Manufacturer's baseball club, Ralph Hemingray listed

Spicy.

The old men with gray hairs, the young men with prospects, all with ambition, who represent the manufacturers and real estate dealers in the clubs organized for the perpetuation of base ball in Muncie, have been keeping the air arm for a month or more in the vicinity of the hotel lobbies and real estate offices badgering, and challenging, and back-wounding each other until at length forbearance ceased to be a virtue with the real estate men and they prepared and sent a challenge to the boastful manufacturers which they confidently believed would scare them off the track and put an end to their boasting. But the reckoning was wrong. The manufacturers were eager for a challenge all along and laughed in their sleeves when it became certain that their taunts had driven the real estate club to send them a challenge — an act the manufacturers regard as madly rash. The correspondence is somewhat spicy and the Times is pleased to lay it before its readers in full:

MUNCIE, Ind., June 16th, 1890.

TO F. C. Ball, J. F. Darnell and Others.

GENTLEMEN: — . . . [illegible text] . . . been much boisterous talk by sundry manufacturers of Muncie about defeating the Real Estate men in a game of base ball to be played “sometime” and we having waited so long without receiving a challenge, and being somewhat doubtful as to where or not one will ever come;

Therefore, you will take notice that the Real Estate men of Muncie hereby challenge the Manufacturers of Muncie to “Play to a finish” a game of base ball. Game to be played on Ohmer avenue grounds, under league rules, 1890.

Only gentlemen engaged regularly in real estate business ad legitimate manufacturing to be allowed to play, which shall not include clerks, bookkeepers, or employes. We will be glad to meet your committee to arrange details.

                                                                                                  Respectfully,

                                                                                         GEO. F. McCULLOCH, Manager.

                                                                                      C.F. HATHAWAY, Captain.

To Mr. Geo. F. McCulloch, M’g’r. Real Estate Base Ball Club:

DEAR SIR: — Your challenge of this date at hand. We hasten to accept the same and assure you we are as eager for the contest as you possibly can be. Your reference to “boisterous talk” may be correct, but we are prepare to back it up by meeting you in a game of ball “to the finish” on the date you mention or any other time that suits your convenience. We warn you to be prepared to do your best; you will find it no “child’s play” in defending yourselves against metal that has been sharpened by constant grinding in in manufacturing pursuits.

                                                                                            F. C. BALL, Manager.

                                                                                      DR. SMITH, Captain.

If half that the representatives of the above clubs say of their prowess and skill is true we may expect to witness a game of base ball next Friday that will pale into significance the glory of the “Reds,” the now famous leaders in the National League.

The following are the players selected by the real estate men to represent them in the hot contest to be played at the Ohmer avenue base ball grounds next Friday. The proceeds of the game are to go so some charitable institution: Hathaway, p; Woods, c; Anthony, 1st; Johnson, 3rd; McCulloch, 2nd; Kilgore, s.s.; Hartley, l. f.; Messersmith, r.f.; Hamilton, c.f.; Heath, sub.

The following are the players of the Manufacturer’s club: Lew Over, p.; A. K. Smith, c.; Wm. Hamilton, 1st; Wm. Hitchcock, s.s.; E. B. Ball, 2nd; Ralph Hemmingray [sic] Hemingray, 3rd; J. F. Darnell, r. f.; Tom Hart, l. f.; N. C. Ball, c. f.; John H. Smith, sub.