Til£: UHAitliOl'TiS Mjsws, /lUUu&i l 1^, li^U
II
THE SPORTING WORLD
Star Catcher
Star Pitcing
By W. 8. FARNSWORTH. I
y.-M • nrk, N. Y., August 12.—“Mr.
! ^ i’ ' ou can possibly arrange
■fi like to have by battery
. s K' lly. botipht by the
. > 1:0 "
 v’lff nlei«^a^e v.as recrivod
■ ‘-al president of the I’itts-
" a' ' soon after he had paid
■rd >um of $22.iOO to the St.
Ann riian Asaociationt club for
r •ai='; of Martin O’Toole, the
-I « d pit-her tor whom a half
'jnr V'8;;ue clubs entered into
'’d !'• (idinp match af»er Roper
■ if' red $1*1..^'>0 for 0'To,4e
.. 1 The plea came from O'Toole
1' speedil. granted.
' ' ' 1 '. h once more recalls the
o i nw mM.'h a catchrr I'a^
T ' • ic succe?; -if a pitfher. I'h''
Hi ^h 'V'- sn in neirlv every in-
.r.v.:e - suar :'virier ha? a siar catch-
a. eiXSCT mate. In some cases.
v.-^er«r. It found that a crack
'I.' - ni’ b'-en assisted by a
f hieh rank. But these in-
a v and far b tween.
. TP ■''■.ve been cases where
I r ci'c? entirely the bad
r hB ■vvorl'Jns, without his star
■ \ r*r su‘ i the case it mere-
I'frs f’-ie :Ivory that a good
r a- MV. -h to do with t^c mik-
of hifth ^!a^ding.
>> -'.r 'in“ and p'-mder over
! 1 r crios of tho day. We
• a ;'^d pi'che’* and an e.iual-
•; or i'nanably have been
, •' :s brin:’,.^ suci'era to
>1 > n''ai'le piir in base-
, ■.> s Voun.e: and Lou
t a;s these two worked
; a -I ‘ wo f'ver did before.
I ,;r. ‘ outlived his former
. : t • V,) far as big league
?-rned, it is a fact
i : ' 's bi-st years while
I':'' recei\ ing end. Just
 Tiger was sold by the
:lie Yankees, Young be-
♦ 3 >me of his vaunted af-
. Tl’ iMgh still winning pitch-
Cri^w'f catching him.
• -rk was not up to the
to do with the Giants winning a coup
le of National League gonfalons and a
world's championship. Since BBrena-
han v.-as shifted to St. Louis, the Gi
ants have been unable to get a catcher
of Roger's ability. Bresnuhan was
there with the headwork and with
Mauhewson's cunning it was an easy
thing for Matty to win a majority of
his games
i'or several years Mordicai Brown
and .Tohnny Kling worked together
and three championships were the re
sult.
190«-T-s.
There are anv number of combina
tions where there are stars at both
ends of the receiving department. Each
year furnishes new stars in both po
sitions-. V/heuever a sensational pitch-
or creaks into roajor league company
and he maintains a record iiass, it
will alwavs bo found that a tried catch-
I cr is his mate. The shining example
I Ibis year is Grover Cleveland Alexan
der, the wonder acquired by the Phil-
j lies. It took tile master hand and
I crafty mind of Charley Doonin to
j plai e Alexander on the pedestal he
now enjoys. Could .\lexander have been
■half so succesfful if an untried re-
I celver had been working with him?
I Docin is acquainted with the failings of
! every player in th" National league,
!'.vhilc .Alexander probably does not yet
' know the kind of a ball a certain play
er does not care for. Xow that Dooin
, Is out of the game it will be interest-
it'.s, to note how Alexander fares with
' Pat Moran catching him.
I There must have been something
i more than mutual friendship that
1 prompted O'Toole to ask Drej’fuss to
bring Kelly to the Pirates. It would
be inadvisable to place this pair in a
game together for they are not well
versed with the weaknesses of the bat
ters in the National circuit. If O’Toole
upholds his American AssociaWon rep
utation with Kelly catching him., then
we will be firmly convinced that a
catcher has a great deal to do w'ith
the success of a pitcher.
