Search by property

This page provides a simple browsing interface for finding entities described by a property and a named value. Other available search interfaces include the page property search, and the ask query builder.

List of results

• Club of Laos  + (<p>A club from Laos competed in baseball in the 1974 Asian games.</p> <p>A Laos national baseball/softball federation was formed, according to the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WSBC) website.</p>)
• Club of Tiraspol  + (<p>A club from Tirapol, Moldova, com … <p>A club from Tirapol, Moldova, comprising gifted athletes without substantial baseball experience, formed [in 1991, evidently] to participate in the Expo Internationale [??] in Miami. It managed to go 2-5 in the tourney, led by a javelin-trained pitcher.</p></br><p>Source: Josh Chetwynd, Baseball in Europe (McFarland, 2008), page 217.</p>hetwynd, Baseball in Europe (McFarland, 2008), page 217.</p>)
• Academia Club of Gallipolis  + (<p>A club of the "Academy" students, which played the Gallia BBC.</p>)
• Line City Club of Beloit  + (<p>A club of the high school. Lost to the Beloit college nine on June 5, 1869, 36-34.</p>)
• Window Smashers Club of Geneseo  + (<p>A club of the local high school, which lost a game to the Pioneer Club in October.</p>)
• Irish Rounders  + (<p>A communication received from Pea … <p>A communication received from Peadar O Tuatain describes what is known of the ancient game of Irish Rounders. Details of the old game are apparently lost to history, but some rules encoded in 1932 were used for a revival in 1956, and the revival version, which resembles baseball much more than it does English rounders, is still being played. It employs a hurling ball and a game comprises five three-out innings. The game is played without gloves and, perhaps unique among safe-haven games, batted balls caught in the air are not outs.</p>batted balls caught in the air are not outs.</p>)
• In Savannah in 1859  + (<p>A detailed article on Savannah cr … <p>A detailed article on Savannah cricket is Timothy Lockley, "The Manly Game: Cricket and Masculinity in Savannah, Georgia, in 1859," International Journal of the History of Sport, 20 (Sept. 2003), 77-99. Future Confederate general Moxley Sorrel, and Col. Francis Bartow, were two of the cricketeers. The article notes that Savannah had a short-lived cricket club in 1801.</p></br><p>The article also refers to informal baseball playing in Savannah, citing the Savannah Republican, Sept. 24, 1859: "although baseball was being played in Savannah in 1859, no club [was formed]'</p> being played in Savannah in 1859, no club [was formed]'</p>)
• In College Park in 1865  + (<p>A diary suggests that students at the Maryland Ag. College played baseball in 1865.</p>)
• Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York v Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York on 21 May 1847  + (<p>A different line up for May 21 pr … <p>A different line up for May 21 precedes the pages of this game, but they were incomplete and no game data was entered. One can assume that a different group of players arrived on that day than the scorekeeper was at first prepared for, or perhaps a group of them arrived later, yet before the start of the game.</p>ved later, yet before the start of the game.</p>)
• Pepper  + (<p>A drill to sharpen the batting ey … <p>A drill to sharpen the batting eye and fielding reflexes in baseball. A few players stand side by side in a line and toss the ball to a batter who hits short grounders to them in turn. Forms of the game involve penalizing players for fielding errors and mis-hits.  There is no running and no team play in this exercise.</p></br><p>A lifelong baseball man Reflected on the game of pepper.  "Another problem [with today's practices] is the absence of pepper games.  I had a discussion once with Ted Williams, ans we both agreed that playing pepper was important in the conditioning of every player.  Every movement that you make in a pepper game, whether you're swinging a bat or fielding the ball or throwing the ball or whatever, you would use in a professional baseball game. . . . But pepper games are gone. . . . It would still be worth putting every player through a pepper session every day."</p>through a pepper session every day."</p>)
• 48th NY Infantry in 1862  + (<p>A famous photo shows Union soldie … <p>A famous photo shows Union soldiers of the 48th NY Infantry playing baseball in Fort Pulaski during the Civil War. The photo is usually dated 1862.</p></br><p>Text from Protoball entry 1862.45:</p></br>'"`UNIQ--pre-00001F6A-QINU`"'</br><p>"A ball game appears in the background of photographs of the 48th New York at Fort Pulaski. The Fort, near the Georgia coast, had been taken by the North in July 1862. The National Park Services dates its image to 1862. One shot appears in Kirsch, Baseball in Blue and Gray, page 32, and another, apparently, at the NPS site <a class="external free" title="http://www.nps.gov/fopu/historyculture/baseball.htm" href="http://www.nps.gov/fopu/historyculture/baseball.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.nps.gov/fopu/historyculture/baseball.htm</a> [accessed 6/6/09.] Note: we welcome your interpretation of these photos."</p></br><p>The NY Mercury, Jan. 11, 1863, reported that on Dec. 25, 1862 two picked nines of the 48th NY Infantry played each other. Same, March 22, 1863 says on March 7 picked nines of the same regiment (a unit raised in NYC) played another match game, with the company F nine beating the drummer corps nine 18-14.</p></br><p>Fort Pulaski is between Savannah and Tybee Island. It was a Confederate and Union stronghold at different times during the Civil War.</p>Tybee Island. It was a Confederate and Union stronghold at different times during the Civil War.</p>)
• Hat Ball  + (<p>A form of Roly Poly (or Roley Pol … <p>A form of Roly Poly (or Roley Poley or Roll Ball) that substitutes hats for holes in the ground. Newell says this game was played among the Pennsylvania Dutch.Brewster says that Hat Ball variants are known in many countries, and include Petjeball [Dutch] and Kappenspiel [German].</p> Petjeball [Dutch] and Kappenspiel [German].</p>)
• Palm Ball (Slap Ball)  + (<p>A form of baseball in which the ball is slapped by the slapper-runner, rather than being batted with a club. (Needs verification.)</p>)
• Hit the Bat  + (<p>A fungo game in which a ball is h … <p>A fungo game in which a ball is hit to a group of fielders. If one of them can roll the ball back and hit the bat so that the ball hits the ground before the batter can catch the ricochet, the two exchange places.</p></br><p>Baserunning and pitching are not part of this fungo game.</p></br><p>[As recalled in Central New York in the 1950s]</p>e.</p> <p>[As recalled in Central New York in the 1950s]</p>)
