Night
Baseball Is Well Received by Vancouver Fandom
----
Thousands See
Four Clubs Work Through Games in Brilliant
Light
----
It
Was History-Making Event that Ended Happily Before Midnight
By ANDY
LYTLE
[Vancouver
Sun, July 4,
1931]
Mother
Nature took one more on her calloused old chin last night when the
darkness of night vanished in the light madame through another of
those human artifices that belong to our
modernity.
Several
thousand people watched Earl Lewis hurl his own game away to end the
second night baseball game ever at the ball park last night and
permit V.A.C. to best B.C. Telephone 1-0.
The first
game played under the lights in this Dominion was won by Firemen 5-3
over Arrows and it was close to midnight ere the second game
finished and the fans ambled away well satisfied with the
entertainment for playing conditions were nearly as perfect as could
be imagined.
A STARTLED
MOON
Shortly
after 11 the old moon came over from behind the eastern shadows and
one fancied the old girl was almost persuaded to roll right back
again when her eyes caught the startling sight of multi-powered
incandescents giving her the well-known works.
There is a
field so brilliantly lighted that the rays of Mother Moon passed
unnoticed, in practically shadowless light thrown from
thousand-powered, enclosed globes, the wit of man to take his own
from the strange forces of nature, had turned night into day.
“We are
making sports history for
Canada,” Mr.
W.G. Murrin said into the loud-speaker that, somehow, had ceased to
function as he officially opened the evening’s show, “but I have no
doubt before long, other cities will follow
Vancouver’s
lead.”
No doubt
he spoke truly. Certainly the most captious critic could find little
to cavil shout on night baseball’s bow to fandom at
Athletic
Park.
The
weather was perfect and the new lighting arrangements make baseball
after dark as easy to play and as engaging to watch as through
played on a summer afternoon.
ALMOST
OVERDONE
V.A.C. and
Telephones almost made their part of the big introductory act too
good. They were to go five innings but they played errorless ball
and tossed in so many engaging plays that it was seven innings going
very rapidly, and 11:30 of the clock before Earl Lewis, with a most
generous gesture, and himself in a hole, filled the bases and then
walked the winning run over by passing Puder, who had, at that,
out-chucked the big Telephone hurler through their bright mound
duel.
The crowd
started coming early and they continued late. Lynne Pickler on the
loud speaker and Charlie Defieux on the air, were the “mike-robes”
of the evening.
It seemed
that everybody and everything was there including an army of hungry
gnats and so many white moths that Abie Cohn, the umpire with the
voice and the trick right arm, finally ducked, with celerity and
charm, a speeding moth, think it was just a baseball or may just a
pop bottle tossed by some irreverent fan.
Estimates
of the crowd varied. Over the renovated loud speaker, Pickler made
it 6000. Probably 4500 would be closer. The stands and bleachers
were filled. Many stood up.
JUST A
GOOD SHOW
It was a
real good show and the prizes were presented the lucky ticket
holders by the League officials, in spotless flannels and Miss Mary
Doyle, a tiny miss who pulled the winning numbers from the box
between games.
There were
foot races put on to kill time until it would be dark enough to
flood the field with the installed lighting system, in which Percy
Williams and Mary Frizell did some great
sprinting.
Proof of
the value of any sports “pudding” is in the eating they say. Last
night a scant few left at the conclusion of the first game shortly
after 10.
The
majority say in their uncushioned seats until the end. They liked
the entertainment. Night ball, in Vancouver, at any
rate, staged a successful debut.
Arrows
……………. 0 2 0 1
0—3
Firemen
…………… 5 0 0 0
x—5
B. Richardson,
Gray (1) and Barnes; Kaye and H.
Richardson.
Telephones
………. 000 000
0—0
V.A.C.
…………….. 000 000
1—1
E. Lewis and
Spicer; Puder and Henry.
Once
Overs
“Play
Ball!” somebody scolded when Mayor Taylor was expressing his
pleasure about being present at the initial bow of night
baseball.
