1856.20
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Exciting Round Ball Game Played on Boston Common, Ends With 100-to-98 Tally
Salience | Noteworthy |
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Tags | |
Location | New EnglandNew England |
City/State/Country: | Boston, MA, United States |
Modern Address | |
Game | Round BallRound Ball |
Immediacy of Report | Contemporary |
Age of Players | AdultAdult |
Holiday | |
Notables | |
Text | [A] "EXCITING GAME OF BASE BALL. - The second trial game of Base Ball took place on the Boston Common, Wednesday morning, May 14th, between the Olympics and the Green Mountain Boys. The game was one hundred ins, and after three hours of exciting and hard playing, it was won by the Olympics, merely by two, the Green Mountain Boys counting 98 tallies. . . . The above match was witnessed by a very large assemblage, who seemed to take a great interest in it." The article also prints a letter protesting the rules for a prior game between the same teams. The Olympics explained that were compelled to play a game in which their thrower stood 40 feet from the "knocker" while their opponent's thrower stood at 20 feet. In addition, the Green Mountain catcher [sic] moved around laterally, and a special six-strike rule was imposed that confounded the Olympics. It appears that this game followed an all-out-side-out rule. The reporter said the Olympics found these conditions "unfair, and not according to the proper rules of playing Round or Base Ball." [B] the Daily Atlas briefly mentioned the game, noting "There was a large crowd of spectators, although the flowers and birds of springs, and a wheelbarrow race at the same time . . . tended to draw off attention." A week later, the Boston Post reported that the Green Mountain Boys took a later contest, "the Olympics making 84 rounds to the G.M. Boys 119." |
Sources | [A] Albert S. Flye, "Exciting Game of Base Ball," New York Clipper Volume 4, number 5 (May 25, 1856), page 35. Facsimile provided by Craig Waff, September 2008. [B] The Boston Daily Atlas, May 15, 1856. |
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Query | Note: does this article imply that previously, base ball on the Common was relatively rare? Edit with form to add a query |
Source Image | [[Image:|left|thumb]] |
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