• Knock-Out  + (<p>A fungo game in which a player who catches the ball on the fly qualifies to become the hitter. Regionally variant names include Knock-Up and Knock-Up and Catch.</p>)
• Catch a Fly  + (<p>A fungo game played in Manhattan in the 1950s. A fungo hitter is replaced by a fielder who catches a ball (or sometimes three balls) on the fly. Played when fewer than six kids were at the ballyard and a team game wasn’t possible.</p>)
• Balloon  + (<p>A fungo-like game played in Eliza … <p>A fungo-like game played in Elizabethan times in England. The ball was an inflated leather bag, and was knocked with the arm - sometimes aided by a wooden brace. Hitting for distance was evidently desired, but no running or fielding is described.</p></br><p>An illustration and description of "balloon ball" is in Hone, p. 96</p>tion and description of "balloon ball" is in Hone, p. 96</p>)
• Strike Up and Lay Down  + (<p>A fungo-style game for two teams … <p>A fungo-style game for two teams as shown in an 1863 handbook. A feeder throws the ball to a batter, who hits it as far as possible. A member of the out-team picks up that ball and bowls it toward the bat, which lies on the ground. If the ball hits or hops over the bat, the batsman is out. The batsman is also out with three missed swings.</p>atsman is also out with three missed swings.</p>)
• Pingball  + (<p>A game - evidently evolved unique … <p>A game - evidently evolved uniquely by Bob Boynton -- with two players, a field marked with zones for singles, doubles, etc., and employing a ping-pong ball thrown from 33 feet to a batter standing at a home plate of 12 inches square. Bats were the size of broomsticks with toweling for padding. There was some fielding but all “baserunning” used only imaginary runners.</p>l “baserunning” used only imaginary runners.</p>)
• Sky-Ball  + (<p>A game banned, along with cat-ball, in Norwich CT in 1832. A 1890 source describes Sky-Ball as a fungo game in which a player who can catch the hit ball qualifies to hit the next fungo.</p>)
• Club of Mandeville  + (<p>A game between the Southern Base … <p>A game between the Southern Base Ball Club of New Orleans and the Mandeville Base Ball Club is reported in the New Orleans Picayune, June 16, 1869.</p></br><p>Mandeville LA is directly across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, 35 miles away. Its population is about 11,500 today, 541 in 1870.</p>away. Its population is about 11,500 today, 541 in 1870.</p>)
• Rocky Mountain Club of Virginia City v Rocky Mountain Club of Virginia City in 1866  + (<p>A game between the first and second nines of the Rocky Mountain Base Ball Club. Players are named, with runs scored for each player. The umpire and scorer are also named.</p> <p>First nine 121, second nine 88</p>)
• Atlantic Club of Streator  + (<p>A game between two Streator Clubs, the Atlantics and the Blue Diamonds.</p> <p>City clubs mentioned in 1875 include the Young Mechanics and Athletics.</p>)
• Bittle-Battle  + (<p>A game called bittle battle is me … <p>A game called bittle battle is mentioned [[[as such?]]]  (but not described) in the famous 1086 Domesday Book in England. Some have claimed that this game resembled Stoolball:</p></br><p>[A] In fact, Gomme [1894, ] describes Bittle-Battle as “the Sussex game of ‘Stoolball.,’ but does not link it to the Domesday Book.</p></br><p>[B] Similarly, Andrew Lusted reports that an 1875 source lists bittle battle as "another word for stoolball," </p></br><p>[C] Andrew Lusted also finds an 1864 newspaper account that makes a similar but weaker claim: "Among the many [Seaford] pastimes were bittle-battle, bell in the ring, . . . "</p></br><p>[D] From David Block: "<span>the source of the Domesday myth appears to be in an article entitled “The Game of Stoolball” by Mary G. Campion from the January 1909 issue of “The Country Home.” She wrote: <span style="font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Fira Sans', 'Droid Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">The game is an old one. It is mentioned in Domesday Book as Bittle Bat, and the present name of Stoolball is supposed to have originated from milkmaids playing it with their stools.” As you can see, she didn’t write '</span></span><span style="color: #000000; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Fira Sans', 'Droid Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">bittle-battle', she wrote “battle-bat.” Grantham cited her but changed the name to 'bittle-battle.' Here is a link to the publication; the Campion article starts on p. 153: <a href="https://www.stoolball.org.uk/media/4h2brgma/stoolball-illustrated-and-how-to-play-it.pdf">https://www.stoolball.org.uk/media/4h2brgma/stoolball-illustrated-and-how-to-play-it.pdf</a>."</span></p>lay-it.pdf</a>."</span></p>)
• Norr and Spell  + (<p>A game described as the same as [[Trap Ball]]. Also names as Nor and Spel, Knur and Spell, and Nur and Spel. Gomme notes that a wooden ball was sometimes used. The objective was mainly to hit the ball for distance.</p>)

• Northern Spell  + (<p>A game described as the same as [[Trap Ball]].</p>)

• Old Hundred  + (<p>A game described in 1845 as anoth … <p>A game described in 1845 as another name for town ball, and played in North Carolina with an all-out-side-out rule. </p></br><p>There is not conclusive evidence that Old Hundred is or was a safe-haven ballgame.  However, one North Carolina writer saw it as a "variety of baseball" as played in the 1840s: see chronology entry [[1840c.33]]. </p>1840c.33]]. </p>)
• Cat-and-Dog  + (<p>A game for three players. Two def … <p>A game for three players. Two defend foot-wide holes set about 26 feet apart with a club, or “dog.” A third player throws a four-inch cat toward the hole, and the defender hits it away. If the cat enters the hole, defender and thrower switch places. Gomme, who uses the name Cat and Dog Hole, describes a game using a ball in which a stone replaces the hole where the batter stands, and adds that if the third player catches a hit ball in the air, that player can try to hit the stone, which sends the batter out.</p></br><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">On US play, 1866</span>: "Cat and Dog -- An interesting trial of skill at this old time game was played at Pittsburgh Pa., on the 5th inst., between the Athletics, of South Pittsburgh, and the Enterprise of Mt. Washington.  The game was witnessed by a large crowd of ladies and gentlemen.</p></br><p>[The printed box score shows three players on each side, a pitcher-catcher and two fielders.  The result was the Athletics, 180 "measures" and the Enterprise 120 measures.  There is no indication of the use of innings, a side-out rule, or fly rule]</p></br><p>[This spare account leaves the impression of a one-time throwback demonstration.]</p></br><p>For other references to cat-and-dog, see these Chronology items;</p></br><p><a>http://protoball.org/1706.2</a> [Scotland]</p></br><p><a>http://protoball.org/1833.3</a> [Cat-and-dog as the ancestor of cricket]</p></br><p><a>http://protoball.org/1841.11</a> [Scottish dictionary account]</p></br><p><a>http://protoball.org/1856.30</a> [Nyack, NY, 1856]</p></br><p><a>http://protoball.org/1866.10</a> [Pittsburgh PA throwback game]</p> account]</p> <p><a>http://protoball.org/1856.30</a> [Nyack, NY, 1856]</p> <p><a>http://protoball.org/1866.10</a> [Pittsburgh PA throwback game]</p>)
