LAMPS



This is from SPORTING LIFE, 16 September 1905, pg. 3, cols. 3-4:



"PETE" BROWNING DEAD.

A One-Time Nationally Famous Player,

Noted For His Hitting, Passes

Away--Record of His Long Career.

Louis Roger Browning, a star in base ball from 1882 to 1893, and known in

his day to every base ball lover as "Line 'em out Pete," also as "The Old

Gladiator," died at the City Hospital in Louisville, Ky.

(Long description follows, but no hit-and-run--ed.)

Browning, more than any other man, probably, was responsible for the

expression of "lamps" as a substitute for eyes. Pete was always talking about

his "lamps" and about their condition as indicated by his batting. Going to

the grounds he invariably smoked a cigarette, inhaling the fumes and blowing

them out through his nostrils. "It's good for the lamps," he declared to his

fellow players.



The RHHDAS has earlier "lamps," but its use for a baseball hitter could

be noted.