seuss." Seuss is described as working for Cincinnati Park Playgrounds.</p><br />
<p>Source: https://kickballzone.com/detailed-look-matball/</p><br />
|Sources=<p><a href="http://www.kickball.com/">http://www.kickball.com/</a><span>, accessed 10/09/09.</span></p><br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Matball_(Big_Base)&diff=2187683Matball (Big Base)2023-07-11T17:24:43Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Game<br />
|Term=Matball (Big Base)<br />
|Game Family=Kickball<br />
|Game Eras=Derivative<br />
|Invented Game=No<br />
|Description=<p>This invented game, an invented form of Kick Ball, is an indoor game reportedly played in many US schools. It uses large mats instead of bases, and multiple runners can safely occupy a base. The standard format uses an all-out-side-out rule to define a half-inning, can involve large teams, can have areas (e.g., a scoreboard or a basketball hoop) for designated home runs, a fly rule, tagging, and scoring only when a runner passes home and successfully returns to first base. Some schools use the infield format of Massachusetts base ball - the striker hits from between the first and fourth base. Foul territory varies, but forward hits are required.</p><br />
|Sources=<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/matball">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/matball</a><span>. Accessed 10/11/09.</span></p><br />
<p><span>https://kickballzone.com/detailed-look-matball/.&nbsp; Accessed 7/11/23.&nbsp; (Lists 'Swedish Baseball' s another name for the game.)</span></p><br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1873.14&diff=21861371873.142023-06-11T13:46:13Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1873<br />
|Year Number=14<br />
|Headline=The Delayed Double Steal -- New or Familiar?<br />
|Salience=3<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|Coordinates=40.6781784, -73.9441579<br />
|State=NY<br />
|City=Brooklyn<br />
|Game=Base Ball<br />
|Age of Players=Adult<br />
|Text=<p>Richard Hershberger comments below on another report of a delayed double steal, this one by the Boston club.&nbsp; The Atlantics had evidently pulled one not long before.</p><br />
|Sources=<p>''New York Sun,'' June 11, 1873:</p><br />
|Comment=<div class="xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs x126k92a"><br />
<div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">From Richard Hershberger, ''150 years ago today, ''6/10/2023:</span></div><br />
<div dir="auto">&nbsp;</div><br />
<div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">"The Bostons are in Brooklyn, where they beat the Mutuals 8-7. Recall that a couple of weeks back I related the earliest known description of a delayed double steal, done by the Atlantics. Here we see the same thing, this time by the Mutuals. Was this play already widely known, but we haven't noticed it earlier? Or did the Mutuals see what the Atlantics had done and decided to try it themselves? Who knows? The problem is that these plays are worked out, then the vocabulary to talk about them comes later. Reporters, even if they recognize what they just saw, will have trouble writing out it until the vocabulary is created. It is entirely possible that teams had been doing this for years, but only recently have reporters realized that there is something going on here.</span></div><br />
<div dir="auto">&nbsp;</div><br />
</div><br />
<div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><br />
<div dir="auto">"Speaking of vocabulary, notice that Dave Eggler "stole to" second base, not "stole" second base. Both constructions goes back to before the Civil War. The "steal to" form has been gradually fading for a decade now. This is a late example. This is a pity. To "steal to" second is to catch the pitcher and catcher off guard, while to "steal" second is an act of larceny. I think the first one is more accurate."</div><br />
</div><br />
|Source Image=Double Steal 1873.jpg<br />
|Submitted by=Richard Hershberger<br />
|Submission Note=FB posting, 6/10/2023<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}<br />
<p>1873</p></div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1873.14&diff=21861351873.142023-06-11T13:40:50Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1873<br />
|Year Number=14<br />
|Headline=The Delayed Double Steal -- New or Familiar?<br />
|Salience=3<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|Coordinates=40.6781784, -73.9441579<br />
|State=NY<br />
|City=Brooklyn<br />
|Game=Base Ball<br />
|Age of Players=Adult<br />
|Text=<p>Richard Hershberger comments below on another report of a delayed double steal, this one by the Boston club.&nbsp; The Atlantics had evidently pulled one not long before.</p><br />
|Sources=<p>''New York Sun,'' June 11, 1873:</p><br />
|Comment=<div class="xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs x126k92a"><br />
<div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">From Richard Hershberger, ''150 years ago today, ''6/10/2023:</span></div><br />
<div dir="auto">&nbsp;</div><br />
<div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">"The Bostons are in Brooklyn, where they beat the Mutuals 8-7. Recall that a couple of weeks back I related the earliest known description of a delayed double steal, done by the Atlantics. Here we see the same thing, this time by the Mutuals. Was this play already widely known, but we haven't noticed it earlier? Or did the Mutuals see what the Atlantics had done and decided to try it themselves? Who knows? The problem is that these plays are worked out, then the vocabulary to talk about them comes later. Reporters, even if they recognize what they just saw, will have trouble writing out it until the vocabulary is created. It is entirely possible that teams had been doing this for years, but only recently have reporters realized that there is something going on here.</span></div><br />
<div dir="auto">&nbsp;</div><br />
</div><br />
<div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><br />
<div dir="auto">Speaking of vocabulary, notice that Dave Eggler "stole to" second base, not "stole" second base. Both constructions goes back to before the Civil War. The "steal to" form has been gradually fading for a decade now. This is a late example. This is a pity. To "steal to" second is to catch the pitcher and catcher off guard, while to "steal" second is an act of larceny. I think the first one is more accurate."</div><br />
</div><br />
|Source Image=Double Steal 1873.jpg<br />
|Submitted by=Richard Hershberger<br />
|Submission Note=FB posting, 6/10/2023<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}<br />
<p>1873</p></div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1873.14&diff=21861341873.142023-06-11T13:36:43Z<p>Larry: Edited automatically from page 1873.14.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1873<br />
|Year Number=14<br />
|Headline=The Delayed Double Steal -- New or Familiar?<br />
|Salience=3<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|Coordinates=40.6781784, -73.9441579<br />
|State=NY<br />
|City=Brooklyn<br />
|Game=Base Ball<br />
|Age of Players=Adult<br />
|Sources=''New York Sun,'' June 11, 1873:<br />
|Comment=<div class="xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs x126k92a"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">From Richard Hershberger, ''150 years ago today, ''6/10/2023:</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;"></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">"The Bostons are in Brooklyn, where they beat the Mutuals 8-7. Recall that a couple of weeks back I related the earliest known description of a delayed double steal, done by the Atlantics. Here we see the same thing, this time by the Mutuals. Was this play already widely known, but we haven't noticed it earlier? Or did the Mutuals see what the Atlantics had done and decided to try it themselves? Who knows? The problem is that these plays are worked out, then the vocabulary to talk about them comes later. Reporters, even if they recognize what they just saw, will have trouble writing out it until the vocabulary is created. It is entirely possible that teams had been doing this for years, but only recently have reporters realized that there is something going on here.</span><br></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;"></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto">Speaking of vocabulary, notice that Dave Eggler "stole to" second base, not "stole" second base. Both constructions goes back to before the Civil War. The "steal to" form has been gradually fading for a decade now. This is a late example. This is a pity. To "steal to" second is to catch the pitcher and catcher off guard, while to "steal" second is an act of larceny. I think the first one is more accurate."</div></div><br />
|Source Image=Double Steal 1873.jpg<br />
|Submitted by=Richard Hershberger<br />
|Submission Note=FB posting, 6/10/2023<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}<br />
1873</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1873.14&diff=21861331873.142023-06-11T13:36:11Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1873<br />
|Year Number=14<br />
|Headline=The Delayed Double Steal -- New or Familiar?<br />
|Salience=3<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|Coordinates=40.6781784, -73.9441579<br />
|State=NY<br />
|City=Brooklyn<br />
|Game=Base Ball<br />
|Age of Players=Adult<br />
|Sources=''New York Sun,'' June 11, 1873:<br />
|Comment=<div class="xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs x126k92a"><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">From Richard Hershberger, ''150 years ago today, ''6/10/2023:</span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;"></span></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;">"The Bostons are in Brooklyn, where they beat the Mutuals 8-7. Recall that a couple of weeks back I related the earliest known description of a delayed double steal, done by the Atlantics. Here we see the same thing, this time by the Mutuals. Was this play already widely known, but we haven't noticed it earlier? Or did the Mutuals see what the Atlantics had done and decided to try it themselves? Who knows? The problem is that these plays are worked out, then the vocabulary to talk about them comes later. Reporters, even if they recognize what they just saw, will have trouble writing out it until the vocabulary is created. It is entirely possible that teams had been doing this for years, but only recently have reporters realized that there is something going on here.</span><br></div><div dir="auto"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;"></span></div></div><div class="x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r x1vvkbs xtlvy1s x126k92a"><div dir="auto">Speaking of vocabulary, notice that Dave Eggler "stole to" second base, not "stole" second base. Both constructions goes back to before the Civil War. The "steal to" form has been gradually fading for a decade now. This is a late example. This is a pity. To "steal to" second is to catch the pitcher and catcher off guard, while to "steal" second is an act of larceny. I think the first one is more accurate."</div></div><br />
|Source Image=Double Steal 1873.jpg<br />
|Submitted by=Richard Hershberger<br />
|Submission Note=FB posting, 6/10/2023<br />
|Reviewed=No<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}<br />
1873</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1873.14&diff=21861321873.142023-06-11T13:35:48Z<p>Larry: Edited automatically from page 1873.14.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=File:Double_Steal_1873.jpg&diff=2186130File:Double Steal 1873.jpg2023-06-11T13:28:27Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div></div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1862.113&diff=21858911862.1132023-06-07T11:21:57Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1862<br />
|Year Number=113<br />
|Headline=A Different View of Alexander Cartwright<br />
|Salience=2<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|Coordinates=19.8986819, -155.6658568<br />
|State=HI<br />
|Game=Base Ball<br />
|Immediacy of Report=Contemporary<br />
|Notables=Alexander Cartwright<br />
|Text=<p>Although honored with a plaque at Cooperstown as a key figure in the evolution of base ball, Cartwright's reputation after settling in Hawaii proved a bit speckled: An 1862 source view of Cartwright: "Has probably a better capacity for pulling wool over shipmasters' eyes than any other man in the community. . . . Is very vindictive, and does not scruple at anything where there is money to be made. Is generally disliked, and by many considered a dangerous man to confide in. . . . Is fond of display, courts popularity, and has a weakness for females."</p><br />
|Sources=<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Honolulu Merchants' Looking-Glass: To See Themselves As&nbsp; as Others See Them. </span>(18 pages, 1862.)</p><br />
