The term town ball, or townball, describes the bat-and-ball, safe haven games played in North America in the 18th and 19th centuries, which were similar to rounders and were precursors to modern baseball. In some areas — such as Philadelphia and along the Ohio River and Mississippi River — the local game was called Town Ball. In other regions the local game was named "base," "round ball," "base ball," or just "ball." The players might be schoolboys in a pasture with improvised balls and bats, or young men in organized clubs. As baseball became dominant, town ball became a casual term to describe old fashioned or rural games similar to baseball.
Read more about Town Ball: Rules, Town Ball and The Doubleday Myth, Philadelphia Town Ball, Town Ball in The West, The Massachusetts Game, Old-fashioned Base Ball, Famous Town Ball Players, Modern Townball (Upper Midwest)
Famous quotes containing the words town and/or ball:
“Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’”
—Bible: New Testament, Luke 14:21.
“The world was a huge ball then, the universe a might harmony of ellipses, everything moved mysteriously, incalculable distances through the ether.
We used to feel the awe of the distant stars upon us. All that led to was the eighty-eight naval guns, ersatz, and the night air-raids over cities. A magnificent spectacle.
After the collapse of the socialist dream, I came to America.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)