Baseball or Base Ball

[Geoffrey Nunberg]

>From the Trenton Evening Times,  November 13, 1915 quoted in John Thorne's excellent "Our Game" blog at http://ourgame.mlblogs.com/2012/08/16/is-it-baseball-or-base-ball/:

> In the early days of the game “base ball” was universal. After a time, as the game increased in popularity, many publications adopted the hyphenated form, and it became “base-ball.” At a still later period along in the ’80s, as nearly as can be discovered—the newspapers began to drop the hyphen, and “base ball” came into use.
>
> With all regard for those publications which adhere to the old form, the writer can see no valid reason for its continuation, common useage [sic] has set the stamp of approval upon the simple  form of ”baseball” unhyphenated, one and indivisible.
>
>

But shouldn't there have been an intermediate stage of hyphenation, as well?

Also nice on 19th c baseball lg is this post: http://ourgame.mlblogs.com/2012/08/15/base-ball-language/

Geoff

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