|Comment=<p>The treatise arrived by ship from San Francisco on New Year's Day, 1863, and soon caused a stir throughout the city. It begins with a brief preface revealing the author's intent allow his neighbors "to see themselves as others see them, so that 'in all their underhanded dealing, they may hesitate.'&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>For more on Cartwright's life, see Protoball friend Monica Nucciarone,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Alexander Cartwright: The Life Behind the Baseball Legend</span> (University of Nebraska Press, 2009).&nbsp; Monica's final chapter, "CONCLUSION: Alexander Cartwright, Father of Modern Baseball*", includes this generalization: "So, why isn't Cartwright's baseball legacy more clearly documented? . . . I feel Alexander Cartwright deserves to be honored as one of baseball's 'pioneers.' Yet to call him the&nbsp;<em>sole&nbsp;</em>&nbsp;'Father of Modern Baseball' is more than a stretch."&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>Monica reports on the 1862 treatise on page 70.&nbsp; (Thanks to Tom Shieber for locating it.)</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
|Query=<p>Is there further evidence on the suggestion that evidence for Cartwright's base ball leadership was lost in a fire after his death?&nbsp;</p><br />
|Source Image=Cartwright 1862.jpeg<br />
|Submitted by=John Thorn<br />
|Submission Note=Email of 6/3/2023<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}<br />
<p>1</p></div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1862.113&diff=21858681862.1132023-06-06T15:46:34Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1862<br />
|Year Number=113<br />
|Headline=A Different View of Alexander Cartwright<br />
|Salience=2<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|Coordinates=19.8986819, -155.6658568<br />
|State=HI<br />
|Game=Base Ball<br />
|Immediacy of Report=Contemporary<br />
|Notables=Alexander Cartwright<br />
|Text=<p>Although honored with a plaque at Cooperstown as a key figure in the evolution of base ball, Cartwright's reputation after settling in Hawaii proved a bit speckled: An 1862 source view of Cartwright: "Has probably a better capacity for pulling wool over shipmasters' eyes than any other man in the community. . . . Is very vindictive, and does not scruple at anything where there is money to be made. Is generally disliked, and by many considered a dangerous man to confide in. . . . Is fond of display, courts popularity, and has a weakness for females."</p><br />
|Sources=<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Honolulu Merchants' Looking-Glass: To See Themselves As&nbsp; as Others See Them. </span>(18 pages, 1862.)</p><br />
|Comment=<p>The treatise arrived by ship from San Francisco on New Year's Day, 1863, and soon caused a stir throughout the city. It begins with a brief preface revealing the author's intent allow his neighbors "to see themselves as others see them, so that 'in all their underhanded dealing, they may hesitate.'&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>For more on Cartwright's life, see Protoball friend Monica Nucciarone,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Alexander Cartwright: The Life Behind the Baseball Legend</span> (University of Nebraska Press, 2009).&nbsp; Monica's final chapter, "CONCLUSION: Alexander Cartwright, Father of Modern Baseball*", includes this generalization: "So, why isn't Cartwright's baseball legacy more clearly documented? . . . I feel Alexander Cartwright deserves to be honored as one of baseball's 'pioneers.' Yet to call him the&nbsp;<em>sole&nbsp;</em>&nbsp;'Father of Modern Baseball' is more than a stretch."&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>Monica reports on the 1862 treatise on page 70.</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
|Query=<p>Is there further evidence on the suggestion that evidence for Cartwright's base ball leadership was lost in a fire after his death?&nbsp;</p><br />
|Source Image=Cartwright 1862.jpeg<br />
|Submitted by=John Thorn<br />
|Submission Note=Email of 6/3/2023<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}<br />
<p>1</p></div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1862.113&diff=21858671862.1132023-06-06T15:40:57Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1862<br />
|Year Number=113<br />
|Headline=A Different View of Alexander Cartwright<br />
|Salience=2<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|Coordinates=19.8986819, -155.6658568<br />
|State=HI<br />
|Game=Base Ball<br />
|Immediacy of Report=Contemporary<br />
|Notables=Alexander Cartwright<br />
|Text=<p>Although honored with a plaque at Cooperstown as a key figure in the evolution of base ball, Cartwright's reputation after settling in Hawaii proved a bit speckled: An 1862 source view of Cartwright: "Has probably a better capacity for pulling wool over shipmasters' eyes than any other man in the community. . . . Is very vindictive, and does not scruple at anything where there is money to be made. Is generally disliked, and by many considered a dangerous man to confide in. . . . Is fond of display, courts popularity, and has a weakness for females."</p><br />
|Sources=<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Honolulu Merchants' Looking-Glass: To See Themselves As&nbsp; as Others See Them. </span>(18 pages, 1862.)</p><br />
|Comment=<p>The treatise arrived by ship from San Francisco on New Year's Day, 1863, and soon caused a stir throughout the city. It begins with a brief preface revealing the author's intent allow his neighbors "to see themselves as others see them, so that 'in all their underhanded dealing, they may hesitate.'&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>For more on Cartwright's life, see Protoball friend Monica Nucciarone,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Alexander Cartwright: The Life Behind the Baseball Legend</span> (University of Nebraska Press, 2009).&nbsp; Monica's final chapter, "CONCLUSION: Alexander Cartwright, Father of Modern Baseball*", includes this generalization: "So, why isn't Cartwright's baseball legacy more clearly documented? . . . I feel Alexander Cartwright deserves to be honored as one of baseball's 'pioneers.' Yet to call him the&nbsp;<em>sole&nbsp;</em>&nbsp;'Father of Modern Baseball' is more than a stretch."&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
|Source Image=Cartwright 1862.jpeg<br />
|Submitted by=John Thorn<br />
|Submission Note=Email of 6/3/2023<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}<br />
<p>1</p></div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1862.113&diff=21858661862.1132023-06-06T15:39:49Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1862<br />
|Year Number=113<br />
|Headline=A Different View of Alexander Cartwright<br />
|Salience=2<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|Coordinates=19.8986819, -155.6658568<br />
|State=HI<br />
|Game=Base Ball<br />
|Immediacy of Report=Contemporary<br />
|Notables=Alexander Cartwright<br />
|Text=<p>Although honored with a plaque at Cooperstown as a key figure in the evolution of base ball, Cartwright's reputation after settling in Hawaii proved a bit speckled: An 1862 source view of Cartwright: "Has probably a better capacity for pulling wool over shipmasters' eyes than any other man in the community. . . . Is very vindictive, and does not scruple at anything where there is money to be made. Is generally disliked, and by many considered a dangerous man to confide in. . . . Is fond of display, courts popularity, and has a weakness for females."</p><br />
|Sources=<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Honolulu Merchants' Looking-Glass: To See Themselves As&nbsp; as Others See Them. </span>(18 pages, 1862.)</p><br />
|Comment=<p>The treatise arrived by ship from San Francisco on New Year's Day, 1863, and soon caused a stir throughout the city. It begins with a brief preface revealing the author's intent allow his neighbors "to see themselves as others see them, so that 'in all their underhanded dealing, they may hesitate.'&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>For more on Cartwright's life, see Protoball friend Monica Nucciarone,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Alexander Cartwright: The Life Behind the Baseball Legend</span> (University of Nebraska Press, 2009).&nbsp; Monica's final chapter, "CONCLUSION: Alexander Cartwright, Father of Modern Baseball*", includes this generalization: "So, why isn't Cartwright's baseball legacy more clearly documented? . . . I feel Alexander Cartwright deserves to be honored as one of baseball's 'pioneers.' Yet to call him the&nbsp;<em>sole&nbsp;</em>&nbsp;'Father of Modern Baseball' is more than a stretch."&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
|Source Image=Cartwright 1862.jpeg<br />
|Submitted by=John Thorn<br />
|Submission Note=Email of 6/4/2023<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}<br />
<p>1</p></div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1862.113&diff=21858641862.1132023-06-06T14:56:19Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1862<br />
|Year Number=113<br />
|Headline=A Different View of Alexander Cartwright<br />
|Salience=2<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|Coordinates=19.8986819, -155.6658568<br />
|State=HI<br />
|Game=Base Ball<br />
|Immediacy of Report=Contemporary<br />
|Notables=Alexander Cartwright<br />
|Text=<p>Although honored with a plaque at Cooperstown as a key figure in the evolution of base ball, Cartwright's reputation after settling in Hawaii proved a bit speckled: An 1862 source view of Cartwright: "Has probably a better capacity for pulling wool over shipmasters' eyes than any other man in the community. . . . Is very vindictive, and does not scruple at anything where there is money to be made. Is generally disliked, and by many considered a dangerous man to confide in. . . . Is fond of display, courts popularity, and has a weakness for females."</p><br />
|Sources=<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Honolulu Merchant's Looking Glass: To See Themselves As&nbsp; as Others See Them. </span>(18 pages, 1862.)</p><br />
|Comment=<p>The book arrived by ship from San Francisco on New Year's Day, 1863, and soon caused a stir throughout the city. It begins with a brief preface revealing the author's intent allow his neighbors "to see themselves as others see them, so that 'in all their underhanded dealing, they may hesitate.'&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>For more on Cartwright's life, see Protoball friend Monica Nucciarone,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Alexander Cartwright: The Life Behind the Baseball Legend</span> (University of Nebraska Press, 2009).&nbsp; Monica's final chapter, "CONCLUSION: Alexander Cartwright, Father of Modern Baseball*", includes this generalization: "So, why isn't Cartwright's baseball legacy more clearly documented? . . . I feel Alexander Cartwright deserves to be honored as one of baseball's 'pioneers.' Yet to call him the&nbsp;<em>sole&nbsp;</em>&nbsp;'Father of Modern Baseball' is more than a stretch."&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
|Source Image=Cartwright 1862.jpeg<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}<br />
<p>1</p></div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1862.113&diff=21858631862.1132023-06-06T14:54:45Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1862<br />
|Year Number=113<br />
|Headline=A Different View of Alexander Cartwright<br />
|Salience=2<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|Coordinates=19.8986819, -155.6658568<br />
|State=HI<br />
|Game=Base Ball<br />
|Immediacy of Report=Contemporary<br />
|Notables=Alexander Cartwright<br />
|Text=<p>Although honored with a plaque at Cooperstown as a key figure in the evolution of base ball, Cartwright's reputation after settling in Hawaii proved a bit speckled: An 1862 source view of Cartwright: "Has probably a better capacity for pulling wool over shipmasters' eyes than any other man in the community. . . . Is very vindictive, and does not scruple at anything where there is money to be made. Is generally disliked, and by many considered a dangerous man to confide in. . . . Is fond of display, courts popularity, and has a weakness for females."</p><br />
|Sources=<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Honolulu Merchant's Looking Glass: To See Themselves As&nbsp; as Others See Them. </span>(18 pages, 1862.)</p><br />
|Comment=<p>The book arrived by ship from San Francisco on New Year's Day, 1863, and soon caused a stir throughout the city. It begins with a brief preface revealing the author's intent allow his neighbors "to see themselves as others see them, so that 'in all their underhanded dealing, they may hesitate.'&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>For more on Cartwright's life, see Protoball friend Monica Nucciarone,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Alexander Cartwright: The Life Behind the Baseball Legend</span> (University of Nebraska Press, 2009).&nbsp; Monica's final chapter, "CONCLUSION: Alexander Cartwright, Father of Modern Baseball*", includes this generalization: "So, why isn't Cartwright's baseball legacy more clearly documented? . . . I feel Alexander Cartwright deserves to be honored as one of baseball's 'pioneers.' Yet to call him the&nbsp;<em>sole</em>&nbsp;'Father of Modern Baseball' is more than a stretch."&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
|Source Image=Cartwright 1862.jpeg<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}<br />
<p>1</p></div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1862.113&diff=21858611862.1132023-06-06T14:26:23Z<p>Larry: Edited automatically from page 1862.113.</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1862<br />
|Year Number=113<br />
|Headline=A Different View of Alexander Cartwright<br />
|Salience=2<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|Coordinates=19.8986819, -155.6658568<br />
|State=HI<br />
|Game=Base Ball<br />
