Date: Tue, 16 Dec 1997 10:35:52 -0500

From: "Dennis R. Preston" preston[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]PILOT.MSU.EDU

Subject: Re: sportswriters' disease



I was reminded by the afterthought to Dan's message that several

professions take (covert) pride in the fact that theirs is the hardest

drinking (or at least heavy tippling). I had not heard 'sportwriters'

disease' before, but I am aware of 'painters' colic' (for the need to 'cut'

the turpentine, etc... fumes that build up in one's throat after a hard day

with a brush). Any others?



dInIs



I have a sportswriter friend who swears that Mudville is actually Stockton,

California. I tend to trust him becuase he's one of those guys who knows

EVERYTHING about baseball, but he also suffer's from sportswriter's disease

(a.k.a. alcoholism).



--Dan Marcus



-----Original Message-----

From: Gerald Cohen gcohen[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UMR.EDU

To: ADS-L[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UGA.CC.UGA.EDU ADS-L[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]UGA.CC.UGA.EDU

Date: Sunday, December 14, 1997 12:00 PM

Subject: 'Mudville"





I recently received a request from _Boston Globe_ writer Robert Smith

for help in locating the original town Mudville (assuming it existed) that

inspired E.L. Thayer in his poem "Casey at the Bat." I replied that the

town is almost certainly mythical, like "Dogpatch" of the Li'l Abner comic

strip. I quoted from Paul Dickson's baseball dictionary and also referred

Mr. Smith to onomastics scholar Leonard Ashley.



Mr. Smith replied: "I still hold hope of finding the mythical Mudville,

so I would appreciate you querying your learned friends [at ads-l]. E.L.

Thayer never pinpointed the place, but he grew up in central Massachusetts

and some in these parts are convinced it is here."



A definitive answer might be available from the Massachusetts Historical

Society (I'll check the address tomorrow). Meanwhile, are any ads-l

subscribers able to help out Mr. Smith by shedding any light at all on

"Mudville?"



--Gerald Cohen







gcohen[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]umr.edu











gcohen[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]umr.edu



Dennis R. Preston

Department of Linguistics and Languages

Michigan State University

East Lansing MI 48824-1027 USA

preston[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]pilot.msu.edu

Office: (517)353-0740

Fax: (517)432-2736