--
His
Worship, no doubt sensing that it was time to quit trying to reach
his audience through a “dead” speaking attachment shot his fast one:
“I can’t play ball,” he replied with a quick-fire comeback that
delighted his few hearers.
--
Jacobsen
returned to Telephones at third base and made the catch of the night
when he ran away from a foul fly, turned and speared it in his mit
like any good ball plater might do in broad
daylight.
--
Vernard
Stewart “loud spoke” the track events and was heard perfectly. When
he left so did the magnetism. The officials spoke into a dead
instrument! Pinkey, how could you?
--
W.A.
McKenzie, Provincial Minister of Mines, is a red hot baseball fan.
He came over from Victoria for the
games and was one of the speakers into a “mike” on
strike!
--
Scoring
night ball games is no sinecure. Pete Staggs got
Canada’s first
hit at night. It was a high infield fly that Trasolini misjudged.
Daytime it would have been a glaring error. At night he wasn’t
blamed for over-running. Staggs got a hit on the
play.
--
Trasolini
knocked a ball flung by Bill Richardson over the right field wall
for the first home run ever scored at night in
Canada. Guess
that’s somef [rest of sentence unreadable].
--
Bill
Richardson was batted out of the box and into the showers in the
first game. Gray succeeded him and made a nice job of his work. But
he couldn’t get a win over, quite.
--
The greasy
pig turned out to be a dry-tanker. The S.P.C.A. decided that Friday
was no day for pork and informed the officials that if the contest
was staged, as advertised, it would pain them, maybe, but they would
have recourse to what it was they needed and prosecution would
follow.
--
It may be
all right, in other words, to kiss a pig but greasing one and then
turning him loose to be chased by active and venomous small boys is
not the S.P.C.A. idea of what constitutes kindness to a
pig.
If you
know a funnier one than that send it to John Hix, but that’s why
there was no pig-chasing stunt last night. League officials are
wondering what causes that but there it was!
--
One of the
“Bingies” blue coats patrolled the outfield until he thought all was
safe. As he came away a line of bright heads formed all the way
along the eastern wall and clung. Why pay these cops,
Robert?
--
Across
Sixth
Avenue one
sloping verandah was filled with people who “once-overed” the game
and, above and to the left an improvised grandstand on top of a
house, was well filled with fans. They saved their
fees.
--
Coley Hall
had a chance to win for the Vac in the third. Morse was on second
and a hit meant a run. Hall blew the works.
--
Jack
Cranstoun panicked the stands with a shoestring catch in right field
while going at full speed. It was the fielding feature of the
game.
--
Jimmy
Condon first-based for the Arrows and made a nice job of it. Watters
had his troubled moments there for the Firemen. Daley worked nicely
for Vacs and Cross was the star of the night on this sack for the
Telephones.
--
Al. Scott
was the ball hawk of old at second for the Telephones. He makes hard
plays in the field look easy. At bat—but why bring that
up?
--
Officially
New
Westminster was
represented by J.A. Courtney, Bruce Fisher, Dan McKenzie and Jack
Morgan. To be polite, they wore flannels. There were hundreds of
Royal
City folks in
the stands, just comfortable.
--
“We’re all
set for night baseball at Queen’s Park,” said Dan McKenzie dryly,
“that is we’re set except for the money.”
--
Firemen won their game in the first frame. They
got five runs and batted around. Miller three-bagged and Stevie
scored him. Miron singled and Trasolini slapped one over the fence
for three. Bean got on and Harry Richardson sent him over. Brother
Bill was then yanked. There’s a first inning for you.
Packed
Stands See Night Baseball
-
-
Skeptics
Converted When City League Teams Play Fast Games in Opening
Double-header In Canada—Attendance is 4500—V.A.C Beat Telephones 1-0
and Firemen Down Arrows.
-
-
[Daily
Province,
July 4,
1931]
VANCOUVER again
takes the lead, being the first city in the Dominion to play night
baseball. There wasn’t a seat in the stands at
Athletic
Park last
night when Firemen and Arrows took the field in what was billed as
the opening double-header of five innings each. Firemen beat the
Arrows 5-3, while in the second end of the bill Telephones and
Arrows hooked up in a real snappy display and when the nines were
deadlocked at the end of five innings, Umpire Cohn kept the battle
going and it was not until the seventh that the Redcaps got to Earl
Lewis for three singles to fill the bases and then Lewis passed
Puder to force in the only run of the game. The first game started
at 9
o’clock and the
second finished at 11:30.
