1853c.1
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"Rounders" Said to be Played at Phillips Exeter
Salience | |
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Tags | CollegeCollege |
Location | HarvardHarvard |
City/State/Country: | [[{{{Country}}}]] |
Modern Address | |
Game | RoundersRounders |
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Text | "The game of "rounders," as it was played in the days before the Civil War, had only a faint resemblance to our modern baseball. For a description of a typical contest, which took place in 1853, we are indebted to Dr. William A. Mowry:" [Several students had posted a challenge to play "a game of ball," and that challenge was accepted.] 'The game was a long one. No account was made of 'innings;' the record was merely of runs. When one had knocked the ball, had run the bases, and had reached the 'home goal,' that counted one 'tally.' The game was for fifty tallies. The custom was to have no umpire, and the pitcher stood midway between the second and third bases, but nearer the center of the square. The batter stood midway between the first and fourth base, and the catcher just behind the batter, as near or as far as he pleased. 'Well, we beat the eleven [50-37].' [Mowry then tells of his success in letting the ball hit the bat and glance away over the wall "behind the catchers," which allowed him to put his side ahead.] Claude M. Fuess, An Old New England School: A History of Phillips Academy, Andover [Houghton Mifflin, 1917], pp. 449-450. Researched by George Thompson, based on partial information from reading notes by Harold Seymour. Acceessed 2/11/10 via Google Books search ("history of phillips"). Note: It appears that Fuess viewed this game as rounders, but Mowry's description did not use that name. The game as described is indistinguishable from round ball as played in, and lacks features [small bat, configuration of bases] used in English rounders during this period. |
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