Report of the Baseball Game
It was a very pleasant game,And there was naught of grumblingUntil the baleful tidings cameThat Williamson was "fumbling."Then all at once a hideous gloomFell o'er all manly features,And Clayton's cozy, quiet roomWas full of frantic creatures.
"Click, click," the tiny ticker went,The tape began to rattle,And pallid, eager faces bentTo read the news from battle;Down, down, ten million feet or more,Chicago's hope went tumbling,When came the word that Burns and GoreAnd Pfeffer, too, were "fumbling."
No diagram was needed thenTo point the Browns to glory--The simple fact that these four menWere "fumbling" told the story.There is not a club in all the land--No odds how weak or humble--That beats us when our short-stop andOur second baseman "fumble."
There was some talk of hippodrome'Mid frequent calls for liquor,Then each Chicago man went homeMuch wiser, poorer, sicker;And many a giant intellectSeemed slowly, surely crumblingBeneath the dolorous effectOf that St. Louis "fumbling."
Ah, well, the struggle's but just begun,So what is the use of frettingIf by a little harmless funOur boys can bull the betting?When comes the tug of war there'll beNo accidental stumbling,And then, you bet your boots, you'll seeNo mention made of "fumbling."
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- odds n.
- Difference in favor of one and against another; excess of one of two things or numbers over the other; inequality; advantage; superiority; hence, excess of chances; probability. [See Odd, a.]
- fumble v. i.
- To feel or grope about; to make awkward attempts to do or find something. [Akin to D. fommelen to crumple, fumble, Sw. fumla to fusuble, famla to grope, Dan. famle to grope, fumble, Icel. falme, AS. folm palm of the hand. See Feel, and]
- hippodrome n.
- A place set apart for equestrian and chariot races. [L. hippodromos, Gr. hippodrome.]
- dolorous a.
- Full of grief; sad; sorrowful; doleful; dismal; as, a dolorous object; dolorous discourses. [L. dolorosus, from dolor: cf. F. douloureux. See Dolor.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Report of the Baseball Game is in the public domain. This text is taken from Hoosier Lyrics, Project Gutenberg ebook #36150; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Eugene Field, Report of the Baseball Game, in Hoosier Lyrics (1905), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #36150, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/field-poems/report-of-the-baseball-game.html, id L11633.
Form and metre
Report of the Baseball Game is 40 lines in 5 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABCDCD. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 94% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.9 syllables. 21 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 45% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 ABABCDCD gameA · grumblingB · cameA · fumblingB · gloomC · featuresD · roomC · creaturesD
- 2 ABABCDCD wentA · rattleB · bentA · battleB · moreC · tumblingD · goreC · fumblingD
- 3 ABABCDCD thenA · gloryB · menA · storyB · landC · humbleD · andC · fumbleD
- 4 ABABCDCD hippodromeA · liquorB · homeA · sickerB · intellectC · crumblingD · effectC · fumblingD
- 5 ABABCDCD begunA · frettingB · funA · bettingB · beC · stumblingD · seeC · fumblingD
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| It was a very pleasant game, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| And there was naught of grumbling | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Until the baleful tidings came | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| That Williamson was "fumbling." | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| Then all at once a hideous gloom | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Fell o'er all manly features, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| And Clayton's cozy, quiet room | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| Was full of frantic creatures. | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| "Click, click," the tiny ticker went, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| The tape began to rattle, | 7 | ··˘/·/˘ |
| And pallid, eager faces bent | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| To read the news from battle; | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| Down, down, ten million feet or more, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Chicago's hope went tumbling, | 8 | ˘/···/˘˘ |
| When came the word that Burns and Gore | 8 | ········ |
| And Pfeffer, too, were "fumbling." | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
| No diagram was needed then | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| To point the Browns to glory-- | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| The simple fact that these four men | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Were "fumbling" told the story. | 8 | ·/˘˘··/˘ |
| There is not a club in all the land-- | 9 | ········· |
| No odds how weak or humble-- | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| That beats us when our short-stop and | 8 | ····/··· |
| Our second baseman "fumble." | 8 | /˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| There was some talk of hippodrome | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| 'Mid frequent calls for liquor, | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| Then each Chicago man went home | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| Much wiser, poorer, sicker; | 7 | ·/˘/˘/˘ |
| And many a giant intellect | 8 | ·/·/˘/˘· |
| Seemed slowly, surely crumbling | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Beneath the dolorous effect | 8 | ···/˘˘˘/ |
| Of that St. Louis "fumbling." | 8 | ···/˘/˘˘ |
| Ah, well, the struggle's but just begun, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| So what is the use of fretting | 8 | ······/˘ |
| If by a little harmless fun | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Our boys can bull the betting? | 8 | /˘····/˘ |
| When comes the tug of war there'll be | 9 | ······/˘· |
| No accidental stumbling, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘˘ |
| And then, you bet your boots, you'll see | 8 | ········ |
| No mention made of "fumbling." | 8 | ·/˘··/˘˘ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.