San Antonio · San Antonio, Texas · 1891

This is ladies day at the ball park

August 1891, San Antonio versus Galveston, and the paper has one request: this is ladies day at the ball park. Turn out ladies, and see the ball game, it encourages the players to play ball when the fair sex is well represented.

The Daily Light’s Base Ball column for August 22, 1891 is a whole beat delivered in nine paragraphs. Longley, lately of the Austins, “will pitch for San Antonio in the Galveston-San Antonio series,” and he comes recommended: “Longley is a good pitcher, throws a good, speedy curve, and keeps the base runners close to their bases.” Butler, meanwhile, “will not be seen in the box in this series, as he is slightly disabled,” which is 1891 for day-to-day.

There is a warm word for the first baseman: “Sherry will be on first. Everybody will be glad to see him on the ball field, as he is a good ball player.” No statistics, no scouting jargon, just the assurance that everybody will be glad. And the series outlook runs exactly one sentence: “A good game can be expected today, as both nine are equally matched.”

Then the paper gets to the point. “This is ladies day at the ball park. Turn out ladies, and see the ball game, it encourages the players to play ball when the fair sex is well represented.” The theory that a team plays better ball under observation by the fair sex is not one the modern game has tested, but San Antonio’s paper stated it as plain fact and printed both lineups underneath, Fields to Jacks and Page to Drew, so you would know exactly who was being encouraged.