Today marks the 114th anniversary of the publication of "Casey at the Bat." Thanks to the _Washington Post_ for the tip.

http://www.historybuff.com/library/refcasey.html

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By R. J. Brown
NCSA Member #3
When George Hearst decided to run for senator from California in 1885 he realized the need of an influential organ, and bought the San Francisco Examiner to promote his political ambitions. When the campaign was over, he presented it to his son, William Randolph Hearst who had just graduated from Harvard College. While in college the younger Hearst had been editor of the Harvard Lampoon.

When he went to California to edit the Examiner he took along with him three members of the Lampoon staff; Eugene Lent, F. H. Briggs, and Ernest L. Thayer. Each had nicknames -- Thayer's was "Phin." He wrote a humorous column on a regular basis for the Examiner and signed his columns with his nickname.

In the spring of 1888, Thayer wrote Caseyand submitted it for publication. It appeared in the Examiner in the June 3, 1888 edition and was signed "Phin" as usual.

When Casey made its first appearance, nobody hailed it with shouts of joy or suspected that it would become immortal. A few weeks later, (exact date unknown) the New York Sun published the last 8 stanzas of the poem -- but signed its author as "Anon." Other than the Sun, it was just plain ignored by the public.
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