Wandering through the newspaper archives of SHSMO (the State Historical Society of Missouri), I came upon this momentous record from the Friday, April 10, 1868, issue of the Columbia Herald Statesman. It is titled, "Base Ball - The Match Game".
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| Columbia Herald Statesman April 10, 1868 (State Historical Society of Missouri) |
That description of the game is certainly representative of mid-19th century ways of thinking.
"Rounders ... is wanting in the many manly features that characterize Base Ball, as played in America. Boys and even girls can play "Rounders" without difficulty; but Base Ball, to be played thoroughly, requires the possession of muscular strength, great agility, quickness of eye, readiness of hand, and many other faculties of mind that make the man of nerve."
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| Columbia Herald Statesman April 10, 1868 (State Historical Society of Missouri) |
The game was played between a team of University students and a team of Columbia locals.
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| Columbia Herald Statesman April 10, 1868 (State Historical Society of Missouri) |
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| Columbia Herald Statesman April 10, 1868 (State Historical Society of Missouri) |
And in case you can't quite make out the details, the final score was 49-39, in favor of the University squad. This would not have been an unusual score during that era of baseball, when the rules were significantly different than today's game.
Note: There was no "official" intercollegiate University of Missouri baseball team prior to 1891. This would have been a team of students - and perhaps some faculty - who were recruited for this game.
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| Columbia Herald Statesman April 10, 1868 (State Historical Society of Missouri) |
