First Baseball Game

The advent of spring 1900 was promising to the Americans. The country was undergoing a change that modernized the so- called antiquated style from the nineteenth century on to the interesting developments brought by the twentieth century. However even with the transition, there was one that remained the same. It was none other than the favorite national pastime, baseball. Shortly after the end of the Civil War, the sport was still regarded with high esteem as not only the working- class was captivated with the game but even the elites in the society that ushered the entire United States to be of no difference to each other right inside the arena.

With the aforementioned, it is clear that baseball in the twentieth century took the Americans by storm. Take for example Samuel Gompers from New York, he was vocal about his plans of establishing a professional league of the sport under the administration of the American Federation of Labor. The popularity of the game did not only happen in the country but even branched out to neighboring nations such as Cuba. The team called X Giants which were not composed of natives but individuals descending from Africa and United States were not permitted to play in major tournaments so they instead opted for international competitions.

Also on the twentieth century, the first baseball game between Boston Beaneaters and Philadelphia Phillies took place. It was held on a sunny afternoon of Thursday in South End Grounds. The venue was packed to an overflowing where it was even considered as the first professional baseball game played of the period. Boston Beaneaters though went home defeated by the Philadelphia Phillies with a score of nineteen is to seventeen in ten innings. The competition began how many minutes after 2:30pm. However at 1:45pm, all the seats were already taken leaving other spectators to be standing position all throughout the match.

The defeat of the Boston Beaneaters on the first baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies was preceded with a tragic event. Three months before the historic competition that took place in South End Grounds, it was reported that catcher Marty Bergen was found dead in his farm at New England. The news came as a shock to the entire team especially that he was the one who ended his dear life. Not only that, he also killed his wife and two kids employing an ax prior to slicing his throat with a sharp razor. The incident was totally appalling to the club because their co- member was not identified to be violent and even had a happy marriage.

Back to the first baseball game between the Boston Beaneaters and Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Herald reported that the competition began badly for the Beaneaters. A lot of individuals noted that most probably, the entire team was still hunted by the tragic event that happened with catcher Marty Bergen. The early stages of the first baseball game played with the Phillies were poor as the said club opened with a strong blow. As a matter of fact, the Phillies scored five runs of the two innings. Beaneaters’ pitcher that time was Vic Willis who was identified to be highly effective Americans in his position.

However, even with the twentieth century defeat of Boston Beaneaters in the first baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies, two names emerged victorious. They are Chick Stahl and Jimmy Colins. Chick Stahl helped the team by scoring triple in the eighth inning while Jimmy Colins’ single drove him in the niche. Stahl was a right fielder who made .351 bats in 1899 while Colins was a third baseman who was already heading to the hall of fame. Both were close friends so it was not surprising why their skills somehow influenced each other. At the end of the season, they were now holding managerial ranks in the club.

There are still many stories from the Boston Beaneaters and Philadelphia Phillies but these are all for now. Simply allow yourself to immerse in the bygone eras that you can still visit through these writings.