Marysville always has leaned to sports of a cleanly nature — the uplifting, helpful sort — and the national game of baseball have always been in the lead. This city was the home of the famed Intrepid Baseball Club, which gained statewide reputation in the seventies, eighties, and nineties.

     The club was formed on March 10, 1875, by George W. Elder, "Low" C. Williams and others. The members were Marysville young men who made no claim for qualifications above the amateur on the diamond. Some of the players went East in 1884 and made good with Eastern clubs. George Cummings, pitcher, who gained the sobriquet of "Speedy George" because of the speed of his delivery, went to Harrisburg, Pa.; Mike DePangher, catcher for the Intrepids, was called to Detroit, Mich.; and Jack Cullen, also catcher, than whom there never was a more graceful player, went to Reading, Pa.

    The Intrepids were defeated in San Francisco in 1878 by the Eagles, score 10 to 0. Here the Marysville boys faced for the first time a curved-ball pitcher. His deliveries were truly puzzling as the score plainly shows.

    The Intrepids continued as a club for about twelve years and their strength always lay in their teamwork. Among the members were: George W. Elder, who afterwards became State purchasing agent and lived in Sacramento; Lowell C.Williams, who became mayor of Marysville, and who now holds a responsible position with the Marysville Water Company; George B. Baldwin, who became first mayor of Nome, Alaska, and who is now with the Pacific Gas & Electric Company in Sacramento; James M. Cremin, who later was State statistician, State printer, and a member of the State Reclamation Board; and John McDonald, who is with the Sacramento fire department as an engineer. John Baugh, better known as Barr, was the first baseman. He stood six feet, four inches high; so the high throws did not bother him. Then there were Jack and Jim Haggerty, Kelly Derrickson, James Kertchem, Les Jennings, Chub Casey, and Phil J. Divver. Hank Lydon was also a member in later years.