|Immediacy of Report=Contemporary<br />
|Notables=Alexander Cartwright<br />
|Text=Although honored with a plaque at Cooperstown as a key figure in the evolution of base ball, Cartwright's reputation after settling in Hawaii proved a bit speckled: An 1862 source view of Cartwright: "Has probably a better capacity for pulling wool over shipmasters' eyes than any other man in the community. . . . Is very vindictive, and does not scruple at anything where there is money to be made. Is generally disliked, and by many considered a dangerous man to confide in. . . . Is fond of display, courts popularity, and has a weakness for females."<br />
|Sources=<span style="text-decoration: underline;" >The Honolulu Merchant's Looking Glass: To See Themselves As&nbsp; as Others See Them. </span>(18 pages, 1862.)<br />
|Comment=The book arrived by ship from San Francisco on New Year's Day, 1863, and soon caused a stir throughout the city. It begins with a brief preface revealing the author's intent allow his neighbors "to see themselves as others see them, so that 'in all their underhanded dealing, they may hesitate.'&nbsp;<br />
|Source Image=Cartwright 1862.jpeg<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}<br />
1</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1862.113&diff=21858601862.1132023-06-06T14:26:06Z<p>Larry: Created page with "{{Chronology Entry |Year=1862 |Year Number=113 |Headline=A Different View of Alexander Cartwright |Salience=2 |Country=United States |Coordinates=19.8986819, -155.6658568 |State=HI |Game=Base Ball |Immediacy of Report=Contemporary |Notables=Alexander Cartwright |Text=Although honored with a plaque at Cooperstown as a key figure in the evolution of base ball, Cartwright's reputation after settling in Hawaii proved a bit speckled: An 1862 source view of Cartwright: "Has pr..."</p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1862<br />
|Year Number=113<br />
|Headline=A Different View of Alexander Cartwright<br />
|Salience=2<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|Coordinates=19.8986819, -155.6658568<br />
|State=HI<br />
|Game=Base Ball<br />
|Immediacy of Report=Contemporary<br />
|Notables=Alexander Cartwright<br />
|Text=Although honored with a plaque at Cooperstown as a key figure in the evolution of base ball, Cartwright's reputation after settling in Hawaii proved a bit speckled: An 1862 source view of Cartwright: "Has probably a better capacity for pulling wool over shipmasters' eyes than any other man in the community. . . . Is very vindictive, and does not scruple at anything where there is money to be made. Is generally disliked, and by many considered a dangerous man to confide in. . . . Is fond of display, courts popularity, and has a weakness for females."<br />
|Sources=<span style="text-decoration: underline;" >The Honolulu Merchant's Looking Glass: To See Themselves As&nbsp; as Others See Them. </span>(18 pages, 1862.)<br />
|Comment=The book arrived by ship from San Francisco on New Year's Day, 1863, and soon caused a stir throughout the city. It begins with a brief preface revealing the author's intent allow his neighbors "to see themselves as others see them, so that 'in all their underhanded dealing, they may hesitate.'&nbsp;<br />
|Source Image=Cartwright 1862.jpeg<br />
|Reviewed=No<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}<br />
1</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=File:Cartwright_1862.jpeg&diff=2185859File:Cartwright 1862.jpeg2023-06-06T14:24:51Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div></div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Round_Town_(Round_Town_Ball)&diff=2185740Round Town (Round Town Ball)2023-06-02T19:34:11Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Game<br />
|Term=Round Town (Round Town Ball)<br />
|Game Family=Baseball<br />
|Location=PA, VA<br />
|Game Regions=US<br />
|Game Eras=1800s, Predecessor<br />
|Invented Game=No<br />
|Description=<p>Round Town (also found as 'round-town,' or 'Round Town Ball') has been found in a handful of sources listed below.&nbsp; It appears to have been played at times from the 1850s-1890s in locations outside the northeast US:</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>[A] "In rural Virginia the ball game of choice was known as round-town, a sport that was "well understood and much enjoyed by every country boy, though only a few of their city cousins know the first rudiments of it."&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>--</p><br />
<p>[B] As played in Eastern PA in the 1850s,&nbsp;<strong>Round Town</strong> is recalled as having four or five bases or &ldquo;safety spots,&rdquo; tagging instead of plugging, the fly rule, the sharing of bases by multiple runners, and a bat made of a rail or clap-board. A game &ldquo;similar to baseball&rdquo; recalled as being played by school boys in 1891 in a grove of trees in Beech Grove, Kentucky.</p><br />
<p>---</p><br />
<p>[C] Another game called <strong>Round Town</strong> is described as follows:</p><br />
<p><span>An Old Virginia Ball Game</span><br /><br /><span>Mount Crawford, a town in Rockingham County, Va., was the scene of a novel </span><span>ball game on, January 13 last, the occasion being a contest at the old </span><span>Virginia game of ball known as "Round Town, " the weather being unusually </span><span>mild for winter.</span><br /><br /><span>This game is well understood and is much enjoyed by every country boy, though&nbsp;</span><span>only a very few of their city cousins know the first rudiments of it.&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><br /><span>Forty-four men and boys were engaged in the game mentioned above, and they</span><span> were the best throwers, surest catchers, and hardest strikers of the two </span><span>neighborhoods. A large sized crowd watched with unabating interest the </span><span>movements of the game. </span></p><br />
<p><span>The game of <strong>round-town</strong> is played in this manner: Two&nbsp;</span><span>sides are formed, the number of players of the division being equal. Four </span><span>bases are used and are placed in the same manner as if they were being fixed&nbsp;</span><span>for a game of baseball, although men are only placed in the positions of the&nbsp;</span><span>pitcher, catcher, and first baseman, the rest of the players being scattered&nbsp;</span><span>in the field where they think the ball is most apt to be knocked. The first&nbsp;</span><span>batsman on the opposing side takes his place at the plate, and he has in his&nbsp;</span><span>hand a paddle an inch or two thick, and in which only one hand is used ins </span><span>striking. The pitcher delivers a solid gum ball with all the swiftness </span><span>attainable, the use of the curve never being thought of, and it is therefore </span><span>very seldom that a "strike out" occurs. The batter hits the ball at the </span><span>first opportunity and endeavors to drive it over the heads of the opponents, </span><span>for if it is caught on the fly or the first bound the runner is called out, </span><span>and also if it is begotten to the first baseman before the runner arrives at </span><span>the base. Should the runner reach first base safely he can continue to run </span><span>to the other bases if he wishes, but his opponents have the privilege of </span><span>hitting him with the ball, and as it is very painful to be struck with a gum </span><span>ball, the runner is very cautious, and if he is struck he is counted out of </span><span>the game, although should he reach any of the other bases he is safe.&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><br /><span>Another batsman appears and if he makes a safe hit with the ball the runners </span><span>can continue to move until stopped from fear of being hit with the ball. In </span><span>case a man is on second base and a ball is knocked and caught on the fly or </span><span>first bound, the runner must stay at the base until the ball is returned to </span><span>the pitcher. Each side has only one inning and that continues until every </span><span>man has made out: therefore if a man makes an out at the first time at the </span><span>bat he is disqualified to play until all on his side have done likewise, then </span><span>they take the field. If a player makes the circuit safely it is called a run.</span><br /><br /><span>The result of the contest was the success of the Mt. Crawford twenty-two by a&nbsp;</span><span>score of 104 runs to 90, the contest occupying the whole afternoon.</span></p><br />
<p><span>---<br /></span></p><br />
<p><span>[D]&nbsp; In February 2016, Bill Hicklin added:<br /></span></p><br />
<p>I found two references to Virginia "<strong>round-town</strong>," both from Dickinson County, Virginia (in the Appalachian coal country).&nbsp; They come from <span style="text-decoration: underline;">School and Community History of Dickenson County, Virginia</span> (ed. Dennis Reedy), a compilation of articles published over many years in the local paper, which were themselves based on a series of oral-history interviews conducted at the behest of the school superintendant with senior and retired Dickenson teachers.</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;[1] William Ayers Dyer: "I was born May 10, 1880 at Stratton, Dickenson County, Virginia and started to school to Johnson Skeen at the Buffalo School in 1885 when I was 5 years old... The games we played at the Buffalo were straight town, <strong>round town</strong>, base, bull pen and antnee over." (Bull pen was dodgeball, but played with a baseball. Ouch!)</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;[2]Hampton Osborne (b. 1894): "'<strong>Round-town'</strong> and 'straight-town' were popular games. Round-town had four bases in a circle, as baseball does today. If the batter was caught or crossed-off both ways, he was out. Straight-town had four bases in a row and you used the same rules as round-town.</p><br />
<p><span>---&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p>[E]&nbsp; Bruce Allardice contributed:</p><br />
<p>"There are several newspaper mentions in the late 1800s of "round town" by people who claimed to have played it as a boy:</p><br />
<p>Easley (SC)&nbsp;<em>Messenger</em>, May 2, 1884. W. P. Price (1846-1940) claimed to have played "round Town" and "cat" as a boy at Holly Springs Academy</p><br />
<p>Piqua (OH)&nbsp;<em>Daily Call</em>, Aug. 22, 1891: J. P. Smith of Urbana, OH says he played "round town" and "bull pen" as a boy.</p><br />
<p>Edina (MO) Sentinel, Aug. 5, 1886: writer played "round town" as a boy.</p><br />
<p>Greenleaf&nbsp;<em>Sentinel</em>, Nov. 11, 1887. when writer was a boy we used to play "round town," "three cornered cat" and "bull pen." Similar, Smithfield (NC)&nbsp;<em>Herald</em>&nbsp;Aug. 17, 1917.</p><br />
<p>Scranton&nbsp;<em>Tribune</em>, May 8, 1899. Writer talks of boys playing "Round Town Ball and Two Holy Cat."</p><br />
<p>Philadelphia&nbsp;<em>Times</em>, Aug. 3, 1890 has a long article with a complete description of Round Town Ball, as it was played in Perry County.</p><br />
<p>Old-time "round, or town ball" played. Warren (PA)&nbsp;<em>Democrat</em>, July 9, 1895.</p><br />
<p>Asheville&nbsp;<em>Gazette-News</em>, Aug. 9, 1913: "afore the war" the "darkies" played "round town ball from which the [game of] baseball originated."</p><br />
<p>New Philadelphia&nbsp;<em>Times</em>, June 13, 1910 claims Cy Young played "round town" ball and three cornered cat as a youth.</p><br />
<p>Bucyrus (OH)&nbsp;<em>Evening Telegraph</em>. Aug. 18, 1915 says there will be a game of round town ball at a picnic. Ditto Jackson (OH)&nbsp;<em>Center News</em>, Oct. 15, 1920; Dresden (TN)&nbsp;<em>Enterprise</em>, Dec. 4, 1914; Wilkes-Barre&nbsp;<em>Times Leader</em>, Sept. 5, 1908; Harrisonburg (VA)&nbsp;<em>Evening News</em>, Dec. 5, 1899, March 15, 1909.</p><br />
<p>Doney, "Cheerful Yesterdays" p. 67 says he learned to play RTB and others c. 1877.</p><br />
<p>Prokopowicz, "All for the Regiment" p. 85 quotes a Feb. 7, 1862 diary entry from a soldier in Co. C, 17th Ohio saying the soldiers play RTB in their spare time.</p><br />
<p>Pleasant's "History of Crawford County, Indiana" (1926) says that c. 1840, the boys played three cornered cat, round town ball, long town ball, bat ball and baseball.</p><br />
<p>"Punxsatawney Centennial, 1849-1949" p. 22 says c. 1870 the boys played RTB and long town ball."</p><br />
<p>-- Bruce Allardice</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;<strong>What Protoball Knows, May 2023</strong></span></p><br />
<p>Note that our sources now extend to MD, NC, OH, PA, SC, and VA,&nbsp; as of May 2023.&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>Known reports of Round Town appear to run to the end of the 19th Century.</p><br />
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></span></p><br />
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></span></p><br />
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></span></p><br />
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></span></p><br />
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>&nbsp;</strong></span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
