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Drive Ball + ([1] Drive ball: An 1835 book pub … [1] Drive ball: An 1835 book published in New Haven describes drive ball. David Block's summary: "In this activity, two boys with bats face each other, taking turns fungoing the ball. When one boy hits the ball, the other has to retrieve it as quickly as he can, then fungo it back from the spot he picked it up."From the 1835 text: "'Drive Ball’ is a game for two players only, who are placed each with a bat, at some distance from, and facing each other. The ball is then knocked back and forth, from one to the other, each endeavoring to drive it as far as possible, where it must be picked up and knocked back to the other player, who is at liberty to advance as near as he pleases. If he advance too near, however, his opponent will be likely, with a vigorous stroke, to force him to retreat again. The space of ground passed over will readily show which is the victor."A 1849 chapbook from Babcock also mentions drive ball as the last mentioned of six common games played with a ball, naming "base-ball, trap ball, cricket, up-ball, catch-ball and drive ball."--[2] Drive: A ball game, listed along with the Old Cat games and Baseball, is mentioned in the memoirs of a New Hampshire man born in 1831. The rules of this game are not given. It may not have been a baserunning game.Drive Ball’ is a game for two players only, who are placed each with a bat, at some distance from, and facing each other. The ball is then knocked back and forth, from one to the other, each endeavoring to drive it as far as possible, where it must be picked up and knocked back to the other player, who is at liberty to advance as near as he pleases. If he advance too near, however, his opponent will be likely, with a vigorous stroke, to force him to retreat again. The space of ground passed over will readily show which is the victor.The space of ground passed over will readily show which is the victor.)
In MA in 1815 + ([1] [Waterhouse, Benjamin], A Jou … [1] [Waterhouse, Benjamin], A Journal of a Young Man of Massachusetts, Late a Surgeon on Board an American Privateer, Who Was Captured at Sea by the British in May, Eighteen Hundred and Thirteen, and Was Confined First, at Melville Island, Halifax, then at Chatham, on England, and Last, at Dartmoor Prison [Rowe and Hooper, Boston, 1816], p. 186. Per Altherr ref # 88. [2] "Journal of Nathaniel Pierce of Newburyport, Kept at Dartmoor Prison, 1814 – 1815," Historical Collections of Essex Institute, volume 73, number 1 [January 1937], p. 40. Per Altherr ref # 89. [3] [Andrews, Charles] The Prisoner's Memoirs, or Dartmoor Prison [private printing, NYC, 1852], p.110. Per Altherr ref # 90. [4] Valpey, Joseph], Journal of Joseph Valpey, Jr. of Salem, November 1813- April 1815 [Michigan Society of Colonial Wars, Detroit, 1922], p. 60. Colonial Wars, Detroit, 1922], p. 60.)
First Interclub Second Nine Play + ([A] "Friend P.</em&g … [A] "Friend P.-- Although rather late, I will take the liberty of sending you the result of a Home-and-Home Match of Base Ball played recently between the second nine of the Knickerbocker and the first nine of the Eagle Club..."[B] "BASE BALL. A match of this beautiful and national game was played on Friday last, between the Eagle and Knickerbocker Clubs...Six of the best men of the Knickerbocker Club were barred from playing in this match."The first instance of selection of a second nine by an organized club, prompted by acceptance of a match with an opponent (the Eagle) regarded as too inexperienced to be competitive with the Knicks' best players. Second nine interclub play would continue throughout the amateur era, and continue into the professional era in the form of reserve nines. the amateur era, and continue into the professional era in the form of reserve nines.)
