The Portland daily press., 1895-08-03
A BASE BALL STORY.
Patience, Perseverance and Practi ce
Won the Game.

Won the Game.
A College Student Practiced Pitching
When Freshman, But Was Not Recog-
inized Till His Senior Year When He Led
the Varsity Team to Victory.
1t was college where the larger por-
tion of the students were representative
of the farming and numbering sections.
at running" logs in the river, and hunt
ing and fishing and handling horses and
not less capable at treading the mazes of
calculus, or comprehending the construc-
tion of an engine or the science of build
ing railroad-for these wefe the most
important features of the college curricu-
lum
Bit of course there was more or less
awkwardness of appearance and uncouth-
ness of manners and many a noble, ath-
letic form was disguised by careless
gait and attitude or by an i'll fitting coat.
But it was not alone the clothing Or
demeanor of "Turk" that proclaimed him
monument of awkwardness His whole
personality was unsymmetrical His big
shoulders were round, his stout legs very
much bowed and there was rigidity in
the small of his back IN particular and all
of his joints in general that rendered his
manners Of walking suitably comparable
to that of a cow His shyness, even tim
idity were entirely out of accord with his
physical strength and unlike many green
Freshman from the country. he never re-
sented as he might have so effectively
done, the merciless sport of many of his
fellow students. His face was richly tann-
ed and glowing with health and his skin
was as smooth as a maiden's while his
features would have been noble as we'll
as handsome, except for the weakness of
expression and the bashful smile that ac-
companied his limited conversational con-
duct with others
But there was plenty of strength in his
character as we'll as his body. 1t displayed
itself differently from that of others but
it was there.
But why was he called Turk? Our
"nicknamer" gave him the title There
is always nicknamer in college. He is
a humorous fellow especially gifted in
discerning the peculiarities OF others and
suitably calling attention to them. 1t
was after our genius had applied, in the
space of two minutes, as if with sticking
plaster, tho names Of Ruben and Lazarus
and Nicholas and Grizzly to four of the
Freshmen who now years afterward are
thus spol1en,ofs.by their contemporaries In
the college, that he turned his attention
to Turk.
A group of tho students had been testing
their muscle over large boulder that lay
On the campus, and Turk had placed his
crooked legs astride of it, had, bended his
rounding shoulders over it and lifted il
from the ground when all the rest had
failed. He was undoubtedly "as strong
as Turk.
In regular contrast to his awkwardnes:
and t1nidity was his enthusiasm for all
sports and athletic exercises. Wherever
and whenever any of the boys were jump
ing or throwing, or lifting or boxing OF
at base ball, he was always changing
around" as they expressed it, and persis-
tently, in his deprecating manner, endea-
voring to take a part, though generally
encountering ridicule and ever abuse
But he was never discouraged by such
opposition, nor even by the fact that it
was apparently impossible for him to be-
come skillful at anything. Practice as
much as he would, his heavy feet seemed
to cling to the ground in his efforts at
jumping, and his opponent with the box
ing gloves was seldom unable to ''get' in
as many blows as he pleased.
But that was not necessarily the same
thing as victory, for Turk bore his pun
ishment with unruffled good nature and
marvellous endurance, and when, as
sometimes happened, he did strike oil on
the other side of his opponents guard,
he generally brought the blood also.
AS has been said, he could lift as none
of those who made fun of him were able
to do, and his services in tug-of-war
were invaluable, but such proficiency did
not satisfy him. He cherished an ideal
Ol puy SlCdl pioWeSS, no less lOIGy Than
that of becoming the pitcher of the col
lege base ball nine. To watch others
curve ball with those wonderfully grace
full swings of the arm was to him a de
light; to do so himself was rapture
He practiced continually, and although
he made good progress, nobody knew it,
for nobody would tolerate the idea of it.
Nobody would put on the gloves and
catch for him, not only because of the
above intolerance, but because he deliver
ed the ball with such tremendous force
that the gloves were no adequate protec-
tion. This was before the advent of the
big NIT.
Incredibly unjust as it may seem, it
was not until the latter part of his sopho-
more year that Turks abilities as a pitch
er received any recognition. The college
club was far in the lead in the inter collie
giate contest for the championship of the
state, and was maintaining the position
by diligent practice. Every day the mem
barS of the c111h xyor1d cta,J -, f,a,,4 ~