|Sources=<p><span>[A] Peter Morris,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">But Didn't We Have Fun: An Informal History of Baseball's Pioneer Era, 1843-1870</span> (Ivan Dee, Chicago, 2008), pp.16-18.&nbsp; For data on 12 names of predecessor games, see the book's index entry for 'Rival Bat-and-Ball', page 282.&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>[B] J. Lambert and H. Reinhard,&nbsp;</span><em>A History of Catasaqua in Lehigh County</em><span>&nbsp;(Searle and Dressler, Allentown, 1914), page 364.:&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>William F. Mason,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Journal of William Franklin Mason</span>, completed in 1954; from&nbsp;<a href="http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ky/elliott/mason/mason29.txt">http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ky/elliott/mason/ mason29.txt</a>,&nbsp;accessed 2/24/2008.</p><br />
<p><span>[C] New York Clipper January 1866. 19CBB post 2/2/2002 by John Freyer</span></p><br />
<p><span>[D]&nbsp; Email from Bill Hicklin, February 6, 2016, citing D. Reedy, ed., <span style="text-decoration: underline;">School and Community History jof Dickenson County, Virginia </span>[1994]<br /></span></p><br />
<p><span>[E] Bruce Allardice, contributions to Protoball, (date lost).</span></p><br />
|Comment=<p>See also<strong> [[Straight Ball]].</strong></p><br />
<p>Note that our sources now extend to MD, NC, OH, PA, SC, and VA,&nbsp; as if May 2023.&nbsp; The latest reports appear to extent to the end of the 19th Century.</p><br />
<p>One form of the game [see item [B] above] has a rule variant that , as of 2023, appears to be in unique for US base-running games: that more than one runner can occupy a base at the same time.&nbsp; Multiple base-running is known in some Scandinavian games and in (two-base) Russian lapta and, maybe, in iona in Romania.&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><br />
<p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><br />
<p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Round_Town_(Round_Town_Ball)&diff=2185663Round Town (Round Town Ball)2023-06-02T18:14:31Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Game<br />
|Term=Round Town (Round Town Ball)<br />
|Game Family=Baseball<br />
|Location=PA, VA<br />
|Game Regions=US<br />
|Game Eras=1800s, Predecessor<br />
|Invented Game=No<br />
|Description=<p>Round Town (also found as 'round-town,' or 'Round Town Ball') has been found in a handful of sources listed below.&nbsp; It appears to have been played at times from the 1850s-1890s in locations outside the northeast US:</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>[A] "In rural Virginia the ball game of choice was known as round-town, a sport that was "well understood and much enjoyed by every country boy, though only a few of their city cousins know the first rudiments of it."&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>--</p><br />
<p>[B] As played in Eastern PA in the 1850s,&nbsp;<strong>Round Town</strong> is recalled as having four or five bases or &ldquo;safety spots,&rdquo; tagging instead of plugging, the fly rule, the sharing of bases by multiple runners, and a bat made of a rail or clap-board. A game &ldquo;similar to baseball&rdquo; recalled as being played by school boys in 1891 in a grove of trees in Beech Grove, Kentucky.</p><br />
<p>---</p><br />
<p>[C] Another game called <strong>Round Town</strong> is described as follows:</p><br />
<p><span>An Old Virginia Ball Game</span><br /><br /><span>Mount Crawford, a town in Rockingham County, Va., was the scene of a novel </span><span>ball game on, January 13 last, the occasion being a contest at the old </span><span>Virginia game of ball known as "Round Town, " the weather being unusually </span><span>mild for winter.</span><br /><br /><span>This game is well understood and is much enjoyed by every country boy, though&nbsp;</span><span>only a very few of their city cousins know the first rudiments of it.&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><br /><span>Forty-four men and boys were engaged in the game mentioned above, and they</span><span> were the best throwers, surest catchers, and hardest strikers of the two </span><span>neighborhoods. A large sized crowd watched with unabating interest the </span><span>movements of the game. </span></p><br />
<p><span>The game of <strong>round-town</strong> is played in this manner: Two&nbsp;</span><span>sides are formed, the number of players of the division being equal. Four </span><span>bases are used and are placed in the same manner as if they were being fixed&nbsp;</span><span>for a game of baseball, although men are only placed in the positions of the&nbsp;</span><span>pitcher, catcher, and first baseman, the rest of the players being scattered&nbsp;</span><span>in the field where they think the ball is most apt to be knocked. The first&nbsp;</span><span>batsman on the opposing side takes his place at the plate, and he has in his&nbsp;</span><span>hand a paddle an inch or two thick, and in which only one hand is used ins </span><span>striking. The pitcher delivers a solid gum ball with all the swiftness </span><span>attainable, the use of the curve never being thought of, and it is therefore </span><span>very seldom that a "strike out" occurs. The batter hits the ball at the </span><span>first opportunity and endeavors to drive it over the heads of the opponents, </span><span>for if it is caught on the fly or the first bound the runner is called out, </span><span>and also if it is begotten to the first baseman before the runner arrives at </span><span>the base. Should the runner reach first base safely he can continue to run </span><span>to the other bases if he wishes, but his opponents have the privilege of </span><span>hitting him with the ball, and as it is very painful to be struck with a gum </span><span>ball, the runner is very cautious, and if he is struck he is counted out of </span><span>the game, although should he reach any of the other bases he is safe.&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><br /><span>Another batsman appears and if he makes a safe hit with the ball the runners </span><span>can continue to move until stopped from fear of being hit with the ball. In </span><span>case a man is on second base and a ball is knocked and caught on the fly or </span><span>first bound, the runner must stay at the base until the ball is returned to </span><span>the pitcher. Each side has only one inning and that continues until every </span><span>man has made out: therefore if a man makes an out at the first time at the </span><span>bat he is disqualified to play until all on his side have done likewise, then </span><span>they take the field. If a player makes the circuit safely it is called a run.</span><br /><br /><span>The result of the contest was the success of the Mt. Crawford twenty-two by a&nbsp;</span><span>score of 104 runs to 90, the contest occupying the whole afternoon.</span></p><br />
<p><span>---<br /></span></p><br />
<p><span>[D]&nbsp; In February 2016, Bill Hicklin added:<br /></span></p><br />
<p>I found two references to Virginia "<strong>round-town</strong>," both from Dickinson County, Virginia (in the Appalachian coal country).&nbsp; They come from <span style="text-decoration: underline;">School and Community History of Dickenson County, Virginia</span> (ed. Dennis Reedy), a compilation of articles published over many years in the local paper, which were themselves based on a series of oral-history interviews conducted at the behest of the school superintendant with senior and retired Dickenson teachers.</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;[1] William Ayers Dyer: "I was born May 10, 1880 at Stratton, Dickenson County, Virginia and started to school to Johnson Skeen at the Buffalo School in 1885 when I was 5 years old... The games we played at the Buffalo were straight town, <strong>round town</strong>, base, bull pen and antnee over." (Bull pen was dodgeball, but played with a baseball. Ouch!)</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;[2]Hampton Osborne (b. 1894): "'<strong>Round-town'</strong> and 'straight-town' were popular games. Round-town had four bases in a circle, as baseball does today. If the batter was caught or crossed-off both ways, he was out. Straight-town had four bases in a row and you used the same rules as round-town.</p><br />
<p><span>---&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p>[E]&nbsp; Bruce Allardice contributed:</p><br />
<p>"There are several newspaper mentions in the late 1800s of "round town" by people who claimed to have played it as a boy:</p><br />
<p>Easley (SC)&nbsp;<em>Messenger</em>, May 2, 1884. W. P. Price (1846-1940) claimed to have played "round Town" and "cat" as a boy at Holly Springs Academy</p><br />
<p>Piqua (OH)&nbsp;<em>Daily Call</em>, Aug. 22, 1891: J. P. Smith of Urbana, OH says he played "round town" and "bull pen" as a boy.</p><br />
<p>Edina (MO) Sentinel, Aug. 5, 1886: writer played "round town" as a boy.</p><br />
<p>Greenleaf&nbsp;<em>Sentinel</em>, Nov. 11, 1887. when writer was a boy we used to play "round town," "three cornered cat" and "bull pen." Similar, Smithfield (NC)&nbsp;<em>Herald</em>&nbsp;Aug. 17, 1917.</p><br />
<p>Scranton&nbsp;<em>Tribune</em>, May 8, 1899. Writer talks of boys playing "Round Town Ball and Two Holy Cat."</p><br />
<p>Philadelphia&nbsp;<em>Times</em>, Aug. 3, 1890 has a long article with a complete description of Round Town Ball, as it was played in Perry County.</p><br />
<p>Old-time "round, or town ball" played. Warren (PA)&nbsp;<em>Democrat</em>, July 9, 1895.</p><br />
<p>Asheville&nbsp;<em>Gazette-News</em>, Aug. 9, 1913: "afore the war" the "darkies" played "round town ball from which the [game of] baseball originated."</p><br />
<p>New Philadelphia&nbsp;<em>Times</em>, June 13, 1910 claims Cy Young played "round town" ball and three cornered cat as a youth.</p><br />
<p>Bucyrus (OH)&nbsp;<em>Evening Telegraph</em>. Aug. 18, 1915 says there will be a game of round town ball at a picnic. Ditto Jackson (OH)&nbsp;<em>Center News</em>, Oct. 15, 1920; Dresden (TN)&nbsp;<em>Enterprise</em>, Dec. 4, 1914; Wilkes-Barre&nbsp;<em>Times Leader</em>, Sept. 5, 1908; Harrisonburg (VA)&nbsp;<em>Evening News</em>, Dec. 5, 1899, March 15, 1909.</p><br />
<p>Doney, "Cheerful Yesterdays" p. 67 says he learned to play RTB and others c. 1877.</p><br />
<p>Prokopowicz, "All for the Regiment" p. 85 quotes a Feb. 7, 1862 diary entry from a soldier in Co. C, 17th Ohio saying the soldiers play RTB in their spare time.</p><br />
<p>Pleasant's "History of Crawford County, Indiana" (1926) says that c. 1840, the boys played three cornered cat, round town ball, long town ball, bat ball and baseball.</p><br />
<p>"Punxsatawney Centennial, 1849-1949" p. 22 says c. 1870 the boys played RTB and long town ball."</p><br />
<p>-- Bruce Allardice</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
|Sources=<p><span>[A] Peter Morris,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">But Didn't We Have Fun: An Informal History of Baseball's Pioneer Era, 1843-1870</span> (Ivan Dee, Chicago, 2008), pp.16-18.&nbsp; For data on 12 names of predecessor games, see the book's index entry for 'Rival Bat-and-Ball', page 282.&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>[B] J. Lambert and H. Reinhard,&nbsp;</span><em>A History of Catasaqua in Lehigh County</em><span>&nbsp;(Searle and Dressler, Allentown, 1914), page 364.:&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>William F. Mason,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Journal of William Franklin Mason</span>, completed in 1954; from&nbsp;<a href="http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ky/elliott/mason/mason29.txt">http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ky/elliott/mason/ mason29.txt</a>,&nbsp;accessed 2/24/2008.</p><br />
<p><span>[C] New York Clipper January 1866. 19CBB post 2/2/2002 by John Freyer</span></p><br />
<p><span>[D]&nbsp; Email from Bill Hicklin, February 6, 2016, citing D. Reedy, ed., <span style="text-decoration: underline;">School and Community History jof Dickenson County, Virginia </span>[1994]<br /></span></p><br />
<p><span>[E] Bruce Allardice, contributions to Protoball, (date lost).</span></p><br />
|Comment=<p>See also&nbsp;<strong>Straight Ball.</strong></p><br />
<p>Note that our sources now extend to MD, NC, OH, PA, SC, and VA,&nbsp; as if May 2023.&nbsp; The latest reports appear to extent to the end of the 19th Century.</p><br />
<p>One form of the game [see item [B] above] has a rule variant that , as of 2023, appears to be in unique for US base-running games: that more than one runner can occupy a base at the same time.&nbsp; Multiple base-running is known in some Scandinavian games and in (two-base) Russian lapta and, maybe, in iona in Romania.&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><br />
<p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><br />
<p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Paunches_Pilate_Club_of_Lockport&diff=2185448Paunches Pilate Club of Lockport2023-06-02T14:36:08Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Club<br />
|Coordinates=43.1706128, -78.6903098<br />
|Entry Origin=Richard Hershberger Spreadsheets<br />
|Name=Paunches Pilate Club of Lockport<br />
|Club Name=Paunches Pilate<br />
|Type of Date=Day<br />
|Date=1859/08/28<br />
|Date of Dissolution Type=Day<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|State=NY<br />
|City=Lockport<br />
|Nine Class=Senior<br />
|Description=<p>citing <em>Buffalo Courier</em>: composed of fat men; probably a joke.&nbsp; An account was found in the&nbsp;<em>Hydraullic Press,</em> San Juan County CA, , 10/22/1859.</p><br />
<p>Lockport NY is on the Erie Canal northeast of Buffalo.&nbsp; Its population in 1860 was under 11,000.</p><br />
