Clipping:The Clipper backs Fitzgerald
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
 |
| Add a Clipping |
| Date | Saturday, August 25, 1866 |
|---|---|
| Text | Six years ago the occasional games between the inexperienced players of some three or four clubs, prominent among which was the Equity Club, was all the attraction the base ball fraternity of Philadelphia had afforded them. Now clubs flourish by the hundred, and the city boasts having one of the strongest in the country, and the only club which has not lost a single game thus far this season. In 1860 cricket rules in the Quaker city, there then being a great number of clubs in existence; now some five or six are all that take part in match games. To what is this change attributable? We think it is to the efforts of man that the popularity of base ball in Philadelphia is mostly to be attributed, viz., Mr. Thomas Fitzgerald, the late President of the Athletic Club. Of course he has been ably assisted by others, but for years he fought up hill and almost alone, pushing and talking and writing the game into popularity, until the club he presided over reached the highest round of the ladder. The time was when it was a favor to get the editors of the Philadelphia papers to put in a score of a match; both when they saw the game attracting people by thousands, and some games creating an excitement in the city equal to that of some great event, they began to open their eyes to the fact that the Colonel was not quite the mad enthusiast on the subject of base ball they thought he was, and began to follow his example, and write up the game a little, until now the editor of the paper who neglects base ball matters is conscious of losing sight of an important influence in extending the circulation of his paper. Having pushed the Athletic Club to the top of the hill, the Colonel has left it to itself to pluck the fruit from the tree, and has taken hold of the old Equity club to build it up to the same position, if not a higher one, than that occupied by his former pets, the Athletics, and we have no doubt that, by 1867, this club will rival in playing strength, as well as in other respects, the most noted organization of the Quaker City. The club now has a large list of members, and they are preparing a find ground at an expense of between $1,000 and $2,000, and intend visiting New York this fall, to gain a little practical experience, such as games with our leading clubs alone yield. |
| Source | New York Clipper |
| Tags | |
| Warning | |
| Comment | Edit with form to add a comment |
| Query | Edit with form to add a query |
| Submitted by | Richard Hershberger |
| Origin | Initial Hershberger Clippings |
Comments
<comments voting="Plus" />