One Day in May, 1892 - Charles Hamilton

Madison (Indiana) railroad station

In 1892, May 15 was a Sunday, and for many on campus it was a day for sports.

Charles Hamilton (HC 1893) had plenty to think about that Sunday. He had been selected to be Hanover's delegate to a YMCA summer school in the coming July, and Indiana's YMCA state secretary was on campus that day. Probably they met at the YMCA building (still standing, near the water tower) to talk about what he should expect in July. The "Young Men's Christian Association" was then focused mostly on Christianity, but a movement was growing to embrace physical fitness more, and sports might have been part of their conversation. As it turned out, the summer school Charles would attend reflected the shift toward athletics. A participant reported that "a person going through the woods" at the camp "constantly meets men, singly or in groups, studying the Bible," and men were "frequently" seen elsewhere kneeling in prayer. Still, there was an athletic director, and he made sure that basketball games were going on "constantly." There was also swimming and boating, tennis and baseball.

The latter may have captured Charles Hamilton's interest, especially if he was the Hamilton who played on Hanover's baseball team. Some YMCA leaders singled out baseball for exposing young men to "pernicious habits, such as Sabbath playing, betting, drinking, and the like," but the College didn't seem to worry too much, and Hanover's team played that Sunday.

The team concluded a six-game series in Madison that day, and everyone seemed to have a good time, judging by a local reporter's description. Although Hanover won only two of the games, the team had "great reason to feel encouraged," the reporter thought. Because so few of the players were seniors, they anticipated "putting to good use the experience they have lately acquired" for a strong season in 1893. The students in the stands were "not grumbling" either - since Hanover had beaten Butler University at least. The Butler men may have harbored some resentment about how a previous game had turned out. (During a downpour in the eighth inning of Friday's game, Hanover had "sprung the rules" on the visitors in that the umpires called the game at the end of the seventh while Hanover was ahead rather than during the eighth after Butler made another run.) Still, by Sunday everyone seemed to think the opponents were "a fine set of fellows, and gained the good will of all Hanoverians."

Historical records can tell us a lot about Hanover in 1892, but I wish we knew more about Charles Hamilton. Did he make any runs that day? Or was he one of the players who was injured? Was he looking forward to learning about evangelism over the summer or to learning about basketball?

Crowe-Garritt House, with baseball player

"Hanover vs Butler," Madison (Indiana) Courier, 14 May 1892, p. 3; "Hanover Happenings," Madison (Indiana) Courier, 16 May 1892, p. 3;"At Lake Geneva," Henry County (Missouri) Republican, 7 July 1892, p. 4. William J. Baker, "Disputed Diamonds: The YMCA Debate over Baseball in the Late 19th Century," Journal of Sports History 19 (Winter 1992), 257-62.

The photos above were taken about 1892, of unidentified baseball players (on the steps of Old Classic Hall and in front of the Crowe-Garritt house).