First Games Played by Unsighted Players + ([A] "But then, in 1964, an appare … [A] "But then, in 1964, an apparent solution to the frustration of not being able to play baseball because of being blind was discovered. Charley Fairbanks, an engineer with Mountain Bell Telephone, presented the blind community with a momentous gift, the first beep baseball. He implanted a small beeping sound module inside a normal sized softball. Some basic playing rules were devised by a group of service oriented telephone employees who have a nationwide organization known as the Telephone Pioneers of America. The Pioneers also devised a set of knee- high, cone shaped, rubber bases that contained electrically powered sounding units that emitted a high pitched whistle. That laid the foundation for the initial experimentations with beep baseball.Various schools for the blind introduced this newest form the baseball for the unsighted."[B] "It all started in February 1964 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A softball with an audio tone was requested by the principal of the Colorado Springs School for the Blind. The principal wanted a softball that could be used by visually impaired children. The Columbine Council of Telecom Pioneers responded to the request. Charlie Fairbanks was a telephone engineer for Mountain Bell (now Qwest) in Denver when he designed the first audio ball to be used by students at the Colorado School for the Blind . . . " students at the Colorado School for the Blind . . . " )
First Tour Ever- Excelsiors Conduct Undefeated Western NY Road Trip. + ([A] "The Excelsiors of Brooklyn l … [A] "The Excelsiors of Brooklyn leave for Albany, starting the first tour ever taken by a baseball club. They will travel 1000 miles in 10 days and play games in Albany, Troy, Buffalo, Rochester, and Newburgh."[B] In announcing the tour, a Troy paper noted: "The Excelsior Club of Brooklyn, who have pretty well reduced base ball to a science, and who pay their pitcher [Jim Creighton] $500 a year, are making a crusade through the provinces for the purpose of winning laurels."[C] News of the triumphant return of the Excelsiors appeared in The item started: "The Excelsior , the crack club of Brooklyn, and one of the best in the United States, returned home of Thursday of last week, after a very pleasant tour to the Western part of the State. During their trip, they played games with several [unnamed] clubs, and we believe were successful on every occasion." [unnamed] clubs, and we believe were successful on every occasion.")
The First Vintage Games? + ([A] "the first regular match" of … [A] "the first regular match" of the 'Knickerbocker Antiquarian Base Ball Club (who play the old style of the game)'" was played in Nov. 1857. [B] In October, 1857, the Liberty Club of New Brunswick, NJ, played a group of "Old Fogies" who played "the old-fashioned base ball, which, as nearly everyone knows, is entirely different from base ball as now played.Rules played are unknown. The score was 86-69, and three players are listed in the box score as "not out". 11 on each side.ers are listed in the box score as "not out". 11 on each side.)
Aipuni + ([A] A boys’ game reportedly playe … [A] A boys’ game reportedly played in Hawaii before the game of base ball was introduced in the 1860s. As described, its rules were consistent with those of [[wicket]], but no running or scoring is mentioned.[B] See also item [[1855c.10]]:"In 1855 the new game of wicket was introduced at Punahou [School] and for a few <a id="PXLINK_1_0_1" class="pxInta">years</a> was the leading athletic game on the campus. . . . [The] fiercely contested games drew many spectators from among the young ladies and aroused no common interest among the friends of the school.""One game they all enjoyed was wicket, often watched by small Mary Burbank. Aipuni, the Hawaiians called it, or rounders, perhaps because the bat had a large rounder end. It was a forerunner of baseball, but the broad, heavy bat was held close to the ground."[Through further digging, John Thorn suggests the migration of wicket to Hawaii through the Hawaii-born missionary Henry Obookiah. At age 17, Obookiah traveled to New Haven and was educated in the area. He may well have been exposed to wicket there. He died in 1818, but not before helping organize a ministry [Episcopalian?] in Hawaii that began in 1820.See also John Thorn's 2016 recap is the supplementary text to [[1855c.10]]. 5c.10]]. )
Minerva Base Ball Club of Philadelphia + ([A] Peverelly reports that this c … [A] Peverelly reports that this club was organized June 10, 1857, and "is one of the oldest Philadelphia clubs..""From 1857 to 1864 the club was successful in every match except two, which they played with the celebrated Athletics od the same city."[B] However, an 1865 article states that "the Minervas held the Junior Championship from 1860 to 1863, when they disbanded . . . "[C] Richard Hershberger observes that Peverelly relied on self-reporting from later club sources, and that "there is no other record of the Minervas that early, that it is implausibly early for Philadelphia, and that multiple period sources from both New York and Philadelphia cite the Penn Tigers of 1858 as the first club in Philadelphia to play the New York game. This leaves open the possibility that the Minervas originally formed to play town ball, but Philadelphia town ball competition is well documented from 1858-1860, and there is no mention of the Minerva club." 860, and there is no mention of the Minerva club." )
First African-American Games + ([A] Report of July 4 game between Henson and Unknown Clubs [B] "November 15, 1859 - The first recorded game between two black teams occurred between the Unknowns of Weeksville and the Henson Club of Jamaica (Queens) in Brooklyn, NY.")
