The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-12-11

baseball cranks, and was one of, if not the most popular hero in the metropo- | lis.
 | In Baltimore he WAS admired and
 feared and detested by the tens of | thousands of enthusiasts; all over America his name was known, and young America generally was unde- cided as to whether it preferred to be
 the president, or the great Rusie. To- day as he works as a common la
 borer, digging ditches out in small
 Indiana town, there is none so poor to do him reverence"
 Then, and even since Rusie was paid a salary as large as many bank presi- dents get, simply for pitching a couple
 of hours every three or four days.
 To-day he is working hard, shovelinE
 dirt for 10 hours day for the paltry
 sum of $1.50 day, as was stated in
 the Sun recently.
 There was time when Rusie refused
 salary of $2, 2,40O for seasons work
 with an offer with big bonus if he
 would refrain from dissipation. That
 was less than six years ago. He refus-
 ed to play for the whole season of 1896
 for that reason, and the following sum-
 mer the "magnates" of the National
 League, that at that time had no oppo-
 sition, thought Rusie so important that
 they got together and paid him his
 price for the former season, besides the
 salary he asked for the season of 1897,
 in order to get his services, so great
 drawing card was he.
 Last summer Rusie begged and plead ed with the Cincinnati club to give him a chance at any salary, and for the first time in his life Ruse worked hard and faithfully to get himself in condf- ton, but he failed dismally. The splen- did human machine had become worn out by misuse and abuse; the once steel-like muscles of his marvelously skilful arm had become flabby and had lost their cunning; the power that could once send a baseball with almost the speed of rifle bullet and make it curve or break" as he chose, had be- come lost in the lwf1irl of pleasure in which Rusie lived for years and which led to his early downfall
 For a decade Rusiei earned on an av- craze of something like $3,000 a year. This sum he received for pitching few CT usually than 50 games of ball, or an average of more than $60 a game win or lose To pitcher with Rusies command of the ball he pitched an av- craze of not many more than 100 balls to the game. Thus the great twirler was paid about 50 cents for every ball he pitched in every game throughout the season.
 If he can secure steady work for 300 days out of year at his present occu- patton he will have earned $450. He made more than that In month of the playing season in the old days. By pitching eight gaines of ball, or about Is hours work, he made more than he can now earn in whole year of hard work, 10 hours a day. In those old days Rusie made more by retiring one batter than he can now by digging for 10 weary hours
 Such has been the downfall of one of the greatest and most popular heroes the national game has produced. Rusie had better opportunity to make money and save a small fortune than any one of dozens of ball players who have had the sense to avoid dissipa- tion, keep themselves in condition and ! least an anchor to windward" against the time when they must stop playing ball. Any number of such men could | be mentioned, and here in Baltimore | there are quite number of shining ex- amples. Men like Hanlon, McGraw, | Clark and others have made | baseball means of making start and , of accommodating a competence, and are | an honor to their profession.
 On the other hand, there are a great | many ball players that have chosen the road traversed by the once invincible Rusie. The one time Baltimore idol. Curt Welch was one of such. Phil Eh- ret once Pittsburg's crack pitcher, is reported to be tending bar for man who at one time was bartender for inc place rigged up by Ehret This ist could be added to by the score.
 Amos Rusie first became famous as member of the celebrated Indianapolis Blues, and the battery of Rusie and Buckley was terror to opposing bats nen. In 1890, when Indianapolis was succeeded by Cincinnati, Rusie, Buck ey, Jack Glasscock, Jerry Denny and 'tbers of the old Blues went to New York, and Ruses baseball work from hat time on was done in Gotham.
 He reached the zenith of his career n 1894, when, with big Duke" Farrell o catch him and Meekin to help him in he box, Rusie came near robbing Bal imore of it's first pennant and later lid defeat the Orioles easily for the 'emple cup, offered that year for the : rst time. Baltimore was beaten in our straight games-two here and two n New York. Rusie and Meekin pitch ng alternately. An immense throng aw the games, and afterward the iiants were given benefits in the thea CTS. showered with money and pres nts, and in all this Ruse was the spe- ial hero.
 In the fall of 1885 Rusie got into a ow with the bartender at the Carroll on and owner Freedman. of the New 'ork club, fined Ruse $20O for the It was that fine and differ nee as to salary that kept Rusie off he diamond in 1896. He had been get ing from $3,000 to $3,50O Freedman ffered $2,400, with bonus of $500, if e kept from dissipation.
 V., -fh al,