As I drove down the rural roads of southwestern Missouri, I couldn’t help but notice the hand-painted “Good Food” signs that began to appear on the fence posts. These road signs sent my imagination into high gear and visions from “Deliverance” to “Ma and Pa Kettle” began to spin in my head, and the idea of ​​a big greasy hamburger with piles of fries falling from the sides of the plate. , make my stomach churn. I had to stop.

The interior of Greasy Spoon, though furnished with 1950s-style tables and chairs, some metal corn fertilizer ads hanging on the walls, I couldn’t see the correlation between food and fertilizer, but the place was spotlessly clean and the few customers all seated at the tables offered a friendly smile.

I finished ordering my food and then went to the bathroom to wash up and that’s where I saw the old black and white photos of men playing cork ball game hanging on the hallway walls leading to the bathrooms.

“Where were those photos taken?” I asked the waiter.

“Right out there,” he said, nodding toward the back door.

I was amazed at what I saw as I looked through the hazy glass panel of the door and couldn’t wait to get out to get a clear view. Coming out into the sunlight, I saw the predecessor, grandpa if you will, the batting cage of today’s net.

Was a Cork ball facility and looked brand new. He had not seen one of these facilities since he was very young, many decades ago, and had completely forgotten that they existed until today.

On that subject, many of you probably have no idea what I’m talking about, so let me explain the cork ball game to you.

The cork ball was played between two rival teams and the rules and goals were similar to baseball, in terms of counting runs, outs and innings. The teams consisted of three players each, the pitcher, the catcher and the outfielder.

The game was played within a large netted area, similar to today’s modern batting cage. There were many different versions of how the game was played, depending on the location, but the most familiar rules were as follows:

1. The defense consisted of a pitcher, a catcher, and an outfielder. The catcher wore a catcher mask and used a normal baseball glove to catch.

2. A pitching rubber was placed at a specific distance from home plate where the pitcher followed the same rules as a baseball pitcher.

3. The outfielder played behind the pitcher, remember this is a tunnel shaped stadium. If the outfielder caught a fly ball or a line, it was an out, if he grounded out, it was a base hit, he missed a grounder and it was a double, a ball hit over his head, depending on where the ball hit the wall. from the bottom, it was a triple or a home run.

4. The batter was allowed 1 strike, a swing and misses, or a strike called by the umpire that constituted a strike out. Two balls constituted a walk and a foul ball followed the rules of baseball.

The team, the bat and the ball, is what made the game unique and very special.

1. The bat was the same length as a baseball bat, but more like a thick broom handle in size and striking surface. (perhaps the ancestor of today’s fungus bat).

2. The ball resembled a miniature baseball, made of sewn cowhide, but much smaller than a regular baseball.

The speed with which a pitcher could throw a cork ball, the narrow hitting surface of the bat, and the fast pace of the game made it a very popular sport with older men, beyond their playing days at school. high school.

Cork ball leagues popped up everywhere and the most popular play areas were adjacent to or next to a tavern or bar. The roar of the fans, sitting in the stands, the glare of the lights and the clink of beer bottles were heard late into the night on Friday or Saturday.

The game had been an American icon, played with fierce rivalries and filling the tavern owner’s coffers. I have no idea what led to the demise of the sport, maybe we became addicted to television, but it held an important place, for a time, in the history of American sports.