Princeton University - Nassau Herald Yearbook (Princeton, NJ)

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HiXf07jf qf Ike Class qv '96. 29 purpose of arranging matters relating to the class baseball team, which we expected soon to have. Persifer Frazer was elected manager, and Hall, Kingsbury and Waring were ap- pointed baseball directors, whatever that means. Then candi- dates for the '96 class nine buckled down to work and the contest for positions was very warm and close. Lesperance, a 'long-legged individual who had entered in February, said he was sure of catcher, and Amos Bissell had a cinch on pitcher, but for all that when the grass greyv green these two did not occupy the battery points. The team taken to the training table was as follows 1 W. D. WARD, ANDERSON, - - - Catchers. H. B. WILSON, KERR, HODGE, - - Pifckevfs. GOULD, ------ Mkt! Base. SMALL, - - Second Base. E. GRAY, - - Z-hZ.7'62Z Bare. E. P. WARD, ------ Show' Siop. JOHNSTON, POTTER, SMITH, BEROEN, - Fztlders. They played more games and aroused more general interest than any Freshman team ever did. Their schedule was: CAMDEN A. C. Vs. '96, ---- 8- O PRINCETON PREPARATORY vs. 96,- 4-I5 PENNINGTON vs. '96, - - IO- 9 HARVARD FRESHMEN vs. ,96, - 8- 9 HILL SCHOOL vs. '96, - - 4-I2 HARVARD FRESHMEN vs. '96 - 2-I1 LAWRENCEVILLE vs. '96, - - 7- 4 Pierre Ward captained the nine until after the first Har- vard game, and then Jimmie Small took charge of affairs. It was after winning the first game with the Harvard Freshmen

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28 HZkf07j! QI fha Class of '96. concocted a mysterious scheme. One night about twenty bold spirits were ordered to gather with the utmost secrecy in Gordon's room on Chambers Street, and there the plan was unfolded. Each man was to provide himself with a supply of combustibles and one week from that night, when the bell in Old North should toll the witching hour of two A.M., was to sally forth from some convenient hiding-place, pile his fuel around the cannon, light it, whoop things up for a moment and then be gone as quickly as he came. Such was the programme and the air of deep dark mystery about it lent a weird fascina- tion which commended it to all. The twenty conspirators throbbed with excitement for a week and slyly gathered wood, oil and tar. The fateful night arrived-scarce had the slow, sad, solemn strokes bespoke the hour, when the cannon was surrounded by a throng of busy figures, rapidly piling up the wood. In another moment it was ablaze, but, alas, in another the proctors were on hand, armed with long poles. In vain our firebugs attempted to rekindle the flames, the proctors beat them out, and it was only when Tommy Galt and some others brought up a burning tar-barrel that they were able to get things going and made the welkin ring with triumphant shouts. Baseball now usurped all other interests, even distracting our attention from Livy Westcott's Horace or Freddie Wilson's Graphics. The whack of the bat and the whizz of the merry grounder might have been heard at any hour of the day, aye, even of the night, among some of the more enthusi- astic who used to practise by moonlight in front of Wither- spoon. CFact D Only one of our class made the Varsity nine- that was Arthur Gunster. But he was equal to three or four and became that season what he has been ever since, one of the very best third basemen in the country and the coolest player on any diamond. In the early spring Ninety-Six held a class-meeting for the

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30 Hz'sZo1g1 qf like Class Qf '96. on April 29th, in a close and brilliant struggle, that we held a bonfire to celebrate our victory. The whole college had been in attendance at this game and now cheered us on to the task of gathering wood. We took everything we could lay our hands upon, from the scaffolding around Alexander Hall to corpse preseffvefs, and had a royal old fire about the cannon. We were the first class to meet the Harvard Freshmen, and since we had started our games with them so auspiciously for us, we rejoiced accordingly. The next event of interest was the annual handicap games, open to all amateurs, held on the 'Varsity field in early May. In these Carnochan and Hall were point-winners from our class, Rolla Wilson also covered himself with glory by winning the 440-yard run in the face of the entire field. Lesperance had undertaken to capture the 120-yard hurdle without effort, but for some reason failed to connect. He was trying to explain the reason to some anxious friends the next day: 'f You see, he said, the whole trouble was I lost my stride? 'f Yes, said joe Righter, who was one of his inquisitors, I saw it going out toward Lawrenceville early this morning. I tried to put it in my buggy, but the thing was too long to fit. After this we heard no more of the lost stride, although Les continued to fall down persistently in every race he attempted to run. Little by little the beautiful spring days grew longer and longer, white ducks took the place of corduroys, and the Seniors began to sing on the steps. It was then our chief occupation and delight to lie on the grass in front of Old North and listen to the songs of those rulers of the college world. There are no Seniors like the first Seniors-the men, I mean, who occupy that proud position when one is a Freshman. None so old, none so dignified, none so worthy of that reverend name as they! Now and then a baseball game with Yale or Harvard would cause a strong ripple in the even flow of undergraduate life, yet