Block:English Baseball in West Midlands on January 20 1892

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The word "base-ball" was mentioned in a poem eulogizing the late Prince Albert Victor, the Duke of Clarence and Avondale, that appeared in a Coventry, West Midlands, newspaper. Entitled "The Death of the Duke," the poem began with these lines: "'The Duke is dead!' So ran the cheerless Tidings round the whole domain---entering Hall and cot, and laying its heavy Burden upon us all. Rude boys---alas! Accustomed to street cries--yet mindless Of the due import of that they told to-day--- Tossed the sad intelligence from each to Each---as though they played at base-ball Mid sunshine..............”

Sources

Coventry Evening Telegram, Jan. 20, 1892, p. 3

Block Notes

The Duke of Clarence was the eldest son of Albert, Prince of Wales and grandson of Queen Victoria and, as such, second in line to the British throne. He died of influenza at the age of 28 only six days before this poem was published. It is not clear why the author of the poem chose to use a baseball metaphor, and whether he intended it to refer to the English or American version of the game.

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