There were
doubtless hundreds who took in the show with a certain amount of
misgiving, but certainly even the most sceptical went away with the
conviction that the lighting afforded the opportunity of witnessing
the plays little short of daylight conditions. Balls hit to the
outfield could be followed for every putout and several flies to the
outer garden were caught in a most sensational
way.
Proceedings
opened at 7:45 with a
series of races in which Bert Davison as started and Bob Granger
took leading parts. Then a series of short congratulatory speeches
were made by Mayor Taylor, Hon. W.A. McKenzie and W.G. Murrin, who
declared the night baseball season open and as his final words were
uttered the switch was turned and the park was flooded with light.
Lynne Pickler acted as master of ceremonies and conducted the
broadcast of the game by the public address
system.
The second
night game of the season is billed for tonight when the Vancouver
and Seattle firemen
meet in their annual battle. The same teams were to play this
afternoon. On Monday night at 8:45, Firemen
and VAC will clash.
RICHARDSON BATTED
OUT
Bill
Richardson and Lefty Kaye were the opposing pitchers in the opening
game. [unreadable few words] the former had been touched for five
runs in as many innings with two down, he was derricked for Dave
Gray, who held the champions scoreless for the remaining three
innings. Arrows had opportunities, but inability to hit in a couple
of pinches robbed them of chances to tie the count. They had two on
and two down in the first, but Robertson
fanned.
Firemen
got all of their runs in the first. Miller led off with a triple and
scored on Stevenson’s single to centre. Holden sacrificed. Miron
singled between first and second and stole second, Stevenson making
third. Trasolini lifted one over the right field fence. Watters went
out to first. Bean walked and went to second on a wild pitch.
Richardson singled
to left, proving his brother’s downfall. Bean scored on the play.
Gray went into the box. Kaye singled to left but Miller fanned.
Thereafter, Gray held the champions safe at all
stages.
The Arrows
got two in the second. Jimmy Condon, who played first, singled
through the box, and Keplinger was hit by a pitched ball. Barnes
walked, filling the sacks. Gray forced Barnes at second, but Condon
scored. Nestman was safe and Keplinger scored when Miron dropped
Nestman’s fly. Campbell popped to
Stevenson, who doubled Nestman at first, the first double-play of
night baseball.
STEVENSON STARS
Arrows garnered their other run in the fourth. Gray
grounded out. Netman was safe on Miller’s error.
Campbell flew out
to left and Watters failed to block the throw from Miron to get
Nestman, who went to second. Jack Cranstoun’s long double to left
scored Nestman. Staggs grounded out.
Stevenson’s
smart work at second was one of the features. He had six chances
without a miss. Cranstoun’s brilliant running catch of Miron’s long
fly to left was loudly applauded.
There were
no changes to the regular lineups of the Telephones and V.A.C. teams
in the second game with the exception that Jacobsen made his initial
appearance of the year with the former, turning in a fine game at
third, instead of Freshfield. Both Puder and Earl Lewis pitched good
ball, each having five strikeouts and three walks. They were well
enough supported in the field, and though the time was getting well
on, the play was so good that the great majority of the crowd waited
to see the finish.
WINNING
RUN FORCED IN.
Telephones
had chances to score in the second, third and sixth, but the needed
hits were not forthcoming. With the game still scoreless at the end
of the fifth, the game was continued, and nothing developed in the
way of a score until the last of the seventh. In that inning Dailey
started for V.A.C. with a clean single to centre. Purmal beat out a
hit to Earl Lewis, who slipped in making the play. The bases where
clogged when Sherman beat out
a hit to second. Lewis became unsteady and passed Puder [missing
words] the winning and only run.
Jacobson’s catch of Puder’s foul fly well back
of third was the fielding feature, the third baseman making the
putout while running with the ball.
