Charles William Eliot on the curve ball

[Garson O'Toole]

There is another quotation about baseball attributed to President
Eliot in which he calls it a "wretched game" and "one of the worst
games". This quote was included in some modern reference works. In
fact, it was published in several newspapers on April 12, 1884. Here
is a version printed in a Worcester newspaper. The "curved ball" was
not mentioned in this criticism.

Cite: 1884 April 12, Worcester Daily Spy, Boston Dispatches: High
School Teachers, Quote Page 1, Column 4, Worcester, Massachusetts.
(GenealogyBank)

[Begin excerpts]

Boston, April 11.-The annual meeting of the Massachusetts Association
of Classical and High School Teachers began this forenoon, F.A. Hall
of Chelsea high school presiding. ..

The afternoon session opened with an address by President Eliot of
Harvard University, who spoke on "Desirable Changes in Programs of
Secondary Schools" ...

During the session President Eliot, in referring to remarks by another
speaker concerning base ball, said: "I think it a wretched game, but,
as an object of ambition for the youth to go to college, really it is
a little weak. There are only nine men who can play the game, and
there are 950 men in the college, and out of the nine there are but
two desirable positions, I understand-that of pitcher and catcher-so
that there is but little chance for the youth to gratify his ambition.
I call it one of the worst games, although I know it is called the
American national game.

[End excerpts]

In 1907 a short article in American Educational Review about the
opinions of Eliot included the phrase "pitch a deceptive curved ball",
but the words were not directly connected to Eliot. Nor did the
article say the pitch was in some way morally improper.

Cite: 1907 June, American Educational Review, Volume 28, Of Current
Interest: Intercollegiate Sport, Quote Page 1052, Published by
American Educational Co., Chicago. (Google Books full view)

http://books.google.com/books?id=CBEVAAAAIAAJ&q=curved#v=snippet&

[Begin excerpts]

INTERCOLLEGIATE SPORT

President Eliot will not abandon his fight against the evils of
college athletics as they are now conducted. ...

The professional features of athletics are strongly condemned. The
training of gladiators by means of professional assistants is being
more and more opposed by college men. Just why one student should have
a man to rub him and oil his body and watch every muscle in order to
enable him to win a race or kick a football or pitch a deceptive
curved ball when the great mass of his fellows have no such attention
is hard to see, particularly when the amount of money spent on the few
is compared with that devoted to the physical welfare of the many.

[End excerpts]

Please check for typos, thanks
Garson

On Sat, Sep 8, 2012 at 1:11 PM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Re: Charles William Eliot on the curve ball
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 9/8/2012 11:43 AM, Paul Johnston wrote:
>>The 1870's?  Have we got any Harvard-educated claimants to the first
>>curve ball besides non-Harvard-but-New Englanders Candy Cummings and
>>Fred Goldsmith and Baltimorean Bobby Mathews?
>
> A red herring.  I simply wondered if anyone had inquired of the
> Harvard Archives if they have any information about what if anything
> Charles William Eliot wrote about curve balls.  I assume they have
> some information at the Archives about this President of Harvard.
>
> Joel
>
>
>>Paul Johnston

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