1870c.17

Rutherford Hayes Sees Harm to Hearing in Ballplaying

Salience	Peripheral
Tags	Famous, HazardFamous, Hazard
Location
City/State/Country:	United States
Modern Address
Game	BaseballBaseball
Immediacy of Report	Contemporary
Age of Players	YouthYouth
Holiday
Notables
Text	MY DEAR BOY -- I see by the Journal you are playing base-ball and that you play well. I am pleased with this. I like to have my boys enjoy and practice all athletic sports and games, especially riding, towing, hunting, and ball playing. But I am a little afraid, from [what] Uncle says, that overexertion and excitement in playing baseball will injure your hearing. Now, you are old enough to judge of this and to regulate your conduct accordingly. If you find there is any injury you ought to resolve to play only for a limited time -- say an hour or an hour and a half on the same day. . . . We had General Sherman at our house Wednesday evening with a pleasant party."
Sources	Cited in John Thorn, Our Game posting, February 2018, "Our Baseball Presidents." This original source is not given here.
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