Catalogue of Paintings, Photographs, Schedules and Other Exhibits in the Baseball Art by S.R. Church Page 3
Description
A photocopy of page 3 from the Catalogue of Paintings, Photographs, Schedules and Other Exhibits in the Baseball Art by S.R. Church. The text on the page reads, "Why? Why can the infant in the kindergarten-class name the place on the Atlantic shore where the Pilgrim Fathers first landed, and remain in ignorance of the place where early base ball was first played? Why can any school boy recite a dozen battles of the Revolution or Civil War, and yet become indignant when you inquire as to a single famous base ball game? Why can the youngster in knickerbockers tell who discovered the electric telegraph, and yet not know of the ma who discovered curve pitching? Yea, verily, why is it that the high school youth declaimeth at length about the Crusades of medieval times, and still knoweth aught of the tours of the Washington Nationals or the Cincinnati Red Stocking? Why can the average university graduate discourse learnedly upon radiant energy, ether waves, or the nebular hypothesis, when he can't tell the difference between a base hit and a foul ball? Why is not the history of the national sport of a people of as much importance as is that of their political development or of their scientific achievements? Why do not some of our multi-millionaires, instead of founding libraries or colleges with their names engraven over the doors, establish ideal athletic grounds in the midst of our great cities, when the lungs and muscles of the nation may be developed, and so that the embryo citizen may not be compelled to play his games upon the street corner or the garbage dump? (3)"