| Data
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“Base ball” was among the amusements enjoyed by young cadets of the Sons of Temperance from the town of Hadleigh, Suffolk, who were treated to a day and evening's outing on an estate in the nearby village of Layham. According to a newspaper report, “during the evening, amusements of various kinds, viz., cricket, skipping, base ball, and racing for money, were freely indulged in, the hunting for hidden treasures causing much fun.”
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| Block Notes
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Given the late date, it might seem unlikely that these children were playing English-style baseball. Yet the setting in rural Suffolk, the two-word spelling of the word baseball, and the familiar motif of a church-affiliated children's group playing the game on a country outing, all support the possibility that this could be a rare surviving example of an otherwise extinct form of baseball.
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