BEFORE THE GAME.
The game of lacrosse between Hopkins and Merriwell’s team was arranged,
no objection being raised to it by the committee of athletics at the
college.
This was the way the two teams lined up on the field at Oriole Park:
THE MERRIES. JOHNS HOPKINS.
Wilkins, In home. Brisbane, Goal Guard.
Morgan, Out Delano, Point.
Onslaw, 1st attack. Fillmore, Cover point.
Thatcher, 2d attack. Lowe, 1st defense.
Merriwell, 3d attack. Kellogg, 2d defense.
Vernell, Centre. Mowry, 3d defense.
Gamp, 3d defense. Hackett, Centre.
Hunter, 2d defense. Woodin, 3d attack.
Wilson, 1st defense. Grimes, 2d attack.
Starbright, Cover point. Whisper, 1st attack.
Ready, Point. Pierce, Out home.
Hodge, Goal Guard. Zanger, In home.
Merry got his team altogether and put in some earnest practice before
appearing in Baltimore. As he had expected, he was able to get five
Harvard men to play with him. Vernell, his centre, was from Yale.
The day of the game in Baltimore was cloudy in the morning, but toward
noon it cleared up and the sun shone forth from a blue sky. There was a
light breeze blowing, and this promised to be most refreshing, as hot
weather had prevailed for more than two weeks.
The Baltimore baseball team was playing away from home, so it was an
easy matter to secure the park.
The great surprise of the day was the crowd that turned out to witness
the contest. Never before in the history of lacrosse at Baltimore had
there been such a gathering at a game. The stand was well filled, and
the bleachers to the right, which happened to be near one of the goals,
were packed.
Not all the spectators were from Baltimore, however. On the bleachers
there was a gathering of Yale and Harvard men, who for once mingled
like fellows of the same college. Such a game was destined to do more
to promote good-fellowship between the two universities than many
anonymous ten-thousand-dollar contributions for that purpose.
The leader of the team opposed to Hopkins was a Yale grad. With him
were Morgan, Gamp, Starbright, Ready, and Hodge, all former Yale men.
Vernell, who played centre for him, was still in Yale and on the Yale
lacrosse team. The other players were Harvard men.
So Yale and Harvard met on the bleachers. They sat side by side and
locked arms. They laughed and joked and cheered together. They united
in singing the songs of the two colleges. First it was “Boola,” then
“Up the Street.” “Bingo” was followed by “Fair Harvard.”
The people in the stand clapped their hands and showed their delight
over the singing. A little bunch of Hopkins men cheered repeatedly,
but their cheering was weak and almost ludicrous in comparison to the
cheering for a Yale or Harvard team on their home fields.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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