1867.26

Chronologies
	Prominent Milestones
	Ancient - 1700 1701 - 1780 1781 - 1815 1816 - 1830 1831 - 1845 1846 - 1850 1851 - 1855 1856 - 1860 1861 - 1865 1866 - 1876
	Misc BB Firsts
	Add a Misc BB First
	About the Chronology
	Tom Altherr Dedication
	Add a Chronology Entry
	Open Queries
	Open Numbers
	Most Aged

"Cavalry Base Ball" Illustration Printed in Pittsburgh

Salience

Peripheral

City/State/Country:

Pittsburgh, PA, United States

Game

Cavalry Base Ball

Age of Players

Adult

Text

"A CAVALRY GAME

The October number of one of the Comic Monthlies, contains an illustration of a Cavalry game of base ball, which it says is patented. On a large field is placed a picked nine, 'operating' on horse-back; the left field, centre field, and right field occupy appropriate positions. The pitcher has a cannon that looks like one of the Fort Pitt twenty-inch guns (this exceeds Pratt, the lightening pitcher), and is pitching a ball by means of it at one of the cavalrymen, whose bat is raised to stop it; home-runs, short-stops, and the other points of the game are well illustrated. The umpire occupies a block house, from which protrude two telescopes, and the picture generally has a military aspect. One of the chief advantages of the horse-back game is to be found in the ease with which the home-runs ae accomplished."

Sources

Pittsburgh Daily Commercial, September 5, 1867, page 4.

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/87725148/

Warning

Note: Protoball is not familiar enough with 1860s humor to determine exactly how authentic this report is. Bare ball-shooting guns sound pretty iffy. But 1867 was the start of Base Ball Fever, and we guess someone might have tried mounted forms of the game.

Comment

Edit with form to add a comment

Query

Are other baserunning games known that were to be played on horseback?

Do we know what "Comic Monthlies" were?

Edit with form to add a query

Submitted by

Bob Tholkes

Submission Note

Posting to 19CBB, 10/25/2021

Comments

1867.26

Comments

Navigation menu

Search