'•nb'1.1‘lon that has last-
1-' pr.d ears, and still is as
fl ".t of Edward Walsh and
'an While Walsh would be
,'i ■-r with even the ver
; •  a hing him, the fact re
Sullivan has had a large
1 v^'alsh's success.
■ I'er Johnson and Charley (Gab-
'•rr-; form another formidable
' : .i?on Is rated as the speed-
.rler in "he big league and with-
•reet on 'he other end Johnson
b'^ a* a loss with his terrific
he (' ■^‘\vville speed merchant
:' oi letting loose with any
' ‘^r b i» Street working with
. ' - p. ’’c-'Ult Street uos&essps
' m'‘TTrled fins as any
' I ompany.
, ! if ' Babe” Adams
-f''.ned the eucccss he
^ ‘fh if George Gibson
?he '■’hrr end of the
■ rid s series against
■ '>. .\dams was nrac-
'.red .' OungDter and
veakneases of the
Kv’fre ^ibson makes a
that steps up to
' ar nerel.' a ca:o of
. . .r -e ball where Glbaon
; ; ■ ' 1 ,
and no.'^cr
.. cl in glory for many
■ r-r. k l-,a icry had much
w
Boxing Booster
In New York Now
Not Satisfactory.
Far from the maddeninj: crowd in ,
the dining room. Bertha and Bertie!
cooed together under the library palms.,
They had been engaged for nearly a|
fortnight, and the blissful flight of ^
time had left them f>ager for the dav.
■•Is it loo soon to think of it, Bertie?”
she asked.
"No. never too soon!” replied Ber
tie, striking his head ferv’ently against'
the mantlepiece. !
She pressed her hand to her throb- [
bing heart, while he pressed his to his;
aching temple. j
"Then, dear." she murmured, "let it/
be three weeks from Thursday.”
"Beggin’ yer pardon, miss but you’ll
have to make it hearlier in the week!”
.-aid a voic,e through the keyhole.
Thursday is my day bout!AnsAvers.
O OGfi R ^"ST A K fi 5 S 0 M I'. C'ATC H B R
Oscar Stanage, the great young catch2re*'.f~fl'thDiElititii'Tr!jrncfrU.ti";T>ttTt:iil'9 s supplanting as regular backstop and
two of the veteran pitchers that he es ilti eirfiirxfsn; iht • e center. On the left is Charley
Schmidt, who is rapidly giving way i'irrE^Tfc ;£htf.3/cy.Qnn~ster. On the right are George Mullln
(above) and Wild Bill Donovan. Tn^nersrmiEnniffrix'tw.o^fc'.hi-a'isnseferfitst twirlers In bastball and each has
been called at different times th? exfcrSst'iprtchTrrin'ti'eXAmeci'can-League. Donovan’s pitching won two pen
nants for Jennings, while MuMin woc itlths''nc::'t'):onr.SiScht!i3liLdrioip^'iithdo'oackstopping in both cases. If the Tigers
eventually cop the 1911 bunting St£«aTy?;i'v\v[:b(i:£iifr 3rrm:'fccc:g^trcri^dif for keeping the pitchers going right.
Export Testimony.
Two men who swore off New Year’s
day for a year have not seen each
other since that time. One, tied to a
city job. is under tlie gtms because all
of his friends were posted on the reso
lution. The other travels, and if his
foot slips on the road nobody need be
the v.'iser. The stationary party to
the agreem.ent received a letter from
ihe traveiing man and wrote in reply;
"I removed tho Etaxii from the en
velope containing your letter and sub
mitted It to r. ch3mir.t. who reports
tr.ht it reck:; with whiskey."—Chicago
Evening Post.
Oscar Stanage is Best
Catcher in A.mer. A.sso.
m
HARRY DAVIS
•e V action photograph of Harry Davit, field captain of the
Athletici, who ha« been displaced as first baseman by the ^ ^
Jack Mclnnet. and is now reported to be slated for an
^-anagershlp, believed to be either St. Louis, Cleveland or Washing^-...
(By MONTY.)
New York, Aug. 12.—There are
catchers, but there seems to be no
such thing as “the best catcher”—at
least not just at present. Rather there
is one—of course there is a "best”—
but nobody can place his finger on
him and say with truthful certainty;
"There he i?."
