Fair-foul hit

In the early days of baseball, it was legitimate to hit a squib that hit fair territory at first, and then rolled foul. That, called a fair-foul hit, counted as a hit. Such a hit was often the result of deliberately bunting the ball to achieve this effect.

Ross Barnes specialized in it until the league changed the rules following the 1876 season and made it a foul ball.

Further Reading

• Robert H. Schaefer: "The Lost Art of Fair-Foul Hitting", The National Pastime, SABR, Number 20 (2000), pp. 3-7.
• Robert H. Schaefer: "Bunts and Fair-Foul Hits: Who Was First? Dickey Pearce or Tommy Barlow?", The National Pastime, SABR, Number 20 (2000), pp. 8-9.

Related Pages

• Foul ball