• Club of Newton College  + (<p>A game in Providence, RI was umpi … <p>A game in Providence, RI was umpired by J. B. Gough Pidge of the "Newton College Club." The Providence <em>Evening Press</em>, Aug. 10, 1867</p></br><p>This was John B. Gough Pidge, a Providence native who played on various Providence clubs 1867-69. He attended Newton Theological Institution, a Baptist school in Newton Centre, MA.</p>Theological Institution, a Baptist school in Newton Centre, MA.</p>)
• Call Ball  + (<p>A game in which a ball is tossed up among players and one player’s name is then called out. That player must obtain the ball and try to hit fleeing compatriots with it. Newell [1883] notes that this game was played in Austria.</p>)
• Off-the-Wall  + (<p>A game played at the intersection … <p>A game played at the intersection of West 184th Street and Park Avenue in New York City, as recalled by Gregory Christiano. A player would slam the ball into a painted square on a concrete median barrier, and it would rebound onto Park Avenue, then still paved with cobblestones. The player would then try to reach the first base (an open sewer) before a fielder could field it and throw to the baseman there. There were two sewer-bases and home in this game.</p> were two sewer-bases and home in this game.</p>)
• Diamond Ball  + (<p>A game played from 1916 to 1926, … <p>A game played from 1916 to 1926, when it transformed into Softball.  Diamond ball was also known as women's baseball.  Particularly popular in Sarasota FL, this game was played in the 1920s on sandy beaches (sometimes at night under lights) , and uses a 14-inch ball like used in indoor baseball.  Games were played in less than an hour, affording lunch-hour play. </p>g lunch-hour play. </p>)
• Oina  + (<p>A game played in Romania, reporte … <p>A game played in Romania, reportedly traced back to a shepherd’s game,  played in southern Romania from the year 1310. The game is described as involving two 11-player teams that alternate batting as in a one-innings game of cricket. The pitch is a soft toss from a teammate.</p></br><p>One 1990 report says that there are nine (fielder's?)  bases set out over 120 yards, that the defensive team can score on tagging and plugging putouts, and that there were over 1500 teams throughout Romania, mostly in rural areas. That account describes a ball the size of a baseball and a bat resembling a cricket bat. A second report from 1973 describes the ball as small, and the bat only a little thicker than a billiard cue, and that if a runner deflects a thrown ball with the palms, he is not put out. Note: Protoball’s initial evidence on oina came from the two western news accounts provided in the Hall of Fame’s “Origins of Baseball” file (cited below).</p></br><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2017 Input:  </span>In early 2017 we viewed a handful of Youtube videos (only one of which was in English), and we office the following rough impressions of the game. Most were discovered by John Thorn, and they depict mature players. </p></br><p>The most interesting feature, to a baseball fan, is that oina has found a way to preserve plugging (you may know it as burning, soaking, etc.) as a way to retire runners.  This appears to be handled by requiring fielders to throw at runners from a few specific spots, so that runners at risk can remain at some distance.  They resemble dodgeball players in their attempted evasions, but if they deflect a ball with the palms of their hands, they remain immune.</p></br><p>The detailed rules for scoring remain non-obvious.</p></br><p>In the available clips, we did not see outs made when fly balls were caught. There are foul lines for hit balls.</p></br><p>Baserunners appear to be restricted to the far end-line when a new batter bats. Two or more baserunners may occupy that station, according to rules that are hard to fathom at this point.</p></br><p>Pitches are very soft short lobs, none appearing to soar much above the batter's head. Servers must smartly step away to avoid the lustily swung bat.</p></br><p>Very long hits appear to be treated as (trotless) home runs. </p></br><p> </p>t; <p>Very long hits appear to be treated as (trotless) home runs. </p> <p> </p>)
• The Union Hall Game of Ball  + (<p>A game they evidently knew as "ba … <p>A game they evidently knew as "base ball" was played by the students of the Union Hall Academy in Jamaica (Queens County, NY) well before the New York game began its spread in the mid 1850s.</p></br><p>Two students (Mills and Cogswell) who played the game in the early 1850s exchanged letters about it in 1905, both of them early members of the Knickerbocker Club.  (Excerpts are provided by John Thorn below.) The letters reveal these remembered features:</p></br><p>[] Plugging runners to put them out</p></br><p>[] Three bases, the first and third near that batter's station.</p></br><p>[] Use of foul territory -- its details not supplied</p></br><p>[] Flat bats</p></br><p>[] Flies caught on one bounce counted as outs</p></br><p>[] An all-out-side-out rule for ending an inning</p></br><p>[] An end-of-inning Lazarus Rule (three consecutive homers) for staying on offense</p></br><p>A third Union Hall student was William Wheaton (born 1814), who would have been at the school several years before Mills and Cogswell.  Wheaton recalled that in 1837, as a member of the Gotham Club at age 22 or 23, the Gotham "decided to remodel three-cornered cat and make a new game," and started by eliminating plugging. </p></br><p>Thus, it seems plausible that the game played at Union Hall may have been a form of three-old-cat, perhaps evolving over time.  By 1850, of course, the Knickerbockers were playing intramural games elsewhere in New York.</p></br><p>It also seems possible that foul ground was a Union Hall innovation prior to the formation of the Gotham Club in 1837.</p></br><p>   </p></br><p> </p></br><p> </p></br><p> </p></br><p> </p></br><p> </p></br><p> </p></br><p> </p></br><p> </p></br><p> </p></br><p> </p>lt;/p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p>)
