sign in sign up
<<
Home , Baseball

IN HAWAII

By E d w in N o r t h M c C l e l l a n Historian, Editor, Lawyer, Traveller, Columnist, Radio Commentator and former member of OCC

E d w in N . M c C l e l l a n

“There's good old bat-and-, just the same as when we ran from the school- house to the Common to exercise our skill that way,’’ reported the Polynesian of December 26, 1840. At "a form of baseball had been played as far back as 1842 under the name of , one-old-cat, two-old-cat and townball,” wrote Frank A. Boardman in the Advertiser, June 5, 1910. Murray H ill” () and that "many is the pleasant chase I had after BASEBALL ORIGINATED IN NEW YORK it” on "the sunny plains of Hawaii ney- “Baseball originated in New York City in Honolulu, my pleasant Island .’\_ in 1845 when a party of gentlemen so This letter was published in Star-Bulle- modified the old of townball as to tin, October 17, 1925. (See my article create a new game, which they gave the under pseudonym Bailey S. Marshall in name of baseball,” explained the Adver­ Paradise of Pacific, June, 1939.) tiser, September 30, 1884. “On the 23rd of "My father said, when he showed me September in that year these gentlemen a group picture,” explained Bruce to me: formally organized the Knickerbocker “ ‘There is your grandfather with some Baseball Club.” The "Olympic Club of of the members of the Old Knicker­ Philadelphia had been organized in 1833, bockers.’ ” The picture was a daguerreo­ but it played nothing but townball until type. 1860.” (See Advertiser, June 5, 1910 quot­ ing Advertiser, August 31, 1867 for his­ BASEBALL AT PUNAHOU tory of baseball.) Punahou records show that about 1859, bat-and-ball was the standard PUNAHOU FIRST TO BASEBALL game of halcyon days. Judge Lee and "It was the Punahou College boys who Hon. Charles R. Bishop came up on were the first to play baseball in the Is­ Saturdays expressly to have a game of lands,” said Professor Curtis J. Lyons as ball. The scholarly [Rev.] Mr. [Daniel] quoted by Advertiser, October 7, 1901. Dole [father of Sanford Ballard Dole],/ The professor explained that “a Boston the principal himself, was a great batter v clergyman introduced the game in the . . . sandbags were scattered for bases . . . early forties and the Punahou boys im­ the boys made their own bats and balls. mediately took it up.” James and Levi Chamberlain . . . in Ma- noa Valley . . . found and cut more ALEXANDER JOY CARTWRIGHT Alexander Joy Cartwright came to Ha­ straight kukui and hau branches for bats. waii in 1849. I discussed often with his After peeling the bark, they laid them in grandson, the late Bruce Cartwright, the the sun to dry.” (Star-Bulletin, January possibility that Alexander Joy Cartwright 17, 1953.) had introduced baseball into Hawaii. He "NEW GAME OF BASEBALL" gave me practically no information on "While I was a student at Oberlin in the subject, but showed me a letter dated 1864-1866, I played baseball,” related April 6, 1865 that his grandfather wrote William R. Castle in The Friend of from Honolulu to Charles S. Debort March, 1924. “It was introduced into about the “dear old Knickerbockers," Hawaii while I was in Oberlin and it was and that he had in his “the called the New Game of Baseball. . . In original ball with which we used to play (Concluded on Page 22)

[8] BASEBALL IN HAWAII the first game of the kind ever played (Concluded from Page 8) here.” The game took one and three- the of 1866 I returned to Hono­ quarters hours to play and the Pacifics lulu and found that no one knew how to scored eleven runs to for the Pio­ play baseball although several had read neers. The was P. C. Jones and of the new game and were curious to try the scorers, H. G. Crabb and C. H. Rose. it. The only game of ball played here at The lineups were: that time was exactly the same as when Pioneers Position Pacifics I had gone away two years before, that C. Roberts...... P ...... G. T. Gulick A. W. Judd (CapL)...... C...... W. S. Wond (Capt.) is two-o-cat or three-o-cat, and I felt that E. Macfarlane...... IB ...... G. Harbottle S. Nott ...... 2B...... J. Nakookoo to introduce baseball, as I had learned it F. Wundenberg...... 3B ...... J. N. Gilman and as it was played in the schools of J. H. Black...... SS...... J. Naone Thos. Snow...... RF ...... G. Laanui the , would add greatly to H. E. Whitney...... I.F...... J. Meek the of the community. So, after W. C arter...... CF...... J. E. Bush (For description of game see Advertiser, June 5, 1910, the full-term opened at Punahou in Sep­ quoting from Advertiser of August 31, 1867.) tember of 1866, . . . we organized a Base­ ball Club [at Punahou] . . . I used to EIGHTY-SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY OF BASEBALL have a good deal of business with Mr. “Baseball, upon its Fortieth Anniver­ (Alexander Joy) Cartwright and, while sary, is enjoying a lusty growth,” reported in his office one day, several years after the Paradise of the Pacific, May, 1908f my return, he surprised me by saying “Hawaii took to the American nations that he was an old ball player but, added, game long before the political union that he hardly recognized the game, ‘as came with the Mainland.” played now.' However, his interest This year of 1954 is the Eighty-Seventh seemed as keen and alive as ever and I Anniversary of the First Game of Base­ remember seeing him at Punahou sev­ ball in Hawaii reported in the news­ eral times, watching the play as it had papers. Some recognition of this fact been recently introduced. He commented could well be made by the Fathers of on some new features or different meth­ Baseball in Hawaii. ods of playing from those he had learned at New York.”

FIRST GAME OF BASEBALL The first game of baseball disclosed by my research was played on May 25, 1867 on the Esplanade in the open spaces near the Custom House. The Advertiser, June 1, 1867 reported it. I know not the win­ ner. On July 31, 1867, the Pacific Baseball Nine challenged the Pioneer Team to a match game of baseball for a fifty-dollar collation. The Pioneers declined the match for the reason that “they go on the -total principle, while the Pacifics wished to have something besides water to wash luncheon down with.” This de­ clination was followed by a second chal­ lenge by the Pioneers who offered to pro­ vide the collation. The Pacifics accepted MANY MEMBERS the challenge after a of satirical resolutions published in the Gazette. HAVE LUNCH AT

PACIFICS DEFEAT PIONEERS OUTRSGGER CANOE CLUB The game was played , 1867 DO YOU? "on the open lot makai of Punahou Col­ lege about two miles from town. It was [22]