Clipping:The Haymakers and a dead ball; testing the ball
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
 |
| Add a Clipping |
| Date | Friday, July 14, 1871 |
|---|---|
| Text | [Haymaker vs. Mutual 7/13/1871] That the Haymakers knew nothing of how to play with a really dead ball was quite apparent, as, notwithstanding their reputation as powerful batters, they could only make eight first base hits, while the Mutes made thirteen. New York Herald July 14, 1871 [Mutual vs. Haymaker 7/3/1871] The players were all on the ground by 2 ½ o’clock, and Mr. Chapman, of the Eckfords, having been agreed upon as umpire when the day was fixed for the match, nothing remained, apparently, but to commence the game. But Tony Hartman, the new president of the Mutuals, and Captain Ferguson, were seen in close confab, and afterwards Fergy and Craver put their heads together. It finally leaked out that there was a wrangle over the ball. The Haymakers insisted on using a Van Horn “dead” ball, and Ferguson, with the recollection of the Athletic-Haymaker match haunting him, urged the claimed of the red dead ball. But still, notwithstanding he had a dread of using the Van Horn ball, he could urge no valid excuse for refusing to play with it. It had about the same bounding power as the dead red when they were tried together, but it looked a trifle larger and felt heavier. It also had a peculiar feeling, a sort of hardness, which is not found in the dead balls usually made by the leading firms of this city. With no means to tell whether the ball was over weight or over size, Ferguson had no alternative but to accept. ... The result confirmed Ferguson in the belief that the Van Horn ball was a fraud, and he determined to test. If. For this reason he insisted that it should be cut open, and after considerable opposition and much bad feeling on the part of the Haymakers and their friends, the ball was handed to the umpire, who proceeded to the covered stand in the rear of the catcher’s position, where, in the presence of Ferguson and Craver, the ball was dissected. Nothing especially alarming was found inside, but in the absence of a scale or measure to test the weight or size of the ball nothing could be done. The rubber was subsequently taken to a store, weighed and found correct. Singular enough, however, the yarn and cover were not weighed, and as the Trojans decidedly object to let Mr. Ferguson take the rubber away with him, there is no way of determining whether there was any foreign substance inside the rubber to increase its elasticity, or, if fact, anything about it of a satisfactory nature. From the manner in which it was batted it could not have been a “dead” ball, as alleged by the Trojans. The Haymakers batted and fielded it, while the Mutuals did not. This may seem odd, and to a great many difficult to explain. The theory is that the Haymakers have used the Van Horn ball all the season, and become thoroughly used to it. The Mutuals, on the contrary, having become accustomed to a ball much lighter and more yielding to the touch, did not know what to do with it. It was like a stone in their hands, and after the third innings Mills [catcher] could hardly hold it. It was the say way with the rest of the nine. Eggler, usually a very certain catch, dropped several flys [sic]. Ferguson dropped one, and so did Hatfield. Nearly every one of the nine took a hand at muffing, and all complained of the ball. Certain it is, nothing of the kind in the way of base hits is ever done with the dead balls made in this city, and it is to be hoped that a thorough investigation may follow, to the end that the whole truth may be known. New York Clipper July 15, 1871 It will be seen by the records that the Haymakers have lost every dead ball game they have played with professional nines, except the one of July 13th, and that they have won every lively ball game with professional nines, except that with the Athletic club. They have, after every series of defeats, gone to work to reconstruct the nine, when the principal cause of their defeat was their inability to bat a dead ball with the skill of scientific players, together with their failure to field up to the required standard in support of their able pitcher. New York Clipper July 22, 1871 testing the elasticity of balls In regard to the question of whether two regulation balls, both containing an ounce of rubber, can be made so that one will be lively and the other dead, we have to state that experiments were made by the Mutual Club managers with two balls of Van Horn and Ryan’s make last week, with the following result:–Each ball was rolled off a table, and the height of the rebound from the floor was noted. The balls were then cut open and the rubber in each was weighed, and the rubber portion was also tested as to the rebound. Both balls had just one ounce of rubber each, but of different quality. The Van [Horn] bounded twice the length of the Ryan ball, as did the rubber it contained when tested separately. There is no doubt that one ounce of rubber makes too lively a ball for fielding purposes, and it is to be hoped that next winter the rule will be changed to half an ounce weight of rubber. New York Clipper July 15, 1871 |
| Source | New York Herald |
| 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" />