• Stickball  + (<p>A game usually played in urban st … <p>A game usually played in urban streets. The ball is rubber -- a “spaldeen,” now virtually the same that used in racketball, and bats vary but include broom handles. Allowances are made for traffic of various sorts, and the bases are specified at the start of play. (Verification sought.)</p></br><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>[A]  Some Bronx Variants:</strong></span></p></br><p> </p></br><p>(1)  A report from <em>Kevin Finneran,</em> 1/19/2023:</p></br><p><span>"You will be happy to learn that stickball is still played in the South Bronx on a street that has been named Stickball Boulevard. But it's not real stickball because it's played by adults and is organized into formal teams with standings and team shirts. You can learn all about it here:  </span><a href="https://vimeo.com/36239036">https://vimeo.com/36239036</a>.  That is where you will learn that stickball was included in the 2001 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. </p></br><div> </div></br><div>One key characteristic of stickball: it was illegal. The cops in my neighborhood liked to break the bats in front of us. To focus on the many <em>varieties of stickball</em>: In my neighborhood alone there were at least half a dozen popular stickball venues, and the rules were different at each place and for the two or three varieties of the game played at each place. At the great anarchic heart of stickball is the fact that there was nothing standard, not even the Spalding spaldeen, which was the most common ball. There was also a more expensive and somewhat bouncier ball we called a Pinky, a name sometimes applied incorrectly to spaldeens. We seldom used it because it gave the hitter too much advantage, and we couldn't afford it. In addition, the length and thickness of the bat, the distance between manhole covers, the width of the street, the placement of impediments, the slope of the street, and anything else you can imagine also varied. All of these will be documented in my four-volume dissertation, a work that will be matched in significance only by the Reverend Causabon's "A Key to All Mythologies" from Middlemarch. I've started talking to a friendly editor at Simon & Schuster about the size of my advance. The only problem is that there are thousands of kids who grew up playing stickball, and each of them has his own compendium of games. I need to get there first.</div></br><div> </div></br><div>A sidebar on the hazards of pinkness, which were not just political:  I've already told you about the toxic sewer ball, but what I feared even more was the <span style="text-decoration-line: underline;">egg ball</span>. A spaldeen hit with a lot of spin would deform into an egg shape in the air, which meant as a fielder you would be trying to catch in your tiny 8-year-old bare hands a dauntingly spinning pink egg. It's a recurring nightmare that probably also afflicted Joe McCarthy.</div></br><div> </div></br><div>(2) A report from <em>Norm Metzger,</em> 1/19/2023:</div></br><div> </div></br><div><span>Stickball was a game for poor boys in a poor neighborhood, a game created out of materially little and shared imagination.</span></div></br><div> </div></br><div>Stickball in my part of the Bronx (i.e. poor part) had several features worth noting, and maybe best forgotten.   There was of course the game itself plus the ancillaries including confiscations of our hard to acquire sticks, the economics of maintaining a supply of Spaldeens, various encounters with neighbors not least NYPD District 46, and certainly including local candyman Leo.</div></br><div></br><p>The game is a simple one.  No running the bases since there were none, certainly no umpires, but there were rules:</p></br><p>If the ball hit a car and bounced back into the field of play aka the street it was playable; else out.  If hit beyond two sewers that was a homerun.  However, rules were flexible.  For example, if too few showed up to play meaning no  "outfielders",  the game became one-sewer stickball.   </p></br><p>There were risks, meaning the appearance of a NYPD District 46 squad car.  The "handover" was ritualized. The car slowed down, the cop stuck out his hand, stick surrendered, and a search launched for another one; there was no "bat rack".</p></br><p>The loss  of the ball was another matter.  Most often, a ball was "lost" when the batter fouled it over the roof of the back of the  one-story Safeway.  Then, finances become operative, and whoever "lost" the ball was obliged to get another Spaldeen, an "obligation" frequently violated.  Acquiring a new Spaldeen  meant a trip to the end of our block, our "playing field", and a visit to the corner candy store and a chat with the proprietor, Leo, who had several distinctions including his generally good disposition and a tattoo of blue numbers on his right forearm.  Leo also made very good egg creams, which, following the classical recipe, contained neither egg or cream.  Go figure. </p></br></div></br><div></br><p>(3)  A report from Raph Kasper, 2/4/2020:               </p></br><p>Stickball as played in the Public School 81 schoolyard [Bronx] -- no live baserunning - played with 1 or 2 players per team - pitcher threw a Spaldeen or tennis ball from a line ~65-70 feet from the school wall on which was marked a chalk rectangle running from knee - shoulder kid height and about 2x as wide as a baseball home plate [hence considerably larger than a normal strike zone] - batter stood in front of wall - balls that were not hit were called balls or strikes depending on whether they struck the wall within or outside the rectangle - arguments occasionally occurred, usually when the pitcher had  particularly good curve ball - batted balls were scored as outs if they were grounders or were caught on a fly - balls that hit a very high chain link fence ~125 feet away from the school wall on one bounce were singles, on the fly were doubles, over the fence but short of another fence a further ~100 feet away were triples, balls that hit the second fence on a fly or cleared it were home runs</p></br><p>(4) From Gregory Christiano, who played in the 1950s:</p></br><p>Stickball wasTHE quintessential game played on most city streets. Everyone played stickball. The equipment: A broomstick and the Spalding High-Bounce Pink Ball (the Spaldeen), three manholes and a lot of kids. [You have to consider – this light rubber bouncing ball made playing a ball game in the street safe. Apart from a hardball or softball, the Spaldeen bounced harmlessly off parked cars, never broke a window, and never knocked anyone out cold]. Bases were car door handles, car tires, manhole covers, and Johnny pumps, anything that served as a practical base. The walls of the apartment buildings were the foul lines. If the ball hit them it was foul. Parked cars were ignored except if they were used for bases. (full text at Supplemental Text,  below).</p></br></div></br><div> </div></br><div>--</div></br><p><strong>[B]</strong> <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Brooklyn variants</strong></span>:  From Neal Seldman and Mark Schoenberg</p></br><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">1- With (invisible, or "ghost" base runners)</span>.  