The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1875-06-18
The Professional Ball Player.

st. Louis Times reporter interviewed
Harry Wright. the Captain Of the famous
Boston Red Stockings, and elected the
following information:
The Boston club he considers the stron-
gest in the country for many reasons.
They have played several years together
and understand each other a. no other
players do. Every fielder is familiar with
the strong and weak points of every other
fielder, and in playing he makes use of
that knowledge. At the bat every man is
willing TO sacrifice himself in order to save
a tally for the club. and does ii almost ev-
cry time an opportunity presents itself.
Every member of the nine can play
equally a well in three or four positions,
so that the players change about frequent
ly without damaging the strength Of the
nine. McVey and O'Rourke are change
catchers, and Manning and Heifert chsnge
pitchers. Heifert plays anywhere, except
behind the bat. and McNey plays any
thing except pitching. The fielders are
all good basemen, and the basemcn are all
good fielders. They have all studied base
running until they have reduced il To a
science, and rely a great deal for their tai
lies on their proficiency in base stealing.
Throwing also Is great point in coed
playing, and each tries to excel in both
swift and accurate throwing. The field
ers are all able To send a Dall In 10 the
home plate from the farthest outfield. In
batting fair fouling i little practiced.
The batter generally tries to knock a dali
sy-cutter or drop a fly between the out
and in-fields. but when one man
Is out and any OF the bases are covered
long Nightly is attempted. After two
strikes the catcher does not come up be-
hind the bat unless the catcher's ground
is very bad for foul balls, and even in that
case he sometimes remains back. The
boys learned to keep their temper and
courage long before they were taken on
the nine, and ii is very seldom that they al
low themselves TO become unduly ex-
cited.
The rules OF the club, though few. are
strictly enforced. The members are all
considered gentlemen in every sense Of the
word. and can be relied upon in any
emergency whatsoever. Only a few OF
them either drink or smoke. and none TO
excess. The penalty of spree j. imme-
date dismissal from the nine. All obey
the commands and instructions Of their
captain without question. No quarrel
not even an angry dispute-has ever
arisen between any Of the members. and
none would be tolerated. They eat when
and what they please. but must not eat too
heartily just before beginning game.
As rule their nights are their own to go
and come as they will, provided they do
not carouse and dissipate. All but three
or four age married. their families living in
Boston. In travelling they carry little
baggage. Their nights are frequently
spent on the sleeping cars. On most Of
the railroads they travel on theatrical
rates. from twenty to fifty per cent: less
than the regular fare. Their annual ex-
penses amount TO about $4,000. Two OF
the boys-Spalding and Barnes-are from
Rockford, Illinois. McNey is from lndi-
annapolis and the rest from Eastern cities.
Manningis the only native Of Boston on
the nine.