St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-04-26
THE SPORTING GLOBE.
The Amateur Catcher.

These are the days when young mems
thoughts turn to base ball and lawn festi-
walls. The son Of man, with eoncave chest
and abbreviated breath, sheds his shoulder
braces, puts on a flannel shirt and goes
abroad into the fields to monkey with the
regulation ball that weighs less than five
ounces and forages for finger-nails and
small pieces of human flesh, in a cool, calm
ana collected manner. The height of his
ambition is TO be a target for the ball be-
hind a six-foot man with well-developed
club of hard wood, and he furnishes him.
self with hannel-mounted cannon on two
| legs and contracts with him t. fire the ball
at him with a velocity of 20, 600 centimeters
| per second. Calmly and with measured
tread he moves out into the verdant field
bathed in golden sunlight, and with a resig-
nation worthy of Roscoe Conkling, faces the
/ two-handed mitrailleuse that nervously
fumbles the ball which is soon to 20 out on
its mission of broken knuckles and LAGER
ated flesh.
The young man turns his back to the sun,
firmly plants his shoes In the soil about
four feet apart. deposites large quantities
of mucus on his hands, rubs them together
| briskly, bends forward, fixes his eye on the
mitrailleuse and yells give me liberty or
give me an outcurye, "a spasmodic movement
Is noticed on the part of the human cannon,
one leg flies up behind him, one arm swings
| towards the four corners of the earth, his
head is bent down as if he regrets the crime
he is about to commit and an instant
later the air is split by the leather-cOvered
missile Of death that travels with blood
thirsty yearn towards its waiting victim.
| The victim anticipates its coming and
shutting his eyes, spreads open his hands 10
receive the five-ounce visitor, which arrives
in due course of time and without stopping
TO pull the door bell, unceTemoniOusly an
nounces itself. The victim receives il with
a long, green smile and pulls a piece of
court plaster from his pocket to take the
place of the nail that suddenly departed
from his middle finger. Time three and a
half seconds.
Before using himself as a baekstop for
regulation ball, the amateur catcher is a
respectable-lOoking human food destroyer
He generally has ten good healthy fingers
| in a flourishing condition and wears a look of
supreme happiness on his face. His walk is
free and easy and his eyes are clear and
sparkling. He has kind word for all his
friends and looks cheerfully into the future
that spreads out bright and encouragingly
before him. Life is dear TO him, and car
bolic acid as a drink has no attraction for
him. In the wreck that crawls through the
fence that surrounds the ball grounds and
and crawls with stammering step towards
his boarding house, one does not recognize
the tall, straight young athlete that
entered the field a half hour before. TO
prevent that fye-ounce ball from rolling
under the fence beyond the ball grounds.
The smile he wears is a misft and badly
ripped up in the back; the sparkle in his
eye is very unpronounced in its spark.
He carries one arm in a sling, the other is
carried by man who witnessed the game
from behind large fence post. He wears
weary look and gives promise of doing
much to help along the interests of the
medical fraternity, and yet such pictures
as these carry no terror TO the hearts of
the ambitious youth who are anxious to
be killed behind bat.
49,
A Winnipegger, signing himself A Snow
sheer, writes TO the sporting editor of the
GLOBE for information regarding the med
ais won by the Winnipeg boys during the
carnival races and sports. He saws that
some of the boys have written to the COM
mittee regarding the medals and have never
received reply. He adds that some of
the winners have gone West and given I'D
all hope of ever receiving the medals.
So
A new lightweight has sprung into view
in local circles. His name is Robert Frogy,
be calls himself the light weight champion
of Charleston, S. c. He has never an
peared before a st. Paul audience, and is
anxious to spar with any light weight in
Minneapolis.
When the GLOBE insinuated few weeks
| ago that the man Dunbar who wrestled
| Dufur here was no other than G.. W. Flagg
OF Vermont, certain sporting men snapped
| their fingers at the GLOBES presumption.
| 1t has since developed that the GLOBE was
nearer right than wrong. as a man who
claimed 10 know Flag said Dunbar
was he, and later came a paper from
Swanton. VT, which stated that
the cuts of Dunbar published in ST. Paul
papers were recognized as Flagg. That
Flagg has been and still is in the West is
proven by the New York Clipper, which
stated last week that George w. Flagg, the
| Vermont wrestler, Is in Flint, Mich. and
has arranged match with l.. L. Burton of
Clio. who claims 10 be the champion of
Michigan. The match is to be collar-and-
elbow, best three in five falls, for $500 and
door money. Flagg undoubtedly went
from here TO Flint TO arrange this match.
-
Winona is making great preparations for
the carnival TO be held there the first week
in May. 1t is not often that that beautiful
little city shows any signs of hustle and
activity, but she will do herself
proud on this occasion and
make a record for herself in the
sporting annals Of the world. A whole
week commencing May 3 is to be given up
to reyelry and nightly the city Is to be
painted red with the brilliant glow of skv
rockets, Roman candles and other pyrotech
meal contrivances. King Carnival and his
retinue are to arrive May and he will be
accorded reception such as has not been
equalled since King Borealls arrived from
his frigid domain. in st. Paul last February.
There will be firemaD's day when firemen
from all over the state will be present and
brought out on dress parade. There will
be ball games. La Crosse contests and other
sporting events. S1.50S In cash prizes have
been offered and this will bring into the
field large competition that will only add
interest to the occasion and athletic sports
will be the great feature Of the event and
1 al %har,,