A Tense Sunday Afternoon on the Diamond
Amateur baseball in Walla Walla reaches a fever pitch as local teams face off near the fort.
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.
On the local grounds Sunday afternoon about one hundred fans witnessed one of the best games of the season among the amateur nines. The contestants were a picked nine from Troop F and the La Salle Institute boys. Six of the crack post team played with the Troop F delegation, but in spite of this handicap, the Institute boys won out with a score of 1 to 2. Lucky batting at opportune times was the secret of the victory. The pitching of Parks also the general team work held the score of the colored boys down. In the second inning with Minis on second, Trooper White made a home run. In the eighth it looked as if the colored boys stood to win for with two men on bases Trooper Brown sent a long drive to right field, but J. Casey captured it and saved the game.
“In the eighth it looked as if the colored boys stood to win for with two men on bases Trooper Brown sent a long drive to right field, but J. Casey captured it and saved the game.”
Amateur baseball was the social glue of early 20th-century Walla Walla, often centering on the military presence at the fort. This account captures a snapshot of the intense local rivalries that defined weekend life in the valley.
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