Salt Lake Tribune | 1905-01-01 | Page 62 | Special Edition, Authorship of "Casey at the Bat"

Authorship of 1 "Casey at the Bat" j Much Dispute As to Who ManufaJ tured the Celebrated Ball&dB Many Claimants. The authorship of the celb-,. , j "C as.- it the Bat" which p,' V;2 per has server! to Immortalize has . M been In question. Tt is to be ho-ed bM ever, that this ratUlng dtty should !3 go down to posterity llnkM with M "p"ft '' 1 " uid that othe- . 9 of embroilment and recrlmh ?V "Laugh, and the World Toughs tXl Tou; Weep and You "vVr-ep Av Sl se: " has had manv father, to ru,M It or, their dream child, but nt h8, H glble evidence, which should ,r.rv. tn , J the question of authorship at r,t fr? time. B at hand. Mr Hopper has LSI been of the opinion that thU bn from the p'n of Err.ppt manufacturer, not of verw, but of htMt ware, of tYorcester, Mnjit. ArehfKJ Clavering Gunter wnt the pora to w3 Hopper In 1S37, and "B U T." wa J fixed to the same as author, Mr tt "i recited "Casey" at the Broadway thewS ono night in the above year with a n3 cens with which all theater-goars Rr acquainted. Mr. Hoppr subterasja' discovered that the lntials e. tIBJ stood for Ernest L. Thayer, who. bfrifcj being a manufacturer, had engag 3 a young man. In sorao Uttle n-Jy work over tho country. Mr, Thayer, howeve- 1 only on J very fow claimants for Ca,ey - jj Stone's book of "American nuinoreJ Verse" he la credited with the Sttthqif but Dana, Estes & Co.'s "A Trour?!,, Humorous Verse" credits It to Josafl Qulnlan Murphy A note In this lattZ book, published last year, says that author recently died at his home nS Louis " Thayer ard Murpihy, howwp aro but tv. o or fne rnar.y woo havt biSi credited with "Casoy at the Bat Now F. T. WlNt-o-h, business , jt of the Viola Allen company, comejauLJ and avers that neither Thayor, Mtorifl nor any of tha others named hr- 'immt wrote "Casey" He contends Uwl poem was from the pen of Win Vaieatfal a young Irish poot, who came toB counti. In 1870 and who dle.l In VW7 t9 w h.n a member of tho World's stuff k. 'V.ui'y," accord: 1.- to Mr. "WllstaE u.;.. .ir.-l for the first time la the flSH ("liy Tribune, when he w.ls buslnest mi9 11 c-r nf that paper. In 1'. VaJenB I ..1 b--.- n cjty edlt..r of the Kansu QSmt Star and r.ime to Sioux Pity In the llH - t 1 1 a Hko position on the TrlC uie. 'alentlne had contributed mm-Sm parodies to the Tribune, nnd his poK were nlgnod "February Hth " belnH V.ilenthie'.s day, nnd so a pleaaant HtUW Joko "ii the author., name. Mr fB - k and rilentlne worn r 1-, mm atea OiM--Sund afti r loon th fornipr was readlnr Macaulay . t R rnst nnd. having flni.-'hed the t- ru--i! of Horn alius at the Bridge," he suggested Valentine that it offered an excellent tmm portnnlty for tbo display of his talejl parody that "Casey nt the Bat." orsflfH thlntr nf till, kind, Instend of "H..n'!uiW the Bridge. ' should prove a dlverunglH fort. Valentine perused "Horvtbis at tH Bridge" and at once set to work oH ballad now famous as "Casey at the BatjJ that "Casey" was a iojr..iv of "Horatroa ' a perusal both poem, proves SL t). re Is a erv close resemblance In iflB and that tho p"mi are ;itinri In t9l ymi meter. It I, a curious fact, alsA that the words, "the rice' nppear In'K1 Ilrst line of "HoratliiB." nnd this. Mr. VH sia. k thinks, at this distant tlm. mij'-h.ive mij'-h.ive 1 ". I to r n; --.. thrt baseball oafll r 1 1 . r 1 v. 1 1 h ii- .trod Anvw.u-, SlorB; ('It', was bsweball crazy at that tlmrB opening lines uf "Horatlus" are as iK Lars Por.ena of Claslum, t7 the niw,. gods he swore, That the great house of Tarquln suffer wrong no more. 'm: Tl-.e ooenlng lines of "Casey," jK quot' d for the benoilt of those who tXSE .0 n: ilntcd with tl;o poem In question, as follows i 1 It looked extremely rocky for the Una, villa nine today; The score stood four to six, with bat V Inning left to play; Bi And so, whon ( ooncy died at first, aa Burrows did the same. A pallor wi ahed t'no features of thepdK. ons of the game. Ono does not hr. e to compare taS . t rns closely before he discovers BH, thero Is a orv cloo reisemblance ons m. the Other. For Instance, the line tB ' Defls i gl( 's rye, a IHK , i Ibi J- Tiiriiuii.- to ' Horatlus" wo find this M He smiled on ti I 1. :-.a.-:n. a imfli Berena and high. A. Then the famous line in "Casey": "Kill him' Kill rhe umpire," shoutedSfH one from tho stand. Again turning to Horatlus" we find tB -suggestion for this: f "Down with li ! in '" rrld false SsxttB with a smile on his pale face. The closing of the- two poems Is TM-slmllar. TM-slmllar. that of "''a.--v" ending: O, somewhere in the favored land thSB Is shining bright, The b Ir.c pomewhere aadseal re hearts ar light, And somewhere men iu-i lanphlng MV somewhere children shout: But there is no Joy i.-i Mm iville mlgBB Casey has struck out" The closing lines of "Horatios" are IB-follows: IB-follows: M With weeping cid with la-jghter, stfll tho story told JBl How well Horatlus kept the bridge in im brave davs of old. aV-. Tho - wl.o ha'" heinl Tr Hopper HJ el-.- this 1 m v.-ill r.-. aJI one of the fljMB. 1 of elocution luaxd in many a but II 1, to be hopi-l In lb" f'l'ure 1MB .-vat tin? Bat" may be credited ts IJ-rlO IJ-rlO tfi I owner, tho bibll.int child of Bta Will Ynlcntine. -LoJlsvlllo Herald.