|Sources=<p>NYSM 590828</p><br />
|Has Source On Hand=No<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Submitted by=Richard Hershberger<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Paunches_Pilate_Club_of_Lockport&diff=2185433Paunches Pilate Club of Lockport2023-06-02T14:30:19Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Club<br />
|Coordinates=43.1706128, -78.6903098<br />
|Entry Origin=Richard Hershberger Spreadsheets<br />
|Name=Paunches Pilate Club of Lockport<br />
|Club Name=Paunches Pilate<br />
|Type of Date=Day<br />
|Date=1859/08/28<br />
|Date of Dissolution Type=Day<br />
|Country=United States<br />
|State=NY<br />
|City=Lockport<br />
|Nine Class=Senior<br />
|Description=<p>citing <em>Buffalo Courier</em>: composed of fat men; probably a joke.</p><br />
<p>Lockport NY is on the Erie Canal northeast of Buffalo.&nbsp; Its population in 1860 was under 11,000.</p><br />
|Sources=<p>NYSM 590828</p><br />
|Has Source On Hand=No<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Submitted by=Richard Hershberger<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Rounders_-_Britain&diff=2185141Rounders - Britain2023-06-01T15:26:45Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Game<br />
|Term=Rounders - Britain<br />
|Game Family=Baseball<br />
|Game Regions=Britain<br />
|Game Eras=1800s, Contemporary, Post-1900, Predecessor<br />
|Invented Game=No<br />
|Description=<p>Rounders was first described in the late 1820s.&nbsp; Current researchers believe that the game was similar to English base ball, which had been described almost 80 years earlier, but it is clearer that rounders employed a bat than that English ball did.</p><br />
<p>Rounders in the 19th Century generally resembled the game that Mass game; it used overhand throwing, plugging, etc.&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>In describing rounders in 1898, Gomme notes a one-out-side-out rule applied for caught (fly?) balls. &nbsp;Batters who missed three pitches were compelled to run on the third swing as if they had struck the ball.</p><br />
<p>Rounders is now played in British schools, often by young women.</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p><strong>Rounders Rules</strong></p><br />
<p>(from https://www.mastersofgames.com/rules/rounders-rules.htm:&nbsp; accessed 6/1/2023)</p><br />
<p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><br />
<p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><br />
<h1>Rounders Rules</h1><br />
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<p>Rounders is an ancient field game for two teams that is popular in schools and is the ancestor of more modern sports like Baseball and Softball.</p><br />
</div><br />
</div><br />
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<p>See also:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mastersofgames.com/cat/outdoor/rounders.htm">Rounders Equipment</a>.</p><br />
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<div class="productimggrid productimggrid3 matchheight"><span style="font-size: 1.17em;">Rounders Equipment &amp; Preparation</span></div><br />
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<div class="textblockinteriorbeige"><span class="textblockinterior"><span class="textblockinterior"><br />The equipment needed for rounders consists of a truncheon shaped rounders bat, a rounders ball and 4 posts set out in a diamond shape. A traditional ball is hard and covered in leather although safer, softer balls for schools are also available.<br /><br />The pitch features a bowler's square (2.5m) which is 7.5m from the batter's square (2m). 1 metre behind the batter's square the Backstop line should be marked. The four posts are positioned around the bowler's square as shown in the diagram (black lines show lines that should be marked; green lines are for measuring only).<br /><br /><img src="https://www.mastersofgames.com/images/outdoor/rounders-pitch.jpg" alt="" /><br /><br />Of course, if you are just playing in the park or your garden, exact dimensions don't matter and shrubberies and flower beds may come into play...<br /><br />For a decent game, each team should have at least 6 people, so that when fielding, a person can stand next to each post in addition to the bowler and the backstop.<br /><br /></span></span><br />
<h3>Rounders Basics</h3><br />
<span class="textblockinterior"><span class="textblockinterior"><br />Each team has two innings with all people in the team having a go at batting. The innings is over when all the batting players are either out or at a base so that there is no-one left to face the next ball.<br /><br />One, by one, the batters line up to take their turn in the batting square. The bowler throws the ball towards the batter.<br /><br /></span></span><br />
<h3>Bowling and No-Balls</h3><br />
<span class="textblockinterior"><span class="textblockinterior"><br />The bowler must bowl a ball towards the batter so that:</span></span><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<ul><br />
<li>it is thrown with a smooth underarm action</li><br />
<li>the ball arrives without bouncing and within the batters square</li><br />
<li>the ball is above the batter's knee, below the batter's head, and not at the batter's body</li><br />
<li>the bowler's feet are inside the bowler's square when the ball is bowled</li><br />
</ul><br />
<p>otherwise a 'no-ball' is called.<br /><br />A batter can attempt to hit a no-ball and can run on a no-ball, if desired whether the ball is hit or not, but cannot return once first post is reached. If two consecutive no-balls are bowled to the same batter, the batter scores a half-rounder.<br /><br /></p><br />
<h3>Batting</h3><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<ul><br />
<li>The batter gets one chance to hit the ball (ignoring no-balls) and must run even if the ball is not struck.</li><br />
<li>If the ball is hit behind the batting square or not hit at all, the batter may can only run to first base.</li><br />
<li>Otherwise, the batter runs around as many of the bases as possible and stops at a post only when the batter thinks there is a danger of the next post being 'stumped'.</li><br />
</ul><br />
<p>The batter is out if:</p><br />
<ul><br />
<li>the batter hits the ball and it is caught without first hitting the ground</li><br />
<li>the post being run to is 'stumped' - a fielder touches it with the ball</li><br />
<li>the batter runs inside a post</li><br />
<li>the batter loses contact with a post when the bowler has the ball inside the bowler's square</li><br />
<li>the batter overtakes a fellow batter when running around the posts.</li><br />
<li>while not running between posts, the batter obstructs a fielder</li><br />
<li>the batter's foot is outside the batter's square when the ball is bowled</li><br />
</ul><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<h3>Scoring Rounders</h3><br />
<span class="textblockinterior"><span class="textblockinterior"><br />A score is immediately posted in the following situations:</span></span><br />
<p>&nbsp;If the batter hits the ball or is bowled a no ball and then reaches the fourth post, a rounder is scored.</p><br />
<ul><br />
<li>If the batter fails to hit the ball and reaches the fourth post, a half-rounder is scored.</li><br />
<li>If the batter hits the ball and reaches the second post, a half-rounder is scored.</li><br />
<li>A fielder obstructs a batter running to a post, a half-rounder is scored.</li><br />
<li>If the batter hits the ball and reaches the first, second or third post without being out, the batter stays at that post (and must keep in contact with it) until the next ball is bowled. As soon as the ball leaves the bowler's hand, such a batter can run to the next post, if they wish, even if a no-ball is called.</li><br />
</ul><br />
<p>If the batter does not keep contact with the post, the fielding side can stump the next post to get the player out. 2 batters cannot be at the same post so a batter must run on to the next post if the next batter catches up with them.</p><br />
<ul><br />
<li>A batter who continues in this way and reaches the fourth post scores a half-rounder.</li><br />
</ul><br />
<p>Once the fourth post is reached, the person goes to the back of the batter's line and awaits their next turn to bat.<br /><br /></p><br />
<h3>Winning</h3><br />
<span class="textblockinterior"><span class="textblockinterior"><br />After both sides have played both innings, the side with the most rounders wins.<br /><br /></span></span><br />
<h3>Other Rounders Rules</h3><br />
<span class="textblockinterior"><span class="textblockinterior"><br />The above rules are consistent with the National Rounders Associations laws. However, those wishing to play more strictly, may also wish to incorporate the following NRA rules which aren't really necessary for a friendly game.</span></span><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<ul><br />
<li>A team consisting of a maximum of 15 players and a minimum of 6 of whom no more than 9 may be on the field at one time. An innings is over when the 9th batter is out.</li><br />
<li>If the ball goes behind, the batter may only run to first post but may continue to run once the ball has returned in front of the batter's square again. In this way, it is possible to reach 4th post and score a rounder, even if the ball is hit behind (although this would only happen in practice due to a fielding error).</li><br />
<li>A batter can run to a post even if it has been previously stumped but there is no score if this is done on 4th Post</li><br />
<li>Batsmen must carry their bat when running</li><br />
<li>When the bowler has the ball in his square, you cannot move on, but if you are between Posts, you can carry on to the next.</li><br />
<li>You must touch 4th Post on getting home.</li><br />
</ul><br />
</div><br />
</div><br />
</div><br />
<p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><br />
|Sources=<p>The earliest reference to English rounders is in <span style="font-size: 10pt;">Clarke, W., <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Boy&rsquo;s Own Book</span> (London, Vizetelly Branston, 1828, second edition.</span></p><br />
<p>Alice Bertha Gomme, <span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland</span> (New York; Dover, 1964 &ndash; reprinted from two volumes printed in 1894 and 1898), pages 145-146.&nbsp; Gomme (1898)notes that "An elaborate form of this game has become the national game of the United States."&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>David Block,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Baseball before We Knew It,&nbsp;</span>has dozens of dozens of indexed references to rounders.</p><br />
<p>See the article on <em>Bruce Allardise,&nbsp;</em>Rounders in the <em>Origins Committee Newsletter</em>, February, May, 2021.</p><br />
<p><span>See also&nbsp;[[Feeder_and_Rounders,_1841]], contributed by Bill Hicklin.</span></p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
|Comment=<p>A relatively complete description of "roundstakes", or "rounders,"&nbsp; as played in Eastern Massachusetts in about 1870, is found at [[roundstakes]].&nbsp; The account is shown in that item's&nbsp; "Supplemental Text."</p><br />
<p>--</p><br />
<p><span style="text-decoration-line: underline;">An aside: Plugging in Rounders?</span>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>About baserunning, Gomme (page 145) writes in 1898:&nbsp; "As soon as (the batter)has struck the ball, he runs from the base to the first boundary stick, then to the second, and so on. His opponents&nbsp; in the meantime secure the ball and endeavor to hit him with it as he is running."&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>Protoball has found scant evidence that rounders included retiring baserunners by hitting them with the thrown ball.&nbsp; On May 7 2022, however, John Thorn posted this excerpt from&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration-line: underline;">Wickets in the West</span>&nbsp;by R. A. Fitzgerald, published in 1873 and covering the 1872 cricket tour of the US:</p><br />
<p>"To sum it up, (base ball) is an improvement on our old schoolboys' game of rounders, without, however, the most attractive part to the English schoolboy -- the 'corking'.&nbsp; We can see still, and we are not sure that we cannot still feel, the quiver of the fat boy's nether parts, as the ball, well-directed, buried&nbsp; itself in his flesh."&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>Putting baserunners out via a thrown ball, recalled as "corking" in this English account, has been called "plugging," "soaking," "burning," etc., in America.&nbsp; In about 1810, Block notes, the French game [[Poisoned&nbsp; Ball]] used the tactic, and the German [[Giftball]] (Poison ball) seems to have, as well.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>--</p><br />
|Has Supplemental Text=Yes<br />
}}<br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>The game that bore the closest resemblance to our modern baseball was "roundstakes" or "rounders."&nbsp; In some communities it was know (sic) as "townball."&nbsp; This game of roundstakes was often played on village commons, or muster fields, on holidays or other public occasions.&nbsp; Among the larger boys it was the popular game at school.</p><br />
