The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-08-05
BERGEN AT BOSTON.
Left His Home to
Join the Champion
Team Yesterday.
AN old LADY SEEKS HER SON.
Mrs. N. A. Barnum Has
Not Seen Him For
Many Years.
AN old LADY SEEKS HER SON.

home here today TO assist the cham
pions in once more winning the pen
nant. Martin took with him the best
wishes of all his North Brookfield
4 friends and, in fact, the great major
! ity of Worcester county fans.
Before leaving town this morning, the
| big catcher gave permission to have
some snap shots of him published in
The Spy. The pictures were taken at
Bergen's home a few days ago by Err
nest Boutwell,, and it was the first
| time that Martin had ever allowed any
one to snap a picture of him. though
pictures of the catcher have been OBJ
tanned while he was on the ball field,
and did not suspect that cameras were
leYeled at him.
Martin left North Brookfield deter
mined to show himself a necessity to
the Boston team. He says he intends
to play the very best ball he is capa-
BILE of, and that means a great deal to
his club. Bergen has now been playing
with the team from the hub for nearly
four seasons. and in the two seasons
past has been material assistance in
landing the pennant, playing behind the
bat as no other catcher ever did. Pre-
vious to going with Boston he had
played one year in Kansas City, and
during that time astonished the. ma
tives of the west by the superb artlcla
of base ball he put up.
Frank Connaughton of Clinton, who
played with Bergen in Kansas City,
has told The Spy reporter that he be-
lieyed Bergen caught the best game
of his career in Kansas City before
going to Boston. The Clinton man said
that Bergen's catching and throwing
that year were simply marvellous, and
that during his base ball career he had
never seen a catcher who could come
anywhere near playing the ball Martin
was playing Before the present king
of catcners went to Kansas City, he
had played in Salem, Lewiston, Wilkes
barre and Northampton, besides in
this town, where he learned the game.
While he was playing here, Louis
Bacon discovered that he was a dia-
mond in the rough, and signed him for
Lewiston. While Bergen caught for
Northampton he caught for Boston in
an exhibition game, handling without
difficulty the pitching of big Jacob
Stivetts, then one of the speediest
twirlers in the league. At that time
Manager Selee did not think the man
fast enough for his team, who two
i
of the field Martins work in the south
during his first spring with Boston,
stamped him as a winner, and, though
| he was i'll that season, Connie Mack
Ipredicted that in year all catchers
would tip their hats to the North
| Brookfield man, and Connie has proven
| himself a good prophet.
Mrs. NJ. A. Barnum of Nursery ave-
nue. is anxious to find her long-lost son,
| Frank A. Barnum. Both she and herhus-
band, Cutler Barnum, are in their de-
clining years, and would like once more
| to gaze on the son who left them years
ago when he was a stalwart young
man. If Frank A. Barnum is alive
now, he is so years of age, but his
mother feels sure she would recog-
nize him. One reason the old lady is
so anxious to find her son is because
| by the death of relative recently, he
was left property, valued at about $500.
| She would like to see him come into
possession of this money and would
also like to have him with her in her
declining years because of the natural
mothers love she bears him. 1t is IL
| years since she has had any tidings of
him. Then he was. in Omaha, Neb.
About that time he is supposed to have
| travelled extensively in the western
states. Mrs. Barnum told The
|
has been searching for her son
for years, but has never been able to
| get a trace of him. The last she has
heard that Is at all authentic is from
Mr., Weber, now of Ragged hill, West
| Brookf1eld, for whom Barnum worked
in the west, perhaps 20 years ago. When
he left Weber, he said he was going
to New Orleans, but as he was of a
peripatetic disposition, she does not
/ n ne h i'm
anywhere near the Crescent city. Mrs
Barnum says that until she Is certain
whether he is living or dead, she cannot
set her mind at rest, as she does not
know what disposition she should make
of her property.
| Preparations for the ball game be-
| tween the local clerks and the clerks
of Spencer are going on apace. The
| greater part of the team has been Sc
lected, and is as already given in The
| Spy AS soon as the whole team is
| selected Manager John j. Downey will
| write the Spencer clerks in order tc
make complete arrangements for the
game. A great feature of the game bids
| fair to be the coaching. The official
lcoachers for the North Brookfield ag-
gregation will be Seectman John j
Howard of Towards grocery store
whose abilities as a coach are known tc
all the neighboring towns, and Samue
A. Clark the newsletter, who was Of
| fered a position in right field, but who
says that after his recent experiences
with Manager Selee, he has decided tt
quit the game. Selectman Howard
promises to be en- hand wearing that
same linen buster which has made him
a conspicuous figure on the ball field
| for years, and now it is certain thai
the coaching end will he we'll looked
| after.
Little Leo Balcom the one-year-o ole
son of Louis Balloon and wife of Forest
street, was severely burned last nigh
by putting his hand on a stove. The