One of the great things about researching 19th Century baseball is the rich, detailed, and nuanced language used in the newspapers of the time. So I thought it would be good to put together a little guide for interpreting those old stories and box scores (some more obvious than others):
33rd degree fan = probably a reference to Mason who was a fan of a team
(since the 33rd degree is the highest degree of the Masons); possibly just a die-hard fan
Aggregation, Club, Baseball nine = Baseball team
"At the points" = players playing pitcher and catcher
Battery = pitcher and catcher for a particular game (still used today, but sparingly)
Behind the wind pad = playing catcher
Comer = a promising player
Crank = fan
Fast = doing well
Fettle = Condition (ex: The club was in good fettle to begin the season.)
"In the box" - pitcher (ex: Peterson was in the box for Fargo)
Kick = to become upset/argue
"Manipulator of the indicator" = umpire
Sphere = baseball
Three-bagger = triple
Twirler = pitcher
Two-bagger = double
Willow = bat
More to come later...
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