<p>It was this game that was so modified as to become later the baseball of today.&nbsp; It was originally an old English game much played in the colonies.&nbsp; A&nbsp; soft ball was always used.&nbsp; It was made of yarns or other soft materials and covered with leather or a network&nbsp; to prevent unwinding.&nbsp; Instead of throwing this ball to a baseman it was thrown at the baserunner himself.&nbsp; If a hit was made by a thrower, the runner was out.&nbsp; The bases were usually posts or stakes, but sometimes stones.&nbsp; These had to be circled or touched by the runner.&nbsp; There were no fair or foul balls.&nbsp; The batter ran on any hit, however light, or on his third strike.&nbsp; There were no called balls or called strikes.&nbsp; The batter could strike out, fly out or be hit be a thrown ball when between bases.&nbsp; The game was played between teams or sides of equal numbers, usually from seven to ten. The play was generally without an umpire.</p><br />
<p>Source: see Protoball entry [[1870c.8]] or [[roundstakes]].</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p></div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Round_Town_(Round_Town_Ball)&diff=2185040Round Town (Round Town Ball)2023-05-31T16:54:17Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Game<br />
|Term=Round Town (Round Town Ball)<br />
|Game Family=Baseball<br />
|Location=PA, VA<br />
|Game Regions=US<br />
|Game Eras=1800s, Predecessor<br />
|Invented Game=No<br />
|Description=<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>[A] "In rural Virginia the ball game of choice was known as round-town, a sport that was "well understood and much enjoyed by every country boy, though only a few of their city cousins know the first rudiments of it."&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>--</p><br />
<p>[B] As played in Eastern PA in the 1850s,&nbsp;<strong>Round Town</strong> is recalled as having four or five bases or &ldquo;safety spots,&rdquo; tagging instead of plugging, the fly rule, the sharing of bases by multiple runners, and a bat made of a rail or clap-board. A game &ldquo;similar to baseball&rdquo; recalled as being played by school boys in 1891 in a grove of trees in Beech Grove, Kentucky.</p><br />
<p>---</p><br />
<p>[C] Another game called <strong>Round Town</strong> is described as follows:</p><br />
<p><span>An Old Virginia Ball Game</span><br /><br /><span>Mount Crawford, a town in Rockingham County, Va., was the scene of a novel </span><span>ball game on, January 13 last, the occasion being a contest at the old </span><span>Virginia game of ball known as "Round Town, " the weather being unusually </span><span>mild for winter.</span><br /><br /><span>This game is well understood and is much enjoyed by every country boy, though&nbsp;</span><span>only a very few of their city cousins know the first rudiments of it.&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><br /><span>Forty-four men and boys were engaged in the game mentioned above, and they</span><span> were the best throwers, surest catchers, and hardest strikers of the two </span><span>neighborhoods. A large sized crowd watched with unabating interest the </span><span>movements of the game. </span></p><br />
<p><span>The game of <strong>round-town</strong> is played in this manner: Two&nbsp;</span><span>sides are formed, the number of players of the division being equal. Four </span><span>bases are used and are placed in the same manner as if they were being fixed&nbsp;</span><span>for a game of baseball, although men are only placed in the positions of the&nbsp;</span><span>pitcher, catcher, and first baseman, the rest of the players being scattered&nbsp;</span><span>in the field where they think the ball is most apt to be knocked. The first&nbsp;</span><span>batsman on the opposing side takes his place at the plate, and he has in his&nbsp;</span><span>hand a paddle an inch or two thick, and in which only one hand is used ins </span><span>striking. The pitcher delivers a solid gum ball with all the swiftness </span><span>attainable, the use of the curve never being thought of, and it is therefore </span><span>very seldom that a "strike out" occurs. The batter hits the ball at the </span><span>first opportunity and endeavors to drive it over the heads of the opponents, </span><span>for if it is caught on the fly or the first bound the runner is called out, </span><span>and also if it is begotten to the first baseman before the runner arrives at </span><span>the base. Should the runner reach first base safely he can continue to run </span><span>to the other bases if he wishes, but his opponents have the privilege of </span><span>hitting him with the ball, and as it is very painful to be struck with a gum </span><span>ball, the runner is very cautious, and if he is struck he is counted out of </span><span>the game, although should he reach any of the other bases he is safe.&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><br /><span>Another batsman appears and if he makes a safe hit with the ball the runners </span><span>can continue to move until stopped from fear of being hit with the ball. In </span><span>case a man is on second base and a ball is knocked and caught on the fly or </span><span>first bound, the runner must stay at the base until the ball is returned to </span><span>the pitcher. Each side has only one inning and that continues until every </span><span>man has made out: therefore if a man makes an out at the first time at the </span><span>bat he is disqualified to play until all on his side have done likewise, then </span><span>they take the field. If a player makes the circuit safely it is called a run.</span><br /><br /><span>The result of the contest was the success of the Mt. Crawford twenty-two by a&nbsp;</span><span>score of 104 runs to 90, the contest occupying the whole afternoon.</span></p><br />
<p><span>---<br /></span></p><br />
<p><span>[D]&nbsp; In February 2016, Bill Hicklin added:<br /></span></p><br />
<p>I found two references to Virginia "<strong>round-town</strong>," both from Dickinson County, Virginia (in the Appalachian coal country).&nbsp; They come from <span style="text-decoration: underline;">School and Community History of Dickenson County, Virginia</span> (ed. Dennis Reedy), a compilation of articles published over many years in the local paper, which were themselves based on a series of oral-history interviews conducted at the behest of the school superintendant with senior and retired Dickenson teachers.</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;[1] William Ayers Dyer: "I was born May 10, 1880 at Stratton, Dickenson County, Virginia and started to school to Johnson Skeen at the Buffalo School in 1885 when I was 5 years old... The games we played at the Buffalo were straight town, <strong>round town</strong>, base, bull pen and antnee over." (Bull pen was dodgeball, but played with a baseball. Ouch!)</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;[2]Hampton Osborne (b. 1894): "'<strong>Round-town'</strong> and 'straight-town' were popular games. Round-town had four bases in a circle, as baseball does today. If the batter was caught or crossed-off both ways, he was out. Straight-town had four bases in a row and you used the same rules as round-town.</p><br />
<p><span>---&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p>[E]&nbsp; Bruce Allardice contributed:</p><br />
<p>"There are several newspaper mentions in the late 1800s of "round town" by people who claimed to have played it as a boy:</p><br />
<p>Easley (SC)&nbsp;<em>Messenger</em>, May 2, 1884. W. P. Price (1846-1940) claimed to have played "round Town" and "cat" as a boy at Holly Springs Academy</p><br />
<p>Piqua (OH)&nbsp;<em>Daily Call</em>, Aug. 22, 1891: J. P. Smith of Urbana, OH says he played "round town" and "bull pen" as a boy.</p><br />
<p>Edina (MO) Sentinel, Aug. 5, 1886: writer played "round town" as a boy.</p><br />
<p>Greenleaf&nbsp;<em>Sentinel</em>, Nov. 11, 1887. when writer was a boy we used to play "round town," "three cornered cat" and "bull pen." Similar, Smithfield (NC)&nbsp;<em>Herald</em>&nbsp;Aug. 17, 1917.</p><br />
<p>Scranton&nbsp;<em>Tribune</em>, May 8, 1899. Writer talks of boys playing "Round Town Ball and Two Holy Cat."</p><br />
<p>Philadelphia&nbsp;<em>Times</em>, Aug. 3, 1890 has a long article with a complete description of Round Town Ball, as it was played in Perry County.</p><br />
<p>Old-time "round, or town ball" played. Warren (PA)&nbsp;<em>Democrat</em>, July 9, 1895.</p><br />
<p>Asheville&nbsp;<em>Gazette-News</em>, Aug. 9, 1913: "afore the war" the "darkies" played "round town ball from which the [game of] baseball originated."</p><br />
<p>New Philadelphia&nbsp;<em>Times</em>, June 13, 1910 claims Cy Young played "round town" ball and three cornered cat as a youth.</p><br />
<p>Bucyrus (OH)&nbsp;<em>Evening Telegraph</em>. Aug. 18, 1915 says there will be a game of round town ball at a picnic. Ditto Jackson (OH)&nbsp;<em>Center News</em>, Oct. 15, 1920; Dresden (TN)&nbsp;<em>Enterprise</em>, Dec. 4, 1914; Wilkes-Barre&nbsp;<em>Times Leader</em>, Sept. 5, 1908; Harrisonburg (VA)&nbsp;<em>Evening News</em>, Dec. 5, 1899, March 15, 1909.</p><br />
<p>Doney, "Cheerful Yesterdays" p. 67 says he learned to play RTB and others c. 1877.</p><br />
<p>Prokopowicz, "All for the Regiment" p. 85 quotes a Feb. 7, 1862 diary entry from a soldier in Co. C, 17th Ohio saying the soldiers play RTB in their spare time.</p><br />
<p>Pleasant's "History of Crawford County, Indiana" (1926) says that c. 1840, the boys played three cornered cat, round town ball, long town ball, bat ball and baseball.</p><br />
<p>"Punxsatawney Centennial, 1849-1949" p. 22 says c. 1870 the boys played RTB and long town ball."</p><br />
<p>-- Bruce Allardice</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>&nbsp;</span></p><br />
|Sources=<p><span>[A] Peter Morris,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">But Didn't We Have Fun: An Informal History of Baseball's Pioneer Era, 1843-1870</span> (Ivan Dee, Chicago, 2008), pp.16-18.&nbsp; For data on 12 names of predecessor games, see the book's index entry for 'Rival Bat-and-Ball', page 282.&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span>[B] J. Lambert and H. Reinhard,&nbsp;</span><em>A History of Catasaqua in Lehigh County</em><span>&nbsp;(Searle and Dressler, Allentown, 1914), page 364.:&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>William F. Mason,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Journal of William Franklin Mason</span>, completed in 1954; from&nbsp;<a href="http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ky/elliott/mason/mason29.txt">http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ky/elliott/mason/ mason29.txt</a>,&nbsp;accessed 2/24/2008.</p><br />
<p><span>[C] New York Clipper January 1866. 19CBB post 2/2/2002 by John Freyer</span></p><br />
<p><span>[D]&nbsp; Email from Bill Hicklin, February 6, 2016, citing D. Reedy, ed., <span style="text-decoration: underline;">School and Community History jof Dickenson County, Virginia </span>[1994]<br /></span></p><br />
<p><span>[E] Bruce Allardice, Protoball contributions, (date lost).</span></p><br />
|Comment=<p>See also&nbsp;<strong>Straight Ball.</strong></p><br />
<p>Note that our sources now extend to MD, NC, OH, PA, SC, and VA,&nbsp; as if May 2023.&nbsp; The latest reports appear to extent to the end of the 19th Century.</p><br />
<p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><br />
<p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><br />
<p><strong>&nbsp;</strong></p><br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Straight_Town&diff=2185038Straight Town2023-05-31T16:12:01Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Game<br />
|Term=Straight Town<br />
|Game Family=Baseball<br />
|Game Regions=US<br />
|Game Eras=1800s<br />
|Invented Game=No<br />
|Description=<p>As of mid-2023, we have only two (late 1800s] mentions of <strong>Straight Town</strong>.&nbsp; It is described as a variant of Round Town, for which the four bases are lain out in a straight line, rather than as a circuit.&nbsp; Left unsettled is the matter whether advancing to the outmost base results in the scoring of a run.&nbsp;</p><br />
|Sources=<p>Email from Bill Hicklin, February 2016:</p><br />
<p>". . . Bill Hicklin adds:</p><br />
<p>I found two references to Virginia 'round-town',<strong>&nbsp;</strong>both from Dickinson County, Virginia (in the Appalachian coal country).&nbsp; They come from<em> School and Community History of Dickenson County, Virginia</em> (ed. Dennis Reedy), a compilation of articles published over many years in the local paper, which were themselves based on a series of oral-history interviews conducted at the behest of the school superintendent with senior and retired Dickenson teachers.</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;[1] William Ayers Dyer: "I was born May 10, 1880 at Stratton, Dickenson County, Virginia and started to school to Johnson Skeen at the Buffalo School in 1885 when I was 5 years old... The games we played at the Buffalo were '''straight town''',&nbsp;round town, base, bull pen and antnee over." (Bull pen was dodgeball, but played with a baseball. Ouch!)</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;[2]Hampton Osborne (b. 1894):'Round-town' and ''''straight-town' '''were popular games. Round-town had four bases in a circle, as baseball does today. If the batter was caught or crossed-off both ways, he was out. '''Straight-town''' had four bases in a row and you used the same rules as round-town."</p><br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Straight_Town&diff=2185037Straight Town2023-05-31T16:11:03Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Game<br />