Almost daily we hear of somebody
saying that such and suc'a a man is
the classiest thing in backstops. Such
persons don’t know w^hat they’re talk
ing about. But they think they do
and they have their reasons for think
ing so; they spin a fabric of sophistry,
which they call logic, dealing out the
facts that exist and supplying from
their own fertile imagination those
that do not exist. The whole thing
is a matter of opinion, the same as
every comparison of this sort.
There is one fact, however, that im
presses itself on every fan who is non
partisan in temperament. That is the
supremacy of the National League in
the receiving department. The senior
organization boasts no less than seven
catchers who are top-notchers in every
sense of the word; Enumerate them;
Johnny Kling, Roger Bresnahan.
George Gibson, Chief Mayers, Larry
McLean, Red Dooin, Jimmy Archer.
In other words, every club in the
league has a first calibre receiver ex
cepting Brooklyn. The Dodgers have
a man, who, strictly as a catcher, com
pares favorably with any, but as a
batter or baserunner he is not worth
his salt. That is Bill Borgan. Bill is
a wonder behind the plate, but Heaven
help the team that has to send him
to the bat in a pinch. The other seven
mentioned are the exact antithesis of
Bergen in this respect, as their bat
ting averages attest. And they are
all past masters at handling the big
mitt. Combining the versatile ability,
each individual one of them is the
equal of any catcher, in the rival or
ganization.
As against this array, the American
League offers Charley Street, Ira
Thomas, Ed Sweeney, Ted Easterly,
Jimmy Stevens, Billy Sullivan, Bill
Carrigan, Oscar Stanage. All good
men: otherwise they wouldn’t be big
leaguers. But, where do you find a
star in the whole bunch? Home team
partisans will pick out Street, Thomas
or Sweeney and the man will be laud
ed as the greatest in the business. It
the fan will carefully analyze his
men, and weigh him part by part with
the cracks of the National League he
will realize that there is hardly a
team in the Lynch organization that
cannot forward a better man. During
the last few weeks I have asked every
club manager-^National and American
—for his opinion as to the truth of
that broad assertion. Without excep
tion the American league moguls re
fused to discuss the matter, saying
there was no way of deciding it. Sev
eral National League leaders were
willing to talk lucidly on the subject.
They declared their association far su
perior to the rival in the catching de
partment.
The taciturnity of the American
Leagues on the general subject
serves as a verdict that is as near to
final as could be desired.
argument. With two youngsters like
Stanage and Easterly showing the
“Promising” catchers is a different form they are, there is good ground
' matter. In this line the American for the nroenostication that one of
I seems to have a little the hotter of the the pair will surely become a world-
JEM BRISCOLL
Jem Briscoll, the shifty lltt'e British
er, once acclaimed by fight fans In
this country, who is to meet Owen
Moran for the lightweight suprem
acy of England. Of course it is hard
to see how two beaten men such as
these can fight for a “championship”
especially since Freddie Welsh and
Matt Wells, both Britons, are still
In the hunt, but neverthless it is be
ing billed as such by the London
promoting syndicate, which has offer
ed a purse of $20,000 and a “prize
belt” valued at $1,500. The date of
the mix-up has not yet been named.
beater before Father Time calls him
from the game to gentler jJursuits
Both young men are put up along the
same lines physically, and their me
chanical actions are much alike; they
would be dead ringers for one another
in a moving picture. Who has the
greater “noodle?” Apparently Stanage;
at least he seems to have exercised
his more than his rival, and that is the
thing that will count in the long run.
The youngster who sprouts into a
great ball player, one w’hose name
goes into the baseball hall of fame,
is not often he who startles the cir
cuit with phenomenal w-ork the mo
ment he strikes the big leagues. Nor
is he the man who after laboring along
as a mediocre performer for some
time, suddenly strikes his gait and
flashes forth as it were overnight. The
greatest players, almost w'ithout ex
ception, are tiiose who started out as
an average sort of a w'orker, getting a
little better each month and season,
until at last they have reached the
bunch, passed them, and then left the
others behind. Such was Mathewson,
such was Wagner, such were Kling,
McGraw, Wallace and Cy Young when
thev w'ere just growing into stars.
Such is Oscar Stanage.
