May 16, 2004

Text of 1791 Pittsfield Ordinance. Posted by John Thorn to SABR-L:

"#10 - Bylaw to prevent damage to new meeting house windows: no ball games within eighty yards of the building. At a legal Meeting of the Inhabitants of the Town of Pittsfield qualified to vote in Town Meetings, holden on Monday the fifth day of Sept 1791 __

"Voted, The following ByeLaw, for the Preservation of the Windows in the New Meeting House in said Town __ viz,

"Be it ordained by the said Inhabitants that no person or Inhabitant of said Town, shall be permitted to play at any game called Wicket, Cricket, Baseball, Batball, Football, Cats, Fives or any other games played with Ball, within the Distance of eighty yards from said Meeting House - And every such Person who shall play at any of the said games or other games with Ball within the distance aforesaid, shall for every Instance thereof, forfeit the Sum of five shillings to be recovered by Action of Debt brought before any Justice of the Peace to the Person who shall and prosecute therefor -

"And be it further ordained that in every Instance where any Minor shall be guilty of a Breach of this Law, his Parent, Master, Mistress or guardian shall forfeit the like Sum to be recovered in manner, and to the use aforesaid -"

(See also this.)

Also: From Baseline magazine: "Boston Red Sox: Backstop Your Business -- Keeping track of stats in the numbers-obsessed world of baseball is nothing new. But Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein has amassed a collection of personnel data other teams -- and corporate business managers -— can only dream about."

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