Oral Presentations on 19c Subjects
SABR34 (Cincinnati, July 2004)

From: Paul Wendt , Chair, 19th Century Committee, SABR

19ers,
The 34th Annual Convention of SABR will be July 15-18 in Cincinnati.
(Thursday, July 15, will be a full full day.)  The tentative schedule
     tentative schedule
now lists title and author for each of the 34 "Research Presentations"
--traditional oral or theater-style in contrast to "Poster Presentations".
I believe that eight feature 19th century subjects.

The eight are listed here.  I have invited each author to distribute
an abstract, description, or modest promotion to the 19cBB egroup. 
Four have done so, and their replies are linked to the schedule.


THURSDAY
12:00
Metropolitans at Play: Big City Baseball in a Small Town Setting  - new listing, May 27
Mark Rhoads

3:30
Growing up Cincinnati Tough: Miller J. Huggins [1879-1929]
John M. Humenik

FRIDAY
10:30
A Shocking Discovery, the Phillies sign-stealing caper of 1900
Joseph Dittmar (from the author)

10:30
Christy Mathewson and the 1900 Virginia League Season In Norfolk
Clay Shampoe (from the author) - new, Jun 16

1:00
Bats With a Purpose
Robert H. Schaefer (from the author)

3:00
Women and Nineteenth Century Baseball
Jerrold Casway

4:30
Ohio's First Base Ball Game: Played by Confederates and Taught to Yankees?
John R. Husman (from the author)

SATURDAY
9:00
Washington Senators Baseball in the 19th Century
C. Norman Willis



Date: 23 May 2004
From: Joe Dittmar (dittmar5@aol.com)

A Shocking Discovery, the Phillies sign-stealing caper of 1900
Joseph Dittmar

In 1900 the Phillies had incredible good fortune in games played in
their home park, so much so that opponents became suspicious.
Finally, on September 17, the Quakers were caught red-handed, or more
aptly red-footed, in a scheme to defraud the National League.
 
This is a story complete with a cast of low-standing citizens,
denials, lies, revenge and ultimately league outrage to the point
magnates demanded the Phillies' victories and statistics be thrown out
of the records.
 
It's a story originally published in the 1991 BRJ, but since then new
information has been uncovered.  In addition the entire story is now
visualized in an animated PowerPoint presentation.



Date: 15 Jun 2004 
From: Clay Shampoe (SHAMPOE1@aol.com)

Christy Mathewson and the 1900 Virginia League season in Norfolk
Clay Shampoe

I will be talking specifically on Christy Mathewson's 1900 Virginia
League season in Norfolk, Virginia.  Information will be presented
regarding pitching and batting stats, antedotes, and an overview of
the season itself and Mathewson's impact on the Norfolk nine capturing
the Virginia League trophy.  Slides will be a part of the presentation
with images showing his 1900 contract, team photo and a picture of the
Virginia League trophy with Matty's name engraved on the reverse.  
I will have handouts for the attendees listing Matty's stats for the
season.  Time will be reserved for questions from the audience.



Date: 21 May 2004
From: Bob Schaefer (bubba@xtalwind.net)

BATS WITH A PURPOSE
Robert H. Schaefer 

A bat is one of the two implements whose use is mandatory to play the
game of base ball.  The second implement, obviously, is the ball.
Unlike the very public and highly controversial quest for the
"perfect" ball, the saga of bat design across the ages is largely in
the shadows and many details are unknown today.

Historically, bats have been crafted to achieve one or more of three
very specific and well defined design goals: 1) To assist the batter
in directing the ball to a specific point on the field, 2) To assist
the batter in driving the ball a greater distance, and 3) To increase
the durability of the bat itself.

Any examination of bat design must begin by identifying the evolution
of rules applicable to it's design and construction.  Against the
background of this body of regulations, examples from each of the
three categories of bat design identified above will be presented and
analyzed.  The particulars of each distinct bats actual role in
baseball history will be discussed. The time period encompassed by
this review of bat design is ca.  1860 to 2003.

Sources used to identify the various bats designs include contemporary
sporting goods catalogs and newspaper articles, along with information
from the U. S. Patent Office.



Date: 22 May 2004
From: John Husman (jhusman@buckeye-express.com)

Ohio's First Base Ball Game:
Played by Confederates and Taught to Yankees?
John R. Husman

    Johnson's Island, just off Sandusky, Ohio in Lake Erie was the
site of a Civil War prison for Confederate officers. Some held there
played baseball during their captivity. A highly organized and
noteworthy game was played in August of 1864 before 3,000
spectators. This well-documented match game raises two interesting
issues: this could be the first New York rules match game recorded in
Ohio and the prisoners may have taught the game to their captors.
    We know that there were antebellum baseball clubs in Ohio. Whether
or not they played matches with other clubs is
questionable. Intra-club matches, ala the early Knickerbocker style,
were, no doubt, the order of the day. Evidence of this is the lack of
reporting game accounts, box scores or even inter-club scores in
Ohio's pre-war newspapers.
    The common belief is that northern soldiers taught baseball to
their southern counterparts. In this case, the guards were locally
raised companies. The prisoners, on the other hand, were all officers,
educated gentlemen, if you will. Many of these were schooled in the
east and some lived in urban areas where baseball was played before
the Civil war. It is far more likely that they, rather than the
enlisted men from Ohio, would know the game.
    Supporting arguments based on first hand accounts, primary news
sources and deduction will be presented.