Thursday, August 6, 2009

The Great Denton Young

Sometimes thoughts of copyright, trademark and patent must take a back seat to baseball. Today is one of those days. For today marks the anniversary when 23 year old Denton Young, Cy to his friends and fans, first took the mound in his first professional baseball game in ol' League Park in Cleveland. He won the game on August 6, 1890 for his Cleveland Spiders against the dreaded Chicago Colts. Over the next 22 years, he won at least 508 games (some claim that he won 511).

Beginning in 1956, baseball awarded the re-named Cy Young Award to the best pitcher in each league.

"Let others hunt, or fish, or sail
Afar o'er ocean's foam;
Give me the game that's played among
The sweet green fields of home.
Bases pitch on a level spot,
Beneath a smiling sky,
No sport for pleasure or for health,
With Base Ball then can vie ..."
The Baseball Song, W. J. Bullock (1874).

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