GOLF BALL KILLS A SPARROW, THEN GOES ON

The Butte Daily Post, Butte, 1912-10-14, p.7

Dateline: Boston, Oct. 14.

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Summary

Wire item from Boston, Oct 14 1912. A golf ball driven from a tee at the Braeburn Country Club (Massachusetts) overtook and killed a sparrow mid-flight and continued true on course. Joseph Gould was driving from the seventh tee — a shot that had to cross a gully to a green about 155 yards away. The bird was flying in the same direction and swerved just a trifle, apparently when it heard the buzz of the ball coming behind. Killed instantly, fell a crumpled heap of feathers as though it had received a charge of shot. The ball was hardly checked in its flight and landed on the green not far from the hole. ARCHIVE SIGNIFICANCE. Pure period-color color wire filler. No Murphy or family content. Captured for its 1912 newspaper flavor — Butte papers carrying half-column items from Boston golf clubs three weeks before the 1912 Wilson-Roosevelt-Taft presidential election. The kind of soft news the Butte Daily Post ran alongside its serious coverage. Worth keeping for the book's atmospheric chapters.

Narrative

At the Braeburn Country club near Boston, Joseph Gould drove from the seventh tee across a gulley toward a green some 155 yards off, and his ball struck and instantly killed a sparrow flying in the same direction. The bird dropped dead while the ball carried on, barely checked, to land on the green not far from the hole.

  • “The bird was instantly killed and fell a crumpled heap of feathers as though it had received a charge of shot.”
  • “swerved just a trifle, apparently when it heard the buzz of the golf ball coming behind”

AI-generated (claude-opus-5). Verify against the transcription before quoting.

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Also mentioned

  • Joseph Gould · golfer_at_braeburn_country_club

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Source type

wire_item, news_item

Transcription
transcription: complete · confidence high
# GOLF BALL KILLS A SPARROW, THEN GOES ON *The Butte Daily Post, Monday, October 14, 1912, p. 7.* **Boston, Oct. 14.** — A golf ball, driven from a tee at the Braeburn Country club, overtook and killed a sparrow and then continued true in its flight. Joseph Gould was driving from the seventh tee. This shot had to cross a gulley and the green is about 155 yards away. Mr. Gould got off a good drive. The bird was flying in the same direction and swerved just a trifle, apparently when it heard the buzz of the golf ball coming behind. The bird was instantly killed and fell a crumpled heap of feathers as though it had received a charge of shot. The ball was hardly checked in its flight and landed on the green not far from the hole.

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