"Two Brooklyn cranks had a wager of $100 a side on John Holden's making a home run. One was an Atlantic rooter, the other an Excelsior fan. In this game I noticed that when Holden went to bat he was very particular in selecting his bat. It appears that the man who had bet on him went to him and told him that he would give him $25 of his bet if he made the hit; so Jack was very anxious. Matty O'Brien was pitching, and Jack, after waiting for a good ball, got one to suit him, and sent it flying over Harry Wright's head at right center, and made the round of the bases before the ball was returned, thus winning the $25."
Aside from the story itself, this tale is interesting as showing that already, almost at the inception of the playing of match games between organized teams in rival cities, betting on the result, which was to make so much for mischief in the future, was beginning to be in evidence.
