1830s.34
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1883 Account Reflects on Details of "Town Ball" Played Decades Earlier in PA
| Salience | Noteworthy |
|---|---|
| Tags | Pre-modern RulesPre-modern Rules |
| Location | |
| City/State/Country: | Pittsburgh, PA, United States |
| Modern Address | |
| Game | Town BallTown Ball |
| Immediacy of Report | Retrospective |
| Age of Players | YouthYouth |
| Holiday | |
| Notables | |
| Text |
"Old Town Ball: Reminiscences of the Game by a Very Old Boy. "I deem it probable that a description of the the game called 'Town Ball' fifty years ago, from which base ball of the present originated, will prove interesting to your readers. I propose to give it to them as it comes back to me through the mental mist of half a century." As described, the old game used: [] at least four players on a side, but the average team size was about eight. [] a flipped paddle to determine first ups. [] four bases, called "corners" and set about 50 feet apart [] home was called "the holes." [] the pitching distance was 30 feet. [] the batting "paddle" was about two feet long and 4 inches wide, wielded with one or two hands [] the ball was 2 inches in diameter, made of cork and rubber strips, wrapped yarn and then in a buckskin cover. [] there was a balk rule, and fast pitching was disallowed. [] There was a bound rule, and plugging. Innings were all-out-side-out [] A Lazarus rule allowed a side to earn a new inning if its last batter hit three straight homers Players came from "Pipe Town, Hog Town, Scotch Hill, the Point and Bayard's Town. Sligo and Allegheny" were often foes. |
| Sources | Pittsburgh Commercial Gazette, May 2, 1883 |
| Warning | Some portions of this image were indistinct, and some areas were clipped off. |
| Comment | Richard Hershberger: "A hole was definitely a feature of very early baseball (and very early cricket, too). I expect this is a vestige of that practice, which had disappeared in most American baseball. It is the use of "holes" equating these with "home plate" that I wonder about. Were there more than one hole at home? Note: Willughby, writing around 1650, describes a baserunning game (hornebillets) that used holes instead of bases, and that is similar to the old-cat game. See Hornebillets. Edit with form to add a comment |
| Query | Edit with form to add a query |
| Source Image | [[Image:|left|thumb]] |
| External Number | |
| Submitted by | Richard Hershberger |
| Submission Note | FB Posting of 2/25/2021 |
| Has Supplemental Text |
1830s.34 1883 Account Reflects on Details of "Town Ball" Played Decades Earlier in PA"
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