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June 27, 1999Athletics were far less imposing a century agoSporting events were few and far between, but they sparked passionate interestBy MARJORY RAYMERRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - The wide world of sports in 1899 found a home mostly in open fields, casual amusements and county fairs. Athletics were a far less grand affair at the turn of the century than now. Professional sports were few and far between. The first and only modern Olympic games had occurred just three years prior and some of today's most popular sports were barely in existence. Even so, they sparked passionate interest. Boxing matches from New York got huge front-page billing in the Traverse City Morning Record. As much as 50 percent of Manistee residents were said to have bought a bicycle - a raging fad throughout the country at the turn of the 19th century. And, boating was just coming into its season as a leisurely pastime. Basketball, invented only eight years prior using peach baskets, was still in its infancy and so was hockey in its seventh year. Baseball was the most established professional sport of the time. Players earned up to $2,500 a year for their talents and community leagues abounded. Manistee had the Colts. Petoskey had the Resorters. Grand Rapids had the Democrats. Even their ever-so-polite challenges were of public interest. "We the cigar makers of Traverse City hereby accept the challenge of the Implement Factory team for a game of baseball and will play a week from next Saturday afternoon, if it is agreeable," the Morning Record found fit to print on May 16, 1899. Yet the old game wasn't always the same as the American pastime we know today. Home plate itself didn't get its current pentagon shape until 1899, when it was changed from the then-standard 12-inch-wide diamond to make calls easier for umpires. And, the strike zone itself was sometimes just plain non-existent. In some games of the time, it was the pitcher's obligation to throw a ball that could be hit by the batter. Shoulder and knee measurements were irrelevant as were balls and strikes. The batter remained until he hit the ball regardless of the number or quality of pitches. Things looked a little different for bicycle enthusiasts, too. Forget casual and comfortable spandex. Biking was a fashion statement. A neat Scottish wool bicycle suit worth $5 could be picked up for $3.75 at The Boston Store. There were also bicycle pants, hose, belts and sweaters available to accessorize. And, the top-notch bicyclists bragged up their achievements. "Fred Smith returned yesterday from the southern part of the state. He visited Jackson, Lansing, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and Detroit and other cities making the tour on his bicycle," the Morning Record wrote on June 11. Football was decades from its Super Bowl glory days. It was reserved mostly for school sports. Traverse High School played its first games in 1896. The 15 boys wore mismatched uniforms, head harnesses, shin guards and nose protectors as they faced Cadillac, their only competitor, in two games. They lost 12-8 away, but won 16-10 at home in their second and final contest. Organized competitions often were held at the county fairs. There were bicycle races, the first golf tournaments and horse riding - which newspapers called a "pronounced fad" in New York. "Interest is being taken in this track (at the Antrim County fairgrounds) by horsemen as it is pronounced to be one of the best in this part of the state and we are informed that some very fast horses will contest in these races and the patrons of the fair are assured some very rare sport in this line," the Elk Rapids Progress told readers on July 27, 1899. Locally, the sport receiving the most front-page billing in 1899 was boxing. Newspapers described, in gruesome detail, fights from around the country. A Morning Record account of a fight featuring champion Bob Fitzsimmons against boxer Kid McCoy in New York read this way: "The end came when he landed both fists upon McCoy's ribs with sledgehammer blows which floored the Kid. The referee counted him out, but McCoy failed to apprehend and made a savage attack upon Sharky who immediately repeated the blows with both fists and equal force and McCoy was sent under the ropes with his head hanging over the steps at the platform." Boxing wasn't limited to the professional, pay-per-view bouts with Las Vegas glitz seen today. Suttons Bay planned its own fight with boxers with names oddly similar to those in the New York bout. Mike Fitzpatrick of Thompsonville and James McCoy of Cincinnati were to go glove to glove Jan. 6, 1899. "Both these men are noted boxers and the contest will be a hot one from the start," the Morning Record predicted in a preview article that ran the day of the scheduled fight. But, boxing was not universally accepted as either sporting or entertaining. "A damper was put upon the spirits of local sporting devotees last evening when it was telephoned from Suttons Bay that the proposed fight between Fitzpatrick and McCoy would not be allowed to come off." Village president C.D. Stanley together with Undersheriff Martin Brown "were determined to stop the fight, and they declared that there would positively be no contest." And, they brought along "a force of deputies" just in case anyone wanted to proceed. No one protested. "So, there was no entertainment. However, the visitors from this city had a pleasant time in the village." Sports or no sports, they still found some entertainment. They did not return to Traverse City until 3 a.m. |
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