Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-04-21
GOTHAM GOES CRAZY.
Excitement Attending the Opening of
the Baseball Season.
ATALLY-HO LOAD OF GAY CRANKS.
Four Ancient CrOnies and Their Peculiar
characteristics.
ACTIVITY AT THE SEASIDE RESORTS
A ATALLY-HO LOAD OF GAY CRANKS.
ACTIVITY AT THE SEASIDE RESORTS
CORRESPONDENCE OF THE pIsPATcul

waited train, is that the baseball season for
mally opens at both parks-the Brother
hood and National League. One canno
imagine what fendish interest is evinced il
the national game this year, and people VIII
never saw game before are the most cage
ones to get into the grsndstand first. Why
Simply because two organizations hav,
been fighting each other all winter on mat
tiers technical to baseball, and the unedu
Gated citizen has been forced to note in thu
papers the long drawn out litigations lie
tween player and magnate, so that be be
came wrought up over the result Now hi
is going to see the game to satisfy his curl
osity, and if he likes it no doubt by the enc
of the season he will be a member of the
crank contingent Conveyauces Of all man.
ner and sort are getting in readiness to
whirl up Harlem road to the respective
grounds, but, from the tenor of the talk
about the hotels and other public resorts,
the Brotherhood will surely catch the ma
jority of people.
The female admirers of the sport are
many here, and the gallant escorts with
their tallv-ho coaches have set Fifth avenue
looking at their gay turnouts. Hours be-
fore the call of game, these stylish people
drove through the principal thoroughfares
attracting the attention of thousands, who
in turn caught the fever and boarded an
elevated train to join in the mad hurrah.
CoACH-LoAD OF CRANKs.
One of the jolliest set of cranks that ever
IasB he
by invitation from Uncle Nick Engle, the
custodian of Brotherhood baseball in New
York. The party, composed of 25 prominent
people, including actors, horsemen, newspaper
men and men about town, mounted on tally-ho
started from the headquarters on Twenty
seventh street at o'clock and traversed the
town. The tally-ho had a flag on it inscribed,
brotherhood forever" They were hailed
with cheers everywhere. for such popular peo-
pie as DeWolf Hopper,.Digby Bell, Eugene
Garfield, Edward Everett Bell, Nick Engle,
George Sexton, together with many others, i'm
bued the whole town with fanciful feeling
that to be strictly proper il should go en- masse
and witness the initial games of the clubs.
To have seen the grounds when the gong
sounded one would have thought the whole
town had run up to Harlem, and those people
who could not gain admittance went back sat
isfied in the fact that there will be many more
games this season. Never in the history of the
game has such ENTHUSIASM been shown by New
New York no doubt has more noted charac-
tiers who were at one time, years ago, promi-
nent among men, but now if their names were
mentioned they would not be recognized by the
present generation. l am amused daily by old
timers who gather together in an uptown cafe,
there to chat, drink and dose away their un-
ruft1ed existence They are not in destitute
state by any means, but possess snug little
bank rolls, sufficient to defray all their daily
wants-and they are very simple. At 10 o'clock
sharp the quartet files in one by one orcer,
take their first eye-opener. peruse the daily
papers on file, comment on the subjects of pub
lie interest and take several drinks during the
session. No one about the place knows the
proper names of these happy characters SO to
designate them the habitues have invented odd
appellations for them. which. by the way. are
very appropriate TO each and all
HIS FACE WAS HIS FORTUNE.
First rs 'Moonface," who has a round, ex-
pressionless phiz, with large, jaundice-hued
eyes. He has a severe case of this maiady, and
his skin is as yellow as russet shoe. He is an
old-tlme gambler who, it is said, was such an
expert in manipulating the uncertain pack that
he finally was barred from any game in the
city. His peculiar cold facial expression ena-
bled him to deceive his opponents as to his
holdings, and they never could tell whether he
was bluffing or NOT. However, he would inva-
rably win all the money, in consequence of
which the big knights of the Cloth refused to
sit down with him. He took out enough to live
until he will forever 'cash in his chips" as the
Western sport saws.
The second companion is 1.-THE Doctor" He
is lame in one limb, and carries a crutch to
steady himself He gets the name Doctor
from the fact that he was once practitioner
in the long ago. but being of a sporting disposi-
tion hOated away from his profession TO mingIe
with the sporting class of society. He man
ages to keep comfortably pleasant from the
working influences of ''rye and bitters" but
never succumbing to the soothing charms of
Morpheus, like his partners often do. He is
more dignifed than to allow sleep to overcome
him in a public resort. The third of our queer
party is''Old Sport" He is typical od-time
horse dealer, who knows aud talks great deal
Of horse" In his halcyon days it was his
wont to drive out the road aud swap
several times before returning to the city. He
has saved small competence, and is as happy
as a sailor with a pocketful of money.
Lastly comes the greatest character of the
team-"Old Sunshine"-a name which he af-
fected himself and he couldn't have chosen a
party, smart, witty, and with face redolent
with smiles and spirit constantly in a good
humor. don't know anything about his
former life, but like the rest of his
friends, he always has a dollar in his pocket
Once in while sit at a near table to them
and the subjects discussed, when the liquor
they have imbiDed is working the brain up to
degree of temporary brilliancy, are interesting
as well as laughable, especially when "Old
Sunshine gets in a witty observation which
changes the subject at once. Politics, public
Ineu ana their relative standing, sporting
events, and often has "MoOnface," usually
quiet, waxed warm on religion They are all
truly men of the world and it's astonishing,
considering their sedentary lives, how intellI-
gently they talk on current topics The four
are all well advanced in age ''Moonface" being
the most decrepit, walking with great diff
Guilty. Some day soon he will be missed from
his accustomed haunts, and his three boon pals
will silently sit and sip their drink thinking
perhaps that the first link in the chain is
broken; that the remaining ones are wearing
last away, and that they VIII rust, crumble and
separate on earth to join again in that mysteri-
Gus beyond.
A POPULAR PENNSYLyANIAN
1met one of your Western Pennsylyania's
most popular men last week-General S. M.
Bailey, of Fayette county. He is Republican
ex-State Treasurer of Pennsylvania, and a !
man Of unbounded integrity. and keen per-
sonal knowledge of affairs of his own district. |
He is a person of retiring disposition, and to |
the unacquainted it savOrs of stiffness, but |
his popularity in his own State demonstrates
Just the opposite. He was tavorably men,
toned for the position of Sergeant-at-Arms
last autumn, but for some reason it was not |
awarded to him, but think with a conciliatory
whisper that he would not be forgotten |
by the people in charge of public affairs His has
always been a case of where Office sought the |
man, and never did he voluntarily parade be- |
fore the public as a beneficiary. His war rec |
ord is unimpeachable. and to-day he carries |
scar in his skull which left him unconscious |
and supposedly dead on the field of battle. |
His trusty negro servant carried him off, and |
nursed him untiringly back to life, even |
after the surgeon had given up all hope. The |
General is jeweler by trade, and at this late |
day he still sits at his bench trying to make a |
dollar" as he expresses 1t. He was over |
on business connected with his trade but |
gave me few moments interesting talk on the |
political situation in his end of the State As |
to the Gubernatorial contest he would not COM |
NIT himself but said that his own county, /
which was SO overwhelmingly carried by the /