Fun Ahead.—The Gophers have received and accepted this challenge, which speaks for itself: —

challenge.

We whose names are hereto subscribed being respectable Citizens of the City of Rochester, having heard much of the skill and sagacity of the 1st nine of the Gopher State B. B. C., and having a desire to test their science by an old fashioned game of B. B. hereby propose the following Challenge viz:

The G. S. B. B. C. to play their scientific and modern game and we play the old fashioned game. Our Club not no exceed eighteen in number. There shall be no profanity allowed upon the ground neither shall there be any intoxicating drinks used by the challenging party. We also respectfully request Mr. Marindy Squiggs to remain at home unless John will accompany her.

S. B. Clark, whose capacity for that or anything else is undoubted to be Umpire and the game will be played on the ball ground next Thursday afternoon at two o'clock.

It will be a mighty test of the comparative merits of the conservative and progressive styles of ball playing. In view of the grave and dignified character of the challenging party, we would respectively suggest a grey beard as an appropriate uniform for the ancients. Of course every body will be there. We expect to see a big crowd.

Rochester (Minn.) Post,

17 August 1867, page 3, cols. 5-3

The Big Match Game.

The match game between the Ancients and the first nine of the Gopher State Base Ball Club took place on Thursday afternoon, as before agreed.

It was a very hot day and the attendance of spectators was not as great as on former occasions. There was not more than five hundred standing around. A great many of them were ladies.

When it came to actual playing, some of the challengers, whose names we published last week, failed to appear. Substitutes were found and these gentlemen went in on their muscle.

The players did not get ready to begin until about half past three o'clock. By that time the preliminaries were arranged and the old boys and younger ones got to work.

It will be remembered that the challenge was for the Ancients to play the old fashioned game, giving them all the odds, and the Club to play the national game. As the bases on the ground were farther apart than the old boys could conveniently straddle, stones were placed comfortably near together, so they could get from one to another without too much exertion.

Mr. J. E. Ells was appointed scorer, but he producing a piece of paper and a pencil, that was voted irregular, Sumner Chase got a stick and went to scoring by cutting notches for the two parties on opposite sides. We noticed that Ells, and Chase and Mr. James McCullough were all busy keeping score, but if, in the attempt of the players to play two entirely different games at the same time, either of them got an accurrate [sic] score, we bet they didn't know it.

The Ancients got the choice and started out with C. W. Baldwin at the bat. He was followed by Charley Whitney, who made an excellent bat, hitting the umbrella of a spectator square. Whitney was caught out nicely by Hering.—Sam Barlow hit the ball very handsomely for a man of his size. Chadbourn received a starboard blow from the ball with becoming resignation. Daniels knocked the side out, after they had made four tallies.

On the other side, Hering went to the bat. Dick Jones threw the ball at Hering, but missed him, amid the cheers of the outsiders. C. Smith was caught out by Loomis. Loomis again distinguished himself by catching Olin out and hitting Elder with the ball, between the bases. The side went out, tallying four.

On the second inning, A. Smith went to the bat and was caught out. E. C. Cross made a good bat for a man of his age, but forgot to touch the first base and was put out for his ignorance of the rudiments. The other Cross, E. W., made a first rate bat and made the first home run. Loomis was caught out on a fly by Elder. Then there was a suspension of hostilities and a squabble over the historical point whether it used to be necessary in the old fashioned game to touch the first base, and it was decided that it was. Jones knocked out, the side having tallied four.

On the other side, Hering went to bat and sent the ball whizzing beautifully. Hurlbut was caught out on a foul, putting the side out, having tallied only one.

The lack of discipline on the part of the outsiders now became inconveniently apparent; men, women, little girls and small boys all crowded inside the field and prevented a good sight of the game. It is a wonder that nobody was hurt by the balls. Three or four children were hit in the course of the game and went off crying, but there was no serious damage done.

On the third inning, D. Lesuer went to bat was put out by C. Smith. Baldwin was put out on third base by G. Stewart. R. Whitney was put out and the side tallied only one.

On the other side, G. Stewart was caught out nicely by A. J. Nelson. Medhurst fouled out and the side was whitewashed, to the great delight of the oldsters and amusement of the crowd.

On the fourth inning Barlow went to the bat, made a good hit, and ran half way round in his peculiar graceful manner, when he had to get back and touch first base ; but he got around after a while and tallied. Real estate was lively, the firm of Smith & Daniels coming in, and both of them tallying together. Dick Jones was put out, putting the side out after tallying nine.

On the other side, Olin went to the bat. Elder, Herring [sic] and Crocker made home runs. R. Whitney caught G. Stewart out on a fly, putting side out, tallying four.

We were peculiarly struck with Charley Whitney's skill as a pitcher. We are satisfied that he can pitch the longest and hardest and the farthest from the man at the bat of any of the crowd. During this inning the scene shifter up above did a good thing by us. The hot sun had been pouring down upon the devoted heads of the just and unjust alike, but now a few clouds interposed most gratefully, adding greatly to the comfort of the occasion.

The heat and exercise by this time began to tell severely upon the respectable portion of players, and the Ancients showed some signs of fatigue. However, they came up promptly on the fifth inning. Olin knocked the pegs from under Lesuer very rudely, but effectually. Sam. Barlow again immortalized himself by making a home run, and was caught by coming in at the base bay Chadbourn and Lesuer, and rubbed down and groomed very carefully and affectionately, but in their excitement they forgot to blanket him. The old boys tallied six.

On the other side the playing was better than before. Baldwin made a desperate attempt to pick up a rolling ball, and the unappreciative throng laughed just as though he couldn't stoop over first rate.

There was another suspension of the game here. G. Stewart kicked the ball in running between the bases, and the Umpire decided it was all right. Some of the old folks proposed to stop. It couldn’t have been because they were tired. Loomis left in disgust, and Dick Jones was so noisy that Clark paid him ten dollars of his (Dick’s) own money to leave. Start bushed, and the old boys were short several hands, but the thing was fixed up and they went on playing. About this time all the scorers left and nobody knew how the game stood, if it stood at all. Bradley caught Hering out on a fly, but sprawled all over the ground in doing it. The Gophers tallied six.

On the sixth inning the old boys were evidently failing, and the spectators began to pity the sorrows of the poor old men: Chadbourn went to the bat and made a home run. During this inning the playing was “confusion worse confounded.” The Gophers tallying eleven and the other side tallied eighteen. The most noticeable incident of this inning was Mr. Nelson and Mr. Bradley rolling together of a clump of boys in their effort to run backwards and catch a ball.

By this time supper was ready, the players were dropping off, and the game was wound up at the close of the sixth inning: the old folks being supposed to be eight ahead on the count, though they counting no fouls and having hardly any running to do, gave them big odds.

Our private opinion of some of the Ancients is as follows, to-wit: Dr. E. C. Cross seemed most like the Captain and boss of the game-Rev. Mr. Brown was the oldest player and behaved himself most like a good boy. Sheriff Loomis and Mr. Nelson played the most in earnest. Chadbourn batted first rate. Dick Jones made the most noise, and R. Whitney enjoyed the game the most. Mayor Stearns did the heaviest sitting around. Barlow and Baldwin did the best running we have ever seen. But all on that side played excellently.

The selection of Clark as Umpire was eminently judicious for nobody else could have umpired so much in the same time, for the simple reason that there is more of him to umpire than anybody else.

We have been asked by a great many persons whether our correspondent, Mrs. Merindy Squiggs, was present. We can only answer that we donated a near sighted fellow a borrowed quarter to look around for her, and we have not seen or heard from him since.