The Hustlers Take the Lead in a Nail-Biter
A brilliant defensive game at Madison Street Park cements Seattle’s place at the top of the Pacific Northwest baseball standings.
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.
The Hustlers stand alone in first place this morning by reason of yesterday's magnificent victory over Billy Work's Daisies. It was a game to put enthusiasm into a mummy, and its shifting phases set the little crowd present crazy at times. From the time the ball was thrown in play until 'Big Bill' Hassamer wound up the game with a brilliant running jump and one-handed catch back of second, there was a continued streak of sharp, clean work. The one feature that marred such a pretty game was the disgusting school-boy exhibition of Clark Griffith. After he had let in two runs by a wild pitch, he began a senseless kicking against the umpire's ruling in calling one of the men safe at the plate. On being warned to go to work he obstinately refused to do so, and was finally ordered to the bench by Knight. The ninth inning saw a dramatic finish when Tom Letcher's hit drove in two runs, securing the 5-3 victory for Seattle.
“It was a game to put enthusiasm into a mummy, and its shifting phases set the little crowd present crazy at times.”
In 1891, the 'Hustlers' baseball team captured the imagination of a growing Seattle. Today, the city’s sports culture remains a cornerstone of local identity, though the venues have shifted from Madison Street Park to high-tech stadiums.
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