The Boys of Summer: Seattle’s First Big Baseball Victory
In a 1887 showdown at the local race track, a crowd of 400 gathered to watch the hometown nine clobber the visitors from the Willamette Valley.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
One of the most exciting baseball games played in Washington Territory occurred at the race track yesterday afternoon. Lovers of the game have waited long and patiently for the opening contest of the season, and certainly those who witnessed the play of yesterday will agree that the work of the year opens very auspiciously. A special train left the city at 4 o'clock, and half an hour later a crowd of 400 people were present, among them many ladies, who seemed to enter into the spirit of the occasion with even more enthusiasm than their escorts. The Willamettes, a good-looking set of men in caps, shirts and knee pants of blue and white, appeared on the field about 4 o'clock. Thorndike won the toss, and at about 4:30 umpire Wills of Steilacoom called play with the visitors at the bat. The score ended 4 to 1 in favor of Seattle, and the crowd cheered itself hoarse.
“The crowd cheered itself hoarse.”
Long before the Mariners and the massive stadiums of the SoDo district, Seattle’s baseball fervor was built on makeshift diamonds at local race tracks. The excitement remains the same, though today's fans are more likely to take a light rail than a special train to catch a game.
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