A New Jersey auction house specializing in 19th-century baseball memorabilia is selling a document that seems to be an 1898 memo from the National League, titled "Special Instructions to Players," warning them that obscene language will be dealt with by suspensions ranging from one day to "all time."
It then goes on to list examples of the obscene language - in terms that make even modern readers blush! This is hilarious, but be warned: don't click on the link if bad language offends you.
http://s210975194.onlinehome.us/blog/?p=41
Of interest to linguists- If authentic, this would be the earliest known written occurence of two well-known phrases: c*********, and another earthy phrase recently uttered by Vice President Cheney on the floor of the U.S. Senate.
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