Pitching and balls and strikes.  Strikes determined by a chalk drawn box on wall behind batter. Box is filled in with chalk so that all strikes make a mark on the ball.  Ball has to be wiped off after strike.</p></br><p>A ball hit past the pitcher on a fly is a single, a hit midway to the outfield fence is a double, hitting the fence and bouncing is a triple, and over the fence is a home run.  A ground ball that gets past the fielders and hits the fence is a single. If the grounder is caught cleanly it is an out.  If missed it is and error and hitter is on first.  </p></br><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">2 - With live baserunning.</span> Same rules, runners run out the hits.  If there is a catcher, there is stealing.  Sometimes this game is played with the pitch coming on a bounce</p></br><p>When no facility was nearby, this game was often played on the street using sewer covers and cars as bases and landmarks for the number of bases awarded.</p></br><p>Traditional pitching and catching.  Umpires call balls and strikes from behind the pitcher.  There is stealing.</p></br><p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">At Inlet Grounds</span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">, PS 206</span>, East 23rd Street and Gravesend Neck Road.</p></br><p>The inlet is about 120 feet wide and five stories high.  Two high walls with windows (with metal bars to prevent breaking windows: a well hit Spaldeen easily breaks a window.)  Best played with three people on a team.  Pitcher, catcher, and fielder.  But there are 4-person games *(2 fielders) and one-on-one games.  The fielders stand somewhere near the batter in order to catch the ball off the wall behind the pitcher. Caught off the wall, is out.  A hit off the wall up to the second floor is a single.  Higher up the wall, a double, then a triple. On the roof is a homer.  BUT most of the balls hit on the roof come back.  That is, the spin of the hitting a ball that soars within 120 feet  has a backspin.  If the ball is caught off the roof it is an out.  This is a very dramatic play as it takes a few seconds for the ball to get on the roof, a few more seconds to the ball to roll back, then a few more seconds to see if the fielder will be able to make the play on a ball falling five stories and within a few inches of the wall, with backspin.</p></br><p>Usually pink Spaldeens were used.  But tennis balls allowed the pitcher much more variation and sharper curves and screwballs -- more surface.</p></br><p>(Communication from Neal Seldman and Mark Schoenberg)</p></br><p> Stickball was played all over Brooklyn when I grew up. The game and its rules were infinite depending location and availability of "cawts". The "coop" in the school yard could be one on one or 2 on two.</p></br><div class="ecm0bbzt e5nlhep0 a8c37x1j"></br><div class="kvgmc6g5 cxmmr5t8 oygrvhab hcukyx3x c1et5uql"></br><div dir="auto">One swing and if not in play was an out. Anything caught on a fly off the wall behind pitcher was an out. Pitcher catching hit on bounce was a single. Designated spots, higher and higher on building wall were double, triple, or HR.</div></br><div dir="auto"> </div></br><div dir="auto">Also played with balls and strikes if there was an available wall to chalk on strike zone.</div></br><div dir="auto"> </div></br><div dir="auto">Played in the street, with narrow foul lines. Could be running bases or not.  All kinds of ground rules. Cars shallower than first "sewer" (manhole cover could be out or foul, Off cars behind first sewer was fair ball. (Please mister, could you pawk foider up da street, yaw parkin' on da cawt.)</div></br><div dir="auto"> </div></br><div dir="auto">Always used broomstick bat and pink Spaldeen ball</div></br><div dir="auto"> </div></br><div dir="auto"></br><div dir="auto"> </div></br><div dir="auto"><strong>[C] NYC  </strong></div></br><div dir="auto"> </div></br><div dir="auto">(From a 2022 FaceBook ) "Your rules are more complicated than the ones we used on Long Island."</div></br><div dir="auto"> </div></br><div dir="auto">Roth:  Rules were not complicated as much as rules had to accommodate where you played and how many people were available. Each location had its "ground rules."</div></br></div></br><div dir="auto"> </div></br><div dir="auto">-- Joshua Roth, 3/18/2022 FB posting.</div></br></div></br></div></br><p> </p>re complicated than the ones we used on Long Island."</div> <div dir="auto"> </div> <div dir="auto">Roth:  Rules were not complicated as much as rules had to accommodate where you played and how many people were available. Each location had its "ground rules."</div> </div> <div dir="auto"> </div> <div dir="auto">-- Joshua Roth, 3/18/2022 FB posting.</div> </div> </div> <p> </p>)
• In Zion on 2 June 1877  + (<p>A grange picnic on June 2 at "Fer … <p>A grange picnic on June 2 at "Ferry Grove" in Benton featured baseball.</p></br><p>Hiram Ferry's lands in Benton Township are now part of the city of Zion. The grove was a favorite picnic spot, said to be near East Benton Church and Cemetery.</p></br><p>Zion was founded 30 years after this. The Zion City Independent, April 18, 1913 reports that the Athletic Baseball Club was organized there "last Friday."</p>s that the Athletic Baseball Club was organized there "last Friday."</p>)
• Latin School Club of Boston  + (<p>A historic Boston high school</p>)
• Military Reserve  + (<p>A historical marker to the "milit … <p>A historical marker to the "military reserve" (army camp) is in Victoria Park, which was part of the reserve grounds.</p></br><p>Railton's London City Directory, 1856/57, p. 1 has a map placing the Military Reserve around Great Market and Wellington Sts.</p>Military Reserve around Great Market and Wellington Sts.</p>)
• American Cricket  + (<p>A hybrid cricket-baseball game re … <p>A hybrid cricket-baseball game reportedly introduced in Chicago in 1870. The game is described as generally  having cricket rules, except with no LBW rule, and with the addition of a third base, so that the bases form a triangle with sides of 28-yards. We have no other accounts of this game.</p></br><p>Full text:  </p></br><p>"A NEW AMERICAN GAME</p></br><p>The <em>Philadelphia Mercury</em> contains the following: 'A new game of ball has recently been introduced in Chicago, under the name of American cricket.  The field is laid out like a cricket-field, and the striker wields the willow instead of the ash.  The bowler, who stands twenty-two yards from the striker, bowls as in cricket.  The striker, in making a tally, runs to first base and then to third (dispensing with the  second), these being in the form of a triangle and at a distance of twenty-eight yards apart.  There are no fouls to cause delays. There are none of the stupid and senseless six-ball 'overs.' 'Out leg before wicket' is dispensed with, a rule which, while in force, gives great annoyance to the umpire and general dissatisfaction to the batsman.  The prominent and attractive features of both the English game of  cricket and the American pastime of base-ball are taken and rolled into one, thereby making a magnificent game.'"</p></br><p> </p></br><p> </p>ficent game.'"</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>)