|Term=Straight Town<br />
|Game Family=Baseball<br />
|Game Regions=US<br />
|Game Eras=1800s<br />
|Invented Game=No<br />
|Description=<p>As of mid-2023, we have only two (late 1800s] mentions of <strong>Straight Ball</strong>.&nbsp; It is described as a variant of Round Town, for which the four bases are lain out in a straight line, rather than as a circuit.&nbsp; Left unsettled is the matter whether advancing to the outmost base results in the scoring of a run.&nbsp;</p><br />
|Sources=<p>Email from Bill Hicklin, February 2016:</p><br />
<p>". . . Bill Hicklin adds:</p><br />
<p>I found two references to Virginia 'round-town',<strong>&nbsp;</strong>both from Dickinson County, Virginia (in the Appalachian coal country).&nbsp; They come from<em> School and Community History of Dickenson County, Virginia</em> (ed. Dennis Reedy), a compilation of articles published over many years in the local paper, which were themselves based on a series of oral-history interviews conducted at the behest of the school superintendent with senior and retired Dickenson teachers.</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;[1] William Ayers Dyer: "I was born May 10, 1880 at Stratton, Dickenson County, Virginia and started to school to Johnson Skeen at the Buffalo School in 1885 when I was 5 years old... The games we played at the Buffalo were '''straight town''',&nbsp;round town, base, bull pen and antnee over." (Bull pen was dodgeball, but played with a baseball. Ouch!)</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;[2]Hampton Osborne (b. 1894):'Round-town' and ''''straight-town' '''were popular games. Round-town had four bases in a circle, as baseball does today. If the batter was caught or crossed-off both ways, he was out. '''Straight-town''' had four bases in a row and you used the same rules as round-town."</p><br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Straight_Town&diff=2185036Straight Town2023-05-31T16:09:45Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Game<br />
|Term=Straight Town<br />
|Game Family=Baseball<br />
|Game Regions=US<br />
|Game Eras=1800s<br />
|Invented Game=No<br />
|Description=<p>As of mid-2023, we have only two (late 1800s] mentions of Straight Ball.&nbsp; It is described as a variant of Round Town, for which the four bases are lain out in a straight line, rather than as a circuit.&nbsp; Left unsettled is the matter whether advancing to the outmost base results in the scoring of a run.&nbsp;</p><br />
|Sources=<p>Email from Bill Hicklin, February 2016:</p><br />
<p>". . . Bill Hicklin adds:</p><br />
<p>I found two references to Virginia 'round-town',<strong>&nbsp;</strong>both from Dickinson County, Virginia (in the Appalachian coal country).&nbsp; They come from<em> School and Community History of Dickenson County, Virginia</em> (ed. Dennis Reedy), a compilation of articles published over many years in the local paper, which were themselves based on a series of oral-history interviews conducted at the behest of the school superintendent with senior and retired Dickenson teachers.</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;[1] William Ayers Dyer: "I was born May 10, 1880 at Stratton, Dickenson County, Virginia and started to school to Johnson Skeen at the Buffalo School in 1885 when I was 5 years old... The games we played at the Buffalo were '''straight town''',&nbsp;round town, base, bull pen and antnee over." (Bull pen was dodgeball, but played with a baseball. Ouch!)</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;[2]Hampton Osborne (b. 1894):'Round-town' and ''''straight-town' '''were popular games. Round-town had four bases in a circle, as baseball does today. If the batter was caught or crossed-off both ways, he was out. '''Straight-town''' had four bases in a row and you used the same rules as round-town."</p><br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Straight_Town&diff=2185035Straight Town2023-05-31T16:06:16Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Game<br />
|Term=Straight Town<br />
|Game Family=Baseball<br />
|Game Regions=US<br />
|Game Eras=1800s<br />
|Invented Game=No<br />
|Description=As of mid-2023, we have only two (late 1800s] mentions of Straight Ball.&nbsp; It is described as a variant of Round Town, for which the four bases are lain out in a straight line, rather than as a circuit.&nbsp; Left unsettled is the matter whether advancing to the outmost base results in the scoring of a run.&nbsp;<br />
|Sources=Email from Bill Hicklin, February 2016:<p>". . . Bill Hicklin adds:<br></p><p>I found two references to Virginia "'''round-town'''," both from Dickinson County, Virginia (in the Appalachian coal country).&nbsp; They come from School and Community History of Dickenson County, Virginia (ed. Dennis Reedy), a compilation of articles published over many years in the local paper, which were themselves based on a series of oral-history interviews conducted at the behest of the school superintendent with senior and retired Dickenson teachers.</p><p>&nbsp;[1] William Ayers Dyer: "I was born May 10, 1880 at Stratton, Dickenson County, Virginia and started to school to Johnson Skeen at the Buffalo School in 1885 when I was 5 years old... The games we played at the Buffalo were '''straight town''',&nbsp;round town, base, bull pen and antnee over." (Bull pen was dodgeball, but played with a baseball. Ouch!)</p><p>&nbsp;[2]Hampton Osborne (b. 1894):''' '''"'Round-town' and ''''straight-town' '''were popular games. Round-town had four bases in a circle, as baseball does today. If the batter was caught or crossed-off both ways, he was out. '''Straight-town''' had four bases in a row and you used the same rules as round-town."</p><br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Predecessor_Games&diff=2184665Predecessor Games2023-05-24T15:56:34Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Glossary Box}}<br />
<br />
__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__<br />
<br />
== ==<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
== <span style="font-size: 14pt;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A note on pre-modern names for base ball:</span>&nbsp; &nbsp; Jeff Kittel and I started this list to provide some help to new Origins diggers who were looking for search terms for local games that may have morphed into base ball.&nbsp; We thought is those days to look for 'town ball' and 'rounders', but noticed that many other terms seem to have had local usage.&nbsp; Our insightful and extremely well--read fellow searcher, Richard Hershberger, has noticed regional patterns in the use of name for base ball's ancestors, and in May 2023 shared this summary:&nbsp; "As I have long preached, premodern baseball went by three major names, varying by region.&nbsp; 'Base ball' was used in New York state, New England, anglophone Canada, and the Great Lakes region.&nbsp; 'Town ball' was the standard term in Pennsylvania (apart from Erie), the Ohio River valley, and the South.&nbsp; 'Round ball' was used in New England, where it coexisted with 'base ball.'&nbsp; 'Base ball' and 'town ball' coexisted in the upper Mississippi River valley."&nbsp; You will note that he finds no pattern of prior use of 'rounders' in the US, even though many writers had suggested that that English pastime was base ball's progenitor.&nbsp; &nbsp;-- Larry McCray, 5/23/2023&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span> ==<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
== List of Predecessor Games ==<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
{{#ask: [[Category:Games]][[Game Eras::Predecessor]]<br />
| mainlabel=Term<br />
| ?Location<br />
| ?Description<br />
| limit=200<br />
}}<br />
<br />
== Evolution of Base Ball Rules Before 1857 ==<br />
<br />
=== 1845 Kickerbocker Rules ===<br />
<br />
* 3 bases and a home plate<br />
* 3 outs per side<br />
* Ball pitched, not thrown<br />
* Tag outs, force outs, but no plugging<br />
* Foul ground outside baselines, and extended<br />
<br />
=== 1854 Rule Revisions ===<br />
<br />
* First player to bat in an inning follows the player who made the third out last inning.<br />
{{Discussion}}<div class="center"><hr></div><br />
== <span id="Comments">Comments</span> ==<br />
<comments voting="Plus" /><div class="center"><hr></div><br />
<br />
== <span id="Comments">Comments</span> ==<br />
<comments voting="Plus" /></div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=Predecessor_Games&diff=2184664Predecessor Games2023-05-24T15:53:25Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Glossary Box}}<br />
<br />
__NOTOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__<br />
<br />
== ==<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
== <span style="font-size: 14pt;" ><span style="text-decoration: underline;" >A note on pre-modern names for base ball:</span>&nbsp; &nbsp; Jeff Kittel and I started this list to provide some help to new Origins diggers who were looking for search terms for local games that may have morphed into base ball.&nbsp; We knew to look for rounders and town ball, but many other term seem to have had local usage.&nbsp; Our insightful and extremely well--read searcher, Richard Hershberger, has noticed regional patterns in the use of name for base ball's ancestors, and in May 2023 shared this summary:&nbsp; "As I have long preached, premodern baseball went by three major names, varying by region.&nbsp; 'Base ball' was used in New York state, New England, anglophone Canada, and the Great Lakes region.&nbsp; 'Town ball' was the standard term in Pennsylvania (apart from Erie), the Ohio River valley, and the South.&nbsp; 'Round ball' was used in New England, where it coexisted with 'base ball.'&nbsp; 'Base ball' and 'town ball' coexisted in the upper Mississippi River valley."&nbsp; You will note that he finds no pattern of prior use of 'rounders' in the US, even though many writers had suggested that that English pastime was base ball's progenitor.&nbsp; &nbsp;-- Larry McCray, 5/23/2023&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</span> ==<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
== List of Predecessor Games ==<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
{{#ask: [[Category:Games]][[Game Eras::Predecessor]]<br />
| mainlabel=Term<br />
| ?Location<br />
| ?Description<br />
| limit=200<br />
}}<br />
<br />
== Evolution of Base Ball Rules Before 1857 ==<br />
<br />
=== 1845 Kickerbocker Rules ===<br />
<br />
* 3 bases and a home plate<br />
* 3 outs per side<br />
* Ball pitched, not thrown<br />
* Tag outs, force outs, but no plugging<br />
* Foul ground outside baselines, and extended<br />
<br />
=== 1854 Rule Revisions ===<br />
<br />
* First player to bat in an inning follows the player who made the third out last inning.<br />
{{Discussion}}<div class="center"><hr></div><br />
== <span id="Comments">Comments</span> ==<br />
<comments voting="Plus" /></div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1856.39&diff=21846201856.392023-05-23T14:40:49Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1856<br />
|Year Number=39<br />
|Headline=Town Ball Played in Chicago in 1856?<br />
|Salience=3<br />
|Tags=Pre-modern Rules, <br />
|Country=United States<br />
|Coordinates=41.8781136, -87.6297982<br />
|State=IL<br />
|City=Chicago<br />
|Game=Town Ball<br />
|Immediacy of Report=Retrospective<br />
|Age of Players=Adult<br />
|Text=<p>"There seems to be some doubt as to when the first baseball club was organized in Chicago, but it has been stated that a club called the Unions played town ball there in 1856. . . . we have a record of town ball being played at Alton IL on Saturday, June 19, 1858."&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><br />
|Sources=<p>Alfred H. Spink,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">The National Game</span> (2nd Edition, Southern Illinois University Press: First edition, 1910), page 63.&nbsp;</p><br />
|Comment=<p>[] Spink did not report his sources for the Chicago or Alton town ball items.&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>--</p><br />
<p>[] Note:<span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span>As of 2023, Protoball has 9 entries for&nbsp; Illinois town ball prior to 1856.&nbsp; See chron entries 1820s.5, 1820s.23, 1830s.16, 1830s.23, 1834.9, 1840s.41 1846.9, 1850s.30, and 1852.8. The following 1866 comparison of base ball and town ball from an Illinois source throws some light on regional town ball practices for that era:&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>"Base Ball resembles our old-fashioned favorite game of&nbsp;<span class="sought_text">Town Ball</span>&nbsp;sufficiently to naturalize it very quickly. It is governed by somewhat elaborate rules, but the practice is quite simple. Nine persons on a side, including the Captains, play it. Four bases are placed ninety feet apart, in the figure of a diamond. The Batsman, Ball Pitcher, and one Catcher, take the same position as in&nbsp;<span class="sought_text">Town Ball</span>. Of the outside, besides the Pitcher and Catcher, one is posted at each base, one near the Pitcher, called the &ldquo;Short Stop,&rdquo;&mdash;whose duty is the same as the others in the field&mdash;to stop the ball. The Innings take the bat in rotation, as in&nbsp;<span class="sought_text">Town Ball</span>,&mdash;and are called by the Scorer. The ball is pitched, not thrown to them&mdash;a distance of fifty feet. The Batsman is permitted to strike at three &ldquo;fair&rdquo; balls, without danger of being put out by a catch, but hit or miss, must run at the third &ldquo;fair&rdquo; ball. He may &ldquo;tip&rdquo; or hit a foul ball as often as the Umpire may call foul, so he be not caught out flying, or on the first bound. When he runs, he must make the base before the ball reaches the point to which he runs, or he is out. And three men out, puts out the entire side. Those who are put out may continue to strike and run bases until the third man is out.</p><br />
