1840s.46
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The Balk -- From the Knicks, Prior US Games, or Abroad?
Salience | Prominent | |
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Tags | Antedated Firsts, Pre-modern RulesAntedated Firsts, Pre-modern Rules | |
Location | ||
City/State/Country: | Kingston? Manhattan?, NY, United States | |
Modern Address | ||
Game | Base BallBase Ball | |
Immediacy of Report | Retrospective | |
Age of Players | YouthYouth | |
Holiday | ||
Notables | ||
Text |
[B] The ball is “dead,” to the extent of putting a player out, when either a “ball” or a “baulk” is called. The rule is the same as in cricket. For instance, a “no ball” in cricket can be hit by the batsman, and he can score a run on it, but if the ball be caught it is not considered an out. So in base ball when a baulk is called, and the striker chances to hit the ball and it be caught, he is not out, and he can take his base on it on the grounds of his being “a player running the bases,” which he is when he hits a ball that is not foul. The ball, though “dead” as regards putting a player out, is not “dead” so as to prevent the striker counting what he is entitled to count under the rule. | |
Sources | [A]"A Balk is a Base," Roundout Freeman, June 5, 1847 (volume II, issue 46), page 2. [Brad Shaw, email to Protoball 1/26/2017] [B] New York Clipper, Saturday, September 8, 1866. See https://protoball.org/Clipping:Interpreting_the_dead_ball_on_a_ball_or_a_balk;_the_rule_the_same_as_in_cricket | |
Warning | Dating this item as "1840s" is speculative, and turns on the ages of the Freeman Arguments for an alternative dating are welcome. | |
Comment | Edit with form to add a comment | |
Query | Is it obvious why a balk is in some way considered comparable to a "flagrant outrage?" Was the balk known in earlier baserunning games in England, or elsewhere? Do histories of cricket shed further light on the origin, nature, and rationale for, automatic batter-runner advances despite catches of balls hit when a "no ball" has been called? Do we often see early rule variants for players of different ages? Edit with form to add a query | |
Source Image | [[Image:|left|thumb]] | |
External Number | ||
Submitted by | David Block, 19CBB Posting, 2010; Brad Shaw email of 2017. [B] Richard Hershberger's 19C Data Base, 2020 | |
Submission Note | ||
Has Supplemental Text |
Comments
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Our learning pathway from 2014 to late 2020:
[1] 2010: Dave Block reports Roundout Freeman source, posts it on 19CBB.
[2] 2017: Brad Shaw finds 1847 text from Roundout Freeman, informs Protoball, Protoball adds item 1830c.31
[3] 2019: Richard Hershberger provides over 9000 19C clippings from his research files to Protoball.
[4] 2020: Richard Hershberger locates misplaced notes on 1847 text, posts to FaceBook, Protoball; Protoball adds item 1845c.31.
[5] 2020: John Thorn clarifies local geography of Kingston NY area.
[6] 2020: In reconciling two Balk-related items, Protoball bumps into 19C Clippings' 1866 source describing a balk-like law in English cricket.
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At one 2020 phase, Protoball unknowingly listed two Chronology entries on the 1847 find, on under item 1830c.31 and one under item 1845c.31 The two were combined in December 2020 as item 1840s.46.