University of Virginia Library

XXIX. Athletics—Baseball

During the first session of the new order, 1865–66,
baseball was the only game which was able to secure any
foothold in the esteem of the students. "On the Lawn,"
says John S. Wise, in the Lion's Skin, "a contingent were
in the habit of assembling, in their short intervals of leisure,
and amusing each other with discussions of their
favorite sport." By this time, that sport had risen to
such popularity beyond the precincts that the clubs of
several communities formed what were known as leagues
for the purpose of instituting contests between the numerous
competitive nines. In the course of the session
1866–67, the Monticello Club was organized. This was
always spoken of as the "great nine," because it drew its
membership from the subordinate and inferior ones. No
strict rules were adopted by the Monticello Club, and no
uniform was used by it as a means of distinguishing the
sides, although games were now played by it as far afield

as Washington. The Potomac Club was, on at least
one of these occasions, beaten by the Monticello Club;
and so was the Arlington Club of Lexington.

But how cold still was the attitude of the students as
a body towards this branch of sport was demonstrated
by the magazine's sneering description of the enthusiasm
exhibited by some for the game as "strange and unnecessary."
This enthusiasm had now begun to spread
throughout the precincts. By 1867–8, the Lawn, the
Ranges, Dawson's Row, and Carr's Hill, had each organized
a club of amateurs, and after a series of games, the
local championship narrowed down to East Lawn and
West Range. There is no record of the ultimate winner.
In the meanwhile, the Monticello Club had continued to
maintain its separate existence. In 1870, there was a
match game between this club and a nine composed of
the most expert players to be found in the rolls of the subordinate
nines of the University. So many were the
scores recorded at this time between the different clubs,
that the Monticello team, as the principal one,—being
made up, as already stated, of members selected from the
ranks of all,—must have possessed a fair degree of competence.
"The baseball clubs are organizing," said the
editors of the magazine, during the session of 1870–71,
"and several games are played every week. A large
number of students visit the grounds near the cemetery to
witness the skill of the players." And yet, according to
this periodical, in its issue of the same date, there was,
at this hour, "no regularly organized club or even a
University nine,"—by which it only meant that there
was no club in existence that year which was acknowledged
to represent the entire institution. There was now
heard the complaint that the grounds in use were unfit
even for the old-fashioned pastime of town ball; and

there were many voices raised in favor of the Faculty's
allowing a field to be reserved for athletic sports alone.

During the session of 1871–72, the rivalry between the
Monticello Club,—which, if it had been disbanded in
1870–71, had now been revived,—and the club of Washington
and Lee University began; and it was to be nursed,
with intervals of relaxation, during many years. The
first series of games was played with the Shoo Fly Club,
in which those champions of the seat of learning at Lexington
were defeated by a close margin.

During the following sessions of 1872–73 and 1873–
74, the interest in baseball at the University of Virginia
seems to have fluctuated,—now it was pronounced the
favorite sport of the students; now it lost its popularity to
such a degree that the Monticello Club was not reorganized.
When, in March, 1874, a challenge was received
from the team of Washington and Lee University,
the magazine remarked, in commenting on it, that
"college duties had been too pressing so far to leave any
time for such manly and invigorating exercise as baseball."
It was not until 1875 that another match game
was played by the two institutions, and the upshot again
found the University of Virginia the winner in the contest.
Sometimes, these games were played at the latter
place on a field not far from the residence of Professor
Mallet; sometimes, in Lexington. When the turn came
for a game in Lexington, the excursion thither was full
of excitement, since the University club, on these occasions,
was always accompanied by a large number of rollicking
students. First, they traveled by cars to Staunton,
where the short interval of waiting was enlivened by
flirtations with the pretty school-girls, who swarmed like
bees in that beautiful town. From that place, they continued
their journey by coach to their point of destination.

There they were always received with a great
demonstration by the students of Washington and Lee
University and the cadets of the Virginia Military Institute;
lectures in both institutions were suspended; and the
inhabitants of the town and the surrounding region assembled
to watch the innings of the game.

The University club was successful down to 1878 in
beating their Lexington opponents. Indeed, the unbroken
round of victories had begun to assume a monotonous
complexion. On May 9, of that year, the rule of
alternation required the Arlington Club to face their rivals
on the University grounds. The University team took
their places at the bat and in the field with a feeling of
smiling confidence in their superiority over their adversaries.
But this state of serenity was soon rudely upset.
The ball left the Arlington pitcher's hand apparently on
the usual straight line, and without turning over as it
flew to its mark. It reached the plate and was struck,
but instead of being driven far afield, as was expected, it
whirled aloft and fell lamely into the hands of the Arlington
catcher, as he crouched behind the batter. The
first man at the bat was quickly knocked out, the second,
the third. The University club was thrown into a state
of paralyzing consternation. What was the matter with
the ball? Why could it not be squarely hit? Why did
it gyrate with such abnormal curvings? Why did it persist
in going crooked? The explanation was soon disclosed.
Sykes, the Arlington pitcher, had given a twist
to the ball when it left his hand, and it was impossible
for it to be struck in the usual manner. By the end of
two hours, the University club had not a single run to its
credit, while the Washington and Lee club was able to
count twelve. The championship, in short, had passed
to that organization,—only to be recovered by the University

players when they had learned the same sleight
of hand.

