Foreign Substance (1912)

“They [the Phillies] used rosin on the ball, and in the fifth inning, complaint was made that the leather had been smeared with licorice. Fred Clarke ran out with a moistened kerchief and the ball received a bath. Manager Dooin protested but Umpire Johnstone decided that if it was fair for the Phillies to gum the pellet with some foreign substance, it surely ought to be equally fair to allow the Pirates to rub it off.” Ed. F. Ballinger, “Corsairs Grab Phillies’ Goat in Hot Combat,” Pittsburgh Post, Sporting News Section, p1

No earliest use given in 2009 Dickson Baseball Dictionary

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