Newtown High School - Newtowner Yearbook (Elmhurst, NY)

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There's a certain team in New York that I think is the best team on the face of the earth. They've got everything it takes to be a swell team. They've got the best players, a forceful manager and the most faithful fans. No, they're not the New York Giants or the New York Yankees, but this marvelous team is the Brooklyn Dodgers. Here is a little about the history of the name, Dodgers. It's a contraction of Trolley Dodgers. When they won the pen- nant in 1889 and '90 they became known as the Bridegrooms because the married men out-numbered the single fellows on the roster. They've also been called, Superbas, Robins, Infants and even Our Bums. Lois EIMER IT'S SPRING As if by a princess with mystic device Mother Earth's lovely wonders unfold From the pretty carved shimmering oft-changing ice And the dark, barren lands of the cold. It's Spring. The yellow of daffodils springs to our view, The grass, and the blue of the heather, And the oak trees displaying their foliage new Each trying to outdo the other. It's Spring. The farmers are busily planting their grain In hopes of a good harvest season. The robins are nesting, at home once again And of course we all know the good reason: It's Spring. The butterflies flit from flower to flower And the plump white clouds float above, So lazy and carefree from hour to hour And a young man's CPD thoughts turn to love. It's Spring. JOAN S. HARRIS 13

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AMERICAS FAVORITE GAME THE ORIGIN of baseball is obscure, but in the United States, Abner Doubleday got up a scheme for playing it in 1830. In the New England States in 1830 there was a game called townball which was played on a square Held at the corners of which were four-foot posts which were used as the bases. To score, the players had to run around these posts, and if they were hit by a thrown ball they were out. The side that got 100 runs first, won. Later the game was modified a little and bags were used instead of posts. The game was limited to nine innings and the number of players fixed at nine. It was ruled also that the ball was to be tossed to the batter. This is not very im- like the modern game. The first match game between clubs was played on the old race-course in Flushing, Long Island, New York, in 1831. From then on the game grew in popularity and new clubs were organized and new rules were set down and there were salaries for the players. In the beginning of baseball, fully two- thirds of the spectators bet on the games. Wagers totaling S100,000 were reported on one game in Philadelphia, while in some cities a special booth in the grandstand, in charge of an auctioneer, sold pools on the game. There were no long sessions of pre-game practice in the early games of organized baseball. Teams appeared on the field five minutes before the game started. Players have a language of their own to describe incidents, individuals, and plays in the game. Listed below are some of the more familiar expressions used by diamond performers: An els-Small white clouds .if I ,V p, 5 . 1..: 1 ,-I .f' ,',v 3,,':'-.ff-!,r.'l -f , . Y . IQ: - ...I .Q helpful in Judging lugh ihes. iz ,QM iffaifijfjr Bullpen,-Extreme section of fit ..'- the Playing field, reserved for 125. i' ft:.2f'?fz'V:' :LE '.i':'fsi11?f - - - '-Q':f-'i .,Q:g.1Z,..'EpLV:' warming up relief pitchers. ' 1 .a?2i, '.'i, ?Y!-'C . . .gif . 'rw Oman or zll-Baseball. ,fu .- .I . 4 -1 .ff :L-3 1 ' ff' 'Q Teacher-Manager. fi' 'ii-: 1 . f Wolves-Spectators who con- 'e f ' . 3 M15 . A'V'ff.i-K'-:silff stantl ride a la er or team. .T -.-,.. X Tin , u .ff'f. ' liar Q sy ' x Q. Tools of ign0ra'n.ce-Catch- 'fS:.2x1,,g -'framtrdii 43309 .iii-'arf , - I! ralph - X, Sg3:Q+'-gg er s paraphernalia. X -.' X :: Bxsp. 1, yt, Sweetheart-A star player, ONilLL SQA '-YQ vigai.-x D 1 h , h lf --+1 I --,gpg 1 X -an usual yt epitc er. ':.:.:.:.:.:.j.:.:.j.:.: Qin T Blind Tom 01' T0bb6T1UIH' ,me U, :fri '::..'-'-Q:-I-:ff-fl . r pue- ,' I .gizf ' Gillette-A ball thrown at the 'V -3 HFEEQQIT-.1 T ,EA , fg' ,mv batter's head. 12

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THE CITY OF CHARLESTON THE STUBBY blunt form of the tramp steamer, City of Charleston, groaned as she shouldered her way through the heavy seas, her rusty plates streaming spume at each turn of her screws. She was heavy with cargo and low in the water and couldn't have been making more than 10 knots. Her hull was painted a navy blue, but here and there great blobs of rust stood out in bold relief. Topside she was a grimy, slowly graying white, while her solitary stack was once a brilliant crimson. All in all she showed her age. I served aboard her as an officer. I had just finished college when the job was offered to me by the Skipper of the City of Charleston, who was an old friend of the family. As I had studied navigation, he took me on to sup- plement my knowledge with actual experienc1+I really didn't hold any posi- tion on boardg my tatus was similar to that of a midshipman on a man-o'- war. The Skipper owned the tramp and worked her free lance. He could get a cargo most anywhereg he had a sort of sixth sense when it came to this. Three bells struck in the half light of dawn and the ship was very still except for the reassuring throb of the engines and the splash 'of the rollers as we cut through them. I was still half asleep as I made my way up to the bridge where the mate stood drowsily rocking on his heels as the helmsman hummed faintly to himself. Our course was NE-by-E-we were bound for Los Angeles with a cargo of copra and crude rubber from the Dutch East Indies. The mate yawned and then nodded glumly as he went off Watch. I tore a page from the grimy calendar that hung next to the Chronometer- December 7, Sunday. I smiled at the prospect of a Sunday dinner which aboard ship is a real treat. I chatted with the helmsman-some quick mental calculations placed us about a day and a half's run off Oahu, main island of the Hawaiian group on which Honolulu is located. Taking my place at the open end of the bridge I waited for the Skipper. As I peered out towards the horizon I saw the smoke of another vessel. I kept watching her trying to make out what type she was. Slowly but surely she kept bearing down on us. She must be one of those fast luxury liners I thought. As she came still closer I took the binocu- lars from their cabinet in the Wheelhouse and began to look her over. By now she was plainly in sight, and I could make out her slim hull and gun turrets. She was in the cruiser class but not like any in the United States 14