The Philadelphia Phillies Are To Thank For This Century Old Baseball Tradition

Going to a baseball game and catching a fly ball is something that a ton of kids dream of.

Being able to bring your glove into the stadium and hopefully catch a ball from the stands is what kids dream of. Although this would be considered the highlight of a baseball game nowadays, did you know that you could get arrested for doing just that years ago?

Back in the 1920s, it was actually illegal to bring home a foul or home run ball that made its way into the stands during a baseball game. It all changed when a kid from Philadelphia actually got himself arrested at a Phillies game for bringing a foul ball home with him.

In July of 1922, an 11-year-old Phillies fan caught a foul ball during a Phillies game at Baker Bowl. As the boy went to take the ball home, security at the stadium caught him and arrested him on the spot. He had to spend an entire night in jail as an 11-year-old according to thisdayinbaseball.com.

The next morning, a judge ordered him to be released and said that the boy was just “following his most natural instincts”. Since that day over 100 years ago,  became the first major league baseball team to enact an official policy that would allow fans to keep foul balls.

This story has been circulating around online lately and I guess it’s safe to say the Phillies are the creators of the best baseball tradition!