Life, 1913-07-10 · page 18 of 44
Life — July 10, 1913 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate pieces of early 20th-century humor: **"Susie's Score Card"**: A poem celebrating a woman who keeps detailed baseball scorecards with the same enthusiasm and expertise as male fans. The satire gently mocks the "cryptic" notation system women use while establishing them as serious, knowledgeable baseball enthusiasts—notable since women's sports fandom was still novel. **"Baseball Talk"** (cartoons): Six illustrated jokes playing on baseball terminology misunderstood by non-fans. References like "Matty" likely mean pitcher Christy Mathewson. The humor exploits double meanings (e.g., "stealing bases" causing actual theft) and the gap between baseball jargon and everyday language. **"Directions"** (bottom left): A satirical "how-to" for changing a tire that mocks both car salesmen's inflated time estimates and the chattiness of female passengers—typical period gender humor. The overall tone reflects 1910s-era amusement at women entering traditionally male spaces (sports fandom, car ownership) and general wordplay-based comedy common to *Life* magazine's style.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Susie's Score Card UR Susie keeps a baseball score Just like a regular fan She waves it when the bleachers roar And marks it same’s a man; She munches peanuts through the game She stretches like the rest And cheers the sound of Matty’s name With proud and swelling chest. Sometimes, she’s so excited that She tally’s in a Slam And jumps when Larry takes a bat And starts the ball to lam; She dances when her heroes win And trembles when they fall And often sharply through the din You'll hear her cry: “ Play Ball!” She writes golf terms across the card And claps the homing hikes She hisses at the umpire hard When he counts out on strikes. She questionmarks each rival run But underlines her side; In ciphers that your senses stun She indicates a slide. Oh show me not the cryptic print Upon the pyramids Or ancient tablets writ with flint Sue has them all on skids. Tell me not of the Sanscrit sheet Or mystic Chinese lore They’re easy to the secret sweet When Sister keeps the score. Kate Masterson. Directions 'O find out how long it will take to put on a tire: First, take the number of minutes stated as necessary by the man who sold you the car; multiply this by ten; divide this by the number of unpunctured inner tubes you have on hand ; add ten minutes for a set of conversational suggestions made by each lady in the car who is watching you; then multiply again by three. “J vat did you learn at school to-day?” “Der principles of interest, fadder.” “Ikey! Doan't you know dot der right kind of interest has no prin- ciples!” Ee PRE* Baseball Talk “There Was a Big Falling Off in Attendance Due to Some Very Loose Ball” NY itrsce ats Ce “Altho’ the Game Was Close, There Was Little Enthusiasm ” “He Was Caught by the Pitcher While Trying to Steal Two Bags” comicbooks.com