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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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rounders
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Children's game in England since at least the early 18C, played to much the same rules as baseball and accepted now as its origin. The earliest known description of rounders, in an English alphabet book (A Little Pretty Pocket-Book 1744), lists it under B for Baseball. The crucial difference is that a player is out in rounders if struck by a thrown ball when running between bases. This requires a soft ball. The development in the American game, introduced in the first half of the 19C, was that a player became out when touched with a ball in the hand. This allowed a hard ball, turning baseball into a game for adults with fast deliveries from the pitcher and powerful hits by the batter.
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