On This Date: Sunday Exhibition Slaughter

July 25, 1897 - Unfortunately for Fargo, their Sunday afternoon slaughter of Wahpeton-Breckenridge didn't count in the standings. Still, the Divorcees 22-5 exhibition win over the Methodists must have been satisfying. Fargo continued to languish in last place in the RRVL, despite playing better baseball in recent weeks. Sunday's game was a wild, error-filled contest, with the teams combining for a shockingly awful 21 errors. It is hard to fathom how so many fielding miscues could occur in a minor league game. Charles C. Alexander's biography on Ty Cobb provides some insight. He highlights several aspects of baseball at the turn of the century that were unique to that era. Though much of baseball has remained unchanged in the 115 years since the Red River Valley League of 1897, one key item of contrast is found in the equipment. The fielders worked with gloves that Alexander describes as "flimsy little devices", grossly ineffective when compared with today's options. Alexander also notes that scorekeepers of games didn't give the players any breaks despite the primitive equipment. Furthermore, the lack of regularly replaced baseballs made fielders throw with less accuracy, and the pitchers didn't help with their notorious doctoring of the ball. The playing fields didn't aid fielders either, and were not tended to by full-time grounds crews. Uneven ground was more the rule than the exception. Perhaps for the RRVL, the best example of a less than ideal playing field would be the home park of the Grand Forks club. On this field, the Senators and their opponents had to contend with a cement bicycle track that was part of the baseball diamond.

Fargo and Wahpeton-Breckenridge were slated to play the final game of their series Monday afternoon. Oscar Peterson was the starting pitcher for the Divorcees, and the Methodists countered with Oliver Berg. Unfortunately for Ed Corbett and his team, the end of the series would not mark the end of trouble for the W-B franchise. Corbett spent the day in Crookston discussing the possible transfer of his team. According to the Forum, there was considerable excitement about a new rivalry between Crookston and Grand Forks. The team's transfer from W-B to Crookston was scheduled for August 2.

Fargo Forum and Daily Republican July 26, 1897 p. 4 "An Awful Score"
Charles C. Alexander Ty Cobb Oxford University Press, 1984, p. 29-30.

Little Change in the Rules

To my amazement, very little has changed from the official baseball rules from 1897 and those of today. Granted, today's version is more fine-tuned and addresses specific situations that have occurred over the last 125 years, but the fundamental rules of the game have remained very static. In examining the 1898 Spalding Guide to baseball, I found just a couple of rules listed that vary from those of Major League Baseball today. 
Most are relatively minor differences.

Rule 14.2 levied a $5 fine for purposefully dirtying the ball, if the opposing team's captain protested the matter.

Rule 15 concerning the baseball bat said that the bat could be no bigger than 2 3/4 inches in diameter. Today, the specification is 2.61 inches.

Rule 19.2 said that a catcher's or first baseman's mitt could be of any size, shape, or weight! The infielder's gloves needed to weigh no more than 10 ounces and have a maximum circumference of 14 inches around the palm.
Today's limits, if you are curious:
Catcher's mitt: Limit of 38 inches diameter and 15 1/2 inches long.
First baseman's mitt: Limit of 12 inches long and 8 inches wide.
Infielders: Limit of 12 inches long and 7 3/4 inches wide (no weight limit, unlike 1897)

Forty years before night baseball, Rule 21 stated that all championship games must start no later than two hours before sunset. (With the lack of mound visits, pitcher and batter substitutions, in-game promotions, TV commercials, and the like, major league games rarely took more than two hours in 1897.)

Rule 27.3 from the 1898 edition said that any substitution for a base-runner must be approved by the captains of both teams.

Rule 35 said that a fair ball touched by a spectator would only be considered a dead ball if the spectator retained possession of the ball. Today, any fair ball touched by a spectator becomes a dead ball.

Rule 45 said that a strike would be considered any fairly delivered ball. This was defined as a ball that went over the plate, and was no higher than the batter's shoulders and no lower than his knees. Today's rule officially defines the top of the strike zone as the midpoint between a players shoulders and his belt, and the bottom of the strike zone remains the knees.

Rule 69 said that no betting was allowed on a club's field or on any property owned or occupied by the club. This rule is not explicit in today's code, but betting on baseball games by participants is widely known to be prohibited.

Equipment from Spalding

The 1898 Spalding Baseball Guide listed prices for many different products, along with great illustrations and descriptions (a few illustrations are linked below). A sampling of what the men in 1897 would have used to play the game is summarized below. The high-end item and the low-end item are listed together for each product.

Boys could buy a kid's ball or a bat for just 5 cents, a catcher's mitt for 10 cents, and a first baseman's mitt or infielder glove for 50 cents.

*A rough adjustment for inflation says a product that could be purchased for $1.00 in 1897 would cost about $25 today. See: http://www.westegg.com/inflation/.

Product	Price	Notes
Spalding Official League Ball	$1.50	“Warranted to last a full game without ripping or losing its elasticity or shape.”
Regulation size “Victor” ball	$.20
Spalding League Model Bat	$.75	“Made of finest selected timber, oil finish” 32, 33, 34, 35, or 36 inches
Spalding Black End “Antique” Finish Bat	$.20
Black Enameled Sun Protecting Mask	$5.00	With patented “sunshade” “Highly endorsed by the leading catchers.”
Spalding Men’s Mask	$1.00	“Heavy wire, well padded”
Spalding Catcher’s “Mit”	$7.50	“The PERFECTION of Catchers’ Mits”
Spalding’s Amateur Mit	$2.00	“Made of extra quality asbestos buck”
Spalding Basemen’s Mit	$4.00	“Adapts itself nicely to the conformation of the hand without undue straining”
Spalding’s Basemen’s and Infielders’ Mit	$1.00
Spalding Infielders’ Glove	$3.00	“Made throughout of specially tanned buckskin, lined and correctly padded with finest felt.”
Spalding Men’s Infielders’ Glove	$1.00	“All leather”
Base Ball Caps	$.40 - $1.00	Chicago, College, Boston, and University Styles
Spalding’s Baseball Shoes	$7.50	“Hand-made throughout, and of specially selected Kangaroo leather” Metal plates on the heel and sole
Amateur Special Shoes	$3.50	“Made of good quality calfskin, machine sewed.”

Official Uniform	$14.75	Shirt, belt, pants, socks, and cap included
Amateur Special Uniform	$4.50	Shirt, belt, pants, socks, and cap included