You can blame it on Reuben

The 2007 World Series is now history but while watching the seemingly endless playoffs and then the finals, it still bothered me seeing the dozens upon dozens of brand new, perfectly good, baseballs either hit or thrown by players and batboys up in the stands. It certainly wasn't like that in the "olden days."

I discovered Reuben Burman caused all this wasteful business, and it does help me having someone to blame.

As a boy in the Depression, it's easy to remember how tough things were — with everyone watching every penny and that included on the baseball fields.

Yes, we had many local teams in northwest Montana with inter-community games. There wasn't that much else to do. Worn gloves were patched and sewn up by hand, busted bats were taped back together. When a ball was fouled or homered outside the playing area, nothin' moved until that precious sphere was safely returned to the field. Once in awhile it was the only ball available. Have recalled about a half-hour delay, during the 1930's, when Camas Prairie was playing at Ronan and we had to find a ball hit into a neighboring alfalfa field.

During this year's big league playoff games I saw nine fouls hit by a guy in just one trip to the plate. We're talkin' here about big bucks lost forever in the seats. Through the total season there had to be tens of thousands of dollars worth of baseballs whacked up into the stands where somebody held them high in a second of triumph then took them home to gather dust for eternity. Seems like a waste… especially on a foul ball.

Everyone used to give the ball back, even in the big time majors… BUT then along came Reuben Burman. It was in New York or one of those large eastern settlements. Reuben was sittin' up there eating a hot dog in the summer of 1921 and a foul ball came his way. History does not record if it bopped him on the old kazoo or if he made a grandstand catch; but he did wind up with the ball and… he wouldn't give it back.

Reuben's attitude was, "If you want to keep those things then don't hit 'em up here where I'm eatin' a hot dog." Most fans booed but a few trouble makers told him to hang on and he eventually wound up getting arrested. The ball was confiscated, but Reuben had his dander up and hired a lawyer. It went to trial and Reuben won. That was the beginning of the end for errant baseballs ever finding their way back to a useful life.

The practice began slowly spreading across the nation to all but the smaller communities. It was speeded up by word of mouth after the Depression and faster with the advent of television.

A few of us older skinflint types like to think, "If Reuben would have had any idea of how his selfish action in 1921 would cause so much waste… maybe he would have thrown the ball back."

Maybe???

G. George Ostrom is the news director of KOFI radio and a Hungry Horse News columnist.