Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
Friday, January 7, 2005, Washington Post

First Things First

It's the first column of a new year, so I thought I'd write about . . . firsts!

I found a 40-year-old book in the library the other day. It's called "Famous First Facts" and it's filled with all sorts of fun first happenings in the United States.

Did you know that the first family to go cross-country by automobile in a month was the Murdocks, including kids Lillian (18), Alice (14) and Milton (10)? In 1908 they drove from Los Angeles, California, to New York City in 32 days 5 hours 25 minutes. It took that long because the roads were not very good and cars did not go as fast as they do today. But some things about long car rides never change. I wonder when was the first time one of the Murdock kids wanted to go to the bathroom or asked, "Are we there yet, Dad?"

But this is a sports column, so let's take a look at some famous sports firsts.

• The first baseball glove was worn in 1875 by Charles Waite, a first baseman (naturally!). Waite made the glove flesh-colored so that other players would not make fun of him. Until then, players played bare-handed. Ouch!

• The first women's baseball team was the Young Ladies Base Ball Club #1. In 1890, long before the Rockford Peaches and "A League of Their Own," the Young Ladies toured the country playing men's teams.

• The first televised pro football game was on Oct. 22, 1939. The Brooklyn Dodgers (yes, they were a football team) beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 23-14. Basketball and hockey games from Madison Square Garden in New York City showed up on TV a few months later, in February 1940.

• Softball started as an indoor game on Nov. 30, 1887, at a boat club in Chicago, Illinois. The players used a broomstick for a bat and a boxing glove as the ball.

• James Naismith invented basketball at Springfield College in 1891, using peach baskets nailed to the gym walls. When someone made a basket, players climbed a ladder to remove the ball. The first official women's basketball game was played at all-female Smith College, also in Massachusetts, in 1893.

• Learning to swim? The first swimming school opened in Boston, Massachusetts, on July 23, 1827. According to "Famous First Facts," students were taught like this: "A belt is placed about the bodies, under the arms, attached to a rope and pole, by which the head and body are kept in proper position, while the pupil is learning to use his limbs." No swimmies or kickboards back then!

• Crazy for miniature golf? America's first mini golf course was built by John Garnet Carter near Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1929. But Carter didn't call it putt-putt or miniature golf. He called his small nine-holers Tom Thumb courses.