Early baseball in Canada/Predecessor Game 3
From SABR Encyclopedia
| Spread of baseball: Home -> Canada -> Early baseball in Canada/Predecessor Game 3 |
| Location | Canada |
|---|---|
| Year | 1856 |
| City | London (Ontario) |
| Country | Canada |
| Name of game | The Canadian game (?) |
| Found by | Bruce Allardice |
Canadian Encyclopedia, article on Baseball says a team formed in London, Ont. in 1856 and played under the MA rules. From the "games" section above, this would be the mentioned "London" club.
From William Humber's "Early Baseball in Canada" manuscript, 9/26/12:
"London [ON], Sept. 15, 1856. Editor Clipper: Within the past few months several Base Ball clubs have been organized in this vicinity, and the first match game was played between the London and Delaware clubs, on Friday, the 12th inst." The box score reveals that the 34-33 score eventuated when the clubs stood at 26-23 after the first inning, and then London outscored Delaware 11-7 in the second inning.
This description of a two inning affair is also consistent with what I have called the Canadian Game, and which the New York Clipper of 4 August 1860 described as follows:
The game played in Canada differs somewhat from the New York game, the ball being thrown instead of pitched and an inning is not concluded until all are out. There are also 11 players on each side.
The report doesn’t say, but we can reasonably assume that, as above, the Canadian Game was a two inning affair, borrowing from the two innings of cricket. The unknown story to date is the development process for this Canadian interpretation.
Sources
Canadian Encyclopedia
New York Clipper, Volume 4, number 23 (September 27, 1856), page 183; also New York Clipper, August 4, 1860.
