{"id":53205,"date":"2022-09-21T12:31:20","date_gmt":"2022-09-21T16:31:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/?p=53205"},"modified":"2022-09-21T12:31:20","modified_gmt":"2022-09-21T16:31:20","slug":"history-feature-the-original-ballgame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/history-feature-the-original-ballgame\/","title":{"rendered":"History Feature: The Original Ballgame"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Cherokee Stickball. Photo courtesy of WCU<\/p><\/div>\n

Uncovering the Cherokee Stickball Tradition<\/h2>\n

By Lauren Stepp<\/p>\n

Thousands of years before football was adopted as America\u2019s favorite pastime, this land was ruled by a grittier sport: stickball.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the earliest Europeans who visited our area wrote about the game,\u201d says Michael Slee, a player for the Hummingbirds stickball team on The Qualla Boundary. Slee is also the director of operations at the Museum of the Cherokee Indian. \u201cBut the sport is as old as these mountains,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Known to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians as the \u201clittle brother of war,\u201d stickball emerged as a way of keeping players fit and ready for battle. The ritualized contest was also employed to resolve grievances, often concerning hunting grounds, between individuals, clans and townships. \u201cIf a dispute needed to be settled, but the Cherokee didn\u2019t want men to die, stickball was used,\u201d says Slee.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Ball thrown into play, Cherokee stickball. Photo courtesy of WCU<\/p><\/div>\n

But that\u2019s not to say blood wasn\u2019t shed. When ethnologist James Mooney lived among the Cherokee in the 1880s, he described the game as \u201cvery exciting\u201d as well as \u201cvery rough.\u201d He wrote: \u201cAlmost everything short of murder is allowable in the game, and both parties sometimes go into the contest with the deliberate purpose of crippling … the best players.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, more than a century later, stickball is still notoriously physical. Slee has walked away from many matches bruised, battered and in need of stitches. But, contrary to Mooney\u2019s observations, stickball isn\u2019t entirely lawless.<\/p>\n

A predecessor to lacrosse, stickball is played on a field with two goal posts. Each player carries either one or two sticks. The sticks are traditionally carved from hickory, with one end featuring a scoop made of leather or sinew webbing.<\/p>\n

After a small, walnut-sized ball is tossed into play, the players rush to scoop it off the ground. Once lifted above the knees, players can transfer the ball to their hands and race down the field to score a goal. Whichever team scores 12 points first, wins.<\/p>\n

According to Slee, these are the fundamentals. However, there are countless variations of the game. For example, during some matches, teams must run past the goal with the ball to score. During other matches, they must throw the ball past the goal to score. The exact rules are predetermined by the \u201cdrivers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are two drivers for each team, and they essentially serve as referees,\u201d Slee explains. \u201cThey try to keep things in order, but if the players decide to play a certain way, there\u2019s not much the drivers can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simply put, stickball isn\u2019t for the faint of heart. Without protective padding, shirts or even shoes, players feel the full force of every tackle. Though Slee admits this can be intimidating, he sees the sport as a spirited means of preserving history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe game reminds players and spectators of where they are,\u201d he says. \u201cIt reminds people that, no matter who holds a deed, this land is and always has been ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each fall, a stickball demonstration is hosted at Mountain Heritage Day, a vibrant festival celebrating Appalachian culture. (See story, page 20). This year, the festival is slated for Saturday, September 24, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Western Carolina University (1 University Way, Cullowhee). For more information, visit wcu.edu<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Thousands of years before football was adopted as America\u2019s favorite pastime, this land was ruled by a grittier sport: stickball. \u201cSome of the earliest Europeans who visited our area wrote about the game,\u201d says Michael Slee, a player for the Hummingbirds stickball team on The Qualla Boundary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":53211,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94,57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53205","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heritage","category-lifestyle"],"yoast_head":"\nHistory Feature: The Original Ballgame - The Laurel of Asheville<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Thousands of years before football was adopted as America\u2019s favorite pastime, this land was ruled by a grittier sport: stickball. \u201cSome of the earliest Europeans who visited our area wrote about the game,\u201d says Michael Slee, a player for the Hummingbirds stickball team on The Qualla Boundary.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thelaurelofasheville.com\/updatestage\/lifestyle\/history-feature-the-original-ballgame\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"History Feature: The Original Ballgame - 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