American Toby Jug Museum 

Casey character jug produced in milk glass by Avon of New York, New York, circa 1985. Casey at the Bat is a poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer. It was first published anonymously in The San Francisco Examiner in 1888. Featuring a dramatic narrative about a baseball game, the poem was later popularized by DeWolf Hopper in many vaudeville performances. It has become one of the best-known poems in American literature. The Mudville baseball team is losing by two runs in its last inning. Both the team and its fans believe that Mudville will win if Casey, Mudville's star player, gets to bat. With two runners in scoring position, Casey represents the winning run. Casey is so sure of his abilities that he does not swing at the first two pitches, both called strikes. On the last pitch, the overconfident Casey strikes out swinging, ending the game and sending the crowd home unhappy.