Factoid Feast X

As discussed in Factoid Feasts I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, and IX, my searches through football history sometimes lead to topics too important to ignore but too minor to Tidbit. Such nuggets are factoids, three of which are shared today.

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Holes In The Wall

In 1883, boys and men in New York City were excited about the Yale-Princeton game at the Polo Grounds, except that tickets cost 50 cents. Those with little money walked to the Polo Grounds to avoid paying the fee demanded by the railroad operators and thought they might avoid paying for the ticket by sitting on the hill above the stadium.

Unfortunately, when they arrived at the hill, they found the owners had raised the fence to 30 feet, with all cracks and knotholes filled. Then, an entrepreneur with an augur offered to drill a peephole for anyone possessing a spare nickel. He sold 40 holes before offering to drill a matching second hole for 2 cents apiece.

('The Man With The Auger,' Lima Democratic Times (OH), November 9, 1883.)

Shortly thereafter, the local constable chased away the few who had paid one or two holes, so none of them got their money's worth.