The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1890-03-10
SENATOR'S WHO PLAY BALL
Werts' Big Bout With Dick Nc
Bride, the Baseball Shark.

NC4Nt0Jg 40 RAONNg
Senator Gardner, of Atlantic county.
asked Senator Werts, of Morris, the
other day why the fingers OF his lett
hand were all out of shape.
The Senator who leads the Demo
cratic minority held the dislocated
members up to view and said, Why,
Dick Mcbride did that way back ] n
the sixties"
s.Dick Mcbride quickly interro-
gated the Republican leader; why,
what did you have TO do with tnab
famous baseball shark
.Why, L played in the battery OF q
baseball club with him when basepall
was new. One day Mcbride, who
had lust come into prominence as a
pitcher. let go a ball, which at
tempted to grab, and it broke my
fingers. [ did not mind q little thing
like that, because | generally had a
ward or two of arnica plasters over me
somewhere. We did not have n
same protection then as we do now.
"How long did you play basebail9N
swell. | began as an amateur on
the Bordentown nine, and alter
moved to Morristown | frequently ran
down to Bordentown to give the boys
q lift. We had a strong team / n those
days. and they had the honor of clean
ing up everything that came along.
particularly the Philadelphia teams.
Young Law Student Werts was at
times pitcher apd catcher, and was
regarded as a good one. He was as
fond of baseball as he was OF BACK.
stone. All the time he was a llmp OF
the law he kept up baseball assocla,,
tions. and for one season he played
with the Athletics and made a gooa
record al the time that this club was
famous.
The Senator from Morris is not the
only man who years the Senatorial
purple of New Jersey who played
ball. Big, handsome Senator Adraln,
of Middlesex, is a good all-around atm
lete, and he is a fine baseball player
and elegant high kicker, a first class
oarsman and very clever Win tne
gloves. 1t was a knowledge OF these
muscular accomplishments that led
Senator Gardner to say on Tuesday,
when he saw Senators Werts and
Adrain talking together:-"What's
the matter with getting up a game OF
baseball with the House? I'll be the
captain. if Adrain and Werts will be
the battery. There is Martin over
there who was formerly a good second
baseman. Pfeiffer, who claims he
was a shortstop for a crack Philadel-
phia nine some years ago" Il would
mot mind trying my hand again, ald
Senator Werts, and at some time
when the Senators are at leisure they
will again discuss the possibilities of a
lmatch between the upper and lower
4 branch of the Legislature.
Senator Martin still takes interest
in the great national game. He is
somewhat proud of the fact that he
Dlayed with the Eurekas. of Newark,
at one time a first-class club, and the
same players were in thew ashingtons,
a strong team, and they at one time
won several signal victories in New
York and Brooklyn. The Senator
PLAYED on bases, but had a preference
for a place in the battery, and he al
ternated as pitcher and catcher. and
even today he talks baseball talk
with much gusto.
Senator w. H. Carter, of Burling-
ton, who sometimes, acting in his ca
pacity as a local preacher of the
Methodist church, leads the Senate in
PRAYER. had a fondness for the game,
and he and Senator Werts exchange
"reminiscences of the old baseball. days
at Bordentown at frequent intervals.
The 'sdominie,n as the Senators fire.
quently call him, spent his Saturdays
when a young man on the diamond,
and was particularly fond OF
fielding. Senator Leaning, of
Cape May, is also fond of
sports of all kinds. He is one of the
promoters of the Cape May Athletic
Association, and since he became a
physician he has never put IN his
gray suit and striped cap; but in his
student days he chased bases and
caught fouls with an ~alacrity that
proved his interest and fondness.
1t took a long time to get Senator
Gardner, the Republican leader Of the
Senate, to admit that he was a base
ball player in his time. He was only
an amateur, but he was much inter
ested in the game. At the time the
Athletics were playing in Philadel-
phia, he was a clerk in a hotel at
which the professionals spent most OF
their time, and in consequence he be-
came we'll charged with baseball
technique, and even today he prefers
to see a game of baseball in preference
to any other sport, and he frequently
spends an hour in that way. He has
q son who is fast becoming q good
player, and the Senator frequently
goes to see him play.
Knights and