1850.6

Article in The Knickerbocker Mentions "Bass-ball," Old Cat, Barn-ball

Salience	Noteworthy
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Game	Base BallBase Ball
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Age of Players	JuvenileJuvenile
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Text	A piece on gambling in post-1849 San Francisco has, in its introductory section, "As we don't know one card from another, and never indulged in a game of chance of any sort in the world, save the "bass-ball," "one" and "two-hole cat," and "barn-ball" of our boyhood . . . " Block observes: "While this is a rather late appearance for the colloquial spelling "bass-ball," it is one of the earliest references to the old-cat games."
Sources	The Knickerbocker, volume 35, January 1850 [New York, Peabody], page 84, as cited by David Block, Baseball Before We Knew It, page 213.
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Comment	Note: Is the author hinting that boys commonly bet on their ball-games? Isn't this a rare mention of barn-ball? Edit with form to add a comment
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