The Detroit Tigers have been plung
ing, tearing, banging their way pen-
antward despite the masterful gome
of the Athletics. The Jennings tribe
are hard hitters and daring base-run-
ners; they are about the best run-get-
ters in the world. And Stanage sticks
the pellet at a clip that keeps him
well up with the band-wagon. But
neither Detroit nor any other team
could win games by sheer scoring un
less it had some w’ay of keeping the
Other fellows’ tallies from being too
numerous. Detroit is not a good field
ing team as a whole. Consequently
the burden of keeping the opposition
safe devolves upon the pitchers, and
the catcher in keeping the enemy from
running wild on the basea. Leave the
latter task to Stanage. He is there:
probably the greatest young backstop
in the business, figuring him from
any angle. . -u *
One Detroit w’riter has paid tribute
to the youth thusly; “Cool-headed,
quick-thinking, strong-armed Oscar, the
boy with the broad shoulders and mas
sive muscle development, who cati
throw the ball like a shot and hit it
a mile, is the man to whom much of
the credit for the success of Detroit s
pitching staff is due.”
Tiger pitchers have pitched not
alone good ball but in several instan
ces phenomenal ball against their ri
vals. There are performances by Mui-
lin Summers, Donovan and Laffitte
that stand out as accomplishments in
pitching far above the ordinary. Due
credit is given these twirlers, for mas
terly performances, but in this case
as in others, there is a “man behind
and in this particular case the ‘ man
behind” is the youthful Californian
who receives the shoots, curves fast
balls, spitters and slow ones of the
Tiger hurlers. Be it known, Stanage
is not a “one pitcher man.” He can
catch any member of Jennings sta^
Hughie has always insisted that
Stanage has the makings of a won
derful catcher; he said that a few
years ago. Since the present season
has gone half its route, many have
Continued on Page 12.
(By W. W. NAUGHTON.)
San Francisco, Aug. 12.—That the
coming revival of boxing in New
York means a wondrous boost ‘for
the sport of the gloves is something
that must be manifest to everybody
interested in Queensbury pastimes.
The big city by the Atlantic will
soon become the hub of the pugilistic
universe; for ring men in quest of
fame and fortune, ail roads will lead
to New York.
Before the turmoil of matchmak
ing begins, it might be as well for
the Easterners to formulate rules
and re^gulatioiis for the guidance of
the men who don the gloves. At
present many matters connected
with pugilism are in a state of con
fusion and now is the time to set
things right.
In regard to the weights, there is
very ii*»le unanimity of opinion. It
might almost be said there are no
weight classes. The limits have
fused and run into one another and
it is hard to tell where a lightweight
ends and where a middleweight be
gins. Billy Papke, fresh from Lon
don. says he is the middleweight
champion, and that he will defend
the title at 160 pounds “six hours
before.” This means that the mid
dle w-eights of the future will be
heavyweights. Certain sporting au
thorities in England have tried bard
on various occasions to interest the
managers and m.atchmakers in this
country in a scheme for a universal
weight classification. They failed for
the reason probably that boxing was
under a ban in many of the large
cities on the Eastern states.
Now it is different. With New
York at the head of affairs in the
American boxing world and in view
of the W’ay the sport will hum in New
York^and other points, it is absolute
ly necessary that there should be an
American weight classification. The
boxing authorities oi! New York
should go ahead and arrange a tabu
lation to suit themselves. The rest
of the country, I am sure, wiil be
ruled by what is done.
The w^riter, in the hope that his
hint will be acted upon, has a sug
gestion or two to offer. One is that
ringside weighing be abolished for
all time and that a uniform weighing
hour—say six hours before boxing—
be fixed upon.
The reasons for a rule of this kind
are obvious. The subject has been
threshed out again and again. It will
suffice to say at this time that in
most of the matches which call for
ringside weighing, one of the men
goes to the scratch devoid of
strength. He weighed in at the ring
side because his opponent, who w'as
in a position to dictate, insisted
upon it. He took a chance and his
bodily weakness is such that he
could not make a decent showing.
The result is a keen disappointment
to the spectators. It would have been
different no doubt if he could have
had a few hours for rest and nour
ishment Instead- of having to step
from the weighing machine into
the thick of the battle.