• Red Hot Muffins of Champaign  + (<p>A junior club, who played the "Imperial Infants" in 1870?</p>)
• Empire Jr. Club of Champaign  + (<p>A junior club, who played the "Red Hot Muffins" in 1870. </p>)
• Club of West Nashville  + (<p>A junior club? See Nashville Union and American, June 6, 1869</p>)
• Active Club of Reading  + (<p>A junior club? See Reading Times, Oct. 27, 1869</p>)
• Athletics Club of Greencastle  + (<p>A junior club?</p>)
• Lightfoot BBC of Augusta  + (<p>A junior team, the Lightfoot Club … <p>A junior team, the Lightfoot Club of Augusta, was formed perhaps in the late 1860s but certainly by 1870, of the sons of prominent Augusta families. The record keeper for the team was their 2nd baseman, future President Woodrow Wilson! See the website of the Wilson Boyhood home in Augusta. The records are among the Wilson Papers in the Library of Congress.</p>he Wilson Papers in the Library of Congress.</p>)
• Club of Havana, IL  + (<p>A letter datelined Havana, Ill., … <p>A letter datelined Havana, Ill., published in the <em>New York Spirit of the Times</em>: "I found the young people had formed a base ball club, and enjoyed themselves three times a week a the sport. There were some good, and even expert players, and two or three who would rank with the best at the North." <em>Davenport Daily Gazette</em>, April 10, 1861.</p></br><p>The St. Louis <em>Globe Democrat</em>, Aug. 6, 1875: "Suburban. Jacksonville... The Alerts, of this city, defeated the Havana club in a game of base ball, played at Havana on Wednesday."</p></br><p>The <em>Mason City Journal</em>, Aug. 13, 1875 reports the Mason City BBC lost to the Havana Cigar Makers club 24-18. Gives a box score. Same Sept. 1, 1876 mentions the Havana Red Stockings.</p></br><p>Havana, IL is in Mason County.</p>s a box score. Same Sept. 1, 1876 mentions the Havana Red Stockings.</p> <p>Havana, IL is in Mason County.</p>)
• Quick Step Base Ball Club of Council Bluffs  + (<p>A letter from an "old timer" in t … <p>A letter from an "old timer" in the <em>Omaha World Herald</em>, Nov. 10, 1927 says that the Quick Step BBC was formed in Council Bluffs in 1871. William Withrow played 3b, Edgar Brown pitched, Ernest E. Hart caught.</p></br><p>The writer was a member of the Modoc (junior) team, formed in 1872 in that city.</p>as a member of the Modoc (junior) team, formed in 1872 in that city.</p>)
• Sozodont Club of New London  + (<p>A local muffin club, named after a brand of toothpaste.</p>)
• Wamsutta Club of New Bedford  + (<p>A long article on early New Bedfo … <p>A long article on early New Bedford baseball says the Wamsutta played a game July 4, 1866. See http://scvbb.org/2007/09/17/early-days-of-baseball-in-new-bedford-ca-1858/ (cited in Sons of Ocean entry).</p></br><p>The <em>Barnstable Patriot</em>, Sept. 10, 1867 has the Wamsutta BBC of New Bedford playing the Cummaquids of Barnstable. Gives a box score.</p></br><p>New Bedford <em>Evening Standard</em>, Oct. 13, 1869 reports the Wamsutta have disbanded. Probably named after the Wamsutta Mills.</p>reports the Wamsutta have disbanded. Probably named after the Wamsutta Mills.</p>)
• Schlagball  + (<p>A longball variant still played i … <p>A longball variant still played in Germany. “German Schlagball (‘hit the ball’) is similar to rounders.” No other clues to schlagball are provided.</p></br><p>Other unverified sources state that schlagball evolve as early as the 1500s.</p></br><p>The game certainly features pitching and hitting.  An early form was described by Gutsmuths as the German Ballgame ([[Deutsche Ballspiel]]). Rules can be found [[Modern rules of Schlagball|here]].  One write-up compares schlagball to [[lapta]] stating that while the running base in lapta is a line, in schlagball runners proceed along a series of discrete bases; this is a misapprehension. In modern Schlagball the goal line is replaced with two side-by-side "touch posts," either one of which may serve as the running base.</p>ay serve as the running base.</p>)
• Elle  + (<p>A lusty baserunning game, Elle, i … <p>A lusty baserunning game, Elle, is played in Sri Lanka.</p></br><p>As of August 2020, Wikipedia has this general description of Elle:</p></br><p>"Elle is a very popular Sri Lankan bat-and-ball game, often played in rural villages and urban areas. It involves a hitter, a pitcher and fielders. The hitter is given three chances to hit the ball pitched at him or her. Once the hitter hits the ball with the bat – often a sturdy bamboo stick – the hitter has to complete a round or run which includes four possible "stoppings" spaced 55 metres [~180 ft] apart. A strikeout happens if the hitter's ball is caught by the fielding side or if the fielding side is able to hit the hitter with the ball while he or she is in the course of completing a run. The hitter can stop only at one of the three stoppings in the round thereby paving the way for another member of his team to come and become the hitter. The side that gets the highest number of (complete) runs wins the match."</p></br><p>See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_(sport)#:~:text=Elle%20is%20a%20popular%20bat,the%20most%20similarities%20with%20softball.</p></br><p><span>The article cites a source with the claim that the game has a 2000-year history, but notes that this has not been documented, and suggests that it may date from the 1900s. It is reportedly played by males and females, and town vs town matches have been common.</span></p></br><p><span>12 to 16 players comprise a team. In today's game, tennis balls are commonly used.  The batsman strikes a ball tossed softly by a teammate.  </span></p></br><p><span>A 3-minute 2020 Youtube introduction to elle in English was reached on 12/8/2022 via a search of "elle sri lanka traditional sport".  </span></p></br><p>The essence of this boisterous game is perhaps conveyed in Youtube clips: in Summer 2020, a Youtube search for <elle match sri lanka> returned about 20 such displays.  One unique feature is that a batter does not run bases;instead, a (usually barefoot?) teammate with a head start sprints around a circular path when a ball is struck.  Caught flies are outs, and runners reportedly can be retired if hit between stopping points. </p></br><p><span>Ceylon was a British colony, and it is tempting to suppose that elle evolved from a rounders-like game, but Protoball has not seem such speculation.</span></p></br><p><span>Further information is welcomed.  