Page:America's National Game (1911).djvu/117

This game saw the first recorded row at a Base Ball match.

The Brooklyn Eagle, of February 5th, 1898, contained the following article relative to James Creighton, one of the greatest ball players of ante-bellum days:

"On the crest of Tulip Hill, in one of the most picturesque portions of Greenwood Cemetery, a striking monument of granite marks the spot where one of Brooklyn's pioneer ball players lies buried. It is over the grave of James Creighton, a man whose ability in the national game, as it was known in its infancy, is well recollected by those whose memory extends back to the years before the Civil War.

"The stone in commemoration of Creighton faces the famous Firemen's Monument, and it would never be mistaken for anything else than the grave of a ball player. Across the face of the column, surrounded by a circle of oak leaves cut in the granite, is a design embodying a pair of bats crossed, a cap, a base and a score book, surmounted across the top by a scroll with the word "Excelsior" carved upon it. The old Excelsior Club of Brooklyn was the one with which Creighton made his reputation as a pitcher. On a level slab, just below the wreath, are carved the words: 'James Creighton, son of James and Jane Creighton, April 15, 1841; October 18, 1862.' A Base Ball, fashioned in stone, rests lightly upon the topmost pinnacle of the monument.

"Creighton's death occurred when he was twenty-one years of age, while he was still an active member of the Excelsiors. He was not only well known, but thoroughly popular among the followers of the early game, and his death came as a personal loss to every man who had been associated with him, either in the Base Ball field or in everyday life. Though he has been dead thirty-six years, Creighton's memory is still cherished by surviving members of the Excelsior Club.

"Creighton was in his day generally conceded to be the pitcher par excellence of the period. He was the first to introduce the wrist throw, or low underhand delivery, which was so puzzling to batsmen of that day. His forte was great speed and thorough command of the ball. His first appearance was as a member of the Niagara Club of this city in 1858. He was then playing second base, and J. A. Shields, U. S. Commissioner, was pitcher. He remained with the Niagaras throughout that season and the greater part of the following one, playing second base most of the time. In July, 1859, he began to loom up as a bright particular star in the Base Ball firmament. He first attracted attention as a pitcher in a game