The historians, combing through archives, discovered correspondence between Frank J. Basloe and his publisher that showed Basloe had wanted to publish a revision with even grander claims for Herkimer. It was Will, Basloe wrote, who actually sent his rules east to Springfield, not the other way around. The publisher, though, never issued the revision. The writers found other evidence they believe bolstered Basloe’s case, including an 1898 article from the Syracuse Herald that reported on the success of Herkimer’s early basketball team, which it said had been playing since the fall of 1891. “Herkimer Crack Players have lost but two of thirty-five games,” it declared. A 1940 article in Little Falls, a neighboring town, noted a celebration of the 50th anniversary of basketball with Will as grand chairman.