A large Facebook presence reflects the idea that elle should be embraced as Sri Lanka's national game.</span></p></br><p><span>A 3-minute 2020 Youtube introduction to Elle was reached on 12/8/2022 via a search of "elle sri lanka traditional sport".  We have seen other foreign-language elle videos on Youtube.</span></p></br><p><span><strong><em>Query:</em></strong> </span></p></br><p><span> </span></p></br><p><span>-- Can we find a written history of elle? </span></p></br><p><span>-- Are uniform playing rules printed available?</span></p></br><p><span> </span></p></br><p><span> </span></p></br><p><span><em><strong>Allardice Score: 8 or 9?</strong></em><br/></span></p></br><p><span>From inspecting its several very watchable YouTube videos, Elle may score the maximum score of 9: we cannot yet confirm that foul ground is used, that total runs scored determines the winner, or that uniform written rules are found. </span></p></br><p><span>In Elle, the pitcher acts as a server, and is on the batter's team. </span></p></br><p><span>======</span></p></br><p><em>Draft 1.5 of the story of Elle, drafted 12/1/2023 -- To be updated over time.  Comments and supplements are welcome.</em></p></br><p> </p></br><div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>Getting to Know Elle -- A Progress Report on Sri Lanka's Flashy Baserunning Variant</strong></span><span><strong><br/></strong></span></div></br><div class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong> </strong></span></div></br><div class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong>[</strong>Note: This short overview was drafted as a possible submission to SABR's  <em>Origins Newsletter, </em>but it was impossible to complete without better data.</span></div></br><div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong> </strong></span></div></br><div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"><span><strong> </strong></span></div></br><div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"> </div></br><div id="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_divRplyFwdMsg" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_elementToProof" dir="ltr"></br><div><span>Someone informed Protoball.org about an unusual baserunning game known as being played in Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) in south Asia, and we were interested in learning how that might have happened.  Sources in English appear to be limited at this point, but several YouTube videos reflect a joyous and generally familiar pastime.   We'd like to know a lot more about how it has evolved.</span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span>When I first tuned into a video of <strong>elle</strong>,  this lusty game seemed to resemble someone's attempt to mimic MLB's annual 'Home Run Derby',-- as transplanted,  for some reason,  to an island nation just south of India. I saw a pitcher lofting a baseball-sized orb to a burly teammate, who slammed it hard with a 'well-seasoned' bamboo bat, sending it into a large, well-manned outfield, often beyond camera range.</span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span>But . . . Whoa!  . . .  in the next instant, a barefoot teammate sped past the batsman at full speed , immediately in front of the batting area, and then traced a curved loop that took him around to the area we baseballers might think of as third base . . . pay dirt, in this exotic game.</span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span>Well, welcome to Elle ( say '<em>elleh'</em> ), Sri Lanka's unique baserunning game! The batsman stood and watched the play unfold.  In this game, his job was not to be a runner/scorer.  He just can focus on being a good hitter.</span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span>Reportedly, a hundred or more Sri Lankan elle clubs are now active, and the collection of YouTube bits are indicative of its nature (try a simple YouTube search for 'elle sri lanka').  One site even lists 10 elle clubs at play in Italy-- a country perhaps has less intrigued by baserunning games than most of the world's cultures are.</span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span>Watching a few such videos may prove entertaining but won't at this point provide a solid understanding of the game's rules to a Western reader.  One website lists 80 different elle rules but doesn't give us full explanatory detail.  </span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Game on the Field</span></span></div></br><div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span></span></div></br><div><span>In general: The game features teams of 16 players trying to score via big hits during innings limited by the number of pitches delivered or by reaching a specified timer period. Runners (sometimes referred to as 'assistant runners') try to complete a circuit of four 'stopping points.'  Retirements come from hit balls caught on the fly and runners hit by thrown balls,  or from tagging between stopping points, which serve as safe havens.  </span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span>I have not yet seen an account of the history and evolution of elle.  On the videos, the ball appeared to be spherical, and behaved like a tennis ball would. I have not come across any discussions  of how the elle has changed during or since colonial times.</span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span>Most videos appear to take place on large fields conducive to long hits.  Another source recommends (post-harvest?) paddy fields and shorelines as suitable for the game.</span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">About The Origin and Evolution of Elle</span></span></div></br><div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span></span></div></br><div><span>Sri Lanka gained independence from Britain in 1948, after 133 years as a British colony.   It still takes pride in its international cricket successes, but elle doesn't appear to resemble cricket closely beyond its hitting and fielding.  I have seen no claim that t he has game evolved from cricket.</span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span>One might ask if elle might have evolved, at least in part,  from rounders, or,  possibly, from earlier forms of English base ball.  </span><span>There is reportedly newspaper documentation of elle being played (with its players wearing "European clothes") in 1911, but current videos do not point to an English origin for elle.  They do include some as-yet undocumented conjecture that the game was played on the island many centuries ago.  Initial web searches for rounders or baseball in Ceylon and/or Sri Lanka are not productive.  </span></div></br><div><span>  </span></div></br><div><span>While elle doesn't have much in common with cricket, some traces of past rounders play are seen in today's elle.  