Schedule change / Farewell, Temple

The Grays have announced an emergency schedule change for the upcoming weekend. The team will play this SATURDAY July 14 only, from 11 to 4 at Mello Field in East Providence against their local rivals, the Providence Cornish Game Hens. The Grays will rest on Sunday the 15th.

Both of this weekend’s previously scheduled dates have been canceled. The Grays will not be traveling to Connecticut on Saturday, nor will they be playing anywhere on Sunday. Ball-playing remains illegal on the Sabbath-day, of course. This does not normally deter the Grays, but Sabbath activists have apparently tipped off the constables about this date, and the game has been quietly postponed to prevent fines and arrests.

In other news, one of the club’s best young players has defected to an outlaw team. Jeff Temple, a promising second baseman, has been poached by a Texas club and will commence playing with them immediately. Jeff has made a big impression during his three months with Providence, and has quickly become one of the team’s most popular players. With a family to support, his decision was understandable, as the Texas contract was said to be quite extravagant. In short, the Cincinnati Red Stockings were the ones who polluted base ball with their switch to overt professionalism in 1869, and we can no longer expect players to remain loyal to their employers as they were in the amateur days. Fare thee well, Jeff!

Although Temple was very well-regarded here and leaves no debts with the local shopkeepers, the reserve rule against contract-jumping must be enforced. He will thus be blacklisted from the National League for his contract violation, until some team petitions for his reinstatement. President Norton, who also serves on the board of the Old Stone Bank, has also arranged to have Temple’s bank account frozen as a punitive measure, and a committee of the club’s board has been appointed to spread malicious rumors about Temple through the Texas newspapers. These measures should serve to promote loyalty and team spirit among the remaining club members.