Monkey Business (1882), Mascotte, Mask, and more

Bapopik at AOL.COM Bapopik at AOL.COM
Sun Nov 10 05:07:08 UTC 2002


   I'm back in New York.  It would be nice to have the time to go through
four years (1879-1882) of the CINCINNATI ENQUIRER.  Baseball sportswriting
really began there.


WINDY CITY (another citation)
   28 June 1883, CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, pg. 2, col. 7:
   A NINE composed of members of the St. Louis Board of Trade played a
similar organization from the Chicago Board in the latter city last Tuesday,
and badly defeated the Windy City merchants by a score of 35 to 4 in five
innings.

(I'll find out more when I check out the online CHICAGO TRIBUNE and
WASHINGTON POST, but think about this.  The "Windy CIty" in the NEW YORK
TIMES goes back to only 1886.  I didn't see it very early in other New York
City publications.  It's in a Cleveland, Ohio publication in 1885 on the
American Memory database.  It was used in the LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL, and
now it's in the CINCINNATI ENQUIRER.  Louisville?  CIncinnati?--ed.)


MONKEY BUSINESS
   13 June 1882, CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, pg. 4, col. 2:
   THERE are intimations by cable that ARABI PASHA has been pracitcing what
would be called among the "boys" in America "monkey business;" that he has
been pretending to be thrashed when he wasn't;...
(The RHHDAS has 1883 for "monkey business"--ed.)

MASCOTTE
   26 June 1883, CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, pg. 2, col. 1:
   ...Porkopolitans...
   The goat was probably looking for some show-bills, oyster-cans, or some
other usually palatable dish for his stomach, but the audience could not see
it in that light, and thought he was even a better "Mascotte" than the
old-time favorite.

JONAH, GOAT
   27 June 1883, CINCINATTI ENQUIRER, pg. 2, col. 7:
   Those of a superstituous of mind, who were inclined to attribute the
defeat of Monday to the "Jonah" billy-goat, have no opening to lay the
disastrous finale of yesterday's game to any such cause, for the innocent
object of their superstituous fears was captured, and while the game was in
progress was pinioned to a post under the bleaching-boards with a chain large
enough to hold a Jumbo.

MASK
   14 July 1882, CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, pg. 5, col. 5:
   CAREY, one of the American Association umpires, wears a mask.
(DICKSON'S BASEBALL DICTIONARY has 1887 for "mask"--ed.)



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