Early baseball in Maryland/Game 3
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| Spread of baseball: Home -> Maryland -> Early baseball in Maryland/Game 3 |
| Location | Maryland |
|---|---|
| Year | 1867 |
| Month | 3 |
| Date | 30 |
| Note on date | 4/6/1867 |
| City | Chestertown |
| State | MD |
| Country | US |
| Site | Court House |
| Was NY rules baseball | Yes |
| Played by | Locals |
| Team 1 | Washington College Wissahiccon Club |
| Team 2 | Independent Club of Chestertown |
| Team 1 Score | 97 |
| Team 2 Score | 15 |
| Length | 4 hours 50 minutes |
| Found by | Marty Payne |
Kent News 4/6/1867. Reported as a "social game." Not specified as NY Game but 9/29/1866 The Easton Gazette reported,
The young men of Easton and its vicinity favorable to the organization of a Base Ball Club in this place will please meet at the Court House on Saturday, the 29th inst., at 10 o'clock A.M. The object of the formation of this club will be to improve physically, its members and give social standing and representation in the Base Ball Association of Baltimore.
specific to NY game Chestertown Transcript 10/13/1886 "The field in which the game is played should be at least 400 feet square. The bases are four in number, placed at equal distances from each other, and securely fastened upon each corner of a square, whose sides are respectively thirty yards. The base from which the ball is struck is designated the home base, and is directly opposite the second base; the base on the right hand is the first base, and that on the left the third base. The pitcher's position or base is fixed on a line drawn from home to second base, and is distant from the former fifteen yards. The first, second, and third bases, are canvas bags filled with some soft material, and the home and pitcher's bases are circular iron plates.--Players must make their bases in regular order, and on making the home base are entitled to score one run. The game consists of nine innings on each side but may be decided on the fifth or seventh inning. An inning is concluded at the time the third hand is put out. Eighteen persons constitute a full field, nine on each side. The side having the inning numbers nine batsmen; the side in the field is disposed into catcher, pitcher, short stop, first, second, and third basemen, and right, left, and centre fieldsmen. At the conclusion of their inning the side at the bat change places in detail with the side in the field."
The Baltimore Association played by NY rules and baseball activity proliferated on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the Spring of 1867. See also William Ridgely Griffith, "Amateur Base Ball in Maryland: 1858-1871." {Baltimore 1897} p. 49 for the 4 Eastern Shore teams that were accepted into the Association. The Avalnche of Cecil, A.J. Pennington; the Chesterfield of Queen Anne, J.H. Thompson; the Dorchester of Milton, B.H. Woodgood, John O. Skinner; and the Excelsior of Sudlersville, S.S. Goodland, E.B. Price.
The completion of several railroads seemed to coincide with the sudden popularity.
Sources
Kent News, April 6, 1867