By April, 1877, the University club had been put on a
more effective working footing by the election of a president
and board of directors. A keener interest in the
sport followed the adoption in 1880 of formal rules of
government, one of which required that each aspirant
should have played at least ten times between March 10
and April 1, the date of organizing the nine for that year.
The magazine remarked in its May issue that "the baseball
fever had broken out with a violence which seemed
to give great promise of success." It was noticed, during
this decade, that the number of amateur players on the
grounds was sufficient for the formation of two nines; and
that they were not devoid of genuine skill was proven
afterwards by the fact that their leader, Fergusson, won
the reputation of being the most expert professional
pitcher in the United States. The games played were
often in response to a challenge from one fraternity to
another. Thus a match game came off in the spring of
1881 between two nines chosen from the membership of
the Delta Kappa Epsilon and the Chi Phi.

In March, 1882, the baseball association was reorganized
with thirty-seven members, and promptly began to
show a more energetic spirit. First, it challenged a nine
belonging to Charlottesville, and, afterwards, its old adversary,
the nine at Washington and Lee University. A
stride forward was taken in the autumn of this year,
when the association was again formed, with a complete
roll of officers; but, for the time being, the nine under its
management seems to have been satisfied to struggle for
victory with the nine organized at the Pantops High
School, situated not far from town on the southeast bank
of the Rivanna. There was a series of games with the

batters of this school in 1884 and 1886; and during the
latter year, the University club even ventured to play with
a nine that had been recruited in the village of Gordonsville.
The fact that its members were now unwilling to
challenge more dangerous competitors than these is an
indication that the games, during this year, were played
by men who were lacking in confidence in their own skill.
Indeed, it was admitted in May, 1886, that the sport had
fallen into a condition of somnolent lethargy. But this
spirit does not appear to have lasted very long. In
1889, under the management of Felix H. Levy, a series of
games were played with nines belonging to Richmond
College, Washington and Lee University, Episcopal High
School, United States Naval Academy, Virginia Military
Institute, and Johns Hopkins University. The pastime
of boating having lost its flavor, the interest in other
branches of sport revived, and from this time forward,
baseball was able to retain its reestablished hold on the
hitherto fluctuating predilections of the students.

Instead of seeking support in voluntary contributions
by the student body, the board of directors,—who controlled
the affairs of the club,—borrowed money and
erected an enclosure around a field and charged a small
fee for admission. This new ground for the games was
inaugurated in 1888–89 with a fierce tussle between the
University team and the team of Charlottesville. In
the spring of 1890, it was found that a skilful pitcher
was needed to complete the nine. One of the members
of the club visited Richmond and persuaded Murray M.
McGuire, a recent graduate, to return with him and assume
that office. Through the ability and energy of this
alumnus, the club reached such a degree of efficiency that
its reputation spread far and wide. In 1888, the University
team had been satisfied to contest with the neighboring

Pantops High School nine; in 1891, it was winning
victories over nines belonging to the foremost colleges
of the North, long celebrated for their successes in
every province of athletic sports. "No one," said the
editors of College Topics at this time, "did more than
McGuire to give the University its enviable position (in
this province); and during his stay here, no one did more
for athletics in the University." It was asserted that all
the talk of the arcades was now given up to the one inflaming
topic of baseball. Fifteen games were played
with the nines of the Boston Association, Dartmouth College,
Virginia Military Institute, Washington and Lee
University, the University of North Carolina, Johns
Hopkins University, Swarthmore College, Cornell University,
the Olympia Club, of Louisville, the Pastime Club,
of Baltimore, the Old Dominion Club, of Richmond, and
the Columbia Athletic Club; and in eleven of these contests,
the nine of the University of Virginia demonstrated
its superiority by scoring the highest number of innings.

W. M. Nash, of the Boston League, was employed in
1892, as the coach for the University team. During the
baseball season of this year, sixteen games were played
with the nines of Vermont, Princeton, Washington and
Lee, North Carolina, Johns Hopkins, and Vanderbilt
Universities, and Dartmouth, Lafayette, and Lehigh colleges,
and the Boston Association, and eight of these were
won by the University of Virginia. There were ten
games played during the Spring of 1893, and the University
of Virginia was the successful competitor in six.
Harvard University had been challenged in 1893, but apparently
had not been defeated. The record for 1894
was not so gratifying,—only one-third of the games
played during the Spring of this year were won. The
record for 1895 was more successful.