CAVEAT: Although this newspapers article is reproduced faithfully, unfortunately all of the photographs are generic. None depict baseball in Somersworth.

It is certainly not a matter of very great importance how the game of base ball was first introduced into this town [Somersworth]. Historians have, however, wrinkled their brows and scratched their heads over far less consequential matters than this, and therefore we may be pardoned for giving a meager bit of history on this pint, which may prove of interest to some of our readers.

When the writer was a youngster, with extremely short pants and a prodigiously long appetite, the game of four-old-cat was considered the ne plus ultra of athletic sports. Many of our readers will remember how this game was played, and will recall to mind that the fun consisted in "patchin' out" the runner when between the "gools," as we used to call them. The ball was of softly wound yarn (taken from some old stocking leg condemned for exceeding the 75 per cent. limit of repairs) and covered with leather, sewed with the seams outside. Bats were of no particular dimensions; "everything went," so far as they were concerned.

The non-essentials of the game were very numerous. One of those sticks that were used to paddle clothes in a wash-boiler made a very effective bat, but if one of the boys was so lucky as to secure a good, solid, hard-wood pitchfork handle, cut at the proper length, it was absolutely painful to witness the superciliousness of his manner towards his less fortunate companions. Many and many a night, without care and without supper, have we played that jolly game on Prospect street, near the Footman house, the trees on both sides making four excellent "gools;" and many and many a shingle has been notched in "keeping tally" for the "long" and "short" sides. Ignorance is contentment; and we boys delighted in "four-old-cat" and played it at all opportunities, because it was the best and most exciting sport with the ball that we knew. Could any of us have been made to believe that anything could supplant that dear old game in our affections?

The transfer of our allegiance did come, however. A youngster, named Charlie Steele, of Boston, used to come to town every summer to visit relatives, and on one of these trips he brought with him a hard base ball—a thing entirely new to us. Moreover he had learned the points of the game, and from that moment he became our hero, guide and counselor. Well does the writer remember the first game of "scrub" played under the instructions of this pioneer of the national game. It was in the Emery field, below where the tennis courts now are—a locality indelibly impressed upon the writer's memory by many a pleasant incident.



There was Sam Whittier! Oh my, what a player we used to think Sam was! Charlie and Fred Holmes and the Buffum boys played there; also Fred and Frank Rand, and others. Under Charlie Steele's direction knowledge of the game increased with us, and with it increased our interest also. For two or three summers we continued to play "scrub," and then decided–Oh imperishable memory!–to organize a club. All this happened about a fifth of a century ago.

The first club that was formed in this town, if the writer's recollection serves him aright, was the "Actives;" a smart little nine it was, too, and it made a good record for itself. What a brilliant uniform we had! Fiery red shirt with blue cuffs, collar, and shield in front, trimmed with silver braid, and read and white cap. A wonder it is that from all that glittering magnificence some of us did not lose our eyesight.

Sam Whittier caught. Then the catcher played away back from the striker, and after the third strike, or on a foul, it made an "out" if the ball was caught on the first bound, or rather "bounce," as we used to call it.

John Ball was our pitcher, and we used to think him a phenomenon. The pitching then was "straight-arm," and so slow that if the striker did not hit it at the first attempt, he could strike again before it got clear by him. Charlie Holmes used to pitch also, and was a good player. Charlie, poor fellow, with all his manliness and promise of future usefulness, has passed away, and rests beneath the sod of Pennsylvania. No one of our old playfellows could we have missed as we did that brave, honest, open hearted fellow.

Herbert Dame played first base, and a fine player he was. He was nevertheless quite ill with consumption, and many times he patiently played when he ought to have been in bed. He is now with the "silent majority." The other players were: Henry Chellis, short stop; C.H. Wells, second base and catcher; Almon James, third base and catcher; Frank Wentworth, left field, and a fellow by the name of Small (first name forgotten by us) played centre field. Then we believe that Geo. Cowell used to play in the Actives, but are not sure about that. He will remember as he reads this. Of course the membership of the club changed a good deal, but these are the players we remember most clearly, and who were longest identified with the club.

In those days almost every club had a first and second nine. The two nines used to play together for practice, and in case of a vacancy in the first nine, but absence or sickness, a player was selected from the second nine to make up the full number. There was no hesitation about changing positions in those days. Players were supposed to be able to play in one position about as well as they could in any other. Left field was thought to be the most important of the outfield, as nearly all the flies were knocked in that direction, while right field was considerable of a sinecure. In the second nine were the Buffum brothers, Ed. and Harry, Fred Holmes, Fred and Frank Rand and others. Some of these afterward were graduated and transferred to the first nine.

The older boys caught the fever, and soon a club called the "Somersworths" was organized. Those who played in it at various times were, as near as we can recollect; D.H. Buffum, E. and Ira Blood, Jos. Fielding, E. Cole, R.W. Nason, S.P. Brackett, Luther Hanson, Warren Gilman, Frank Woodman and Frank Lothrop. Part of the time Ed. Cole pitched, and now and then Ira Blood tried his hand at it. We used to think Ira and Ed. to be two terribly swift pitchers and they both filled us with deep awe. Frank Lothrop used to catch, and he invariably committed the gross impropriety of going close behind the bat and catching in that position all the time. It look to our youthful ideas a very unwarrantable proceeding, and we used to figure up how much better it would have been had Frank stayed farther back and caught the ball on the first "bounce." Alas, how rudely were those ideas to be dissipated in later years!

