The herald., 1896-11-04
WAS TRULY A GREAT GAME
The Contest for the Coast Base.
bali Championship
THE STORY OF THE BATTLE
How Los Angeles Snatched Victory From
Defeat
Franck Knocked Out a Home Run at a
Pivotal Point and Won Out for
His Club.

The great baseball game at San Fran
cisco Sunday, in which the Tufts-Lyons
team of this city captured the coast
championship. was undoubtedly one of
the greatest events of the kind in the
history Of baseball in California. The
result of the game has been given In the
Geographic columns of The Herald, but
the following graphic pen picture of the
contest from the Examiner will be read
with interest by the hosts of fans" in
Los Angeles and vicinity:
The Portland lads first took the field
for practice. Um. but they opened the
eyes of the veterans. They snapped the
ball back and forth as if they had been
born to that sort of thing and had tossed
teething rattles at each other from their
cradles. Especially did Schmeer, the
lively shortstop, catch the crowds fancy.
oh what wing!" muttered the
Charley-horsed heroes of other days, as
he picked up the hot ones and sent them
sizzling over to first, where Parrott.
brother of the mighty "Jiggs," and one
of the eleven PARROTS, all of whom play
ball, ate up those meteors as if he were
posing as the fire king.
Ihen the Californians had chance to
warm themselves. Their work was hard
ly up to that of the smaller men from
the north. but an occasional stop or
throw or the raking down of seeming
ly impossible fly, would start the cheers
TO ripping from bench to bench, while
the handkerchiefs of the women would
futter like Monday laundry in ecstacy
But all this merely whetted the appe-
70
strain. The game began with the nooth-
men at the bat, and Meath in the box for
Los Angeles.
Meath was materially nervous. He hit
Schmeer resounding thump almost
before the eyes were fairly focused on
the play, and the lively little shortstop
logged down to first nursing himself,
but happy Parrott bunted one at Cum
mings that was as slow as procession
passing given point. The big third
baseman juggled it, and when he came
to himself Schmeer was on second and
Parrott at first. Then Meath. who SEEM
ed to see half dozen home plates all at
once, gave Neidermark his base on balls,
and the bags were full.
How's that for a starter.
Cell the Monograms' catcher came up
to do or die. Meath, still in the mirage
of home plates, gave him two wide ones,
and Los Angeles sighed. But right here
Mr.. Meath had a lucid interval. One
strike! Two strikes, Three strikes
out! Waouw, how that crowd let itself
out in sound.
Black hit quick one at Franck, the
southern shortstop, and Mr.. Franck
played with it like a cat with wad of
yarn Consequently Schmeer scored
and Black was safe. But Parrott was
nabbed at third because he didn't know
Franck would put aside his pipe and
awaken to the responsibilities of the oc-
casion quite so suddenly.
Right here Mr.. Ray shone with pecu-
liar luster. He sent one kicking up the
dust into right field, and in ran Neider
mark with the second tally. Van Nor
den gave Cummings a chance at pop
foul, but Cummings was as full of holes
as a candidates reputation. Then
Franck let the same batter's easy one
go by, while Black came tumbling home
with third run. But the over-ambitious
Mr.. Ray attempted to follow Black and
was nipped at the plate, little Catcher
Mangerina giving the crowd the first
taste of that superb playing which after
ward filled them all with wonder.
Here were three runs just as feel
er, and the Los Angelenos looked droopy
as they came in for their turn at the bat
Strohn, the first man up. popped up a
dainty foul, which the red-headed Par
rott boy gobbled as if it were a truffie
But Franck waited and got his base as
a Christmas gift from Pitcher Dey. Then
Tufts corked a safe one down the left
that emitted shrieks and steam. Los An
geleS rose in one great burst of glory.
but sank as suddenly into the slough of
woe. Mr.. Franck ran like the winter
gealed molasses. and was much put ou.
at third on divers sharp return of the
ball. Two out, Tufts on first and Far
rell at the bat.
Farrell sent high one into left field
and Tufts began to run rs run those who
see oncoming specters or creditors. Out
ir left field Mr.. Oliver was under every
thing in heaven except that lone ball.
and by the time he had located it on the
ground the sprinting Tufts had crossed
the plate with the first run for Los An
geles. Then the elegant Mr. Tyler
stepped up with an aristocratic bearing
and the reputation of being heavy bat
ter. He struck out, and the score was 8
to in favor of Oregon.
Then something happened. In years
to come Los Angeles fathers will tell
their pop-eyed boys of the awful sorrows
of that second inning. But down from
the far north was borne the wild, delir-
ious, rancous noises of joy emitted by
the crowd surging around the bulletin
board at Meyers in Portland. The crowd
at the grounds could hardly follow the
play, SO llVely was IL, anu ltS applause
had to come in quick explosions like the
detonations of a rapidfire gun.
Oliver, de man who dropped de ball,
soaked the leather sphere down over
second base as if he were trying to scorch
the cover of the bag. Busby, the substi-
tute, hit the first ball pitched right where
neither the shortstop nor the third base
man could stop it. Schmeer lined one
into the crowd behind the left field ropes.
Under the ground rules this counted as
a two-bagger 1t sent Oliver home and
Busby to third whence a wild pitch let
him reach home and mother, the heart
less Schmeer going to third.
Meath lost all self-control and also his
presence of mind. He gave Parrott his
base and let Neidermark zip out a swick-
| ering two-bagger into left field, bringing
| in Schmeer and Parrott.
This was four runs, man on second,
and nobody out. Something had to be
| done. 1t was. Mr. Meath was sorrow
| fully but firmly removed from that box.
! placed upon the bench, and told to think
of tossing oranges into basket for the
remainder of his life Dark-eyed Ri
viera was called from center field and