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An Exciting game of Base Ball wherein the men without adipose tissue are too much for the men with an abundance of that oleaginous substance – Capt Green’s men drink the lemonade, and Capt. Linfor’s men only smell the empty glass.
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On last Friday afternoon a very exciting game of base ball was played north of the school house, between the fat and lean men of Walnut. Mr. Wm. H. Linfor, our corpulent mayor, commanded the fats, who were supposed to all measure three feet around the waist, while Mr. O. E. Green, our popular hardware merchant, commanded the wasp waisted lads. To say that the game was very exciting would not half express it. The contesting nines chose Dr. Thomas as umpire, as he was too fat to be lean and too lean to be fat. The “leans” thought inasmuch as he was lean he would favor them, while the “fats” thought because he was fat he would favor them. G. C. Hunt, our genial city recorder, pitched the ball, sometimes at the umpire, sometimes at the spectators, but more often at the batter. At each instance the ball flew with the velocity of a jaybird, much to the terror in interpos substances. Fred Frege, Jerre Walteers and Dan Zimmerman were famous for making second base hits, while Bruce and Pray climbed to first base with the elegance of an ostrich. Frank Stowe and Frank Neville, while having famous command of their legs, couldn’t manipulate the bat with neatness or dispatch. Frank Green caught a splendid fly in his hat. Billy Doud, Jerome Spangler and Herby Lodge made a very fine record in the field. The latter met with a little mishap by ripping his—his—his base ball cap while attempting to stop a daisy cutter.
We might mention many others in connection with this hotly contested game, but they have begged us not to mention their name, and out of consideration for their wives, sweethearts and creditors, we desist. The score stood 12 to 22. (The Walnut News, Thursday, July 31, 1879)