“The Eckfords followed and made a ‘skunk,’ but in their second innings they made a big innings for 5 ….” New York Herald, September 19, 1862, p5
Previous earliest use (Dickson Baseball Dictionary, 3rd edition, 2009):
1880. “‘The end crowns the work’ in most things, but in base ball it’s the big-inning” (Cincinnati Commercial, reprinted in The Galveston Daily News, July 20).