In Vasteras in 1910 + ([A] Sigfrid Edstrom, director of … [A] Sigfrid Edstrom, director of a Swedish electrical engineering company, "spent time studying in both Switzerland and the United States. There's little doubt that his time in America instilled a deep affection for that country's national pastime because in 1910 he made a serious play for baseball . . . [in] the town of Vasteras, located about 100 kilometers frm Stockholm. Edstrom helped set up a local team in Vasteras and, according to one source, provided rules and equipment for games in the capital of Stockholm."[B] "1910. Vasteras Club Formed, later a club was formed in Stockholm, and another in Gothenburg." olm, and another in Gothenburg." )
Baseball on Ice + ([A] The first known game of base … [A] The first known game of base ball played on ice skates occurred on in January 1861 near Rochester NY. Skating was very popular, and the hybrid game was played into the late 1800s.A few special rules are known, a key one being that runners were not at risk when they overskated a base. Deliveries were pitches, not throws; a dead ball was used and the bound rule was in effect. A ten-player team deployed a left shortstop and a right shortstop.--[B] Richard Hershberger posted the following on Facebook on 2/4/22 [See clip, below]: "150 years ago in baseball: baseball on ice. This was a thing. Look at the list of the "Capitoline Ten" and you will see some top ball players. This is not true of the Brooklyn Skating Club's players, raising the question, is baseball or skating skill more important here? Good question. I don't know. I also don't know if there is money involved here, or if everyone is doing this for fun. Adapting sports for ice skates was a thing more broadly. In Britain they sometimes played cricket on ice, which takes real devotion. They also adapted the fine old summer game of hockey to play on ice. This will spread to Canada, where it will be discreetly forgotten that they hadn't come up with the idea themselves. Baseball on ice required some rules adaptations. Ten players is the most obvious, the extra fielder playing at right short. Chadwick had been advocating this for the regular game for years. Spoiler alert: It won't happen. But it was standard for the ice version. Over-skating the bases also was standard, and this variant did influence regular baseball. The rule allowing the batter-runner to overrun first base was borrowed from the ice game. This was a safety measure, advocating by George Wright who had pulled a hammy. But while safety was the motivation, ice baseball provided the solution to the problem. There will be discussions for another twenty years about extending the right to overrun to the other bases, but nothing will come of it. New York Sunday Mercury February 4, 1872: <div class="oajrlxb2 g5ia77u1 qu0x051f esr5mh6w e9989ue4 r7d6kgcz rq0escxv nhd2j8a9 nc684nl6 p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 oo9gr5id lrazzd5p"> </div> p7hjln8o kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x jb3vyjys rz4wbd8a qt6c0cv9 a8nywdso i1ao9s8h esuyzwwr f1sip0of lzcic4wl gpro0wi8 oo9gr5id lrazzd5p"> </div>)
Gate City BBC of Atlanta + ([A] The first organized baseball … [A] The first organized baseball game played in Atlanta took place May 12, 1866, in a field on Hunter Street west of Oakland Cemetery. The Atlanta Base Ball Club lost to a newly formed challenger, the Gate City Base Ball Club, 127 to 29.[B and C] Alan Morris, on 9/10/13, adds that this game lasted four and one-half hours.Atlanta GA (1860 population 9500, 1870 population about 23,000) is about 230 miles NW of Savannah.00, 1870 population about 23,000) is about 230 miles NW of Savannah.)
