University of Massachusetts Amherst - Index Yearbook (Amherst, MA)

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1922 ball then hadn ' t even become warmed. The velocity with which it was to the batter was very tame as compared with the cannonball speed which is now used, and consequently hits were more numerous. According to Lewis A. Nichols, who lays claim to having been the biggest ball crank of 72, in Seventy-One ' s freshman year the interest in baseball was not strong, and it was hard to find men enough in the class to form a nine. How- ever, nines were formed from the individual classes, and an embryonic varsity was gathered together, all teams being included in the organization known as the Wilder Baseball Association. Among the early rivals played were Williston, Amherst High School, the Springfield Baseball Club, and Amherst College. The games were almost invariably hard-fought with the exception of those with Amherst College, in which we usually were defeated. The early academies in those days produced a much higher brand of ball than at present and were consid- ered to be on a par with the smaller college nines. The first varsity nine, made up of the first four classes entering college, con- sisted of the following men: W. L. Whitney ' 71, catcher; H. E. Mowrey ' 72, pitcher; F. C. Eldred ' 72, 1st base; F. B. Salisbury ' 72, 2nd base; S. S. Warner ' 73, 3rd base; L. A. Nichols ' 72, shortstop and Captain; Henry Wells ' 72, right field; E. D. Shaw ' 72, center field; and D. F. Milard ' 74, left field. There were games between colleges, but they were infrequent. Yale and Harvard had several games a year, but no other colleges were supposed to be sufiiciently strong to make an interesting contest with these large universities.

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INDEX The college association reorganized, electing Geo. H. Snow, ' 72 President, and ting Peabody, ' 72 Commodore. The crew went into training at once, the work consisting of practice on rowing weights arranged on the first floor of the old laboratory building, and running on the roads in the vicinity of the college, the latter exercise taken at night just previous to retiring. The crew, while thus exercising, often enjoyed the company of numerous followers, who trailed after them either to encourage them in their work or for the fun of the thing. As soon as the weather would permit, practice was begun on the river in the old boat, once weekly at first, later twice, and finally three times a week. It was the custom to walk over to the river after dinner, have their practice in the boat for a couple of hours, and then take a run back to the college by way of North Amherst. In the meantime, the association purchased from Amherst College the boat in which her crew had rowed against M. A. C. in the previous race. This boat was much longer, narrower, and deeper than the old one, hence much better suited for the straight-away race which had been decided upon for the ' 71 regatta. Ten days prior to the race the crew repaired to the course at Ingleside and took up quarters at the Ingleside Hotel. They gave up their whole time to training under Josh Ward of the famous Ward Brothers. The great race drew an immense attendance and the excitement was at a white heat. College crowds thronged the banks and bridges. Harvard ' s friends being most numerous, although a tremendous delegation from Brown was a close second. Conditions were ideal. The river was as smooth as a mirror. Betting was free. Harvard being fully backed, with Brown third in the pools. At 7.04 o ' clock, the crews received the word and were off. M. A. C. seemed to catch the water first. Both Brown and Harvard caught together, and the race was on. Stroking 47 to the minute, the Aggies dashed ahead of both rivals and continued to gain, foot by foot, slowly but surely, while Harvard and Brown fought desperately for second place. As the race progressed, M. A. C. continued to gain on Harvard, while the latter gradually widened the distance between them and the floundering Brunonians. Speculation ran rife on the banks and bridges with the Harvard supporters ever confident of a win. As the crews came nearer and nearer on the home stretch it was plain that the men from Amherst were winning, and, amidst the wild yells of her jubilant cohorts, the Maroon and White crew passed the finishing line, winners over Harvard by four- teen lengths. It was our first great inter-collegiate victory, and the last boat race in which M. A. C. ever participated. Baseball now claimed the attention of the men of the early classes. This game was played in a more simplified and primitive manner than it is today. The game in those days was by no means as strenuous as the one we now see, and did not create any such degree of interest. It is interesting to note that the ball in those times was tossed to the batter instead of being pitched. The smoke 14

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fr - iUL.. As time went on and the game progressed, changes in rules and the method of pitching maiving it faster, the interest increased, more men went out for the teams, and as other colleges were also developing the game, M. A. C. soon began to build up a schedule and organization. Football, the king of the fall sports, found its beginnings in the late seventies and was played much in the same manner as the old English game of Rugby Football. The forward line was made up of seven rushers and the backfield was lined up as at the present time. The style of play was fairly open but lacked the spectacular aerial display that we see today. Passing and kicking were more frequent than at present, and passing was allowable at the same time that the tackle was made. The game steadily developed and the old flying wedge style of play was adopted by the college. Close formations were used and college football seemed on the verge of approaching the old gladitorial contests. The early teams played games with many of the smaller Eastern colleges and occa- sionally secured a date with Harvard. Intense rivalry with Amherst college marked the football games of the eighties. As the college world has given an ever increasing impetus to football, so football has grown at Aggie until it now engages the feverish support of the entire student body, and every eligible man is out for the team, forced on by a strong backing of public sentiment. Such is the interest that has developed since the early days, when only a mild enthusiasm was shown for the game by the colleges and the sporting public. 16