“Hollister was caught on a high fly by Holmes.” “Match of the Atlantic and Cream City Nines,” Chicago Tribune, July 27, 1867, p4
Previous earliest use (Dickson Baseball Dictionary, 3rd edition, 2009):
1881. “Another part of a shortfielder’s work is his attending to the class of high fly-balls hit over the heads of the third or second baseman.” (Chadwick Scrapbooks; David Shulman).