Punchball + ([A] This is a variation of baseba … [A] This is a variation of baseball in which a rubber ball is punched, and not hit with a bat, to start a play. One set of modern rules is at <a href="http://www.spaldeen.com/punchball.html">http://www.spaldeen.com/punchball.html</a>. Johnson (1910) lists Punch Ball under “Baseball games.”[B] A big-city form of this game is recalled by Gregory Christiano as being played in The Bronx in the 1950s: "Played with a 'spaldeen' and a fist in the middle of the street. Similar to a stickball game except that there was no pitching-in or use of a stick. The "batter" would throw the ball in the air and punch it toward the fielders, and running the bases (which were usually car door handles on parked cars), tires or sewers. It was scored like a regular baseball game."[C] Brooklyn. "Regular baseball rules. Batter uses fist to hit. One swing. Miss ball and you are out. No bunting, no stealing. Sometimes when there were not enough players for full teams you had to shorten the field by bringing in the foul lines so that you virtually played on a square, with the foul lines each 90 degrees from first and third bases. You had to do this because with a fist a good player could place a line drive anywhere on the field. So there were 9 or 10 players on the field. No pitcher because the batter held the ball and there was no bunting. Catcher is the most important position as this is a hitter's game. Scores are 20-30 runs a team. Many plays at the plate. Most outs are made on the bases. Very action-packed game. (Communication from Neil Selden and Mark Schoenberg on Brooklyn games.)[D] Bronx. "Punch ball in another section of the p.s. 81 schoolyard, located between 2 fences - baserunning involved - played with from 3 to infinity players per team - scraggly schoolyard trees formed first and third bases, a sand pit [located on the schoolyard for no good reason and never used for any purpose other than as second base] was second base, home plate was marked on the concrete - batter bounced spaldeen, hit it with a closed fist, and then ran the bases - most regular baseball rules applied. (E-Mail from Raphael Kasper, 2/3/2020.)[E] A brief 4/30/1989 letter to the New York Times argued that stickball was a "sissyfied" sport in comparison to punchball. "We played with six or seven players, nickel a player. We had one-sewer homers and two-sewer homers. The game was so popular in Brooklyn that a daily newspaper, The Graphic, sponsored a punchball tournament, pitting one street against another." The players used a spaldeen, and chalked in foul lines and first and third bases." foul lines and first and third bases." )
Billets + ([A] in the 1670s, Francis Willugh … [A] in the 1670s, Francis Willughby listed [[hornebillets]] on his compilation of games, or "plaies." Of all his games, this game description closest to base ball and cricket -- resembling the o'cat games with two or four or six players -- but it employs a section of animal horn, or a sort stick, and not a ball. [B] "Thomas Wright's 1857 Dict. of Obsolete and Provincial English(v. 1 p. 210) lists as the third meaning for "billet" the game of [[Tip-Cat]] and connects it to Derbyshire."[C] Responding to John Thorn's Our Game blog on 2/26/2013, Clive Williams wrote that trap ball "is a very similar game to one my brother encountered near Halifax, Yorkshire about 50 years ago. In Yorkshire the game was called I think 'Billets' and he was never able to make it clear whether the piece to be struck was a round wooden ball or just a small chunk of hardwood of no particular shape. What you had to do, as is mentioned in the article is to make sure that nobody can catch the wooden article so getting the direction and the height right with a sort of weapon like a walking stick (cane) must have been tricky." ick (cane) must have been tricky." )
Box Baseball + ([A] per Bronner [1997]. Using thr … [A] per Bronner [1997]. Using three sidewalk squares, a “pitcher” throws the ball into the box closest to his opponent, who tries to slap the ball into the box closest to the pitcher. If he missed the box or the pitcher catches ball on the fly, it is an out. There is no baserunning. Also called “Boxball.”[B] New York City streets are composed on concrete squares approximately [X?] feet square. Players would be separated by three squares. They would alternate pitcher/catcher and hitter depending on who was up. The pitcher had to have the ball bounce in the box closest to the batter. The pitcher would place the ball and fluke it in order to make it difficult to hit after the bounce. The batter was required to slap the ball so that it landed in the box closest tot he pitcher. If the pitcher caught the ball on a fly, it was an out. One bounce was a single, two a double, etc, The batter would try to hit the ball low and fast in order to get it past the pitcher. p> )
In Concord in 1836 + ([Continuing a list of games that … [Continuing a list of games that boys played:] " . . . various games of ball. These games of ball were much less scientific and difficult than the modern games. Chief were four old-cat, three old-cat, two old-cat, and base." Hoar, George F., Autobiography of Seventy Years Volume 1 (Chaarles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1905), page 52. Hoar was ten years old in 1836. Per Seymour, Harold – Notes in the Seymour Collection at Cornell University, Kroch Library Department of Rare and Manuscript Collections, collection 4809.rary Department of Rare and Manuscript Collections, collection 4809.)