Games are typically played to two 'innings', which are defined by the number of pitches made or elapsed time, and outs are called when hit balls are caught on the fly and when baserunners are hit with thrown balls while not at one of the four designated "stopping points." on the running routes  Thus, the four stopping points (bases) serve as 'safe havens' for runners, as is found in rounders and base ball. A batsman is accorded only three good balls to hit or is retired, as in some past versions of rounders, although current rounders rules allow only one Good Ball to be received by a batsman.  Team scores likely mak what baseballers would think of as long (multibase) hits.</span></div></br><div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span></span></div></br><div><span>I have not yet seen an account of the history and evolution of elle. The rules permit the use of a tennis ball as the batted object, but also allow a dried sea mango (that is <em>cerbera mangha</em>, to all you botanists) as an alternative, and it seems plausible that this fruit served as the ball in the past.  I have not otherwise  come across accounts of how the game may have changed over time.</span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Modern Elle and the 1856 Rounders Rules</span></span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span>It may interest readers to compare today's elle rules to an 1856 summary of rounders in the <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Manual of English Sports,</span> by "'Stonehenge":</span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><ol start="1" data-listchain="__List_Chain_240"></br><li><span>The batting stick resembles a common rolling pin (did that favor two-handed batting?)</span></li></br><li><span>Bases are arranged in a regular pentagon (there are five bases, not four}</span></li></br><li><span>10 to 30 players can be involved</span></li></br><li><span>Balls are 'tossed, not thrown', to the batsman</span></li></br><li><span>Fielders are arranged outside the pentagon of bases</span></li></br><li><span>Batsmen are put out by three failures to connect with a 'good ball,' by hitting a ball foul, a fly out or a bound out</span></li></br><li><span>Runners are put out if hit by the ball when not on a base</span></li></br><li><span>A score is awarded for each base a runner attains</span></li></br><li><span>A feeder can feign a pitch   </span></li></br></ol></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span>Items 4, 5, 6,  and 7 appear to apply to elle as now played.  This in itself does not mean that elle evolved from rounders -- and the separation of hitters' and runners' functions, the bamboo bat,  balls fed by teammates, and other elle features were unlikely parts of early rounders in England.  </span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Current Popularity of Elle</span></span></div></br><div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span></span></div></br><div><span>It is mentioned, on one site, that elle was named the "Sri Lanka National Sport" in the 70's.  (Another Sri Lanka site calls <em>volleyball</em> "the national sport.") </span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Another first impression</span></span></div></br><div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span></span></div></br><div><span>[] I was surprised to note how many fielders were in active motion <em>before</em> the batsman actually hit the ball, possibly because they anticipated by setup motion revealing which field  the batsman was hoping to send the ball to</span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A Long-shot Plea for Help from Newsletter readers</span></span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span>If you know a Sinhala or Tamil speaker, we could use a little help here interpreting online accounts of elle.</span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Some Introductory Sources</span></span></div></br><div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span></span></div></br><div><span>We will update our glossary entry as more is learned:  </span></div></br><div> </div></br><div><span>Wikipedia has an introduction of elle at <a id="OWAcd26ad9f-432d-e649-268e-9c8785b74433" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_OWAAutoLink" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_(sport)" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="1">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_(sport)</a></span></div></br><div><span> </span></div></br><div><span>A good general introduction is at https://royalcollege.lk/sports/elle/description/</span></div></br><div> </div></br><div><span>My favorite Sri Lankan source is <a id="OWAbcd62409-6fbb-3f11-6cc9-0e84a502e65e" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_OWAAutoLink" href="https://www.srilankaelle.com/Histry.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="2">https://www.srilankaelle.com/Histry.html</a></span></div></br></div></br><p><em> </em></p></br><p><span> </span></p></br><p><span> </span></p></br><p><span> </span></p></br><p><span> </span></p></br><p><span> </span></p>, possibly because they anticipated by setup motion revealing which field  the batsman was hoping to send the ball to</span></div> <div><span> </span></div> <div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">A Long-shot Plea for Help from Newsletter readers</span></span></div> <div><span> </span></div> <div><span>If you know a Sinhala or Tamil speaker, we could use a little help here interpreting online accounts of elle.</span></div> <div><span> </span></div> <div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Some Introductory Sources</span></span></div> <div><span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"> </span></span></div> <div><span>We will update our glossary entry as more is learned:  </span></div> <div> </div> <div><span>Wikipedia has an introduction of elle at <a id="OWAcd26ad9f-432d-e649-268e-9c8785b74433" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_OWAAutoLink" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_(sport)" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="1">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elle_(sport)</a></span></div> <div><span> </span></div> <div><span>A good general introduction is at https://royalcollege.lk/sports/elle/description/</span></div> <div> </div> <div><span>My favorite Sri Lankan source is <a id="OWAbcd62409-6fbb-3f11-6cc9-0e84a502e65e" class="x_x_x_yiv3227840613x_x_OWAAutoLink" href="https://www.srilankaelle.com/Histry.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="2">https://www.srilankaelle.com/Histry.html</a></span></div> </div> <p><em> </em></p> <p><span> </span></p> <p><span> </span></p> <p><span> </span></p> <p><span> </span></p> <p><span> </span></p>)