Last Updated December 1, 2008
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Wicket
A Working Chronology
Note: This list was derived from version 10 of
the full Protoball Chronology, which was uploaded in December 2008.
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1704.1
– Traveler Observes Ball-Playing in CT
Madame Knight, “in her
inimitable journal of her ride from
“The Game of Wicket and Some Old-Time Wicket Players,” in George Dudley
Seymour, Papers and Addresses of the Society of Colonial Wars in the State
of
1725c.1
– Wicket Played on
“Sam. Hirst got up betimes in
the morning, and took Ben Swett with him and went into the
Per George Dudley Seymour, Papers
and Addresses of the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of
1766.2
-- Cricket Challenge in CT
“A Challenge is hereby given by
the Subscribers, to Ashbel Steel, and John Barnard, with 18 young Gentlemen . .
. to play a Game of BOWL for a Dinner and Trimmings . . . on Friday
next.” Connecticut Courant , May 5, 1766, as cited in John A. Lester, A
Century of Philadelphia Cricket [University of Pennsylvania Press,
Philadelphia, 1951], page 6. Note: is “game of bowl” a common
term for cricket? Could this have
been a wicket challenge?
1778.4
– Ewing Reports Playing “At Base” and Wicket at
George Ewing, a Revolutionary War
soldier, tells of playing a game of “Base” at
Ewing, G., The Military Journal
of George Ewing
1778.6
-- NH Loyalist Plays Ball in NY; Mentions “Wickett”
The journal of Enos Stevens, a NH
man serving in British forces, mentions playing ball seven times from 1778 to
1781. Only one specifies the game
played in terms we know: “in the after noon played Wickett” in March of 1781. C. K. Boulton, ed., “A Fragment of
the Diary of Lieutenant Enos Stevens, Tory, 1777-1778,” New England
Quarterly v. 11, number 2
1779.2
– Lieutenant Reports Playing Ball, and Playing Bandy Wicket
“Samuel Shute, a New Jersey
Lieutenant, jotted down his reference to playing ball in central Pennsylvania
sometime between July 9j and July 22, 1779; ‘until the 22nd,
the time was spent playing shinny and ball’ Incidentally, Shute
distinguished among various sports, referring elsewhere in his journal to
‘Bandy Wicket.’ He did
not confuse baseball with types of field hockey [bandy] and cricket [wicket] that the soldiers also
played.” -- Thomas
Altherr. Note: Gomme says that “bandy wicket” was a name for cricket in
[Shute, Samuel], “Journal of
Lt. Samuel Shute,” in Frederick Cook, ed., Journals of the Military
Expedition of Major General John Sullivan against the Six Nations of Indians in
1779 [Books for Libraries Press, Freeport NY, reprint of the 1885 edition],
p. 268. Per Altherr ref # 28.
1786.2
-- Game Called Wicket Reported in
“The late game of Wicket was decided by an extraordinary
catch made by Mr. Lenox, to which he ran more than 40 yards, and received the
ball between two fingers.” Morning
Post and Daily Advertiser
1787.2
– VT Man’s Letter Says “Three Times is Out at Wicket”
Levi Allen to Ira Allen, July 7,
1787, in John J. Duffy, ed., Ethan Allen and His Kin, Correspondence, 1772
– 1819 [University Press of New England,
1790s.6 – Cricket as Played in
“[D]escriptions of the game
[cricket] from Hamburg in the 1790s show significant variations often quite
similar to outdated provisions of American “Wicket,” which may well not be due to error on the part of
the author, but rather to acute observation. For example, the ball was bowled
alternatively from each end
1791.1
– “Bafeball” Among Games Banned in
In Pittsfield, Massachusetts, to
promote the safety of the exterior of the newly built meeting house,
particularly the windows, a by-law is enacted to bar “any game of wicket, cricket, baseball, batball,
football, cats, fives, or any other game played with ball,” within eighty
yards of the structure. However, the letter of the law did not exclude the
city’s lovers of muscular sport from the tempting lawn of
“Meeting-House Common.” This is the first indigenous instance of
the game of baseball being referred
to by that name on the North American continent. It is spelled herein as bafeball. “
Per John Thorn: The History of
1793.1
-- Engraving Shows Game with Wickets at
A copper engraving showing
Submitted by Scott Meacham 8/17/06.
1800.2
– John Knox Owns a “Ball Alley” and
Item from John Thorn, 6/25/04. Note:
It seems possible that a “ball alley” is for bowling, but wicket was also played on what was
termed an alley.