Another thing with the sport or
ganized as it should be under the
new order of things in New York
each and every boxer should be com
pelled to record his exact fighting
weight when placing himself on the
list of eligibles. It looks almost as if
a boxer’s register of the kind de
scribed should be a part of the office
equipment of the new commission
which has been appointed to see that
the sport Is properly conducted. With
a record of that description handy to
refer to, the commission could easily
jjggp }q touch with things. It could
be easily seen at a glance whether
the matches were made on a prop
er weight basis, and the tendency
on the part of the promoters to ar
range “ill assorted matches” could
be checked.
Very often, if hard pressed for
talent, a promoter will think up a
card which on the surface promises
exciting entertainment but which in
reality is a menace to the sport.
The result is a disappointment to
the public and very often a scan
dal.
I have one or two instances in
mihd. One w^as just a few years ago
when the names of Frank Erne and
Terry McGovern were w’ords to con
jure with. Erne w^as required to
i reach much below his normal fight-
j ing weight to meet Terry, and the
I affair took place at Madison Square
I Garden. New York. When Erne en-
j tered the ring he looked like a con
sumptive. He had dark rings around
I his eyes and his appearance was so
pitiable that if tliere had ^een a
1 boxing commission then the bout
j would probably have been called off
I before a blow had been struck.
I Poor Frank was too weak to even
; raise a glove and he went over in the
I third round. At his own weight he
j would have beaten McGovern deci-
' sively in all probability,
j A few months later after McGovern
' and Joe Gans met in Chicago. It
I was another handicap match, Gans
: having contracted to make a weight
j which robbed him of all his fighting
] force. It could be seen from Gans'
' appearance that he did not have
much fight in him and as the bout
j progressed it could be seen that he
'had no need of any. It was probably
' a case of “what’s the use,” but any-
! bow the affair was a swindle and
I McGovern won after Gan.g gave a
i clumsy initiation of a champion be
ing knocked out. Years after, Gans
' told the story. These are simn^'
; some of the evils that arise fr^Cii
: the making of handicap matches.
With a uniform weighing and a regis-
■ ter of fighting w'eights, handicap
I matches could easily - be frowned
down.
How She Got Even.
Mrs. Brown, telephoning to a
. friend one morning, happened to
say;
i “I have such a bad sore throat I’m
[afraid I cannot go to that dinner par-
Ity tomorrrow night.”
I Just then something went wrong
j v.'ith the connection, and she heard a
strange voice break in;
j “Gargle your throat with cooking
soda, and I think you will be able to
go to your dinner.”
“Who is this speaking?” asked Mrs.
Brown, startled.
“Oh, that you will never know,”
answered the voice.
Mrs. Brown was greatly amused
and decided to try the remedy. Her
throat improved, and she went to
the party. During dinner she chanced
to overhear the gentleman opposite
sav to his neighbor;
“I had an amusing experience the
other morning. I was telephoning
land the wires became crossed. I sud-
'denly heard a lady’s voice say: ‘I
! have such a bad throat, I shan’t be
I able to go ts> that dinner party.’ Just
ifor fun I broke in and said: ‘Gargle
your throat with cooking soda, and
vou’ll be all right.’ The lady’s voice
in reply sounded rather surprised.
I wonder if she took my advice.
Mrs. Brown was greatly tempted
to reveal her Identity as the heroine
of the episode, but she decided she
could get more fun another way. She
made careful Inquiry of her hostess
as to the gentleman’s full name and
address and next morning called him
up. When he answered, she said:
“I just wanted you to know that
I took your advice, gargled my
throat with cooking soda and was
able to go to the dinner.”
“Who—who is this speaking?
came an astonished voice from the
other end of the wire.
“Oh, that you will never know,
answered Mrs. Brown laughing, and
rang off.—Lippincott’s.
Some marriages may be made In
fleaven, but most of them seem to be
mlde by the girl’s mother.
No woman Is a pessimist go long as
she has a looking-glass.
Lots of golden opportunities won’t
stand the acid test.
f .
V-.-’
MIKE DONUN '
Mike Donlin, the c:ic-tiirs leading batter of the National League who Is
looked upon as a future manage r of the Boston Nationals. The sale of
Donlin to the Rustlers by McGraw of the Giants is declared by those
close to the “Little Napoleon” to h ave been made with the intention of
strengthening the Beantown crew, so that they could put a few
crimps in the pennant aspirants of the Giants’ rivals.