haymaker (boxing) antedated (?) to 1899

[Christopher Philippo]

On Aug 17, 2014, at 3:49 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> As for the baseball team, HDAS shows "haymaker" as a mid-19th century term
> for a farmer or rustic.

I realize that, I just wasn’t sure if the nickname for the team was a slur on the players supposedly being hayseeds (as has been claimed) or due to their reputation for brawling (as has also been claimed), or some other reason like the need for mowing the green on which they played.

Chris Philippo
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