1800c.11
– MA Man Recalls Games of Ball in Streets, with Wickets
“The sports and entertainments
were very simple. Running about the
village street, hither and thither, without much aim . . . . games of ball, not
base-ball, as is now [c1857] the fashion, yet with wickets – this was
about all, except that at the end there was always horse-racing [p.19]. ..But
as to sports and entertainments in general, there were more of them in those
days than now. We had more
holidays, more games in the street, -- of ball-playing, of quoits, of running,
leaping, and wrestling. [p.21]”
Mary E. Dewey, ed., Autobiography
and Letters of Orville Dewey, D.D.
1818.1
– Yale Student Reports Cricket on Campus
A student at
Lester, ed., A Century of
Philadelphia Cricket [U Penn Press,
1820s.9
– In
Delaney, ed., Life in the
Connecticut River Valley 1800 – 1840 from the Recollections of John
Howard Redfield [Connecticut River Museum, Essex CT, 1988], p. 35. Per Altherr ref # 82.
1825.8
-- Wicket Bat Reported Held in
The Pocumtuck Valley Memorial
Association reported that, as of 1908, it retained a wicket bat dating from 1825-30. Submitted by John Thorn, 1/13/2007. Note:
John is trying to ascertain whether the bat remains in the collection.
1830s.5 -- Wicket Played in The
“How
far the
1830s.12
-- Wicket Ball in
“[The Indians] would lounge on
the steps of the ‘
Samuel M. Welch, Home History:
Recollections of
1833.8
– Untitled Drawing of Ball Game [Wicket?]
Appears in Songbook
Watts’ Divine and Moral Songs
– For the Use of Children [
A drawing shows five children
– a tosser, batter, two fielders, and boy waiting to bat. The bats are spoon-shaped. The wicket
looks more like a cricket wicket than the long low bar in wicket. Is it wicket? Base-ball? Here’s Block’s
commentary. “ . . .an interesting woodcut portraying boys
playing a slightly ambiguous bat-and-ball game that is possibly baseball . . .
. A goal in the ground near the
batter might be a wicket, but it
more closely resembles an early baseball goal such as the one pictured in A
Little Pretty Pocket-Book”
1834.6
-- In Wicket, It’s Hartford CT
146, Litchfield CT 126
The contest took three
“ins.” “Thus, it
appears that the ‘Bantam Players’ ‘barked up the wrong
tree.’ The utmost harmony
existed, and every one appeared to enjoy the sport.”
Connecticut Courant, volume 70, Issue 3618, page 3 [probably reprinted from the
1840.27 --
“Wicket Ball – The ball players of
this city met those of
1840s.28 -- At
At
upstate NY’s
1841.9
-- County-wide Wicket Challenge
Issued Near Rochester NY
“A CHALLENGE. The undersigned, Amateur
Noted by Priscilla Astifan, 19CBB
posting, 1/28/2007. Priscilla
adds: “Pioneer baseball
players’ [in
1841.10
--
“The Ball Players of
Bloomfield and vicinity, respectfully invite the Pall Players of the city of
Hartford Daily Courant, June 23, 1841, page 3. Notes:
Is the bound rule [2] usual in wicket? What is rule 3 getting at? What is rule 4 getting at?
1841.17 – Clevelanders Play Ball
at Sunset on
A
“Playing
Ball is among the very first of the ’sports’ of our early years.
Who has not teased his grandmother for a ball, until the ‘old
stockings’ have been transformed into one that would bound well? Who has
not played ‘barn ball’ in his boyhood, ‘base’ in his
youth, and ‘wicket’ in
his manhood? – There is fun, and sport, and healthy exercise, in a game
of ‘ball.’ We like it; for with it is associated recollections of
our earlier days. And we trust we shall never be too old to feel and to
‘take delight’ in the amusements which interested us in our
boyhood. If ‘Edith’
wishes to see ‘a great strike’ and ‘lots of fun,’ let
her walk down
1843.4
-- Wicket at Yale
“Were it spring or autumn you
should see a brave set-to at football on the green, or a brisk game of wicket.”
Belden, Sketches of Yale College
[Pubr?, 1843] , per John Lester, A Century of Philadelphia Cricket
[UPenn,
John Thorn, 6/25/2005, mentions that
he has an account of wicket at Yale.
Note -- XXX Need to follow up with John Is he referring to the Belden
citation? Does it say any more, or
give a view date?.
