A Bucket-Ball Game
This is a new indoor game which follows out in principle the regular baseball play. It is an exciting and interesting pastime, and while a certain amount of skill is required to score runs, a person who cannot play the regular game can score as many runs, and as often, as the best players in the national leagues.
The Frame is Made Up without a Back, to Hold the Buckets at an Angle That Makes It Difficult to Toss the Ball So That It will Stay in Any One of Them (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Fig. 3, Fig. 4)
Anyone that is just a little handy with tools can make the necessary parts for this game. The tools required are a hammer and a saw, and the materials consist of some finishing nails; three strips of wood, 6 ft. long, 2 in. wide, and 1 in. thick; two strips, 18 in. long, 4 in. wide, and 1 in. thick; four strips, 24 in. long, 2 in. wide, and 1 in. thick; two strips, 18 in. long, 2 in. wide, and 1 in. thick; two blocks, 4 in. square, and 1 in. thick, and four wood buckets.
A frame is built up as shown, 6 ft. long, 18 in. wide, and 24 in. high, without a back. One of the long pieces is fastened to the bottoms of the buckets as shown, spacing the latter equally on the length of the piece. This piece is then set in notches cut in the blocks of wood at an angle of 45. These blocks are fastened to the upper crosspieces at the ends of the frame. The upper part of the buckets rest on the upper front piece of the frame.
The Player must Throw the Ball So That It will Enter and Stay in One of the Buckets, Which Designates the Base Hits by the Number in Its Bottom
The rules for playing the game are as follows: Three baseballs are used. The players stand about 10 ft. distant and in front of the buckets. Each player, or side, is only permitted to throw three balls an inning, irrespective of the number of runs scored. Any kind of delivery is permitted, but an underhand throw will be found most successful. The buckets are numbered from 1 to 4, and represent, respectively, one, two, and three-base hits, and home runs. The one in which the ball stays designates the run.
Plays are figured as in a regular ball game. For instance, if a ball should stay in bucket No. 2 and the next in bucket No. 3, the first man would be forced home, counting one run, and leaving one man on third base.