Mr. Buffum played first base, and a good player he was, too. He was well along in years, but vigorous and active, and he enjoyed the game most heartily. The positions played by other members of the nine we do not remember. The Somersworths had no uniform.

The base ball excitement spread still further. Some of the younger boys got together and organized a club called the Stars. Ora Decatur was captain and pitcher, and the only other players we now have in mind were Charlie Blasdell, Eugene Blasdell and Almon James, who afterward joined the Actives. The uniform of the "Stars" was exactly the reverse of that of the Actives, and consisted of blue shirt, with red collar, cuffs and shield, and blue and red cap. Whenever the Actives and Stars came together in contest, the glory of their uniforms paled even the beams of the glowing sun. We remember one peculiarity about Charlie Blaisdell, ("Sukey," we used to call him) in playing his position of right or centre field. He would place himself about where the ball ought to come, and then would squat down, hold up his hands and wait patiently for the ball to drip into them. If he missed his reckoning by eight or ten rods it never discouraged him in the least, or accelerated his motions.

In those days we used to practice a good deal in the schoolhouse yard, but match games were played either on the circus grounds (as they are now called) in Berwick, or in John Roberts' pasture. Sometimes we used the Jordan field in Berwick, which is now nearly or quite all built upon. Requisites for grounds were not very numerous. All that was wanted was plenty of room to chase the ball in.

The Actives had remarkably good luck in their games and earned more than their share of victories over the clubs they played with. The most dreaded competitors we had to meet on the field were the second nine of the "Minnies," of South Berwick. In the second nine were the Burleigh boys, John and Charles, Jack Whitehead, John Colcord and others whom we do not now remember. The could play ball though, as we often found out, but the honors were not far from easy between us, as we beat them about as often at the beat us. The Actives used to play with a Rochester nine, whom we used to beat with considerable regularity, and the Stars, whom we drubbed unmercifully every time we got at them. We make this statement with exceeding boldness, as there is no one of the Stars in this precinct to call us to account.

There was a good club in Sanford, and also one in Rochester called the "Lafayettes." These, with the Somersworths and the first nine of the Minnies, formed a knot of clubs that played some very interesting games. As a whole, the Minnies were rather the best club, with the Somersworths a good fourth. The "Somersworths" had an unfortunate faculty of being beaten whenever they played with any of these clubs, though once in a while they won a game as a rarity.

Such scores as they made in those days! One game in which the Minnies beat us was characterized by the score of 95 to 36. It was a pretty poor playing when the score would fall below 50 on the winning side. Everybody tried to know flies in those days. Grounders were held in small esteem. A good fly ball that the fielder muffed, or that went sailing over his head, was what used to please the boys. There was no trouble in running the bases. Every time the ball was pitched the runner would make a base, and sometimes he would run in home, taking the catcher by surprise. This was a good trick and was hugely relished by those players who side gained by it.

We remember the first spring bat that was brought into this town. The Somersworths used it, and Mr. Buffum once knocked the so far that he made a home run and then went and helped both sides find the ball. This bat had a handle, if our memory is right, made of strips of rattan set into the wood and then tightly wound with a waxed end. It would give the ball a terrible lift. Oh, ye gods! What leather hunting there was in those times! In those years we played ball, not for the benefit of spectators, but for our own enjoyment. There were no admission fees to our games, and the expenses were paid out of our individual pockets. They were good honest games, too, and played with desire and intention of winning. Exciting sport it was, and what did it matter if our opponents were 15 or 20 tallies ahead of us? They might be made up in one inning, and more beside. So that the game was never lost until the last inning was played.

All the remembrances of our early base ball days are not entirely pleasant. We have very vivid recollection of having tried sundry times to catch the ball in our eye, or on other portions of our anatomy. Several swollen finger joints and crooked fingers carry our thoughts back with some distinctness. We remember a bat's once slipping out of Ira Blood's hands and striking a South Berwick layer, a McIntyre fellow, we believe, in the head with terrible force. It was almost a miracle that it didn't crack his skull. Another incident is in our memory. It was an accident to Henry Kinney. Somebody threw a ball at him on third base, and it slipped through his hands and broke off one of his teeth. Henry did not enjoy the mishap at the time, but afterward, when had the broken tooth pieced out with gold, we do not believe he would have cared to go back to his original dental status. Fred Holmes and E. Buffum will remember the evident pride with which Henry exhibited his gold tooth to admiring friends. But whatever unpleasant features the game possessed are merged in the many delightful times it evoked. Not more pleasant are any memories of our early youth than those connect with base ball, and they will linger with us as long as the mind continues its faithful work of treasuring up the past.

What changes have taken place between then and now! Of all those that used to play ball in those old clubs, the "Actives," "Somersworths" and "Stars," only two yet reside in this town. Some have formed business and family ties elsewhere; others have gone to "the undiscovered country, from whose bourne no traveler returns." Of those who are living we do not believe there is one who does not find some pleasure in recalling those early experiences with the game, which, with its changes, has now become a great national sport.

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