Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-08-05
THE HAWKS FLY CATCH
Wonderful Baseball Story From
the Centennial State.
CAYLOR'S BASEBALL PICTURES,

PolIcemm-PIayers Who Save Money.
About this time every year is the season
when some extraordinary story is told to
wake up the baseball crank and thrill his
credulous soul with wonder. This year it
is a hawk story. The scene is laid in faroff
Colorado, where the air is pure and rare
that lying is as easy as walking. \ player
while practicing sent a fly ball high into the
empyrean. A hawk, such as they grow in
that glorious climate, was lolling around
in the vicinity of the clouds, and toward
this bird the ball set sail. The hawk saw
its game coming and for the sake Of some
thing to do met it half way. The result was
a fly catch as neatly made as it could be
done by Ryan, a Holiday, Hamilton or
a Brodie.
With the ball in its clutches, the hawk
few away to its nest. What use it made
of the ball is not chronicled, but suppose,
true to its nature, this bird of prey tore the
insides out of the sphere and glutted itself
on yarn and rubber. If he found the yarn
as tough as the yarn as have spun it, that
hawk will never catch another fly ball
The game will be deprived of another nov
city which was promised, but which has
been withdrawn before it ripencd. Cincin-
natl, the home of baseball sensations, was
10 nave Detn lnt sCtut Oh ILLS DllSCdTTltI
curiosity, and presume it was planned by
that prince of advertisers, Frank Bancroft.
The club announced that some time in Au-
gust there would be a marriage celebrated
at the home plate on the Cincinnati
grounds just before the game began. The
groom was to be the assistant ground keep
er, and the happy bride, it was said, 'moTed
high up in her particular circle in the west
end" The scheme was most novel one
1t would have been the first wedding on q
ballfleld since the game began. Couples
have been united in balloons at county
fairs, on the stage and in show windows
but never at the home plate.
Alas for novelty! Some of the other
League clubs heard about the contemplated
innovation, and at once there formed a fun
mel shaped cloud of indignation which
threatened to sweep down on Cincinnati
and blow the home plate, the assistant
ground keeper and his high moving bride
into the Ohio river. As a consequence, the
wedding at the home plate has been de
clared off.
This year there has been a disposition In
the National league particularly to frown
upon all novelty attractions of an extra
character when coupled with championship
games. In St. Louis they had a balloon
ascension on one or two occasions, but be
lieve the venture didn't pay, and the special
features were discontinued. Several years
ago foot races preceding the games were
quite popular, but at that time it was neces-
sary to devise extra attraction to get the
money in at the gates. This year the great
game is drawing for itself, and the side
show business is unpopular.
Very recently two teams of police officers
played game of ball in Philadelphia. One
of the mines was shut out without a run.
The pitcher for the viCtOrs WAS George w
Bradley. When / saw a paragraph in a
Philadelphia paper making the announce
ment of that game, l cast my thoughts
back nearly a score of years. This George
w. Bradley is now n police officer in the
City of Brotherly Love with a salary OF
perhaps 800 month. In 1876 he was
pitching for the st. Louis club of the Ma.
tional league. 1t was the year when BoS-
toms big four-Spalding, Barnes, White
| and McNcy-dcscrted the club and went &c
Chicago, where they helped to win the
| championship for the White Stockings
They found their hardest foe to beat in the
St Louis nine, especially when Bradley
pitched. \ result of this was that the Chi
| Cages got rid of their dangerous rival pitch
er, Bradley, by engaging him. He Joined
| the ChicaGos. think, the following year.
| The point l am making j. this: In that
| year-IS1G-thc two most famous pitcher
1 the country NGEG y. u LAtllulL- GlC
| George w Bradley. They were rivals OF
nearly an equal footing, and Bradley.
earnings were scarcely less than Spaldin.'s
But time works wonders. Things arr very
different with those two men today. Spald
| ing is a millionaire living i'll royal style il
| one of Chicago's fashionable suburbs ant
/ occupying the head place in firm which
has houses i'll Chicago, New York, Philadel
| phia, London and Sydney. Bradley pat roll
II nj i l.
| enough to keep his family in moderate
| comfort. At this time while Bradley il
doing a policeman's duty, Spalding is liv
| ing temporarily in his cottage at Scabrisht
on the Jersey coast.
The story of these two once famous
| pitchers makes text for sermon on base
| ball. One was a man of education ant
more than average intelligence. To hin
Che money which he earned playing bal
| was a nest egg for the fortune he afterwar'
acquired. Baseball gave him his start anC
probably placed him where he is today.
In the other instance the player was
man without education or ambition be
You'd the diamond. Whatever money h
saved while playing bali was spent as sool
as the diamond had no further work 70
him. How often the history of IA ball play
er is the history over again of Bradley
life! Few of them save their money. .
those who do very small proportion ar
willing or able to put it into some bushes
as soon as their playing days are past
Most of them loaf around and play in mi
nor leagues until what they earned in thei
prosperous days is 1pent, and then the
have neither money nor mental talent I
carry them through life in prosperou
| state.
There are ball players who will leave tn
profession in comfortable circumstances
Arson, while not parsimOnious man, ha
made great deal of money at ball playin
and saved great deal. He has from tim
to time invested in Chicago real estate an,
owns about go, 900 worth of property. Com
iskey. Nash, Glasscock, McPhee, Chamber
lain, Conner, Duffy, O'ROurke, Thompson
and a few others have not wasted thei
earnings and are all fairly well fixed.
But men of the kelly-Latham-W stripe
who are free spenders, depend from year L
year upon their salaries for the means O
gratifying an abnormal desire to spent
money.
see there is already some talk abou
| Uipter or fall eNDefiitions to Cuba \ey