1846.7
–
“Friday,
October 16. At prayers
as usual. Studied Demosthenes till
breakfast time. After breakfast
came off the great match between our class and the juniors. We beat them 77 to 53. They had on the ground nineteen men out
of twenty-nine, and we thirty out of thirty-five. Had the remainder of both
classes been there, at the same rate we should have beaten them 90 to 81. As a
class they were completely used up. Their players, however, averaged about 0.23
each more than ours. The whole was played out in about an hour. The victory was
completely ours, a result different from what I expected. Got a lesson in
Demosthenes and went to recitation.”
On October 3, the MA diarist had written: “played a game of wicket, with a party of fellows . . . .
Had a fine game, though I, knowing little of the rules, was soon bowled
out. Then cam home and wrote
journal till 5PM. Then to prayers and afterward to supper.”
1846.8
–
Dr. Edward Hitchcock
gives this account of the game of MA wicket:
"In my days baseball was neither a science nor an art, but we played
‘wicket’. On smooth and level ground about 20 feet
apart were placed two 'wickets,'
pine sticks 1 inch square and 8 to 10 feet long, supported on a block at each
end so as to be easily knocked off. The ball was made of yarn, covered with
stout leather, about six inches in diameter and bowled with all the power of
the wicket tender at each end. The
aim was to roll it as swiftly as possible at the opposite wicket and knock it down if possible. This was defended by the man
with a broad bat, 3 feet long, and the oval about 8 inches [broad], who must
defend his wicket. If the bowler could by a fair ball,
striking twice between the wickets,
knock down the opposite wicket, the
striker was out. But if the batter could by a direct or sideways hit send the
ball sideways or overhead the outside men, they [ i.e. ., the batter and
his teammate at the opposite end] could run till the ball was in the hands of
the bowler. But the bowler to get the batter out must with the ball in his hand
knock the wicket outwards before the
batter could strike his bat outside a line three feet inside the wicket . . . . This game was played on
the lowest part of the 'walk' under the trees which now extends from chapel to
the church."
Hitchcock, Edward,
“Recollections,” in George F. Whicher, ed., Remembrance of
1846.11
-- Suspicious
“You speak . . . of
Harrington, the express robber as being in prison here. This is incorrect. He isn’t, neither has he been in
jail since his arrival here, unless you can call the Eagle Hotel a jail. . . .
[W]hen the weather has been pleasant, he has occupied his time in playing wicket in the public square; or playing
the fiddle in his room . . . to solace and relieve the tedium of his
boredom.”
Rochester Police Officer Jacob
Wilkinson letter of April 7, 1946, as quoted in “The Express
Robbery,” The National Police
Gazette, Volume 1, Number 32 [April 18, 1846], page 277. Submitted by John Thorn, 9/2/2006. Note:
It is possible to construe wicket
as a daily
1852.10 – Fictional
“Up-Country” Location Cites Bass-Ball and Wicket
“Both houses were close by the
road, and the road was narrow; but on either side was a strip of grass, and in process
of time, I appeared and began ball-playing upon the green strip, on the west
side of the road. At these times, on summer mornings, when we were getting well
warm at bass-ball or wicket, my
grandfather would be seen coming out of his little swing-gate, with a big hat
aforesaid, and a cane. He enjoyed the game as much as the youngest of us, but
came mainly to see fair play, and decide mooted points.”
L.W.
Mansfield, writing under the pseudonym “Z. P.,“ or Zachary
Pundison, Up-country Letters
1850s.16
-- Wicket Play in
“The immediate predecessor of
baseball was wickets. This was a modification of cricket and
the boys who excelled at that became crack players of the latter sport of
baseball. In wickets there had to be at least eight men, stationed as
follows: Two bowlers, two stump
keepers or catcher, two outfielders and two infielders or shortstops. . . .
“The wickets were placed sixty feet apart, and consisted of two
‘stumps’ about six inches in height above the ground and ten feet
apart. . . . The ball was as large as a man’s head, and of peculiar
manufacture. Its center was a cube
of lead weighing about a pound and a half. About this were tightly wound rubber
bands . . . and the whole sewed in a thick leather covering. This ball was delivered with a stiff
straight-arm underhand cast . . . . Three out was side out, and the ball could
be caught on the first bound or on the fly.”
