The outlook was real brilliant for the Mudville nineteen that day,

the sun on Georges Island was shining brightly all the way,

Across the harbor as they ferried, to Fort Warren for to play

the Melrose Pondfielders - they were ready for the fray.

 

The Feilders Pond-ered the game rules, that was not the usual way

They’d learned to play old base ball, but the ferry had gone away,

So, marooned upon Georges Island, and to the occasion Mel-rose

They knew they’d be hard pressed to beat the team that wore red hose.

 

First ups went to Melrose and they swung a might club

As they piled up run and run again, but herein is the rub,

They knew not of D-Rob’s baserunning skill – or was it luck?

Or that the ball in Choo-Choo’s hand so many times had stuck?

 

Oh, somewhere in this favored land, the sun was shining bright

The Mudvilles won at Fort Warren and their hearts were truly light,

With the score something like 19 to 15, they sang a song of victory

For there’s surely joy in Mudville, when they hit balls out o’ sight.

 

And the Mudvilles played a second game with the Melrose Pondfeilders adhering to the post-1860’s New York style of base ball and the ‘Feilders won that game, but that would be altogether a different story and, perhaps, a poem.

 

 

Anyone who has not enjoyed a Boston Harbor Islands trip, you must place it on your To-Do List. Yes, they have a website with all the information there-in:   (www.bostonharborislands.org)
 

The weather on Saturday was supremely accommodating for a baseball game, and the side trip of hiking about the island and lurking around the fort was as enjoyable as the baseball games. I do hear tell that there is very often a sports activity within the yard, be it baseball or soccer, and the grounds are perfect for a picnic if nothing else.

Perhaps the Mudvilles will be again invited to display their superior base ball prowess playing by the Massachusetts Rules of 1858, and if they do, join the crowd on the ferry and get thee to the ballgame!