tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985668569918053928.post988857768847899759..comments2024-01-24T05:19:09.805-06:00Comments on This Game Of Games: Leonard Matthews And The CyclonesJeffrey Kittelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02367989375750209078noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985668569918053928.post-1895919155808056942008-01-21T14:54:00.000-06:002008-01-21T14:54:00.000-06:00I was thinking last night that maybe, in Matthews'...I was thinking last night that maybe, in Matthews' eyes, the Cyclones and their match against the Morning Stars just wasn't that significant. There were obviously games of ball being played in St. Louis before this and their were clubs that were playing these games. The fact that they were a new club playing under a different set of rules just wasn't that big a deal at the time. Because the club is significant to me doesn't necessarily mean it was going to be significant to Matthews. <BR/><BR/>One interesting thing about Matthews' recollection of the Cyclones is the emphasis on his friends and their social interaction just before the War broke out and destroyed the tranquility of his youth. It's rather poignant really if you think about this group of young friends sitting in Lafayette Park enjoying one of their last afternoons together. Members of the club would go their seperate ways to fight on both sides in the Civil War and at least one would be killed. I can understand why that would be more important to Matthews than a game of bat and ball.Jeffrey Kittelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02367989375750209078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985668569918053928.post-88117791114262866442008-01-21T14:37:00.000-06:002008-01-21T14:37:00.000-06:00Ach, du lieber Himmel! You're absolutely correct....Ach, du lieber Himmel! You're absolutely correct. I got the two clubs confused. Griswold did say that he found the Morning Star Club playing town ball at Carr's Park and "coached 'em up." He also said that he was "organizing the first baseball club, 'the Cyclone'". Sorry, for the confusion.Jeffrey Kittelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02367989375750209078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985668569918053928.post-16162059774029935542008-01-21T09:48:00.000-06:002008-01-21T09:48:00.000-06:00Also, wasn't it the Morning Star club that Griswol...Also, wasn't it the Morning Star club that Griswold found playing town ball? My recollection is that the Cyclones were founded as a base ball club, and the Morning Stars persuaded to try it so as to provide competition.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5985668569918053928.post-64659496165873121882008-01-21T09:45:00.000-06:002008-01-21T09:45:00.000-06:00I too wouldn't read too much into the ommission of...I too wouldn't read too much into the ommission of the material about the first game. These reminiscences are pretty general, and clearly influenced by later developments. Calling the organization "the St. Louis Cyclone Base Ball Company" is an example of this.<BR/><BR/>As for the line about "another kind of ball to pitch", the rhetorical comparison of the baseball to the musket ball is pretty common from the Civil War era. I also have one example from the Mexican-American War. It is a pretty obvious way to toss in a bit of poetic flair.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com