<p>--</p><br />
<p>[] An 1866 description from Illinois:</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;"The Bases form a diamond, the angles of which are occupied by the Batsman and Catcher, and one of the outside at each angle. All putting out on the corners is by getting the ball there before the runner for the inside reaches the base, by catching the ball flying when a fair ball is struck, or by catching a foul ball after it is struck, either when flying or at first bound. A distinctive peculiarity of the game consists in the fact that when a ball is struck by the Batsman it must fly either on an exact angle, or inside of the angles formed by the base occupied by the Batsman, and the bases right and left of him. All balls deflecting from these angles are &ldquo;foul.&rdquo;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;"The above is merely a general view of the game. It is very easy to learn, and is capital sport, barring the cannon ball which the players are expected to catch in rather soft hands. Ladies will enjoy the game, and of course are expected as admiring spectators.</p><br />
<p><em>Source:&nbsp;Daily&nbsp;<span class="sought_text">Illinois</span>&nbsp;State Journal</em>, May 1866:see https://protoball.org/Clipping:A_comparison_of_base_ball_and_town_ball, from the Hershberger Clippings data base.&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>--</p><br />
<p><span class="source" title="Source">[] On May20 2023, Bruce Allardice relayed his doubt about evidence of town ball in Chicago in the mid 1850s:&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<div dir="ltr">"Andreas' Chicago says the Union&nbsp;<strong>Base Ball</strong>&nbsp;Club was formed in 1856. Protoball has a cite I found from a local newspaper about the formation of this&nbsp;<strong>base ball</strong>&nbsp;club in 1856 [[add&nbsp; ref?]]. In the absence of better evidence to the contrary, we must assume that this club played base, not town, ball. And the game this Union Club played in 1858 was reported as base ball.</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">IMO the Spinks reference ("it has been stated") isn't exact enough to refute this.</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">I haven't found anything that suggests the 1856 Union BBC played town ball. It may have, but the club name and 1858 game create a rebuttable presumption that they played baseball."</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">[] In a series of Protoball searches on 5/20/2023, the only appearance of town ball in Chicago, other than that claimed by Spink, in&nbsp; is chronology entry [[1864c.56]], in which a Confederate prisoner said that prisoners "were allowed to play town ball."</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><br />
<p>--</p><br />
<p>[] An overview from Richard Hershberger, 5/22/2023:&nbsp; "</p><br />
<div dir="ltr">"There is much confusion of vocabulary here.&nbsp; As I have long preached, premodern baseball went by three major names, varying by region.&nbsp; 'Base ball' was used in New York state, New England, anglophone Canada, and the Great Lakes region.&nbsp; 'Town ball' was the standard term in Pennsylvania (apart from Erie), the Ohio River valley, and the South.&nbsp; 'Round ball' was used in New England, where it coexisted with 'base ball.'&nbsp; "Base ball" and "town ball" coexisted in the upper Mississippi River valley.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">Premodern baseball, regardless of what it was called, was played throughout anglophone North America.&nbsp; So when was it introduced to Chicago?&nbsp; When there were enough White settlers to get up a game.&nbsp; Asking whether it was really town ball rather than base ball is meaningless:&nbsp; like asking whether you fuel your car with gas or with petrol.&nbsp; Asking if they played the 'Massachusetts game' is similarly fraught.&nbsp; What do we mean by this?&nbsp; If we mean the rules adopted by the Dedham convention in 1858, then suggesting it was played in Chicago in 1857 raises an obvious difficulty.&nbsp; If we mean something else by "Massachusetts game," what is this?&nbsp; How do we recognize it in the wild?</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">What we do know is that by 1858 there were a handful of clubs in Chicago playing some sort of baseball, and that on July 21 they held a convention and adopted the New York game rules.&nbsp; See the Chicago Tribune of July 9 and July 23.&nbsp; We don't know if some or all of these clubs were already using these rules, or how they learned the rules."&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><br />
<p>&nbsp;===</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p><span class="source" title="Source">&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span class="source" title="Source">&nbsp;</span></p><br />
|Query=<p>Could some Illinoian help us better understand the early importance of town&nbsp; ball in that fine state?&nbsp;</p><br />
|Submitted by=John Freyer, Bruce Allardice<br />
|Submission Note=Messages in May 2023<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larryhttps://protoball.org/index.php?title=1856.39&diff=21846191856.392023-05-23T14:33:50Z<p>Larry: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Chronology Entry<br />
|Year=1856<br />
|Year Number=39<br />
|Headline=Town Ball Played in Chicago in 1856?<br />
|Salience=3<br />
|Tags=Pre-modern Rules, <br />
|Country=United States<br />
|Coordinates=41.8781136, -87.6297982<br />
|State=IL<br />
|City=Chicago<br />
|Game=Town Ball<br />
|Immediacy of Report=Retrospective<br />
|Age of Players=Adult<br />
|Text=<p>"There seems to be some doubt as to when the first baseball club was organized in Chicago, but it has been stated that a club called the Unions played town ball there in 1856. . . . we have a record of town ball being played at Alton IL on Saturday, June 19, 1858."&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><br />
|Sources=<p>Alfred H. Spink,&nbsp;<span style="text-decoration: underline;">The National Game</span> (2nd Edition, Southern Illinois University Press: First edition, 1910), page 63.&nbsp;</p><br />
|Comment=<p>[] Spink did not report his sources for the Chicago or Alton town ball items.&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>[] Note:<span style="text-decoration: underline;">&nbsp;</span>As of 2023, Protoball has 9 entries for&nbsp; Illinois town ball prior to 1856.&nbsp; See chron entries 1820s.5, 1820s.23, 1830s.16, 1830s.23, 1834.9, 1840s.41 1846.9, 1850s.30, and 1852.8. The following 1866 comparison of base ball and town ball from an Illinois source throws some light on regional town ball practices for that era:&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>"Base Ball resembles our old-fashioned favorite game of&nbsp;<span class="sought_text">Town Ball</span>&nbsp;sufficiently to naturalize it very quickly. It is governed by somewhat elaborate rules, but the practice is quite simple. Nine persons on a side, including the Captains, play it. Four bases are placed ninety feet apart, in the figure of a diamond. The Batsman, Ball Pitcher, and one Catcher, take the same position as in&nbsp;<span class="sought_text">Town Ball</span>. Of the outside, besides the Pitcher and Catcher, one is posted at each base, one near the Pitcher, called the &ldquo;Short Stop,&rdquo;&mdash;whose duty is the same as the others in the field&mdash;to stop the ball. The Innings take the bat in rotation, as in&nbsp;<span class="sought_text">Town Ball</span>,&mdash;and are called by the Scorer. The ball is pitched, not thrown to them&mdash;a distance of fifty feet. The Batsman is permitted to strike at three &ldquo;fair&rdquo; balls, without danger of being put out by a catch, but hit or miss, must run at the third &ldquo;fair&rdquo; ball. He may &ldquo;tip&rdquo; or hit a foul ball as often as the Umpire may call foul, so he be not caught out flying, or on the first bound. When he runs, he must make the base before the ball reaches the point to which he runs, or he is out. And three men out, puts out the entire side. Those who are put out may continue to strike and run bases until the third man is out.</p><br />
<p>[] An overview from Richard Hershberger, 5/22/2023:&nbsp; "</p><br />
<div dir="ltr">"There is much confusion of vocabulary here.&nbsp; As I have long preached, premodern baseball went by three major names, varying by region.&nbsp; 'Base ball' was used in New York state, New England, anglophone Canada, and the Great Lakes region.&nbsp; 'Town ball' was the standard term in Pennsylvania (apart from Erie), the Ohio River valley, and the South.&nbsp; 'Round ball' was used in New England, where it coexisted with 'base ball.'&nbsp; "Base ball" and "town ball" coexisted in the upper Mississippi River valley.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">Premodern baseball, regardless of what it was called, was played throughout anglophone North America.&nbsp; So when was it introduced to Chicago?&nbsp; When there were enough White settlers to get up a game.&nbsp; Asking whether it was really town ball rather than base ball is meaningless:&nbsp; like asking whether you fuel your car with gas or with petrol.&nbsp; Asking if they played the 'Massachusetts game' is similarly fraught.&nbsp; What do we mean by this?&nbsp; If we mean the rules adopted by the Dedham convention in 1858, then suggesting it was played in Chicago in 1857 raises an obvious difficulty.&nbsp; If we mean something else by "Massachusetts game," what is this?&nbsp; How do we recognize it in the wild?</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">What we do know is that by 1858 there were a handful of clubs in Chicago playing some sort of baseball, and that on July 21 they held a convention and adopted the New York game rules.&nbsp; See the Chicago Tribune of July 9 and July 23.&nbsp; We don't know if some or all of these clubs were already using these rules, or how they learned the rules."&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>"The Bases form a diamond, the angles of which are occupied by the Batsman and Catcher, and one of the outside at each angle. All putting out on the corners is by getting the ball there before the runner for the inside reaches the base, by catching the ball flying when a fair ball is struck, or by catching a foul ball after it is struck, either when flying or at first bound. A distinctive peculiarity of the game consists in the fact that when a ball is struck by the Batsman it must fly either on an exact angle, or inside of the angles formed by the base occupied by the Batsman, and the bases right and left of him. All balls deflecting from these angles are &ldquo;foul.&rdquo;</p><br />
<p>&nbsp;</p><br />
<p>"The above is merely a general view of the game. It is very easy to learn, and is capital sport, barring the cannon ball which the players are expected to catch in rather soft hands. Ladies will enjoy the game, and of course are expected as admiring spectators.</p><br />
<p><em>Source:&nbsp;Daily <span class="sought_text">Illinois</span> State Journal</em>, May 1866:see https://protoball.org/Clipping:A_comparison_of_base_ball_and_town_ball, from the Hershberger Clippings data base.&nbsp;</p><br />
<p><span class="source" title="Source">&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<p><span class="source" title="Source">==</span></p><br />
<p><span class="source" title="Source">[] On May20 2023, Bruce Allardice relayed his doubt about evidence of town ball in Chicago in the mid 1850s:&nbsp;</span></p><br />
<div dir="ltr">"Andreas' Chicago says the Union&nbsp;<strong>Base Ball</strong>&nbsp;Club was formed in 1856. Protoball has a cite I found from a local newspaper about the formation of this&nbsp;<strong>base ball</strong>&nbsp;club in 1856 [[add&nbsp; ref?]]. In the absence of better evidence to the contrary, we must assume that this club played base, not town, ball. And the game this Union Club played in 1858 was reported as base ball.</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">IMO the Spinks reference ("it has been stated") isn't exact enough to refute this.</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">I haven't found anything that suggests the 1856 Union BBC played town ball. It may have, but the club name and 1858 game create a rebuttable presumption that they played baseball."</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">[] In a series of Protoball searches on 5/20/2023, the only appearance of town ball in Chicago, other than that claimed by Spink, in&nbsp; is chronology entry [[1864c.56]], in which a Confederate prisoner said that prisoners "were allowed to play town ball."</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">&nbsp;</div><br />
<div dir="ltr">==</div><br />
<p><span class="source" title="Source">&nbsp;</span></p><br />
|Query=<p>Could some Illinoian help us better understand the early importance of town&nbsp; ball in that fine state?&nbsp;</p><br />
|Submitted by=John Freyer, Bruce Allardice<br />
|Submission Note=Messages in May 2023<br />
|Reviewed=Yes<br />
|Has Supplemental Text=No<br />
}}</div>Larry