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That's right....during this era it's considered 'proper' (at least by the owners) for spectators to return balls hit foul or over the fence.
The last serious case I remember hearing about this was in 1923. Here's the writeup from one site:
The Baker Bowl left a different sort of legacy for baseball fans in 1923. Back then, owners would force fans to return baseballs that were hit foul into the stands - this often led to fan resentment and not a few incidents between ushers and spectators. But in 1923, a brave 11-year-old named Reuben Berman decided to keep his foul ball. The Phillies pressed charges, detaining him overnight; their legal case was strong, but the reviewing judge sided with Berman - he argued that the lad was just following his instincts and couldn't be blamed for wanting to keep a souvenir.
From what I remember hearing elsewhere, the Phils didn't really want the bad publicity and this policy simply faded away after that.
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