“Mathay’s triple in the first was the result of an accident rather than hard hitting. The ball took a bad hop just as it reached Rudolph and bounded over the German’s head.” The Zanesville Times Recorder, May 2, 1906, p8
Previous earliest use (Dickson Baseball Dictionary, 3rd edition, 2009):
1915. “[Clyde] Milan beat out a hit to [Eddie] Collins, the ball taking a bad hop and hitting the Sox second sacker in the chest.” Stanley T. Milliken, The Washington Post, June 13, 1915. [Peter Morris)]
