Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 296, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 December 1918 — FIRST REAL BASEBALL GAME BETWEEN NEGLISH TEAMS AT HYDE PARK. LONDON [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FIRST REAL BASEBALL GAME BETWEEN NEGLISH TEAMS AT HYDE PARK. LONDON

A game of baseball, recently played at Hyde Park, London, was the crown-1 Ing Instance of how the “Invasion” of the Yanks is forever cementing the entente cordlale. For the first time in history two exclusively British teams have met in a game of baseball, the scene being Hyde Park, London. The contest was the finale of an afternoon’s entertainment staged by the American Young Men’s Christian Assocfatidp. There have been many games by Americans in this country, but until September 21, 1918, epochal date, no two British clubs had attempted competition in America’s national sport. Made Good Showing. Coached for two weeks by athletic directors of the Y. M. C. A., the two teams made a good showing. They were made up of British soldiers of an outfit stationed at Hyde Park barracks. They appeared on the field as the Reds and the Blues, and their uniforms were fairly representative of the real article. An American sailor took the job of umpiring, and two American negro soldiers, after the

official scorer, a British corporal, lost count of tiie hits. sat on all four sides of the diamond and watched the game. Most of thd “rooting” was supplied by American onrl thnro <* Ttfiftull HO™ with an occasional but* o£ modest applause. Whether good batting eyed hard to say, but the crack of the bal was almost continuous. errors were pjeuiuub uul when the bases were full, of the Reds stole third and appeared amazed when he found that bag already occupied by a team mate. Be It said that this was Wore the American ne.

Big Crowd Watching Baseball Contest in London.