Poisoned Ball
| Game | Poisoned Ball |
|---|---|
| Game Family | Baseball |
| Location | France |
| Regions | |
| Eras | 1800s, Predecessor |
| Invented | No |
| Tags | |
| Description | According to an undated early 19th-Century text, “La Ball Empoisonée” was a game for two teams of eight to ten boys involving repelling the ball (presumably by hitting it by the palm of the hand) and running to bases trying to avoid being plugged. "THE IMPOISONED BALL. Eight should play at this game; and the method is as follows: "Make a hole, and mark it so as to know it again; then draw, to see who is to throw the ball; that done, he must endeavor to put it into one of the holes, and the person's hole it enters must take the ball and throw at a player, who will endeavor to catch it; the person touched must throw it at another, and he who fails in either of these attempts, or he who is touched, is obliged to put into the hole which belongs to him, a little stone, or a piece of money, or a nut, or any thing to know the hole by. This is called a counter. He who first happens to have the number of counters fixed upon, is to stand with his hand extended, and every player is to endeavor to strike the hand with the ball."
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| Sources | Les Jeux Des Jeunes Garcons, (Paris, Chez Nepveu, 4th edition, 1818), page 37. |
| Source Image | [[Image:|left|thumb]] |
| Comment | The book includes a color illustration of la ball empoisonée, and there are two different games with this name, but only one resembles baseball. The other bears a resemblance to dodgeball. There are contemporary (2022) references in America to "poison ball". These games do not appear to employ batting or baserunning.
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| Query | Did this game employ baserunning? Edit with form to add a query |
| Has Supplemental Text |
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