The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-08-13
SAD TALL Of
HOfAE~RQN HAWKINS.


forever after. had already aro.-.,
plate with the winning run 60 ne
game was ours. As van ca, ne
imagine, that night, when we bs5 ~
turned home, he was the idol 80
town We wined him and dine5 me ,Ie
we bought him a shave and a bair III III
we serenaded him; we did evar1-tbj,-1'
We'll, sir Home Run made e-0o5 -
his new name in every game afTar ~.
As L remarked before, he was -
hardest hitter 1 ever saw. High o,.N
low ones Wlde ones-they We're all 7bs
same TO him as long as they CAM
swift enough II the pitched tried -
fool him with a slow one he'd swine ~
bat the wrong way and drive The b --iS
UP against the catcher. I've sen ~ ~
knock out three men in one game Me-, MEN,
that stunt. Not satisfied with bafnc.
able to connect with the bail biDsaTs
he undertook to give the rest of ~
team instructions. ANY quiet sftar
noon every man of the Lightfoot T51fs,
could be seen lined up in front M -
long row of carpets, beating Them -
dear life under the careful SUPERVISE,
of Home Run Hawkins. As soon a m
boys had developed sufficient force nv
this means he began to rack his braiT
Tor some method of teaching accuracy
I1C llAAdt4g SUI nOlu OF one OF TnnsE
neW-fangled pitching cannOns. and fo,
time that did the trick to perfection
The team got so proficient with m.
stick that batting practice went off rss
clock-WOrk. First there'd be a ErtIs
puff of smoke, then al oud report. and
a second afterward the batterd he
tearing round the bases while the bar
was trying to find a resting place ON
the other side Of the fence. The neigh.
bOrs kicked at the noise. but Wa
couldn't hear 'ern as long as il did ths
team any good. The reason we finaUv
quit the scheme was that the rain
storms brought one by the conclusions
of the cannon compelled US to cancel
over half our games on account of wet
grounds.
But like many other great men.
ankins met his Waterloo at last
| through the demon rum. We argued
with him time and again. but all To
no purpose. Does it make any differ
ence in my batitng?' he would ask
| When he got so bad that he saw dOubI,.
/ he'd aim in between the two balls and
home runs, three-baggers and doubles
materialized with the same old repu-
larity. The cause of his downfall was
far worse than that
1T was in the annual game with the
Ringtal Roarers, just one year after
he first Joined the team. Again it was
| the last half of the ninth inning, with
the bases full and two out: again the
score stood 1927 in favor Of the Roar
ers. and again Apply Hawkins was 10
( the bat But this time he was not
/ greeted with jeers; the ROarers were
! filed with dread Hankins reeled 10
| the plate with an unsteady gait. but
| his eye was still with him. He drove
| the first ball pitched through the same
! old window in the same old Shantv.
| The men on bases dashed for home and
/ the LightfoOt crowd went wild But
| their mirth was suddenly cut short and
| despair filled their hearts. HankinS.
| who had been zig-Zagging his way
/ around the bases, made an extra lUnge
/ to one side just as he reached third At
| that the umpire turned on his heel and
/ cried, Out for running out Of base
| linei The ROarers win
Next day Hankins naturally had re-
/ morse. He SwOre he'd never touch a
/ ball again. He turned a deaf ear 10
! all our entreaties and promises of for
| giveness and shortly afterward disap-
! peared from town. From that time on
I never heard of him until the war
! with Spain, when I read in the Jones
/ County Courier that he had enlisted
/ Poor old Home Rum He lost his life
at San Juan hill. The very frst can
non shot brought back memories of the
| good old baseball days when we prac-
! ticed batting with a pitching cannon
| Instinctively he seized the barrel of his
1 gun, made a vicious swing at he ali
/ and started of hOt-fOOt toward the
/ enemy He breathed his last while slid
| ing for a Spanish block house. POOl
/ old Home Rum"
The fat ex-mascOt sighed feelingly as
| he brushed a hot tear from his cheek
| His listeners respected his grief and
were silent.