Emerson's Side v Price's Side in 1856 + ([Full text] "Ball Playing -- A g … [Full text] "Ball Playing -- A game of Wicket was played at Gt. Barrington on the 11th inst., and a supper partaken at the Berkshire House in the evening. C. M. Emerson, Esq. was the leader of one party and John Price, Esq. of the other. The game was a close one; the aggregate count in three innings being 192 and 187, the side of Captain Emerson beat."ptain Emerson beat.")
Irasburg Bass Ball Club + ([Irasburg VT] Orleans I … [Irasburg VT] Orleans Independent Standard, Aug. 5, 1859:"Bass [sic] Ball Club--the members of the Irasburg Bass Ball Club are requested to meet on the common at half past six o'clock on Saturday next, for the purpose of choosing officers--prepatory to stumping the county for a grand match sometime this fall."Same source, Aug. 12 reports that the club has adopted the Massachusetts rules, and elected Wm. P. Clark as president. The club is called the Irasburg Base Ball Club (not "bass ball")>esident. The club is called the Irasburg Base Ball Club (not "bass ball")>)
Ball in MA in 1778 + ([Joslin, Joseph], "Journal of Jos … [Joslin, Joseph], "Journal of Joseph Joslin Jr of South Killingly A Teamster in the Continental Service March 1777 – August 1778, in "Orderly Book [sic?] and Journals Kept by Connecticut Men While Taking Part in the American Revolution 1775 – 1778," Collections of the Connecticut Historical Society, volume 7 [Connecticut Historical Society, 1899, pp. 353 - 354. Per Altherr, ref # 27. - 354. Per Altherr, ref # 27. )
Eagle v Enterprise in Newark on 29 September 1860 + ([Newark teams?])
Continuous Cricket + ([The game we played] "had only on … [The game we played] "had only one batsman at a time, running to a point about 10 yards off to the right and back again after each hit . . . we called it Continuous Cricket. The blurring of the concepts of "bowled" and "run out" makes the game a bunch of fun to play."makes the game a bunch of fun to play.")
Aurora Base Ball Club of Providence + ([column heading]: Providence Rhod … [column heading]: Providence Rhode Island Base Ball"We have received notification of the formation of the Aurora Base Ball Club . . . and in accordance with their name, the members meet from 5 to 7 oclock in the morning. They have been out seven times since March, notwithstanding the pluvious state of the atmospheric phenomena this season. Their President is Levi Starback, and Jas. V. Taylor Secretary and Treasurer. We hope they will have finer prospects to greet the blue-eyed goddess of the morn for the future."There is no visible hint as to whether the club plays by Massachusetts or New York rules.int as to whether the club plays by Massachusetts or New York rules.)
Junior Nationals Club of Washington v Active Club of Washington in October 1865 + (a "recent" game)
Pize Ball + (a game defined in the OED as “a g … a game defined in the OED as “a game similar to Rounders in which a ball is hit with the flat of the hand.” The game is mainly associated with the English North Country, and is said to feature three or four ‘tuts,’ or stopping-places. The first cited use appeared in 1796. Gomme (page 45) adds that if the batter-runner is hit before reaching on of the “tuts” he is “said to be burnt, or out.m>, or out.)