“Baseball Half a Century
Ago,”
1851.3
-- Wicket Players in CT Found Liable
“In a recent case which occurred
at Great Barrington, an action was brought against some 12 or 15 young men, by
an old man, to recover damages for a spinal injury received by him and
occasioned by a wicket ball, which
frightened his horse and threw him from his wagon. The boys were playing tin the street. .
. . . If this were fully understood, there would be less of the dangerous and
annoying practice so common in our streets.”
“Caution to Ball Players in
the Street,” The Pittsfield Sun,
Volume 51, Issue 2647 [June 12, 1851], page 2. Submitted by John Thorn, 6/10/2006.
1854.13 – English Visitor Sees Wicket at Harvard
“It was in the spring of 1854 . . . that I stepped into the
“They politely invited me to take the bat. Any cricketer could
have stayed there all day and not been bowled out. After I had played awhile I
said, “You must play the modern game cricket.” I had a ball and
they made six stumps. Then we went to Delta, the field where the Harvard
Memorial Hall now stands. We played and they took to cricket like a duck to
water. . . .I think that was the first game of cricket at Harvard.” “The Boyhood of Rev. Samuel Robert
Calthrop.” Compiled by His
Daughter, Edith Calthrop Bump. No
date given. Accessed 10/31/2008 at:
http://www-distance.syr.edu/SamCalthropBoyhoodStory.html. Actually, Mr. Calthrop may have come
along about 95 years too late to make that claim: see #1760s.1 above.
1855c.3
– Wicket, Seen as a CT Game,
Was Played in
In 1880 the Brooklyn Eagle
carried long articles that include a description of the game of wicket, described as a
“Instead of eleven on a side,
as in cricket, there are thirty, and instead of wickets used by cricketers their wickets consist of two pieces of
white wood about an inch square and six feet long, placed upon two blocks three
inches from the ground. The ball
also differs from that used in cricket or base ball, it being almost twice the
size, although it only weighs nine ounces.
The bat also differs from that used in cricket and base ball, it being
more on the order of a lacrosse bat, although of an entirely different shape,
and made of hard, white wood. The
space between the wickets is called the alley, and is seventy-five feet in
length and ten feet in width. Wicket
also differs from cricket in the bowling, which can be done from either wicket,
at the option of the bowlers, and there is a centre line, on the order of the
ace line in racket and hand ball, which is called the bowler’s mark, and
if a ball is bowled which fails to strike the ground before it reaches this
line it is considered a dead ball, or no bowl, and no play can be made from it,
even if the ball does not suit the batsman. The alley is something on the order of
the space cut out for and occupied by the pitcher and catcher of a base ball
club, the turf being removed and the ground rolled very hard for the
accommodation of the bowlers.”
1855c.10
– Wicket Played in HI
“One game they all enjoyed was
wicket, often watched by small Mary
Burbank. Aipuni, the Hawaiians
called it, or rounders, perhaps because the bat had a large rounder end. It was a forerunner of baseball, but the
broad, heavy bat was held close to the ground.”
Ethel, Damon M, Sanford Ballard
Dole and His Hawaii [Pacific Books,
Through further digging, John Thorn
traces the migration of wicket to
1857.27 – Game of Wicket Reaches IA
“BALL
GAMES IN THE WEST. – It is with pleasure that we observe the gradual
progression of these healthy and athletic games westward. A Wicket
Club has recently been organized in
1858.26
-- Wicket, as Well as Cricket and
Base Ball, Reported in
“Exercise clubs and gymnasia
are spring up everywhere. The papers
have daily records of games at cricket, wicket,
base ball, etc.”
Editorial, “Physical
Education,” Graham’s American
Monthly of Literature, art, and Fashion, Volume 53, Number 6 [December
1858], page 495. Submitted by John
Thorn 9/2/2006.
1859.24
-- CT State Championship in Wicket
Attracts 4000
“When
1859.48
– Wicket Club and Base Ball
Club Play Demo Matches for Novelty’s Sake
“Novel Ball Match – The
Buffalo Dock Wicket Club have
invited [the Buffalo Niagaras] to play a game of wicket, and a return game of base ball. It is intended, not as a trial of skill,
1860c.11
– Man Played Base Ball and Wicket
in CT Before the War
“I am a native of
Letter from Philip W. Hudson,
1860.30 – CT Wicketers Trounce CT Cricketers --at Wicket
Was
wicket an inferior game? “the game [of wicket] certainly reached a level of technical sophistication equal
to these two sports [base ball and cricket]. This was clearly demonstrated during a wicket match at
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