The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1886-04-27
DID BLACK THROW OFF?
1T LOOKS THAT WAY AT THIS
DISTANCE.
The Charleston Pudding Turns Gut
to Be Grow General Sport
ing News

The game yeste rdsy places the man
agement OF the Memphis nine in a
queer predicament: They have either
got to admit that the Memphis nine is
the worst in the league, or that the
game yesterday was lost through the
hopeless incompetence OF its man
agsr. The latter theory is proba-
bly, the true one. There may
have been some excuse for put
ting Black in TO pitch, Fusselbach to
each and Sneed at short. 1t may
have been done to give Broughton a
chance to rest and prepare himself for
a hard siege to-day, but nothing short
OF rank idiocy could excuse Blacks re-
tention in the box after his work in
the first, second and third innings.
They pounded him in the first inning
for enc run, q result due partly to q
tumble by the great American short
stop, Sneed. This probably disguised
Black and tempted him, to all appear
ancss, to plsyas if he didn't care to win.
His pitching in the second inning is
80 strongly suspicious Of having been
a deliberate thToW-off that he ought to
be released. The following details OF
the second inning, as furnished by
wire, look decidedly 'rotten:" Bros
nan hit to pitcher, mutfed safe on first,
steals second; Powell hits safely for
two bases, Brosnau scoring; Crowley
hit to pitcher, mul1ed, Powell scoring;
0'Neil foul tips out Say flies out to
third. Now, does anybody in his sober
senses believe that the two mufis OF
Mr.. Black we're accidental? We can
not believe it, ana it will take very
strong evidence to convince us OF it.
In the third inning Gilman hit cafe to
center field for n bag; Gardner got
base on balls; Crowley bit to left
field for three bags; Powell hit
to right field for m bag.
In this inning Charleston scored
two runs leaving the game at the end
of the third inning 5 to ! in favor Of
Charleston. At this junCture a level.
headed manager would have quietly
intimated to Mr.. Black that his pres
ence was necessary in left field, and
with 0'Leary and Broughton, or
O'Leary and Fusselbach, as a battery
the game might have been saved, but
either through wounding Mr., Black's
sensitive feelings, or for some other
equally idiotic reason, no change was
made, and the audience who went to
the Terrace to feast on pudding bad
crow rammed down their thIoats to
the nauseating point. We will spare
our readers the eXasperating details
of this fasco Of the game. The
Charlestons, assisted by Mr., Black,
scored in five out OF nine innings, and
won as they pleased. There may be
come credulous people who believe
that this could not have been pre-
vented, but, happily, they are few in
number. On the 18th of this month
Mr.. Black pitched in such excellent
form that the sluggers Of the Macon
nine only made four hits off him. On
the Goth he pitched against the bes'
nine in the league and the Savannah
sluggers only got five hits, and yet in
four days he has deteriorated to 30 sur
prising an extent that the "bummest'
nine in the League pounds him foi
ten hits, with a total of seventeen
bases. There is something about THU
that needs explanation, and the di
rectors owe it to themselves to have
the matter thoroughly investigated
1t was an open secret before Black lef
here that he entertained a bitter
grudge against Sneed. Perhaps j
broke out yesterday, with the result
above described. One thing 10 certain
he played very poor ball, aud the cir
cumstances seem to point to the con
clusion that he did it deliberately.