Haverhill Club of Haverhill v Samoset Club of Georgetown on 8 August 1868 + (a match for the championship of Essex County)

Adriatic Club of Brooklyn + (a new club)

Pitkapallo + (a traditional Finnish game, features of which were incorporated into [[Pesapallo]].)
Poltopallo + (a traditional Finnish game, features of which were incorporated into [[Pesapallo]].)
Union Club of Brighton + (adjacent to Rochester)
Mutual Club of Louisville + (aka Blue Stockings)
Athletic Club of Cockeysville + (aka Cockneysville)
Excelsior Club of Brooklyn v Union Star Club of Brooklyn E.D. on 3 August 1857 + (aka Excelsior Club of Williamsburg [ba])
Warren Club of Williamsburg v Excelsior Club of Brooklyn on 26 August 1857 + (aka Excelsior Club of Williamsburg [ba])
Enterprise Club of Bedford v Excelsior Club of Brooklyn on 28 September 1857 + (aka Excelsior Club of Williamsburg [ba])
Marion Club of Williamsburg + (apparently different from Marion of Brooklyn NYSM 590911; NYSM 601125)
Uncas Club (Jr.) of New York + (apparently different from Uncas of NY NYSM 590710)
Utica Club of New York + (apparently different from Utica of Utica)
Ontario Club of Canandaigua + (between Rochester and Syracuse)
Cataract Club of New York + (both senior and junior versions)
Herculaneum Club of New York + (both senior and junior versions)
Wild Wave Club of Brooklyn + (changed name to Excelsior Jr. NYSM 600819)
Exchange Club of Brooklyn + (cited with no details NYSM 590724)
Paunches Pilate Club of Lockport + (citing Buffalo Courier& … citing Buffalo Courier: composed of fat men; probably a joke. An account was found in the Hydraullic Press, San Juan County CA, , 10/22/1859.Lockport NY is on the Erie Canal northeast of Buffalo. Its population in 1860 was under 11,000.l northeast of Buffalo. Its population in 1860 was under 11,000.)
Mechanics Club of Elizabeth + (citing Elizabeth Union)
Mechanics Club of South Brooklyn + (composed of young active mechanics)
Cronk Beer Club of Lafayette + (dr. Cronk's near beer was a popular drink in the 1850s and 1860s.)
First Baseball Tournaments + (festivals or tournaments mushroom … festivals or tournaments mushroomed in 1865, for example:Portland, ME—at July 4 celebration. Open to all teams in ME, considered for state championship. 4 teams entered, knockout competition. 2 games at a time in the morning, championship game in the afternoon. 9 innings. Cash prizes for 1st and 2nd. Portland Daily Evening Advertiser coverage on July 6 indicated that the only out-of-town team was subject to “expressions of strong sympathy against them.”Altoona, PA- per a reprint in Fitzgerald's City Item (Philadelphia) on 7/22, Altoona Tribune was promoting a baseball carnival—Athletics, Mountain Club of Altoona, and Alleghany Club of PittsburgWash DC- Games on 8/28 between the Nationals and Athletics, 8/29 between the Nationals and the Atlantic of Brooklyn, “a festival such has never before been offered in Washington”. Washington Daily National Intelligencer, 8/28Wash DC- Oct. 9-11 tourney had the Excelsior of Brooklyn, the Nationals, and the Enterprise of Baltimore. Round robin, one game per day. Wilkes Spirit of the Times, 10/21Wilkes Spirit of the Times on Oct. 21 printed a letter from Chicago describing problems encountered at a tourney in Rockford, IL. 5 teams, two days, two games each day. describing problems encountered at a tourney in Rockford, IL. 5 teams, two days, two games each day. )
Emerson Club of Washington v Eagle Club I of Washington on 13 December 1865 + (for city junior championship)
Eureka Club of San Francisco + (formed by “typos”)
Guttenberg Club of San Francisco + (formed by “typos”)
Apollo Club of New York + (formerly “Careless”)

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