Morning journal and courier., 1883-08-24

about his new delivery that he did not know when to quit, and after the Harvard men had noticed that the ball always turned about E foot outward after leaving the pitchers hand they made their calculations and hapsmered at it accordingly. The game, up tc the fifth inning, was right in the hands of Princeton'e catcher, who captured the mer. one after an other as they struck out, bEf when Harvard began to bat the prospects, changed at once and Princeton lost by Gear three runs. Manr had only one curve, .nd he did not even vary it by straight bal.s, so it failed of success against the stra4ght pitching and fine head. work ot Erpst and Tyng. Avery, at Yale, came out with his curve the same year, and many of the college hines of that time re: mem0er yet how he promised something new for the Harvard batters as the result of his Tinter's practice in the gymnasium. He did succeed in defeating them, and next year, by his effective pitching, helped his team to the championship.
 Before that time, however, curve pitching WAS practiced in professional games, and, though it's nature was not much understood, kind of ball could be delivered and that Matthews, the present 'eurver" for the Ath- letics, was the man who was doing it. Ar thur Cummings, who played in the Mutuals in 1872 and in the Stars, of Brooklyn, in the years preceding, also was known to pitch a Q6CGOb1F6 D&kls DuG, hb AS 4u4b H1AS4AS PEO- fessionRlly about 1874, his work was gradual ly forgotten and Matthews given all the cred it for the innovation.
 Matthews himself says that Cummings was curving the ball before he knew anything about it, and he gives further credit to Cum mings by adding that he got his first lessons in the art by watching the Mutual pitchers delivery.
 In those days, when the first professional association was just getting on it's feet, there were no cast-iron regulations about where the players should sit or stand, and very oft en whole team stood close around the bat ter giving him points when they could, and spending the remainder of the time in ''chaf- fng" with the umpire or pitcher. Cummings' delivery was known to every man in the pro- fession as very peculiar, and Matthews, whose straight work was beginning to give way before it, made up his mind to take ad- vantage of a position near the bat to learn the secret. He watched Cummings hands carefully, noting how he held the ball, and how he let 1t go, and after few weeks care full practice in the same way could see the curve in his own delivery. Then he began to use it in matches, striking men out in way that no one but Cummings had ever done be- fore, and in short time he was known as one of the most effective pitchers in the field. To-day he is pitching the same old curve, with all the tricks in delivery that years on the diamond have taught. and the batters don't seem to hit him much better than they used to.
 Other pitchers had to take up the curve or quit playing, just as Mcbride and Pratt did, and before the Centennial the regular craze for curve pitching had set in which finally forced both League and Association mana, gers to abolish old pitching rules and allow any throwing delivery which would assist in puzzling the batsmen. Every pitcher was popalarIy supposed to have choice selection of curves which he sent in at pleasure, and his value was usually reckoned on the num- ber of different ones he could use. That idea, by the way, is still prevalent, and there are many people who believe in an ''up'' curve and t'down" curve, an 'in' curve and an ''out" curve, 8 zigzag and ''double'' curve, and 'tshoots" and jumps" and fast and slow balls to match.
 s'That's all mistake" said Matthews, while talking over some of his experiences. ''I never saw but one curve, and never made any more. Of course ball will shoot in Q little distance, but you can't call 1t curve, because you can't hold that kind of ball so Rs to make a curve out of it. The only gem uine curve is the one which turns out from the batsman, but. after two or three of that kind straight ball, if it is properly pitched, lNdAM mB if it was turning the other way. s3s0bs balls, or balls which apparently shoot or curve downward, are all deceptive work, and are thrown from the highest start the rules allow Rising balls are the same thing, started from as near the ground as possible, and pitched upward. Slowed balls are started slow, with an apparently fast four ish, for if they were ever started fast don't know what skill could hold them baak; and, as to balls which go both in and out, why that is manifest impossibility. I know there have been several tests made of that, one particularly at Cincinnati, where four posts were put up and the pitcher required to make the ball go on one side of one and the other side of the next, but don't think he did it. If he did it was through some de- ception in regard to the place where he was standing. No, sir. Good, straight pitching, thorough command over the ball, good out curve and good in shoot are what the great pitchers are working with to-day, and I, for my part, don't believe in anything else D